Hello,
I am new here and just joined because I'm having issues with a feral kitten I took in back in October. I heard a very loud meow coming from near my front door late one night and there this kitten was, crying and panicked. When I picked him up I was surprised how thin he was. He looked to be about 10-12 weeks old but now I think he was a little older but appeared to be younger due to being malnourished. He started out in the garage and now he is in the spare room. I took him in against my husband's wishes because this kitty really seemed to need help.
He has since been neutered and his blood work checked out fine. The cat looks to be about 8 months old but is still small. I have him kept separate from the other cats and have tried different things to help him adjust. I'm starting to think I've done the wrong thing by taking him in. He does appear to be quite feral and I don't know if it's too late to socialize him. He has issues with aggression - play and fear. When my husband walks into the room he's in the cat runs at him and bites him. He charges at the other cats when I've let him out of the room for short, supervised periods when I thought we had gotten to that point. Unfortunately, he initially was scratching me a lot and still bites. I do recognize now when he is getting to that point and give him his space.
He can be really sweet with me at times. He purrs when I go into his room, and rubs against me and even will cuddle a little with me. But not for long and I have to watch for signs when his mood changes. There are times when I go into his room and he won't come out from under the bed but I can hear him purring. He cries to come out of the room and I can let him into another area where the cat trees are but have to close the door so the other cats don't come in because he starts to charge at them. I had so hoped he would make friends with the other cats and have taken in other strays before and even a feral but didn't have these issues.
Today there was an ugly scene where he got out accidentally and the cats were reclining on the bed and he just jumped on the bed after being under the bed and cats went flying everywhere. It was awful. One of my cats seemed really distressed and my husband told me I had a month to get rid of the feral cat because of the problems he was causing with the other cats we have.
I talked to someone with Alley Cat Allies and they thought he would be best as a barn cat. I'm torn about what to do with him. I want to make the right decision for him but this can't go on and I don't know if this is a situation that can get better. He can't be let outside because this is a high traffic area and he almost got hit by a car by someone in the neighborhood before I took him in. Also, the feral cat that lives in our yard would never allow it and that would cause problems too.
Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading my (long) post. :-)
I am new here and just joined because I'm having issues with a feral kitten I took in back in October. I heard a very loud meow coming from near my front door late one night and there this kitten was, crying and panicked. When I picked him up I was surprised how thin he was. He looked to be about 10-12 weeks old but now I think he was a little older but appeared to be younger due to being malnourished. He started out in the garage and now he is in the spare room. I took him in against my husband's wishes because this kitty really seemed to need help.
He has since been neutered and his blood work checked out fine. The cat looks to be about 8 months old but is still small. I have him kept separate from the other cats and have tried different things to help him adjust. I'm starting to think I've done the wrong thing by taking him in. He does appear to be quite feral and I don't know if it's too late to socialize him. He has issues with aggression - play and fear. When my husband walks into the room he's in the cat runs at him and bites him. He charges at the other cats when I've let him out of the room for short, supervised periods when I thought we had gotten to that point. Unfortunately, he initially was scratching me a lot and still bites. I do recognize now when he is getting to that point and give him his space.
He can be really sweet with me at times. He purrs when I go into his room, and rubs against me and even will cuddle a little with me. But not for long and I have to watch for signs when his mood changes. There are times when I go into his room and he won't come out from under the bed but I can hear him purring. He cries to come out of the room and I can let him into another area where the cat trees are but have to close the door so the other cats don't come in because he starts to charge at them. I had so hoped he would make friends with the other cats and have taken in other strays before and even a feral but didn't have these issues.
Today there was an ugly scene where he got out accidentally and the cats were reclining on the bed and he just jumped on the bed after being under the bed and cats went flying everywhere. It was awful. One of my cats seemed really distressed and my husband told me I had a month to get rid of the feral cat because of the problems he was causing with the other cats we have.
I talked to someone with Alley Cat Allies and they thought he would be best as a barn cat. I'm torn about what to do with him. I want to make the right decision for him but this can't go on and I don't know if this is a situation that can get better. He can't be let outside because this is a high traffic area and he almost got hit by a car by someone in the neighborhood before I took him in. Also, the feral cat that lives in our yard would never allow it and that would cause problems too.
Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading my (long) post. :-)