Questions About Bringing a Feral Cat Inside

So is it getting better with white kitty? I've just deci6to foster a cat from a local shelter and I'm now at 24 hours without her eating, drinking or using the bathroom.

Unfortunately, it is going very slowly with White Kitty.  I am seriously thinking of letting her go back outside.  She is basically still living in my closet.  I took her out last night and put her on my bed for the first time while I petted her (I also gave her little kisses on the top of her head because she really likes it when I do that).  Since then, I’ve seen her under my dresser twice.  I guess that’s progress but not much.  She does come to the front of the closet to be pet which she loves.  She also purrs and kneads her paws.  I have to go out of town for a week in 2 weeks and I hate to think of her staying in the closet the whole time since I’m the only one she responds to.

Good luck with your foster.  Maybe you’ll have better luck since your local shelter thought she was a good candidate to foster.  Maybe you can entice her to eat with some tuna.  That helped with White Kitty.  Keep us posted.

Good luck to u too. From everything I've read it appears to be a long process depending on the age and personality of the cat. She doesn't sound entirely unhappy in your home with you.

Please don't release White Kitty. She's much safer with you! 

Besides, she's probably only 6 inches tall so your closet looks like a palace to her, and she is the mistress of that domain! 

The fact that she responds to you is remarkable, and you've done amazing work! Please keep it up!

I agree totally with Pogo!  I can take months for an outside cat to adjust.  White Kitty isn't running around freaking out like so many do, so I see her as a PRIME candidate for indoor living.  You just have to give her time.

She will be so much safer and healthier living inside with you and I think you're amazing for taking in this lovely White Kitty!

Please keep up the wonderful work!

How is White Kitty?

I'm just over 5 weeks in with my once feral rescue, Mabel. You are doing AMAZING with White Kitty!!! Mable has just this week started to come out from under the table in her safe room. I keep thinking how dull and boring it must be to have been 5 weeks under a table, but I keep reminding myself of all the progress she has made and that this won't be forever- it's just slow progress and she is able to sleep safe from predators, bad weather, she has food and clean water and is learning what love is and how to love- SO MUCH BETTER than life outside. Please keep up your excellent work with White Kitty.

FYI- Mable didn't eat or pee/poop for her first 2 full days inside. Freaked me out. She also first urinated on my shirt I put on the floor for her to have my scent and then on the fleece fabric I set out for a bed. By day 5 inside she had the knack of the litter box (I added the cat attract additive and some organic potting soil on top of the litter). She is not motivated by food, and usually only eats overnight.

Hi, just saw your post; I rescued a feral kitty two weeks ago "Henry";  he is probably 2 1/2 or 3 years old.  He just showed up one day about 2 years ago, started putting out some dry food for him, and we progressed to him coming up 2 flights of stairs several times a day for food on my patio.  Just seeing him and talking to him was a joy.  Although he would come over to me when I called him, and he would meow at me he would not allow me to touch him.  Sometimes during bad weather he would sleep in a small carrier I put outside in the bushes.  He always seemed to stay close by, but a few weeks ago to my dismay I discovered he was crossing a very busy street multiple times a day.  I followed him, and discovered he was back in a grassy "alley" between the backyards of two residential streets; they were numerous other cats back there frolicking with him, whether they were feral or people's pets I do not know. 

After seeing him nearly hit by a car twice, I knew I had to do something.  I put the carrier out (we had a rainy weekend), and low and behold, he was sleeping in it in the morning.  I made 2 attempts to sneak up on him and close the carrier, but he gave me the slip; on my third attempt, I got him!  I immediately took him to my vet, got him his shots, a thorough physical exam, and neutered. 

I am now in the process of turning him into an indoor cat.  I am keeping him in a small bathroom, which has worked out well.  He has multiple "spots" where he sleeps on blankets, and he loves going under the bathroom sink vanity.  He used a litter box right away with Tidy Cat clumping litter - no problem there at all.  He has a very good appetite for most of the commercial canned foods, and Fancy Feast Dry, but of course he LOVES canned tuna in spring water.  He is always quite vocal when I announce my presence and go into the room, and am working very SLOWLY on being able to touch him.  So far he's only cried for a short time once at about 2:00 AM, and tried to put his paw under the door.  Once I went in and sat with him for a spell, he became calmer and laid down to sleep.  I would NEVER consider releasing him.....the stress and worry watching him cross the road literally inches from a car was unbearable; he's safe, well fed, and remarkably content in a relatively small space (for the time being).

It will be a slow process......my next step will be to put up a screen door up on my bathroom door, so he can see out, and to very slowly let him and my other indoor cat see each other.  When he's ready, I will let him out of the bathroom, and into my bedroom - have to "cat proof" it first, and keeping my other housecat out of the bedroom will be an issue, but he will have more space in the forseeable future.  It IS a slow process but it's definitely worth it!  He is a wonderful boy!

We have a feral cat we rescued 4years ago. It seems like she is getting more and more feral instead of taming. Any suggestions?

Hello!  I am new to this myself, and I've only had Henry indoors for two weeks; everyone tells me to take it slow, it can be a lengthy process, so I'm taking it one day at a time.  When you say your cat is becoming more feral instead of tame, how exactly is he becoming more feral?  Have you ever been able to touch the kitty?  If not, is it at least comfortable living inside, even though it's not a cuddly lap cat?  Does it still hide most of the time, or is there some interaction?  If you can provide the cat with a safe home and it tolerates your presence around it, maybe that's the best you can hope for......I know there are cat rescue organizations that have "barn cat" programs, where they find people that live in more rural "farm" areas, who want cats around their property for rodent control, etc. These people live outside metro areas where the cats are safer, not dealing with streets, etc.  The cats are always spayed/neutered, fed, etc.  This is something you could always look into.  This website is fabulous and there are many people very experienced with this who have offered me wonderful helpful suggestions, and they will do the same for you....you should post to one of the "advisors" on the site with your more specific issues.  I have never worked with a semi-feral cat, so I'm learning every day.......keep us all posted on your questions and difficulties.

When she was a kitten she was very affectionate and loved laying in your lap. But when she got older she won't even let you pick her up. You can rub her sometimes but only for a second or two. She likes to stay in when the weather is bad but normally you don't know where she is. But if the weather is nice and warm she doesn't like coming in, but we make her because we are afraid something will happen to her at night. We do have coyotes and bobcats around. But alot of times you can't even walk past her without her hissing and trying to scratch you. Everyone says we are crazy for putting up with that but we are both such animal lovers we will always take care of her.

Keep up the good work!

cat smith said:

I’ve been feeding a few feral cats in our yard for the past 4 years. White Kitty (lousy name, I know) came around 3 years ago and she is the friendliest of our ferals. At first she was terrified of me, but through a gradual and very slow process she has warmed up to me. I’ve been petting her over the last 2 years and she absolutely LOVES to be pet. I was thinking of trying to see if she would adjust to being an indoor cat. As part of that, I tried to pick her up just a little bit tonight to see how she would handle it. In the past, she’s let me lift her up slightly and put her right back down. Tonight I got too enthusiastic and picked her up a good foot. She started to meow and I put her right back down. I’m pretty sure she had a seizure because she was meowing, somewhat limp, and out of sorts for a few minutes.

Do you think I should still try to bring her inside or is the fact that this contact gave her a seizure a sign that I shouldn’t try? I had been thinking of trying to take her to the vet next weekend and setting up a safe area for her in a room to try it out for a week.

Thanks for any advice.

Here is a photo of White Kitty:

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cat smith said:

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• cat smith
• Nov 4, 2016

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She is beautiful, how are things going? I hope she is still inside.

Thank you everyone for sharing your stories. Sorry I didn’t reply sooner. For some reason I stopped getting notices and didn’t realize there were new posts until someone PM’ed me.

I’m sorry to report that we had to let White Kitty back outside. She just wouldn’t do anything but hide in the back of the closet and she started showing signs of stress (constantly licking her lips). We discussed it with our vet who thought she would never adjust. We let her out and she disappeared for a few weeks but is now back. She was VERY happy to be back. She brings me mice presents on occasion (which I really wish she wouldn’t do). She hangs out on our porch most of the time (she is there now). Fortunately she stays close. We will keep a close eye on her and take care of her. She just couldn’t adjust to being an inside cat.

We still have a full house -- 3 indoor kitties, 3 outdoor ferals (including White Kitty), and 2 guinea pigs.

You tried your best, perhaps as she gets older she might change her mind.
Thanks for letting us know. How about posting some photos of your extended fur family?

Yes, every time I open the front door, I leave it open for a bit in case she wants to come in. She is welcome anytime she changes her mind.

I'll have to dig up some pictures of my menagerie.

dustydiamond1 said:

She is beautiful, how are things going? I hope she is still inside.

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It doesn't sound like Kitty had a seizure to me; I've had a cat that had seizures and the behavior was totally different, very obvious. I would definitely bring Kitty inside but take her immediately for a full veterinary checkup, vaccinations, etc.

cat smith said:

Yes, every time I open the front door, I leave it open for a bit in case she wants to come in. She is welcome anytime she changes her mind.

I'll have to dig up some pictures of my menagerie.

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If you have a garage, try letter her stay in the garage with a litter box of course. She can get used to that and will begin to trust you. Maybe even feed her in the garage or porch. I would also recommend getting some type of feather toy. Basically a stick with a string and a feather on the end. Play with her outside. She a hunter so she would probably warm up to you more if you're not already doing this.

Don't be discouraged by her not showing the affection you might be used to with house cats. Our first rescue kitten is 7 years old and still keeps his distance from us. I can pet him if he's sleeping on the bed, but he will not come to us unless it's treat time and even then he stays 3' away from us. He doesn't get to the vet much because he's a bugger to put in a carrier. His last visit required sedation for the exam. I think the reason is that I trapped him at 10 weeks and it was violent. He did not like the trap setting off. When we first brought him in he would hiss and carry on when we picked him up. I setup a camera with him and his sister so I could see what they were doing when I shut the door. To my surprise, they would immediately start playing like you would expect kittens to play. It was like they were messing with me. The sister we have no problems with. Once we let them out of quarantine and have the run of the house he hid under the bed. We knew he was eating and using the litter box so we didn't force it. He eventually started coming in the same room as us, sitting on the floor while we watch TV. He's just a typical scaredy cat.