Can An Indoor-only Cat Go Feral?

[Norg]

Monkey is the one on the right..

Petey is the one on the left.

They have been indoor-only cats with me and my girlfriend for several years. Petey came from the alley originally but Monkey was born an indoor cat.

Monkey didn’t like petey from the start, but they got along ok, just as long as petey wasn’t trying to wrestle with monkey, which he often did. She hates him for it to this day, and often scratches him for getting too close.

Then petey got very sick and was away for nearly a week. Well Monkey just loved it. She would nuzzle and sleep on my or my girlfriend’s face and was obviously pleased with the new dynamic, but when Petey came home, still lethargic and exhausted from his ordeal, monkey spotted him, hissed and ran off to hide. She stayed hidden in the rafters in the basement for 2 days. We coaxed Monkey out of her shell, and within a week, she was back to being a little more social. However, as Petey slowly began to get his energy back, Monkey slowly began to run off to hide. She was angry that we brought Petey back and if we smelled like him, she wouldn’t let us pet her. We had to wash our hands before she would warm up to us and she was still edgy. Then we left the house for 24 hours which is very rare. Upon returning, monkey was nowhere to be found. This time we couldn’t find her for 3 days. As it turns out she has been deep in the rafters in the basement this whole time. I brought food and water to the opening to the rafters. As far as we can tell, she hasn’t come down to eat or drink otherwise. I am afraid she is sick, as this is beyond any antisocial behavior I’ve seen from her before, but I’m also wondering, can Monkey turn feral? She was born in a home and I don’t think she has ever been outside. Yet as of late she has had less and less interaction with me and my girlfriend, and of course Petey. It’s come to the point that if I want to access her, I will have to tear the ceiling apart from the basement, which I am about to do because she may be very sick. All I can do for now is leave food and water but I’m not sure what else to do. Just a week ago, she was snuggled up, asleep on my face. Now she’s behaving like a feral cat. I just want her to come back to us and hopefully make up with Petey too.

 

[taiairam]

I wish I had advice. What a terrible situation. I think the most important thing to do is isolate Petey for now so that you can get Monkey out of the rafters. Make sure she is not sick from not drinking or eating.

After that, I'd keep them separate and start from scratch. I've seen Jackson Galaxy do some amazing things in order to help cats get along. But you may need to be willing to add vertical space to your home and all of the other things he suggests.

Tough situation.

 

[rubysmama]

Norg welcome to TCS. So sorry it's kitty behaviour troubles that brought you here. How are things now?

 

[smosmosmo]

It sounds more like Monkey could be sick? The aggression and hiding behavior could be because she's in pain. Would it be possible to lure her into a trap so you can get her to the vet?

Speaking from personal experience - my kitty was in a terrible situation where she lived fully outdoors for nearly 2 months, after being an indoor/outdoor cat (she used to belong to my landlord, who isn't known for making good decisions). She was roughed up constantly by other cats and left to fend for herself, but she didn't turn feral. She is wilder and more aggressive than she used to be, but that's to be expected as she was traumatized. I saw her a couple times before I went to trap her, and while she was more bitey and wary she was still the same cat at heart. I've had her home for a week now and while her behavior is a little off, she is acting more like the housecat she was every day.

I think with an indoor cat like yours, going feral is even less likely to happen, even if she was lost outdoors for some time. She may be trying to tell you she's sick, and this may have coincided with you bringing Petey home. Maybe try renting a humane trap and withholding food for a day to see if you can get her in it?

 

[jen]

This sounds very much like Monkey may be ill. I really don't have a lot to say but you may need to set a humane trap and get Monkey off to the vet. I would DEFINITELY do bloodwork and urine check to start. She is showing behavior of not feeling well and when they are showing their discomfort it could be worse than we think.

 

[Tomkatz]

This sounds very much like Monkey may be ill. I really don't have a lot to say but you may need to set a humane trap and get Monkey off to the vet. I would DEFINITELY do bloodwork and urine check to start. She is showing behavior of not feeling well and when they are showing their discomfort it could be worse than we think.

I really, truly doubt it is illness and it is definitely not a cat turning feral. No, this sounds like a classic two-cat household bullying situation, quite common, where the less aggressive cat tends to hide all of the time, known as a "hider cat". I have had this situation twice, once with two males and once with two females. It is VERY COMMON.

You have to provide a safe space for Monkey within your own area so that she can be with you without fear of being bullied. This is best accomplished by having some vertical relief in your space where the less aggressive cat can be well above the other cat. I see this situation with indoor cats, outdoor cats, ferals, everywhere.

Another helpful thing would be to set up a place she can hide where it will not be such a problem for you. She is likely not mad at you. She is afraid of the other cat. Most likely, when you are not around, the bully attacks.

When I had two male kittens in this situation, I built the less aggressive cat up physically and psychologically. He became much bigger than the aggressive cat and when he finally stood up for himself in battle and won, the bully cat moved away. Of course I was heart broken over that because he was a sweet little fellow to me.

Currently I have two females in this situation. The less aggressive cat--who came here on her own as a feral--stays outside unless I am in there to protect her from the more aggressive cat. This has been an acceptable solution.

I find that it is rather rare for two cats in a house to get along well. One usually ends up being the bully, and the other ends up being the hider. In this situation, you might have to give one of the cats away. The best results obtain when the two cats are siblings. If they are not sinblings, then one can expect problems with them getting along.

In my mancave here I have a 9 year old female and two of her 8 year old daughters. Whenever I leave the house, the two daughters go outside because 'Mom' will pick on them even though she is much smaller than either one. I keep telling her to be nice to her dauighters but she will have none of it.

 

[Norg]

So after several days, hiding deep in the rafters, my girlfriend was able to coax her down. Monkey is more affixed to my girlfriend for safety and she followed us up to the bedroom where her main safe space is. She stayed around despite Petey being present, and neither of them showed any aggression toward each other. After Petey’s battle with sickness, he has ceased bullying and I think Monkey is beginning to realize that. She disappeared again for two more days and last night she suddenly appeared on the bed next to me, meowing and setting in to nap, once again despite Petey’ presence. Today I can not find her again. It’s as though she is hiding without any more bullying. I’ve been home for the last several days and the Petey has just stopped bothering her altogether, so just to be on the safe side, it looks like Monkey has a date with the vet.

I’ve had a lot of bully/hider dynamics with cats throughout my life. This one is pretty typical except for how the bully has stopped bullying while the hider has become more reclusive. Healthy as Monkey seems to be, it still concerns me to see her this way which is what warrants a vat visit. She’s definitely trying to express that something’s amiss.

 

[Norg]

Umm, yea. Vet. Definitely not going to put my kitty in a vat of any kind.

 

[Tomkatz]

Umm, yea. Vet. Definitely not going to put my kitty in a vat of any kind.

"Oh, but you did not pay zee vat tax! Zen zat vould be zee pro-blame!"

I think it is a wise choice on your part to take Monkey to the vet and thereby eliminate the medical possibilities.

As always with mysterious cat behaviour, one can speculate. One could speculate that due to Petey, she has found some good new hidey holes and has been enjoying them while away--or at least using them to avoid Petey. I see that kind of thing happen here as cats and people come and go. My cats change their preferred spots from time to time, and some of that has to do with how aggressive the current tomcat is with them. For example, my female cat Smiley enjoys hanging out at the back of my property, and can easily outrun most of the tomcats around here, but when a young tomcat named Branco lived here, she tended to stay inside much more because he was faster than her and would give her heck of bad time outside.

Then there is all the stuff cats do to each other when humans aren't around that they normally wouldn't do if their owner were present. I catch my cats being mean to each other all the time behind my back, but they rarely do it while I am present because I get on their case about it, stop any fights etc.

In cases like yours I generally try to seek out the new hidey hole(s) little by little so that I know the cat is OK there and that it is not sick--exactly as you have done. Once I know where they are likely to be at, then I tend to let them be so they can work things out for themselves.

Many of my cats have or have had hidey holes specifically designed for me not to be able to find them nor even know where they are in some cases. Branco spent a lot of time elsewhere, but would never let me follow him to wherever it was, even as all of the other tomcats I've known have allowed me to do that. Branco would stall on leaving if I tried to follow him for however long it took for me to give up on it. And most of these cats here now have places in other yards they go to where I cannot enter or see them.

But any time they stay away for much longer than expected, then I really begin to worry, so I can see why you are so concerned if Monkey is staying away for a day or two at a time.