Does an adult relocated feral need a friend?

[sceptr]

Hi all, my partner and I offered a (backyard) home to a feral cat who was trapped by a rescuer. They had him neutered and vetted but didn’t feel his situation was safe for him to be returned to. He is acclimating with us now. (We have both had pet cats before but have never cared for ferals.)

He is approximately 2-3 years old and came from a situation with one other adult (a female who has managed to avoid being trapped) and kittens (young enough to be socialized).

He was understandably terrified and highly stressed at first, but now he seems much calmer, will stay in the outer part of his enclosure when I’m around rather than hiding (though not without some hissing when he thinks I’m too close for his comfort), will eat in my presence, etc. Early on he did a fair amount of yowling at night; lately he meows a small amount at night but to my ears it doesn’t sound as plaintive.

My question: His rescuer thinks he would be happier if we also took in another (unrelated) adult feral male. Do you have thoughts/advice either way on this?

I know that ferals are commonly found in colonies, and that many “barn cat” programs require adoption of two or more cats. But we’re also concerned about adding in an unknown variable — this would be a “stranger” cat, arriving at the point where the first cat is nearly fully acclimated. And we’ve also read that males may be somewhat less inclined than females to be closely bonded with others in a colony (true?).

I know the situation could play out several ways (he might bond and love a new cat, they could tolerate each other, hate each other, one might run the other off or take off himself in search of new territory). But does anyone have a sense at what might be most likely, or what you would recommend based on your experience?

I’d hate for this guy to be lonely, or to take off in search of friends once he’s released, if we don’t add another cat. But I’d also hate for him to feel threatened by a new cat in a space that he is otherwise starting to feel comfortable in, and take off in search of his own space. Is one option a safer bet?

Apologies for the ramble and thanks so much for any advice you can offer!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! In thinking about this, the two possibilities I can come up with are to leave things as they are now and have him as an only, or bring in the other kitty on a sort of "foster" basis where if things truly don't work, that the second cat will still have a chance elsewhere. (However, I'm thinking that the rescuer is actually having a hidden agenda of sorts of finding the second kitty a forever home with you, --not that I really blame him/her for working on behalf of the second cat).

Do you have cat music for your boy? There's Spotify, youtube, RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats that can be surprisingly helpful.

Calming products can be helpful when transitioning cats together, and this article can be useful;
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi sceptr and welcome to the forum !

Yours is a multi-dimensional circumstance, and really requires some thoughtful....but, experientially-informed input.....and, of course, you asked for replies "based on your experience". We have a number of such members here - folks like moxiewild and shadowsrescue come to mind. Perhaps they could assist.

Meantime, could you elaborate a little about this "rescuer"? Is this a recognized organization or someone working on their own? Is your setting urban/rural? Are you prepared for years of feral cat management? What kind of 'setup' do you have? You mentioned "enclosure" - perhaps you have pictures?

Just a few thoughts in the meantime.

And, of course, we never refuse any number of.......pictures !
.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Hello and welcome to TCS! Your situation is unique since he was brought to your area. I would love to have some more information. Do you plan on letting him out of the enclosure or will he remain in a confined space? Bringing in a new unknown cat could cause all kind of problems in an uncontrolled environment. Often when you are taking care of feral cats outside, you will often attract them naturally. Other cats will smell a food source on the cat and follow the cat to find out where he is eating. This natural process allows the cats to choose who they will or won't accept.

I have cared for many feral cats over the years. At times it was just a solo boy and then I once had up to 5. That was much much more difficult. Some got along and some did not. Most cats will work it out as long as they each have food and shelter.

I'd love to see his enclosure as well. Thanks so much for caring for this sweet one.

 

[35 year catdad]

Having a single indoor cat in the eighties (my first cat) I did'nt realize how well cats do with a buddy and being gone a lot was
not in her best interests. I think a female buddy for a male is best, and females have less health issues when they get old.
heres some proof of a super bonded male/female pair for life. Which one is ying and which one yang? She lost her first boyfriend at age 6 to saddle clot and accepted Martin right away! He looks identical to the one we lost which maybe helped?

 

[sceptr]

Hi! In thinking about this, the two possibilities I can come up with are to leave things as they are now and have him as an only, or bring in the other kitty on a sort of "foster" basis where if things truly don't work, that the second cat will still have a chance elsewhere. (However, I'm thinking that the rescuer is actually having a hidden agenda of sorts of finding the second kitty a forever home with you, --not that I really blame him/her for working on behalf of the second cat).

Do you have cat music for your boy? There's Spotify, youtube, RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats that can be surprisingly helpful.

Calming products can be helpful when transitioning cats together, and this article can be useful;
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

Thank you so much! I so appreciate your help. We haven’t tried playing cat music for him but that’s a great idea! I’ll make sure to read the article you suggest. As for calming products, we have Feliway spray and Rescue Remedy (drops in food/water); if there’s anything you’d recommend in addition to or instead of those, I’d definitely love to hear about it.

If we did potentially offer the second cat a “foster-to-maybe-adopt” situation, do you have a sense of how stressful it would be on the second cat if it didn’t work out and then he had to do an additional acclimation period someplace else?

 

[sceptr]

.
Hi sceptr and welcome to the forum !

Yours is a multi-dimensional circumstance, and really requires some thoughtful....but, experientially-informed input.....and, of course, you asked for replies "based on your experience". We have a number of such members here - folks like moxiewild and shadowsrescue come to mind. Perhaps they could assist.

Meantime, could you elaborate a little about this "rescuer"? Is this a recognized organization or someone working on their own? Is your setting urban/rural? Are you prepared for years of feral cat management? What kind of 'setup' do you have? You mentioned "enclosure" - perhaps you have pictures?

Just a few thoughts in the meantime.

And, of course, we never refuse any number of.......pictures !
.

Hi there, thank you so much for your reply! To your questions, the rescuer seems to be well established, seems to mostly work on her own with some fosters. Her focus is mostly on TNR and socializing/adopting out kittens of feral moms — I haven’t gotten the sense that the need to relocate a feral comes up very often but I know this isn’t the first time. I’m inclined to trust her opinion as an expert who seems to have good advice, but I’m just worried because this situation seems a bit atypical (by which I mean, one solo cat mostly acclimated before potentially adding a second, rather than having two kitties who are already bonded from a previous situation, or arriving at the same time with the full acclimation period to get used to each other). Our setting is suburban (we have a fenced backyard and garden area that we hope he will make his home base and is where he is acclimating now). I guess I meant the word “enclosure” to distinguish from the crate setup I see sometimes used for acclimation purposes, but I realize now that the word might sound grander than it is — it’s a rabbit hutch. So he has an enclosed outdoor part, and a sort of “inner sanctum.” (I’ll have to take a picture to share.) He initially only left the inside part at night, but lately has been hanging out in the outdoor part and will stay there when we approach, etc.

 

[sceptr]

Hello and welcome to TCS! Your situation is unique since he was brought to your area. I would love to have some more information. Do you plan on letting him out of the enclosure or will he remain in a confined space? Bringing in a new unknown cat could cause all kind of problems in an uncontrolled environment. Often when you are taking care of feral cats outside, you will often attract them naturally. Other cats will smell a food source on the cat and follow the cat to find out where he is eating. This natural process allows the cats to choose who they will or won't accept.

I have cared for many feral cats over the years. At times it was just a solo boy and then I once had up to 5. That was much much more difficult. Some got along and some did not. Most cats will work it out as long as they each have food and shelter.

I'd love to see his enclosure as well. Thanks so much for caring for this sweet one.

Thank you so much — this makes a great deal of sense and I so appreciate your expertise! To your question, we do plan on releasing him (though of course I’m nervous about it!). So it would indeed be an uncontrolled environment (at least, once both were acclimated and released). It sounds like that is less than ideal in your experience!

His acclimation spot is a rabbit hutch in the quietest area of our yard (I meant “enclosure” to distinguish from a crate setup, but it’s nothing elaborate— I’ll try to get a picture). The rescuer suggested that he should have an extra-long acclimation period for his unique circumstance, so he has been there now for coming up on two months and will need to be released soon.

We initially just meant to take in the one cat, but later learned that there might be a possibility to also take in the other adult from the place where he was trapped. We offered to take her in to reunite them, but my understanding is that she has evaded trapping attempts and hasn’t been letting herself be seen since the others (the cat we have, and kittens) were trapped. So we felt badly about not being able to reunite them (we still would but it doesn’t sound likely at this point). So the rescuer thought it would help him to have a different cat to bond with. He did seem distressed when he first arrived (spent a night yowling and trying to find a way to escape), but lately he seems more relaxed. He meows a little at night sometimes but it doesn’t sound desperate like it did. He was also recently neutered at the time he arrived which may account for a lot. (I was surprised to hear him meow at all since I thought ferals didn’t typically?)

Your point about other cats naturally following him, giving him the chance to choose whether to accept them or not, makes a lot of sense.

When you were feeding multiple ferals outside, did you have a lot of fights? Do you think two neutered males are more likely not to get along with each other than to bond (or tolerate each other)? When you just had the solo feral, did he/she seem content? (I know most cat species are solitary, but just don’t have a strong understanding of how strong the lure of the colony is for ferals.)

I so appreciate your help!

 

[sceptr]

Having a single indoor cat in the eighties (my first cat) I did'nt realize how well cats do with a buddy and being gone a lot was
not in her best interests. I think a female buddy for a male is best, and females have less health issues when they get old.
heres some proof of a super bonded male/female pair for life. Which one is ying and which one yang? She lost her first boyfriend at age 6 to saddle clot and accepted Martin right away! He looks identical to the one we lost which maybe helped?View attachment 347573View attachment 347575

Oh my goodness, your kitties are the cutest. I know I’ve heard that it’s best to adopt kittens in pairs — but didn’t know as much about introducing adults. It’s good to see that your adult cat accepted the new friend so readily. (So sorry to hear about her first friend!)

 

[shadowsrescue]

When you were feeding multiple ferals outside, did you have a lot of fights? Do you think two neutered males are more likely not to get along with each other than to bond (or tolerate each other)? When you just had the solo feral, did he/she seem content?

I did not have any major fights only some spats. All of my feral cats have been males and all neutered so that really reduced their urge to fight.

Since all of my cats have been males, I will answer to my experience with males. Some are life long bff's. They snuggle, cuddle and groom each other. Some of the others are more stand offish, but they all were able to get along. I live in Ohio so we get cold winters. I had a large tent like structure on my deck with shelters that were heated during the winter months. All of the cats would group together to stay warm.

My very first feral came alone. He was alone for about 9 months. He did just fine. Then another male showed up. They became buddies. The second cat, left after a few months and my feral boy seemed lonely. Yet after a few months alone, cats kept coming so he was never alone again. I think cats learn to adjust. Some love being the only cat while others crave companionship.

 

[sceptr]

I did not have any major fights only some spats. All of my feral cats have been males and all neutered so that really reduced their urge to fight.

Since all of my cats have been males, I will answer to my experience with males. Some are life long bff's. They snuggle, cuddle and groom each other. Some of the others are more stand offish, but they all were able to get along. I live in Ohio so we get cold winters. I had a large tent like structure on my deck with shelters that were heated during the winter months. All of the cats would group together to stay warm.

My very first feral came alone. He was alone for about 9 months. He did just fine. Then another male showed up. They became buddies. The second cat, left after a few months and my feral boy seemed lonely. Yet after a few months alone, cats kept coming so he was never alone again. I think cats learn to adjust. Some love being the only cat while others crave companionship.

That’s helpful; thanks so much. Did you have any sense of whether the presence of other cats had any effect, one way or another, on their inclination to roam? (i.e., did you get any sense that they were more inclined to stay close because of the friend group? Or do you think they would have stuck around in any case as long as the food and warm shelter were available?)

 

[shadowsrescue]

That’s helpful; thanks so much. Did you have any sense of whether the presence of other cats had any effect, one way or another, on their inclination to roam? (i.e., did you get any sense that they were more inclined to stay close because of the friend group? Or do you think they would have stuck around in any case as long as the food and warm shelter were available?)

I think food and shelter are the biggest motivators. As long as he stakes out his territory in your yard, it's up to him who comes into the territory. My boys had tight bonds, but I think cats can still decide to leave if they feel threatened. Companionship is nice, but being safe and having a food source most likely would win out over companionship.

I would just be inclined to let nature take its course. If the female does get trapped, she too will need to be held for a number of weeks. If you find you can keep her, then give it a shot. But if not, allow him to find a friend. Just be sure, if/when he does find a friend that the friend is spayed or neutered and you are willing to provide for it as well.

 

[Furballsmom]

So to clarify for me, you're providing just a temporary space and then he'll be on his own. You aren't intending to bring this current guy indoors, you're a feeding station and possibly a health manager.

Since you're leaving these cats outside, everything to them is more tenuous and fluid than for indoor-only housecats. If the two male cats don't get along, there's every possibility that one will leave.

My original thought was that you'd be socializing and then bringing them inside which was the basis of why I mentioned fostering. However, reality is that the time involved to socialize these two cats could be longer than it will take to find out if they will get along. So to somewhat answer your question regarding fostering, whether a feral being trapped and relocated vs a stray or an indoor kitty being moved to a new household if the current one doesn't work out is more or less stressful, I don't have a firm opinion. Both situations can be challenging for the cat involved.

Would you consider building a catio? To provide a bit of insight into the pros and cons of cats and their roaming, this thread covers both sides of a debate about an indoor/outdoor house cat and also includes links with information about cat fences and catios;
How do we stop our cat returning to our old house?

Should You Try And Tame A Feral Cat? – TheCatSite Articles

If your two males do get along, they'll consider your yard home-base if the food, water and shelter is consistent and viable, and providing an intact, mature alpha male doesn't come along and stake a claim on your backyard.