- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
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I am keeping a feral cat in my basement because of the cold temperatures and would appreciate advice about when and whether to release him.
Before trapping him and bringing him inside, I’d been feeding him outside sporadically for a couple of years. He’d occasionally disappear for a few weeks, but would then show up again. I have a screened-in porch that I left open last winter. I got a heated pad and he spent most of last winter hunkered down on it. I also got an electrically warmed water dish. Before bringing him in, he never let me touch him and would only come eat the food I put out after I walked away.
This winter when we got subzero temperatures, I got a small dog crate and lured him in and took him to my basement. He’s been there for about a month now. Since he’s been there, he’s learned to use the litter pan. I started with all dirt and transitioned to kitty litter. He yowled occasionally the first few days and kept looking for a way out. I have a kitty cam on him, so I can see what he’s doing when I’m not there. Now he spends most of his days on the top of the carpeted stairs that lead to our first floor. I go down every morning and scoop his litter and give him fresh water and dry food and leave some treats for him before I go to work. Every afternoon I spend time in the basement working on a puzzle or talking on the phone and then talk and visit with him at the top of the stairs. I sit 2 steps down, where I can reach him, but not threaten him.
I’ve gone from putting my hand next to him, to petting his tail to now petting his body. He still flinches when I first touch him, but only occasionally hisses, and has only swatted at me with his paw once. I always leave treats beside him when I visit him, but up until this week, he would only eat them after I left. This weekend he actually purred while I was there and has now started eating the treats while i’m petting him.
In the evening, I give him some canned food and turn out the lights. From the kitty cam, I can see that as soon as I leave he comes down from the steps and eats the canned food and drinks water. After that he climbs on a futon, cleans himself and goes to sleep.
I plan to keep him in my basement through February, but I’m not sure what I should do with him after that. I have a cat that lives upstairs with us. She was semi-feral and started out in the basement. Now she’s perfectly tame. Unless I can get the feral cat checked out by a vet, I want to keep them separate. The feral basement cat has his ear tipped, so I’m assuming he’s been neutered. I don’t want to put him through the trauma of going to the vet if I’m going to release him.
Really, I don’t want to release him because we live in an urban area and many cats are killed on the roads. He’s been lucky so far. On the other hand, he doesn’t seem happy at all in my basement. He just goes from the stairs to the food and litter to the futon. I’ve tried introducing some toys- feather on a stick and toy mice, but he ignores them or is afraid of them. I’d appreciate any advice or suggestions at this point.
Before trapping him and bringing him inside, I’d been feeding him outside sporadically for a couple of years. He’d occasionally disappear for a few weeks, but would then show up again. I have a screened-in porch that I left open last winter. I got a heated pad and he spent most of last winter hunkered down on it. I also got an electrically warmed water dish. Before bringing him in, he never let me touch him and would only come eat the food I put out after I walked away.
This winter when we got subzero temperatures, I got a small dog crate and lured him in and took him to my basement. He’s been there for about a month now. Since he’s been there, he’s learned to use the litter pan. I started with all dirt and transitioned to kitty litter. He yowled occasionally the first few days and kept looking for a way out. I have a kitty cam on him, so I can see what he’s doing when I’m not there. Now he spends most of his days on the top of the carpeted stairs that lead to our first floor. I go down every morning and scoop his litter and give him fresh water and dry food and leave some treats for him before I go to work. Every afternoon I spend time in the basement working on a puzzle or talking on the phone and then talk and visit with him at the top of the stairs. I sit 2 steps down, where I can reach him, but not threaten him.
I’ve gone from putting my hand next to him, to petting his tail to now petting his body. He still flinches when I first touch him, but only occasionally hisses, and has only swatted at me with his paw once. I always leave treats beside him when I visit him, but up until this week, he would only eat them after I left. This weekend he actually purred while I was there and has now started eating the treats while i’m petting him.
In the evening, I give him some canned food and turn out the lights. From the kitty cam, I can see that as soon as I leave he comes down from the steps and eats the canned food and drinks water. After that he climbs on a futon, cleans himself and goes to sleep.
I plan to keep him in my basement through February, but I’m not sure what I should do with him after that. I have a cat that lives upstairs with us. She was semi-feral and started out in the basement. Now she’s perfectly tame. Unless I can get the feral cat checked out by a vet, I want to keep them separate. The feral basement cat has his ear tipped, so I’m assuming he’s been neutered. I don’t want to put him through the trauma of going to the vet if I’m going to release him.
Really, I don’t want to release him because we live in an urban area and many cats are killed on the roads. He’s been lucky so far. On the other hand, he doesn’t seem happy at all in my basement. He just goes from the stairs to the food and litter to the futon. I’ve tried introducing some toys- feather on a stick and toy mice, but he ignores them or is afraid of them. I’d appreciate any advice or suggestions at this point.
