I posted about this over in Jcatbird's ferals and rescued thread, and so as not to highjack that thread I'm creating my own. I was wondering if it was worth it to try to socialize an old, possibly even elderly feral?
We've been feeding her for around 10 years, and she was an adult when we started feeding her. She would let us get to within a foot or two of her when feeding, but was always SUPER wary and we never attempted to pet her.
We caught her on Friday of last week and had a vet see her for what turned out to be a nasty ear infection. I've been thinking for years that I'd like to try moving her inside or see if she could be an indoor/outdoor kitty. It's really cold here in the winter and she won't use any shelters I put out for her.
At any rate, she's been in a spare bedroom since Friday. As with all things, the internet is full of wildly conflicting advice. I fluctuate between thinking I can surely socialize her and feeling like a monster for keeping her cooped up in a room.
She will eat, sleep and use the bathroom in my presence, but has no interest in approaching me or interacting with me. I'm of course following advice on socializing her slowly.
I'm wondering if this means anything, or if this is just anthropomorphizing: since Friday, we've left a window in her room open wide enough for her to get out, for about an hour each day. It's really cold out and probably drafty on the floor where she's been hanging out, so I close it after that. The first few times, I opened a window over a desk at the opposite side of the small room she's in--yesterday, I opened the window next to the bed, on the same wall she's been hiding against (she has also sometimes been up on the nightstand looking out this window when I come in). She didn't leave any of these times, obviously, or I wouldn't be asking this question! I have a camera in the room, and she did not go up to the window to investigate.
So, my question is--does this mean she's too oblivious or scared to investigate? Or that she doesn't want to leave? I realize that no one here can truly answer that question, but I'm somewhat desperate for advice on the right thing to do for her. She's a super wily, savvy cat--I can't imagine she wouldn't smell the fresh air and at least check it out to see if it offered an escape. A complicating factor is that on a couple of other occasions I cracked the window or kept the screen down so she couldn't escape those times if she wanted to.
It's impossible to know what she's thinking--does she feel trapped and depressed? Does she realize it's cold out and is grateful to be inside?
I guess the way to find out for certain would be to leave the window open all night, but aside from the safety implications and the cold, I really don't want her to leave!
Ultimately, I'd be happy with having her as a standoffish member of the household--just give her a warm place to sleep. I'd be ok with her coming and going if she likes. She's clearly smart enough to have survived outside for this long. We have two other cats, both around 4-6 years old. One of them is a stray that our neighbor abandoned, and we took in. We believe he and the feral kitty are friends, as they would sometimes sit or lie in the yard close to each other in a relaxed way before we took him in.
Thanks for reading, and any advice would be gratefully received.
Picture of the kitty below, from when she was at the vet Friday.
We've been feeding her for around 10 years, and she was an adult when we started feeding her. She would let us get to within a foot or two of her when feeding, but was always SUPER wary and we never attempted to pet her.
We caught her on Friday of last week and had a vet see her for what turned out to be a nasty ear infection. I've been thinking for years that I'd like to try moving her inside or see if she could be an indoor/outdoor kitty. It's really cold here in the winter and she won't use any shelters I put out for her.
At any rate, she's been in a spare bedroom since Friday. As with all things, the internet is full of wildly conflicting advice. I fluctuate between thinking I can surely socialize her and feeling like a monster for keeping her cooped up in a room.
She will eat, sleep and use the bathroom in my presence, but has no interest in approaching me or interacting with me. I'm of course following advice on socializing her slowly.
I'm wondering if this means anything, or if this is just anthropomorphizing: since Friday, we've left a window in her room open wide enough for her to get out, for about an hour each day. It's really cold out and probably drafty on the floor where she's been hanging out, so I close it after that. The first few times, I opened a window over a desk at the opposite side of the small room she's in--yesterday, I opened the window next to the bed, on the same wall she's been hiding against (she has also sometimes been up on the nightstand looking out this window when I come in). She didn't leave any of these times, obviously, or I wouldn't be asking this question! I have a camera in the room, and she did not go up to the window to investigate.
So, my question is--does this mean she's too oblivious or scared to investigate? Or that she doesn't want to leave? I realize that no one here can truly answer that question, but I'm somewhat desperate for advice on the right thing to do for her. She's a super wily, savvy cat--I can't imagine she wouldn't smell the fresh air and at least check it out to see if it offered an escape. A complicating factor is that on a couple of other occasions I cracked the window or kept the screen down so she couldn't escape those times if she wanted to.
It's impossible to know what she's thinking--does she feel trapped and depressed? Does she realize it's cold out and is grateful to be inside?
I guess the way to find out for certain would be to leave the window open all night, but aside from the safety implications and the cold, I really don't want her to leave!
Ultimately, I'd be happy with having her as a standoffish member of the household--just give her a warm place to sleep. I'd be ok with her coming and going if she likes. She's clearly smart enough to have survived outside for this long. We have two other cats, both around 4-6 years old. One of them is a stray that our neighbor abandoned, and we took in. We believe he and the feral kitty are friends, as they would sometimes sit or lie in the yard close to each other in a relaxed way before we took him in.
Thanks for reading, and any advice would be gratefully received.
Picture of the kitty below, from when she was at the vet Friday.