Hi everyone
Three days ago we rescued a feral cat from a colony. He's around 7 months old so a bit older than the recommended age for domesticating a feral cat. From what I've read it's recommended to remove them when they are younger. We took him to the vet who said that he couldn't treat him without sedating him and his advice was to take him home, socialise him and then bring him back for treatment. We then went to our local pet store and two amazing ladies offered to treat him. They managed to give him flea and worm treatment and even stroke him but had a few scratches to show for it! We bought Feliway to plug in to hopefully help keep him calm. We've set him up in the bathroom with everything he needs. Day two he ate some food and has been to the toilet. He is hiding between the sink cupboard and the bath tub but has obviously roamed the room when we haven't been in sight. We have three female cats of our own and one was meowing outside the bathroom which seemed to start him off. He's been meowing a fair bit since, on and off this morning. He hasn't hissed or growled at us but the meow is like an owwwww owwwww sound. Just wondering if anyone has been in the same situation? I'd really appreciate any support? How much time should we spend in the room? We are just being present not trying to touch him but the meowing is becoming more frequent even without our cats outside the room and not sure if he will become stressed if we are in the room with him when he's meowing so much. Any tips on helping to settle him would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Three days ago we rescued a feral cat from a colony. He's around 7 months old so a bit older than the recommended age for domesticating a feral cat. From what I've read it's recommended to remove them when they are younger. We took him to the vet who said that he couldn't treat him without sedating him and his advice was to take him home, socialise him and then bring him back for treatment. We then went to our local pet store and two amazing ladies offered to treat him. They managed to give him flea and worm treatment and even stroke him but had a few scratches to show for it! We bought Feliway to plug in to hopefully help keep him calm. We've set him up in the bathroom with everything he needs. Day two he ate some food and has been to the toilet. He is hiding between the sink cupboard and the bath tub but has obviously roamed the room when we haven't been in sight. We have three female cats of our own and one was meowing outside the bathroom which seemed to start him off. He's been meowing a fair bit since, on and off this morning. He hasn't hissed or growled at us but the meow is like an owwwww owwwww sound. Just wondering if anyone has been in the same situation? I'd really appreciate any support? How much time should we spend in the room? We are just being present not trying to touch him but the meowing is becoming more frequent even without our cats outside the room and not sure if he will become stressed if we are in the room with him when he's meowing so much. Any tips on helping to settle him would be greatly appreciated. Thank you