First time Rescuing ....and we think shes a barn cat HELP!

[asmith]

We just rescued a little cat named Birdie from the humane society. They had no history or information on her just that she was brought in from the streets. We are 2 weeks in and I am wondering how long I should give it before accepting she cannot be tamed to an indoor cat....we think she was born a barn cat.

Birdie:

She is somewhere between 6/12 months and 1 year based on her teeth. 

She weighs 3.5 lbs. 

She is covered in frost bite and severely malnourished. 

She smells like manure from the inside out. 

It seems like when we first got her she was more open to touch and being held. My husband thinks it is because she was scared, weak and on medications from being spayed. I feel like she is reverting back. 

Pros:

She will eat in front of us- Wet food with probiotics

She will meow for me to get her food 

She plays with our other 1 1/2 year old inside cat

She ignores our 15 year old wiener dog and doesn't seem intimidated by him

She seems to play with hair ties while we are sleeping 

Goes in litter box

Cons:

She hides constantly, especially when my 2 kids are around

She scratches when trying to be touched or cowards when we put a hand out for her to smell

She has diarrhea I cannot get to stop 

She does not venture out of our bedroom for the most part

How long do you give it? Is there any hope?  

16105761_10154898416909076_5146303984015780936_n.j

• asmith
• Jan 31, 2017

 

[talkingpeanut]

We just rescued a little cat named Birdie from the humane society. They had no history or information on her just that she was brought in from the streets. We are 2 weeks in and I am wondering how long I should give it before accepting she cannot be tamed to an indoor cat....we think she was born a barn cat.


Birdie:
She is somewhere between 6/12 months and 1 year based on her teeth. 
She weighs 3.5 lbs. 
She is covered in frost bite and severely malnourished. 
She smells like manure from the inside out. 


It seems like when we first got her she was more open to touch and being held. My husband thinks it is because she was scared, weak and on medications from being spayed. I feel like she is reverting back. 

Pros:

She will eat in front of us- Wet food with probiotics
She will meow for me to get her food 
She plays with our other 1 1/2 year old inside cat
She ignores our 15 year old wiener dog and doesn't seem intimidated by him
She seems to play with hair ties while we are sleeping 
Goes in litter box

Cons:

She hides constantly, especially when my 2 kids are around
She scratches when trying to be touched or cowards when we put a hand out for her to smell
She has diarrhea I cannot get to stop 
She does not venture out of our bedroom for the most part


How long do you give it? Is there any hope?  

16105761_10154898416909076_5146303984015780936_n.j

• asmith
• Jan 31, 2017

She looks younger to me. Maybe four months. How much and what are you feeding her? Has she been dewormed? Has she been spayed?

Does she have a safe room? Two weeks is really not a lot of time to adjust at all. She needs a place to be away from the kids if she's afraid of sudden movements.

Regardless, she is not a lost cause. She needs time and love and consistency.

 

[asmith]

They said she has her adult teeth and cats do not get those fully in unt 6 1/2 months to a year. The humane society said 1 my vet thinks around 7 months.

She is spayed and chipped. We are feeding her grain free wet food with probiotics 2x a day and we have dry food out for her to graze on per the vet.

I have never rescued a cat let alone a feral one. Feeling discouraged that things haven't progressed more. We kept her isolated for the first week but have let her out since then. She was trying to escape the bathroom and was having anxiety while in there.

This is a whole new experience and just curious how long I should wait for her to adjust?

 

[Willowy]

The diarrhea needs to be addressed by the vet. That's not normal.

She seems to be settling in fairly well, if she plays with the resident cat. She may never be outgoing or social with humans. But I think she should stop scratching and cowering once she's learned that she can trust you.

 

[asmith]

I have spoke to the vet and hoping to get a sample in tomorrow to be tested. The problem is my other cat is going in the new box so getting a sample bring some challenges [emoji]128556[/emoji]

 

[inmemoryofolive]

I have several rescue cats and one started I'd just like your birdie. Six years later she is still a little skittish but she has adopted me as her mommy. She trusts me and no one else. I worked long and hard to build her trust. Started slowly with cookies and pats then progressed to full body pats, holding for short periods till purring and now she sits with me for an hour or longer. Never expect her to be something she's not. You have a feral baby girl who was never held during the early weeks when cats learn to trust and connect humans. Give her at least a year to build this connection and I promise you, you won't regret giving her a chance. My Dory is a special girl and I've really loved watching her open up and blossom to my love. Baby Birdie needs to see a vet. Good luck, she's a beautiful baby and worth the investment.

 

[asmith]

We have taken her to the vet 2x in the 3 weeks we have had her with another appointment next week. Fecal came up negative for parasites and worms so we have decided to try out the raw diet. It doesn't seem like probiotics are helping with her getting into the grain filled kibble.

She has put on some weight and I am excited to see what she weighs in at next week. She let me touch her today which was awesome! I hope she gets comfortable enough to be touched in the future. It has been a joy to watch her change and grow the last 3 weeks. I will try to remain optimistic for the future and not give up on her.

Thank you for your insight!

 

[inmemoryofolive]

She will be yours very soon. Happy to know she has a good family to help her in this transition and understand her. Here's to many years of happiness with your Birdie

 

[Norachan]

We have taken her to the vet 2x in the 3 weeks we have had her with another appointment next week. Fecal came up negative for parasites and worms so we have decided to try out the raw diet. It doesn't seem like probiotics are helping with her getting into the grain filled kibble.

She has put on some weight and I am excited to see what she weighs in at next week. She let me touch her today which was awesome! I hope she gets comfortable enough to be touched in the future. It has been a joy to watch her change and grow the last 3 weeks. I will try to remain optimistic for the future and not give up on her.

Thank you for your insight!

Her diarrhea might be caused by the fact that she hasn't had regular food before and is now on a richer diet. You can add plain canned pumpkin to her food to help settle her stomach. Try adding one teaspoon of canned pumpkin to her canned food, 3 times a day.

I've taken in a lot of skittish feral cats. One of them hid in a closet for a whole month before he felt safe enough to let us see him. It can take ages. Just go really slowly and don't give up on her. You'll get there in the end.

There are some good tips in this thread for getting skittish cats more comfortable around you.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/311415/making-a-feral-into-a-housecat

Keep us posted.