Expectations for a Feral

jean-ji

TCS Member
Thread starter
Super Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
1,040
Purraise
35
Location
Hudson Valley and SW Florida
We've rescued Pru a year and a half ago. She is a 5 to 6 year old feral tabby that we had spayed. We did a slow introduction, about three months, to the other two cats, Sam/Cliohna. They interact well with each other, grooming and playing with each other.

Pru comes to visit us at bedtime only. She comes up at night, jumps on the bed for pets and loving. She'll do this several times a night. During the day, she is under the sofa. We do see her out in the day, but she will run under the sofa when approached. We were starting to make some progress, seeing more of her in the day without her running right and away and then.....
We brought a Springer Spaniel into the house 4 months ago. We didn't see Pru for 2 months.
Finally we are back to the old night routine in the last few weeks with Pru. The dog is kept on the other side of the bed with a gate to keep him there. The dog settles down and Pru jumps on the bed without fear. The dog has chased her to the sofa a few times in the day time, when he was lucky enough to see her. He is totally intrigued by a creature he has hardly seen and he has put his head under the sofa and barked at her to let her know.

Can we expect her to become more comfortable in the day as time goes by? She is the sweetest girl, she purrs like a banshee, never hisses/bites, and is a total lovebug at night. I would love to see her in the day more and a little less at four in the morning.
The dog slowed her progress down, but I'm hoping we can overcome that. Any suggestions or ideas? Any suggestions for a intro between her and the dog would be helpful, is that possible? Thanks for any insights or help.
~Rhonda
 

catpsych

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 14, 2007
Messages
75
Purraise
5
Location
Tallahassee, Florida USA
Hi Jean,
Kudos on taking in a feral! There are so few of us out there working to help out the ferals.
As far as Pru, she will warm up to you, it just takes a little longer with ferals. And the more she gets used to the new dog and the more she becomes capable of predicting the dogs behavior the more brave she will be and the more confident she will become. To help excelerate this process, I would feed them in close proximity of each other. For example serve their food at the same time each day in the same room, just on opposite sides of the room. Each day move the bowls about an inch closer to each other. If Pru refuses to eat that means the bowls are too close, move them further apart until she eats. Remember to let Pru set the pace, when you think she is comfortable with the distance you can move the bowls a little closer. (by the way it is perfectly ok to serve Pru under a table or something, it will probably make her feel safe that way) Before you know it they will be eating side by side within a month or so. Good luck on your ventures!

Take care,
Kerry

Originally Posted by jean-ji

We've rescued Pru a year and a half ago. She is a 5 to 6 year old feral tabby that we had spayed. We did a slow introduction, about three months, to the other two cats, Sam/Cliohna. They interact well with each other, grooming and playing with each other.

Pru comes to visit us at bedtime only. She comes up at night, jumps on the bed for pets and loving. She'll do this several times a night. During the day, she is under the sofa. We do see her out in the day, but she will run under the sofa when approached. We were starting to make some progress, seeing more of her in the day without her running right and away and then.....
We brought a Springer Spaniel into the house 4 months ago. We didn't see Pru for 2 months.
Finally we are back to the old night routine in the last few weeks with Pru. The dog is kept on the other side of the bed with a gate to keep him there. The dog settles down and Pru jumps on the bed without fear. The dog has chased her to the sofa a few times in the day time, when he was lucky enough to see her. He is totally intrigued by a creature he has hardly seen and he has put his head under the sofa and barked at her to let her know.

Can we expect her to become more comfortable in the day as time goes by? She is the sweetest girl, she purrs like a banshee, never hisses/bites, and is a total lovebug at night. I would love to see her in the day more and a little less at four in the morning.
The dog slowed her progress down, but I'm hoping we can overcome that. Any suggestions or ideas? Any suggestions for a intro between her and the dog would be helpful, is that possible? Thanks for any insights or help.
~Rhonda
 
Top