Feral bored living inside!!

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m935

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I once had a feral kitty my husband rescued from a tree. It was a difficult rescue. She was afraid of anything moving. I placed her in my bedroom and for several days she just hid when I was around, but I knew she was eating and using the litterbox that was in my attached bathroom. After some time I could see her peeking from where she was hiding, but I pretended I was not aware of her presence. Day by day she would inch closer and closer to me, slowly getting her trust. Then one day while I was in bed, she suddenly hopped on my lap at first, then slowly came to my chest, and slept there. I was weeping with joy and it was one of the happiest days of my life. She became the sweetest one I've known. When I finally found her a forever home, I cried for days on end. To this day I still miss her.
I get it. I wanted nothing more than to find them homes. My county is very pro feral and tnr was free. But our shelter is down the street and always full... So no one was interested.
I fed for 14 years and i cried so many times! Sometimes when they were totally fine..just left for a few days. I'm glad im finished..(although i fear tge last few were possiblity poisoned ..they all disappeared on sunday nights and all in the summer months!) So added with assuming they suffered horribly will always be extremely difficult.
When her brother (left) ..it was just the two cats for 4 years and losing him was heartbreaking... But she was my priority in getting her inside and safe. Luckily with my small place i only had 1 indoor cat at the time. Im so thankful it all worked out. Again.. Fingers crossed she doesn't go stir crazy. :)
 

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I believe every cat found outside is stray or belongs to someone. I wrote a long story about her in my avatar
 

CatladyJan

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Familiarity breeds contempt
Maybe reduce the amount of toys for a while, rearrange them or you furniture. Let her hunt for things like bottle caps, empty spools or corks. Just give her a cardboard box.
 

Margot Lane

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I just built a really cool cat cave out of tables, blankets and pillows and a couple mattresses. My bored (non feral) cat is on STUN with joy. Feels good I gave him something he really loves. Maybe yours needs one too! Like Game Misconduct’s suggestion of a live cricket in a previous thread: maybe a feral only recognizes live things as fun.
 
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m935

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No interest in boxes at all. I bought a really cool little toy that mimicked a bug... Even put it on the circular ball toy and it moved the ball for her...nope!!
 

maggie101

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No interest in boxes at all. I bought a really cool little toy that mimicked a bug... Even put it on the circular ball toy and it moved the ball for her...nope!!
Hex bug? No interest either. I think she prefers something she can grab and put in her mouth like a mouse. Take out the string from an old pair of shoes and hold in your hand,move fast,let her try and catch it
 
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I just built a really cool cat cave out of tables, blankets and pillows and a couple mattresses. My bored (non feral) cat is on STUN with joy. Feels good I gave him something he really loves. Maybe yours needs one too! Like Game Misconduct’s suggestion of a live cricket in a previous thread: maybe a feral only recognizes live things as fun.
I was gifted a new cat tree a few years ago at Christmas. My cats can take them or leave them. So I shooed them away and pretended they weren't allowed near it for awhle. That thing is so ragged looking now, it's pathetic, but they still love it!
 
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m935

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Hex bug? No interest either. I think she prefers something she can grab and put in her mouth like a mouse. Take out the string from an old pair of shoes and hold in your hand,move fast,let her try and catch it
Yep..the hex bug. (I loved it) strings of any kind is pretty much it for her.
 
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m935

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Its 3am and i got up and she's wandering. Im telling you the fear of waking up/coming home to something torn apart is getting real. :)
She's quiet. She doesn't know she can meow me awake. I didn't play with her though. Not really wanting food either.... Just wandering... :(
 

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One tip I didn't see post yet on this thread is to put the toys away and rotate a few of them.
For some cats, not all, having them all out can cause overwhelm and then they don't use any. I've had a lot of luck with this. Sometimes some go missing a few days and then I end up with a hoard of toys on the floor anyway 😹

We keep some household favorites down all the time. Calcifer has his plush ball which is his comfort toy; Magnus has a fluff ball and Nobel has his pink mouse. There's always one tent or tunnel out, but there's certainly more play when they are reexploring their toys.
 

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Some trash that are "the best toys in the world" according to our cats:

A paper towel roll with the ends cut in strips
A paper straw
The cardboard pull tab off of any human food item
A bottle cap on the non-carpet floor
Tissue or brown paper (especially in a box for digging)
A paper grocery bag with the handles cut off
Human hair scrunchies
Woolen dryer ball - apparently the best kicker toys we ever bought them 😹

These are some favorite things that we've actually purchased:
- 'spring' made with felt and craft wire. Looses it's shape but as you can see I can't even take a photo

- second recycled rabbit fur floof with paper strings (Etsy)

- various silvervine sticks with feathers or cardboard sticks with feathers. Great for kicking and chewing or playing with humans

- these weird floof things.
IMG_20221004_104114144.jpg IMG_20221004_104027969.jpg IMG_20221004_103958329.jpg IMG_20221004_103947497.jpg
 

maggie101

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Trash is the best toy! At 3 months old,my cay Maggie made up a game by the bathroom door with Coke caps she would slide one under the door go to the other side slide it under again and back and forth she did it for an hour
 
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m935

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Some trash that are "the best toys in the world" according to our cats:

A paper towel roll with the ends cut in strips
A paper straw
The cardboard pull tab off of any human food item
A bottle cap on the non-carpet floor
Tissue or brown paper (especially in a box for digging)
A paper grocery bag with the handles cut off
Human hair scrunchies
Woolen dryer ball - apparently the best kicker toys we ever bought them 😹

These are some favorite things that we've actually purchased:
- 'spring' made with felt and craft wire. Looses it's shape but as you can see I can't even take a photo

- second recycled rabbit fur floof with paper strings (Etsy)

- various silvervine sticks with feathers or cardboard sticks with feathers. Great for kicking and chewing or playing with humans

- these weird floof things.
View attachment 433020View attachment 433021View attachment 433022View attachment 433023
THANK YOU! the pics are great. Funny thing is as im reading your post. She is hunting a thick rubber band i put on floor yesterday. :) but I'll definitely re read abd attempt these ideas for sure. (Tge cheaper tge better)
 
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m935

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Here's a new question. It didn't rain much this summer but has for the past 3 days..not so much the last 2. She slept all day the first day...crazy yesterday... Slept all day today!!! My other cat doesn't respond to weather. Is this related to her being a feral or just her in general? Or just coincidence. Cause I've had her long enough inside to know this isn't normal but again it hasn't rained much so it seems related.
Thanks!!!
 

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Personally I think kitties are like little weathervanes. I recall having a clown statue whose balloons changed color with the weather. Cats remind me of that.

Wanted to point out that all the above sound great as toys, but one poster on another thread mentioned their cat pooping out a hair scrunchie.
 

Alldara

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M m935 It could be related to being feral. My one was outside and the other two's mother's were feral and all my cats are lazy on rainy days.

The are quite content to nap and watch the rain and they eat significantly less on rainy days too.

The most hyper days are cool sunny days. They really run around then.
 
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m935

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Ok.. The sun is out today and warmer..and seems as if she's gonna sleep again. I saw her sleeping last night. She's eating and plays when awake..But now im kind of getting worried. Unless the cooler weather is why. I just know she hasn't slept like this since the first day i brought her in... And now it may be 24+ hours of more sleeping than wandering. When before maybe 5 constant hours throughout the day? (That i noticed)
 

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Ok.. The sun is out today and warmer..and seems as if she's gonna sleep again. I saw her sleeping last night. She's eating and plays when awake..But now im kind of getting worried. Unless the cooler weather is why. I just know she hasn't slept like this since the first day i brought her in... And now it may be 24+ hours of more sleeping than wandering. When before maybe 5 constant hours throughout the day? (That i noticed)
This is also the time of year when cats get colds, just like people. She may sleep a bit more if she's fighting something off.

You may notice seasonal changes in her sleep and eating patterns. That's okay too.

If you feel she's being lethargic, do a pinch test on the back of the neck and check hydration level. Also check urinary and poo output (aka litter) and water/ food intake. Keep an eye for the next few days and if no changes, consider veterinary attention.

You can also wake her to play with you if you want.

In my experience, the longer you have a cat the more comfortable they are. The first few days you had her she might have slept hard and long due to stress. After time passes you might notice a cat sleeping harder and longer due to comfort.

Lily, our late cat, didn't cuddle anyone for many years and then she did cuddle me every day. Over a decade she slowly went from hiding from people to being an ambassador for cats and specifically black cats. But there's a few leaps of progress I can think of. Magnus, our current cat cuddled us at first, and then did not and now after two years recently began again. We believe it was because he wasn't feeling well for a bit so that's why he stopped cuddling.

Wandering can be a sign of anxiety if it's constant and without settling, so I would think it's a good sign that your cat feels more secure. Some cats do laps periodically of the home as it's their territory, but there should be rest in between the pacing.
 

maggie101

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So when it's not raining she's more playful? My cat that was stray for 2 years,now inside, is afraid of the out doors even when its sunny. The weather scares her so she hides
 
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