Can a house cat turn feral ? Someone told me I didn't bond enough with spooky and I feel like a bad person
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Can A House Cat Turn Feral?
- Thread starter Spookyandsammy
- Start Date
A house cat can become a stray cat but not a feral. Since feral means unsocialized and there isn't really a way to unlearn socialization. They can get mean and they can become scared of humans; but they would be stray if they were on the street and just a house cat regardless of temperament in a home.
Level of bonding with an indvidual cat doesn't correlate with feral either. Bonding you can improve by sitting nearby during feedings and just acknowledging Spooky when entering a room. I am constantly saying hi to my cats an always nearby when they eat.
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- #3
She meows even If I leave the room until I come back I greet her every time I come in and out of the room she refuses to let me hold her any tricks i am going to get her treats to see if she will sit on my lap maybe that will work
Some cats don't like being held or picked up. Its uncomfortable for them and it can take many years of slow and gentle micro adjustments to get them to the point they are comfortable. Treat rewards might work but you'll end up with a fat cat. My boy tolerates being picked up but I have to follow immediately after with a treat. I do it so he doesn't lash out when we go to the vet and only pick him up maybe once a week. My girl, it's been four years and I can grab her in an emergency now but I can't hold her just for fun. My girl is a lap cat but not a hold cat and my boy is neither.
Meowing when you leave is just being lonely, usually. I tend to talk to my guys when I move around the house and they tend to follow me. If they are asleep and wake up to find me gone they will meow as a "where'd you go?"
Neither item is undersocialized or unbonded. If anything, wanting to know where you went is bonded.
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- #5
I leave for work and she meows like crazy when I leave even to go to the bathroom I just let her meow or sometimes take her to the bathroom if I'm going to take a shower I feel bad
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- #6
I was told I need to bond with her like hold her and she wiggles so I let her go
Bonding doesn't require holding. If she's following you around she is bonding just fine. You can bond more by sitting nearby as she eats or just talking to her.
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- #8
I'm playing with her a lot and I'm always petting her and she comes to me when she wants love so I'm not a fan of the whole holding thing she hates it I'm not forcing her
I don't see any problem with the bonding you've done. Someone who says holding equals bonding doesn't understand cats. Out of my three, only one enjoys being held.
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- #10
I told her she doesn't believe me she said if I don't calm her down I have to get rid of her I refuse to get rid of her it would break my heart
Who is saying that she isn't bonded? What does your cat do that isn't "calm"?
Is Sammy aloud to run around the house or staying in your room? She's young, will be a ball of energy until she's over a year old, and probably will only want to cuddle when she's sleep until then.
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- #13
The person I live with shes saying shes wild and if I don't tame her I have to give her away I'm devastated shes saying I need to hold her and stuff but she wiggles out of my arms
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- #14
She is allowed to run around
Sammy is allowed to run free spooky might be like 6 months old I got her in January I think she cuddles when she feels like it she is in my room for the day and when I get home I let her run free so sammy and spooky can play I hold her until she wiggles out of my arms I'm trying so hard
Spooky is old enough to run around the house when you're out. Having to stay in one room for so many hours is adding to her high energy when your home. She's locked behind a door and knows her friend is on the other side. When you open the door she is very excited to run around and play with her friend. If she could spend all day with Sammy it could help with her high energy. Sammy would help teach Spooky to behave and run around with her a few times during the day.
There is also the chance that if Spooky is playing during the day you will have a sleepy cat part of the time your home.
At 6mt she is full on teen cat. Lots of energy, the ability to do what ever an adult can with very little fear. Teens also aren't big on cuddling with Mamma.
Ask your roommate to give you until January. Ask them to look over your posts here so they know you are learning how to raise Spooky to be a well mannered adult.
There is also the chance that if Spooky is playing during the day you will have a sleepy cat part of the time your home.
At 6mt she is full on teen cat. Lots of energy, the ability to do what ever an adult can with very little fear. Teens also aren't big on cuddling with Mamma.
Ask your roommate to give you until January. Ask them to look over your posts here so they know you are learning how to raise Spooky to be a well mannered adult.
She doesn't sound wild; she sounds like a kitten. Forcing Sammy to be held when she doesn't want to will lead to resentment and fear not calmness. Playing with Sammy when's she energetic and getting that energy out will help. But time will help most of all, most cats mellow a little as they get older and that is nothing but time.
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- #17
Its spooky and sammy is like a baby shes the cuddle bug
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- #18
But spooky gets into everything and shes too wild to be let out during the day she is gone for the day and she gets into stuff so yeah
The problem is that you have a kitten. Most kittens are crazy and bouncy and get into everything. There is no amount of holding or petting that will make Spooky not be a kitten. You didn't do anything wrong with bonding or socializing. My boy was a kitten who was into everything as well. You can't stop them or force them to be anything other then what they are. I understand you have someone at your home who doesn't understand this, but holding a hyper kitten doesn't stop them from being hyper.
When my boy was little, I would play with him for an hour before work and another hour after work. Dedicated play time where it was just me, him and a basket of toys. Outside of the dedicated play time, anytime he even started to get rowdy my family would tell me that my boy needed me and I would drop everything to go play with him until he got the energy out. It took time and I wasn't able to do much else for the year until he started to calm down and mellow. But there was no way to force him to calm down earlier to prevent kitten energy. A schedule helps because he learned when play time was, when sleep time was and when food time was. Structuring his day made him anticipate and his energy eventually became predictable. Now at five years old he is very much a schedule cat and I will get yelled at if I dare stay up past what he considers bed time. But the trade off is that once it is bed time he settles down and sleeps through the night.
Again, I know you have someone else telling you that you've failed and you don't know how to raise Spooky. That isn't the problem. You have a high energy needy kitten who needs attention, interaction and time. You've said Spooky follows you around and meows if you leave; that is normal. There are cats who are quiet and calm, then there are cats who aren't. It doesn't mean your cat is undersocialized, untamed or untrained it just means she is a cat.
When my boy was little, I would play with him for an hour before work and another hour after work. Dedicated play time where it was just me, him and a basket of toys. Outside of the dedicated play time, anytime he even started to get rowdy my family would tell me that my boy needed me and I would drop everything to go play with him until he got the energy out. It took time and I wasn't able to do much else for the year until he started to calm down and mellow. But there was no way to force him to calm down earlier to prevent kitten energy. A schedule helps because he learned when play time was, when sleep time was and when food time was. Structuring his day made him anticipate and his energy eventually became predictable. Now at five years old he is very much a schedule cat and I will get yelled at if I dare stay up past what he considers bed time. But the trade off is that once it is bed time he settles down and sleeps through the night.
Again, I know you have someone else telling you that you've failed and you don't know how to raise Spooky. That isn't the problem. You have a high energy needy kitten who needs attention, interaction and time. You've said Spooky follows you around and meows if you leave; that is normal. There are cats who are quiet and calm, then there are cats who aren't. It doesn't mean your cat is undersocialized, untamed or untrained it just means she is a cat.
I don't put much stock into what your housemate is saying. Yes it's possible for a housecat to revert to a semi-feral state if they find themselves fending for themselves outside and away from people for a period of time. This is not at all what you have though.
You just have housemate that doesn't understand cats and has some sort of preconceived idea of how they should be. Your cat is young and has a short attention span. Yes, you can work on getting the cat used to being held and it's got some utility; however, plenty of friendly cats go their whole life not wanting to be held. The important thing is to have the ability to put them into a carrier in case of emergency or to go to the vet. Anything else imo is icing on the cake.
Your cat is way too young to pigeon-hole or give up on or write off as being feral or semi-feral or reverted feral. A lot of perfectly happy and well adjusted cats don't opt to be held- and no cat wants to be held against it's will. So just give it some time.
You just have housemate that doesn't understand cats and has some sort of preconceived idea of how they should be. Your cat is young and has a short attention span. Yes, you can work on getting the cat used to being held and it's got some utility; however, plenty of friendly cats go their whole life not wanting to be held. The important thing is to have the ability to put them into a carrier in case of emergency or to go to the vet. Anything else imo is icing on the cake.
Your cat is way too young to pigeon-hole or give up on or write off as being feral or semi-feral or reverted feral. A lot of perfectly happy and well adjusted cats don't opt to be held- and no cat wants to be held against it's will. So just give it some time.
