Batted My Hand With Paw Today

[reba]

Hi. I have been feeding/housing a stray for four months straight. I can sit several feet away while he eats twice a day and we have daily conversations, but that’s about it as far as getting close to him. I have been sticking my hand out the door with it mostly closed while he is eating. He usually runs a few feet away, but today he came back and batted it once or twice with his paw with the claws out (not hard though). Does this mean I’m making progress? Also I have no idea what sex the cat is. I can’t see any equipment back there, but today I opened the door and smelled cat pee. I take it that females don’t mark their territory.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. What s/he is doing could be progress or increased aggravation with you and your closed hand. However, I would tend to consider it progress. It would seem s/he is less afraid of you if s/he is willing to touch you - even if it is likely him/her telling you to 'back off'. The retracting his/her claws may not be a familiar concept either, or one lost with time.

I think females can mark territory too, so not sure that helps you any with the gender. Since you think s/he is stray, rather than feral, it is possible they are neutered/spayed and then somehow were abandoned or escaped their home at some point.

Hope others who deal with strays much more than I have will come along soon and offer their input.

 

[CodyMolly]

Totally making progress! So happy you’re feeding the stray! It’s funny when cats our outside they have the whole world to run. But when you bring them in it’s a different story. What I mean is I was feeding a stray outside my house his name is Sonny and he would do the exact same thing! Mark my house too and literally would sit in front of my window peering in but when I fed him he always would stay feet away. I caught him in a havahart trap and then once I had him in my home he was the friendliest guy ever! Who would have known..!!! So you definitely are making progress!!! Great job!

 

[reba]

S/he’s a beautiful cat. I first noticed it during the summer and it looked 6-7 months old. Now it looks like a grown up cat. I thought it might be a girl because I can’t see any equipment and it is less friendly. If it was someone’s cat that was making the rounds I don’t think I would have this much difficulty making friends. Cat hasn’t missed a meal in 2 months now. I got home late the other night and it was 5 hours after normal dinnertime and I called and s/he showed up within a minute (but wasn’t waiting in the cat house.). Then again it wasn’t that cold out so maybe s/he was out patrolling.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Is there a chance you could trap this cat and check to see if it has been spayed or neutered? Kitten season will upon us soon. If it's a male he will wander far and wide in search of a mate and fight other males for territory. If it's a female its sure to get pregnant.

It is wonderful you are taking such good care of this sweet one and making good progress with some socialization. Yet when you feed stray/feral cats you are making them strong and healthy so they can reproduce. There is a saying " if you feed them, they will breed". There are often low cost spay/neuter clinics that offer discount rates for stray/feral cats. Vet services are often limited to spay/neuter and vaccines. You would be offering him/her a much better quality of life if you make certain he/she is spayed/neutered.

 

[poolcat]

Not running away sounds like progress to me... good work! You could try putting one of those wand toys out the door and see if s/he wants to play, then open the door a tiny bit more each day. Btw, I had a spayed female once who used to spray the side of a neighbor's house once in a while.

 

[CodyMolly]

Awwww the kitty loves you staying in the area and being called and came to you! The cat has marked your house as it’s home! My patches did that she would wait in the woods and when I called her she came now she’s in my home being a fat cat literally! Maybe you can trap the cat and adopt it! Seriously I believe your kitty did mark your house as home maybe you can set the cat up in a separate bedroom with lots of cat stuff I am sure you and the cat would be very happy! Easier then worrying about it being outside.that’s why I end up adopting all my strays.

 

[reba]

Progress! Today cat came and stayed in kitchen for awhile. I have a french door going into the kitchen and one of my other cats sat there and watched. Stray cat finished eating and came to say hello to my other cat. They pretty much just stared at one another no hissing or flat ears the first two or three times. The third time my cat hissed a few times, but nothing major. Also so my other cat through the window and no drama. I let s/he hang out in the kitchen for awhile and then tried to go in there with a toy, but s/he left immediately.

At any rate, more optimistic that I can get this cat inside before it warms up.

 

[reba]

Question. Today the cat rubbed up against the windows (in the french door) when one of my other cats walked up to look at it. Do you think this means it’s a girl or that it just likes other cats? This cat is a neutered male.

 

[shadowsrescue]

She/He is marking her territory with her cheeks. The only way to know for certain is to get a good look to see if the cat has balls. In mature tom cats they are easily seen when the tail is in the air. If this cat is a un spayed female she will soon be pregnant. Is there a chance you could see about getting this cat spayed/neutered?

 

[reba]

I would say that it was marking, but it was trying to rub against my other cat through the windows on the french door. I will get the cat in the house within the next few weeks, but I’ll have to trap it. I was hoping to get to the point where I could pet it so it’ll be easier to get it to the vet. It’s still pretty cold here. I don’t see any equipment on the rear end.

The last stray I took in they told me they couldn’t tell if female cats were spayed and I just had to wait and see if it came into heat. Is this true? If so, how do rescues tell for sure. I get that the TNR’s mark the ears, but certainly sometimes other strays join a colonie.

 

[poolcat]

Did these two cats know each other outside? It might be a friendly thing if indoor kitty recognizes outdoor kitty. Cats tend to rub up against other cats when they're part of a colony or group.... blending their scents. Even just a pair who know and like each other will do that.

 

[reba]

Nope they’ve never seen each other before - that i can say 4 sure.

 

[reba]

Update: Today we heard a purr for the first time when I set its food down. Will smell my hand, but petting is not allowed.

We've been playing by sticking a toy under the door all week. Will try and trap beginning Wed. H/she is very smart. Wish me luck!

 

[neely]

Will try and trap beginning Wed. H/she is very smart. Wish me luck!

Fingers and paws crossed that you are able to trap her sooner rather than later. I feel strays are smart because of a survival instinct. Wishing you all the best of luck, please keep us updated.

 

[reba]

I'm going to put the trap in the garage, because I'm afraid if I put it in the kitchen it'll stop coming in there if it somehow foils the trap (the stray comes in the kitchen and eats now).

If trap doesn't work we can go to plan B which involves some combination of closing doors with fishing line once the cat wanders inside kitchen LOL.

I have one of those traps from Amazon which worked great last time, but I think this cat is a wee bit smarter than the last stray.

tru catch trap

 

[reba]

Day 1: Total fail. Wouldn’t go in the trap. Also tried rigging something so I could close the door behind the cat after it came in the kitchen. Was too fast and got out before I was able to close it. Should have been more patient before I tried to close the door.

Good news is s/he stuck around close enough to come in the garage for dinner - I just left the food out there and called it a day.

Any trapping tips would be much appreciated.