Earning Feral Cats' Trust

[Ram Keswani]

I want to have a feral cat as a pet. The most important thing I want to know is what to feed it. I do not have cat food and meat. Please help. Feral cats just run away seeing humans. I see grown ferals but I dont see feral kittens. What should I do?

 

[shadowsrescue]

Feral cats are often not good choices to have as pets. Either they were born in the wild without any human interactions or they were abandoned by humans and have since taken on feral characteristics. A stray cat turned feral can be easier to socialize, but a true feral cat can take months to years.

The first step is always being sure that this cat is spayed/neutered. You do not want kittens or a male cat who fights and sprays all due to hormones.

It sounds like your area has lots of feral cats. Be warned that you cannot feed just one. If you are going to feed them and then provide shelter, you must all get them all trapped and spayed/neutered. This is called TNR (Trap Neuter Return). You humanely trap the cats, take them to a clinic to be spayed/neutered, hold them in the trap over night and then release to their same area the next day. Once you start feeding the cat, many may show up. You must be prepared for this. So please consider if this is the best option for you. Calling cat rescue groups in your area might be an option to see if they can assist you.

When feeding feral cats, wet food is best, but dry cat food is fine as well. It all depends on what you can afford. Also if you cannot afford to feed the cats, please do not start and then stop. The cats will learn to depend on you and it will be hard on them if you stop.

 

[Ram Keswani]

Feral cats are often not good choices to have as pets. Either they were born in the wild without any human interactions or they were abandoned by humans and have since taken on feral characteristics. A stray cat turned feral can be easier to socialize, but a true feral cat can take months to years.

The first step is always being sure that this cat is spayed/neutered. You do not want kittens or a male cat who fights and sprays all due to hormones.

It sounds like your area has lots of feral cats. Be warned that you cannot feed just one. If you are going to feed them and then provide shelter, you must all get them all trapped and spayed/neutered. This is called TNR (Trap Neuter Return). You humanely trap the cats, take them to a clinic to be spayed/neutered, hold them in the trap over night and then release to their same area the next day. Once you start feeding the cat, many may show up. You must be prepared for this. So please consider if this is the best option for you. Calling cat rescue groups in your area might be an option to see if they can assist you.

When feeding feral cats, wet food is best, but dry cat food is fine as well. It all depends on what you can afford. Also if you cannot afford to feed the cats, please do not start and then stop. The cats will learn to depend on you and it will be hard on them if you stop.

I think I can tame feral kittens. Once a feral kitten was meowing for help and let me hold it.

 

[Kieka]

Feral, or stray, kittens can be tamed. They do require a lot of work and time to make them comfortable around humans. The older they are the harder it is to work with them and the longer it will take. Other than background and demeanor toward humans, which requires patience to work with, they need the same things as a pet cat will. Feral and pet cats only real difference is behavioral due to exposure to humans at a young age.

Appropriate food, a safe place to live, vet care and spaying/neutering are ideal. Once you start feeding feral cats it is important to continue feeding them because they do come to rely on the humans for their food. If you are talking about just feeding a group of feral cats on a regular basis it is also important to be a mindful caretaker and work on getting the group spayed or neutered so that there will not be more kittens. Because of the harshness of life on the streets many ferals don't live long and most kittens do die, spaying and neutering can prevent more kittens. While you might only want to be feeding one feral , unless you bring it inside other cats will be attracted to the food and you will end up with several.

 

[Hazelnutlove]

I agree with the other posts. I take care of ferals where I live. Yes, they will and do depend on us for food once you start feeding.

I've had lots of luck regarding "taming" the ferals. It takes a lot of patience and time but it is so rewarding. They even sit outside with me and my daughter when she plays T-ball. They chase the ball! Haha.

And like others have said, be sure to get them spayed and neutered because they'll multiply very quickly if you don't.

Good luck with everything!

 

[Ram Keswani]

I agree with the other posts. I take care of ferals where I live. Yes, they will and do depend on us for food once you start feeding.

I've had lots of luck regarding "taming" the ferals. It takes a lot of patience and time but it is so rewarding. They even sit outside with me and my daughter when she plays T-ball. They chase the ball! Haha.

And like others have said, be sure to get them spayed and neutered because they'll multiply very quickly if you don't.

Good luck with everything!

How did you start? What do you feed them? Did they start coming on their own?

 

[maggiedemi]

My two ferals just showed up about 6 months apart. I had to pet them with a long handled duster at first, be careful since ferals like to bite & scratch. I fed them canned and dry cat food, mostly by Purina. I live out in the country and I've only seen one other feral in our woods in my entire lifetime. Maybe we don't have a lot of ferals here because of the coyotes, or maybe they are so scared that I never see them. It would be interesting to put a camera in the woods and see if there are any more...

 

[Hazelnutlove]

It all started because I saw a cat in my yard in the dead of winter and I felt bad for him. I had a cat so I had cat food. I put some out and the rest is history.

Luckily all my neighbors are understanding. Everyone knows what I do. I always have dry food out. For my "regulars" I give them wet food and sometimes some tuna as a treat. My garage is their shelter. I have heated beds and toys etc in there for them.

I'm not an expert on the subject. I just love cats and try to make the best for the unfortunate homeless kitties. I've been very lucky in terms of connecting with them. They trust me and they want to be scratched, rubbed and petted. It took time but eventually they saw I wouldn't hurt them.

It is very rewarding. It also gets VERY expensive. Just be sure it's something you really want to do. Because once you start, you can't just cut them off. 1 cat turns into 2 and so on. They tell ALL their friends. I've now been doing this for 10 years....and it all started just seeing 1 cat. Haha.

 

[Sarthur2]

R Ram Keswani

Where are you located?

Are you able to buy wet and dry cat food?

 

[Ram Keswani]

My two ferals just showed up about 6 months apart. I had to pet them with a long handled duster at first, be careful since ferals like to bite & scratch. I fed them canned and dry cat food, mostly by Purina. I live out in the country and I've only seen one other feral in our woods in my entire lifetime. Maybe we don't have a lot of ferals here because of the coyotes, or maybe they are so scared that I never see them. It would be interesting to put a camera in the woods and see if there are any more...

They both showed up togethor? And did they come to you or you saw them and went to them?

 

[Ram Keswani]

R Ram Keswani

Where are you located?

Are you able to buy wet and dry cat food?

India.Yes sir, I can buy.

 

[maggiedemi]

No, they showed up several months apart. But they were still kittens. If they were older, they might not have come to us. They were starving and crying for food, I think their mother got killed. I always used to see a black feral cat in the woods when I was a kid that wouldn't come near us, that was probably their ancestor. I think food is the only way you will get a feral cat to come near you. Don't touch them with your hands at first, you will get cut. Make sure you spay/neuter, or you will have 40 cats in a few years.

 

[Sarthur2]

Please get proper cat food. It will help to tame him.

 

[Ram Keswani]

No, they showed up several months apart. But they were still kittens. If they were older, they might not have come to us. They were starving and crying for food, I think their mother got killed. I always used to see a black feral cat in the woods when I was a kid that wouldn't come near us, that was probably their ancestor. I think food is the only way you will get a feral cat to come near you. Don't touch them with your hands at first, you will get cut. Make sure you spay/neuter, or you will have 40 cats in a few years.

Did they just came to you meowing, or you saw them and invited them for food?

 

[Ram Keswani]

No, they showed up several months apart. But they were still kittens. If they were older, they might not have come to us. They were starving and crying for food, I think their mother got killed. I always used to see a black feral cat in the woods when I was a kid that wouldn't come near us, that was probably their ancestor. I think food is the only way you will get a feral cat to come near you. Don't touch them with your hands at first, you will get cut. Make sure you spay/neuter, or you will have 40 cats in a few years.

Did they just came to you meowing, or you saw them and invited them for food?

 

[Ram Keswani]

I ahve seen many youtube videos of kittens playing around casually. Hwo do they get tamed so early? I have read that they should not be taken away from their mother for first 8 weeks. But I have seen 3-4 weeks old kittens playing around just fine? How is it done? And do kittens require extra care?

 

[maggiedemi]

Demi was about 6 weeks old, I heard him outside crying for food. He wouldn't come near us, so we left out food for him. I was able to tame him by petting him with a long handled duster. Maggie showed up maybe 5 months later, she was about 6 months old, and she was in heat, so we were able to pet her until she snapped out of heat and went back to being feral/mean. It took a bit longer with her because she was older than Demi. They are now both indoor cats.