Fostering a Feral

katieh

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Hi there,
I foster for a local cat rescue and last Tuesday picked up my new foster(Tuxie). Tuxie is a 2 year old feral male that was neutered the same day I picked him up. He is currently in a three level cage in my bathroom while he recovers from his neuter. In his previous foster he was aggressive, lunging and spitting at the lady that was taking care of him. He always hisses when I go in the cage to scoop litter and feed and yesterday I was unable to go in at all because he kept lunging and spitting at me.

I do have previous experience socializing ferals. I once socialized a litter of feral kittens but there were only 3 months old so it only took 2-4 weeks. My current cat Skandar is 14 and is also a previous feral. We trapped him when he was about a year. We had been feeding him at our front door and trapped him after we saw his eye was injured. He was different than Tuxie is that he was not aggressive and would allow us to administer medication although he would basically flatten himself into a corner. It took him at least a year to finally become more social(coming over for pets) and stop hiding. It took several more years to get him to where he is today.

I worry that Tuxie may never come around to a level where someone might adopt him. And if he does would his socialization be reset once he is placed in his new home? I know it is still very early days and he is not even free of his tomcat hormones.

Has anyone had any success socializing a feral at his age? Did you end up keeping them yourself or were you fostering like me?

Thank you for reading my very long post lol
Katie
 

CatladyJan

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Hi there,
I foster for a local cat rescue and last Tuesday picked up my new foster(Tuxie). Tuxie is a 2 year old feral male that was neutered the same day I picked him up. He is currently in a three level cage in my bathroom while he recovers from his neuter. In his previous foster he was aggressive, lunging and spitting at the lady that was taking care of him. He always hisses when I go in the cage to scoop litter and feed and yesterday I was unable to go in at all because he kept lunging and spitting at me.

I do have previous experience socializing ferals. I once socialized a litter of feral kittens but there were only 3 months old so it only took 2-4 weeks. My current cat Skandar is 14 and is also a previous feral. We trapped him when he was about a year. We had been feeding him at our front door and trapped him after we saw his eye was injured. He was different than Tuxie is that he was not aggressive and would allow us to administer medication although he would basically flatten himself into a corner. It took him at least a year to finally become more social(coming over for pets) and stop hiding. It took several more years to get him to where he is today.

I worry that Tuxie may never come around to a level where someone might adopt him. And if he does would his socialization be reset once he is placed in his new home? I know it is still very early days and he is not even free of his tomcat hormones.

Has anyone had any success socializing a feral at his age? Did you end up keeping them yourself or were you fostering like me?

Thank you for reading my very long post lol
Katie
Welcome to TCS, you have come to the right place!

Good news is he is not too old to socialize, but he will take a considerable amount of time and patience.

He's going to hiss at you for some time and he has been through a lot so he needs to decompress. Skandar was familiar with you and Tuxie is not.

You may want to place a covering over the cage and give him some space. Slow and steady wins the race.

After he has time to re-coop just talk softly to him, don't make too much eye contact and when you do blink (it's a sign of trust), there is cat music on YouTube, I like to play purring sounds. I know you are going to get a lot of detailed replies so I just wanted to say Welcome and give you some basics.
 
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katieh

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Welcome to TCS, you have come to the right place!

Good news is he is not too old to socialize, but he will take a considerable amount of time and patience.

He's going to hiss at you for some time and he has been through a lot so he needs to decompress. Skandar was familiar with you and Tuxie is not.

You may want to place a covering over the cage and give him some space. Slow and steady wins the race.

After he has time to re-coop just talk softly to him, don't make too much eye contact and when you do blink (it's a sign of trust), there is cat music on YouTube, I like to play purring sounds. I know you are going to get a lot of detailed replies so I just wanted to say Welcome and give you some basics.
Thank you Jan!
That is reassuring to hear. I do have him covered right now with some sheets so he’ll feel more secure. The cat music is a great idea!
 

shadowsrescue

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This past summer, I worked with a very unsocial stray cat. He really gave me fits at first. I watched this video and there were some really great tips. Time and patience is your friend. It can take many many months for feral cats to settle. Take it slow and give him time to acclimate to inside living first.

 

fionasmom

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I have never fostered, only kept what I brought in the house and some are much tougher than others and take more time. Everyone came around except one who essentially remained a very calm but distant indoor feral. I still have her 15 years later. So the story on this cat is that he was just neutered, so give that time, but was fostered before. He has some level of acceptance with being inside even if it is not very clear right now from the behavior that he is showing. Everything is very unfamiliar to him right now and too much has happened recently, although it was all necessary, and he needs time to process.
 

di and bob

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Yes, it just takes a lot of time and patience. He may be happier as an outdoor cat for someone that can offer him shelter. Of course, he would have to be confined for 6 weeks or so. He can be tamed, but will most likely be skittish for a few years. Many cats his age have become house cats, but it takes a special person to give him the time and attention he needs. You will be blessed for giving him a chance, thank you.......
 
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