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With swatting, I changed my tone but not volume. With treats, I’d at least give a treat after petting or contact but for awhile you may need to do both. The goal is for the cat to associate you with good things.

At times, I let Binx come to me when he was ready but I had to initiate contact quite a bit. One thing that also helped was that I used a baby monitor with a camera to watch him at night. I wanted to see where his boundaries were. When he started exploring the house and sitting near my bedroom...

I did. I was sitting on the floor with a closed hand, back of my hand toward him, not making eye contact and speaking very softly. He got to smell my first two fingers and then I used them, still with a closed hand, to rub the side of his face, more along the jaw where he could put his scent on...

With ferals it just takes time and patience. When mine was doing the hissing and swatting, the hissing seemed to be a stress release, like letting steam out of a valve. I just gave him space. I remained calm saying things like, “It’s ok, kitty. I’ll give you some space,” in a calm voice and then...

I agree with those who say to just trap the ones you can and go from there. Canned oysters always worked on my most resistant and smart cats. Good luck! It’s hard to be patient when we want to help.

I actually scratched on my cat’s post to show him how to use it. I must have looked like a crazy person but it worked.

For the scratching, I read somewhere that first you need to look at whether your cat is a vertical or a horizontal scratcher. Then, look at texture — sisal, carpet, wood...? My feral always wanted to scratch on the carpeted steps but then when I showed him the cat tree with sisal rope, that...

It can be hard to know because cats seem to be such complex (but amazing) creatures. I did a lot of reading in these forums and watched many episodes of "Psycho Kitty" and "My Cat From Hell" to try to understand behaviors and what to do about them. Each cat is different and has its own...

The cat needs to know that the bite is too hard. Instinctively, I say, “Ow!” in a louder volume than I typically speak. I then immediately withdraw my attention. The length of time depends on the situation. I give myself at least a minute to think over what his trigger was — Is he just learning...

I'm so happy for your success, and those cats are adorable! It was just one year ago that I took in my first ferals -- a litter of kittens born of our resident feral cat, Bella. She had been "brought" to our farm by another feral who frequently visited us and then one day just suddenly died. I...

I think you have great advice! Yes, you have to be pretty aggressive in initiating those interactions with kittens, and food is irresistible when used correctly. I didn’t have other socialized cats or kittens, but I had a Yorkie and would show my ferals that I was “nice” to him and that he...

If there’s food to be eaten, they’ll be back.

Yes, the ones people eat. They’re nice and cheap, too. And when cats **** their head when you talk, they may be just listening to the different sounds, especially if you’re in a small room or stairwell. They seem to be more sensitive to bouncing sound waves than we are.

Cats definitely take note of how you interact with other cats but that’s just one piece of it for ferals. He’ll come out of the cave when he’s ready, and I’ll bet he comes out plenty when the human isn’t around. I have a wireless camera and mine would come out as soon as he was sure I was tucked...

I read in a forum once to try canned oysters to lure the more resistant or trap-shy cats. It works. My own cats even went right into the trap a few times to get some, and they knew what would happen if they went in!

Cats are quite stealthy. Just like another responder said, the cat could be near you but is choosing not to be seen. Even though you think there’s good reason to believe she is spayed, cats tend to go wherever the best “gig” is at the time. Yes, there are lots of terrible things that can happen...

Personally, I think a good part of the solution to keeping him indoors is to catify your home. Make sure your cat has plenty of things to play with, on, and inside. It doesn't need to cost a lot of money: just think like a cat. Mine love to bat around a piece of paper that I've crumpled up and...

You are doing just fine! I found that my feral cat was very much afraid of the human voices on the radio so I switched it to classical music instead. He loved it! There are also YouTube channels with relaxing music, sounds, and images for cats -- if you have a TV or computer that can stream for...

Thanks to the support and encouragement of people in this forum, I stayed the course. Our feral now has exploring rights to most of the house, begs to be petted and grabs at my hand when I take it away, loves to play wrestle, and insists on laying outside my bedroom door at night during his...

Update: Binx now has free roam of most of the house. My bedroom, bathroom, and closet are usually off-limits to cats who like to play at night. While he used to be strictly nocturnal with a consistent schedule, Binx has adapted because he seems to want to be wherever we are. The only noise he...