I Got My Feral In The House Today!

[rubysmama]

Sorry you seem to have had a setback with Walli. Can you see her in the catio from the outside? Does she not eat all day, or is her food in the catio?

 

[walli]

She is in the 1 spot in the catio, i can't see her
If I scrunch behind it I can see her, sometimes she will come in during the day when we are not home to eat her breakfast.
Thanks Rubysmama, I think time is what she needs, pretty much starting over.
I should of done what I'm doing now from the beginning.
poor Walli, she was afraid something was going to happen and it did!
in the past 2 weeks there is evidence that she has played in her room
and in the catio, just a couple times, when I'm around she sits in the same spot
for hours and hours. I have thoughts of releasing her but I won't.
sheesh

 

[maggiedemi]

For my 2 ferals, the key was talk, talk, talk. I talked to them constantly and taught them words. I was always like let's do this, let's do that in an excited voice. They had no choice but to be socialized to me because I was always in their faces. Does Walli know her name? If not, I would start with that. Say "Walli Dinner" every time you bring the food.

 

[walli]

She knows her name is Walli, She is not food motivated which makes it difficult.
She can wait out anything.
I was starting to make progress with her before the crate/vet debacle.
I am pretty much at square one right now, she don't like me.
I can tell she is starting to play a little in her room.
I'll keep posting, need all the support I can get right now!
Thanks for listening pals!

I do talk and occasionally sing to her

 

[maggiedemi]

Yeah, Maggie isn't terribly food motivated either. But she will come twice a day and check out what I put on her plate when I say "Maggie Dinner". Sometimes she just picks at it for an hour or two. But she comes and she knows the schedule of dinnertime.

 

[walli]

good to know Walli is not alone in that.
I just found out from the Vet that walli might be 5-6 years old
I suppose that says a lot.

 

[rubysmama]

Hopefully you not all the way back to square one. Maybe square 3 or 4.

Have you tried Temptations treats? My Ruby goes crazy for them, and could probably do a commercial for them.

 

[walli]

Walli does love treats but she won't come out of hiding for them.
I leave them out for her at night, when she was in the other room
she would occasionally eat them in front of me, on a good note, Walli was on a different level of the catio when I got home, I could see her from her room and outside, yay! I talked to her for a bit and swept the porch while I was out there
so maybe we will be ok, interesting that she is 5-6 years old, I was starting to think she was older than I thought, I won't give up on my girl, and I still have hopes of Joey being her friend too.

 

[maggiedemi]

Yes! It's all in the talking. Words, words, and more words. Maggie is still pretty feral in some ways. But she loves it when I talk in my excited voice and show her something out the window or tell her C'mon, let's go do something. She even knows what "hurry" means. Like hurry, come quick. And she runs faster.

 

[dustydiamond1]

She knows her name is Walli, She is not food motivated which makes it difficult.
She can wait out anything.
I was starting to make progress with her before the crate/vet debacle.
I am pretty much at square one right now, she don't like me.
I can tell she is starting to play a little in her room.
I'll keep posting, need all the support I can get right now!
Thanks for listening pals!

I do talk and occasionally sing to her

 

[maggiedemi]

How is it going with the baby gates?

 

[walli]

The baby gates went up really well, we put hinges on them so we can open
them, makes things a lot easier to move around, We close them at night
but Walli's screen door is still closed, We will open her screen this weekend.
I'm not sure she even wants her door opened but I figure it has to be done.
She is still mad/scared of us since the crate/vet, she is playing at night, there is evidence of that, she doesn't eat her breakfast, dinner only right now.
The 2 parts of the catio she was sleeping in during the Winter when she was outside are lined with Styrofoam sheets, she is tearing those up but that's ok
I won't go in the catio for a couple months to clean it, giving her space right now.
The problem is we took in Joey, I realize I have to work with him, he's a bit hyper.
Not sure how long we will have to keep them separated, I hope he calms down soon! I really need them to be friends so my life can be a little bit normal.

fyi: I put Pet Screen on Wallis screen door, It went really well, I'm going to do the house screens too. Wallis room has a sliding glass door so it was pretty easy to put up a screen.
sounds kind of weird but it's an add-on that use to be our office

 

[rubysmama]

How old is Joey, again?

And these are probably repeat links, but here's a few articles that might help with getting Walli to "like" you again.

14 Cat Experts Reveal: How To Get A Cat To Like Me
How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding?
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats

 

[walli]

Joey is around 10-11 months.
thanks for the Articles I should read those.

 

[rubysmama]

So Joey's still a kitten. Where does he sleep at night?

 

[walli]

with the baby gates closed he has access to our bedroom, a spare bedroom (his room) a bathroom and the laundry room. He either sleeps in his room or under our bed. He might sleep on our bed during the day I think.

With the baby gates closed, and her door open, Walli will have access to her room, the catio, the living room, kitchen, and her old room (now our office) only going to close the baby gates at night for now. when the baby gates are not closed Wallis's screen door is closed. Going to open her screen door tomorrow night, I won't know if she comes out of her room tho, thinking about getting a kitty cam.

I think it is pretty common to feel like I'm doing something wrong, Walli doesn't seem happy, but I can't release her now. I hope she comes around soon.
I am reading Total Cat Mojo, I need to work with Joey for when they can reintroduce, He is the one that will be the problem, He wants to see her so much
He will go running up to her and freak her out, He's always looking in her room.
I just don't know yet if he wants to fight or it was just a freakout when Joey approached Walli.

Time, that is what we need. It's hard tho!
She is a 5-6 year old Feral, has anyone had experience with an older Feral?

Thanks for being here for me everybody!

 

[rubysmama]

The kitty cam sounds like a good idea. Who knows what she's up to while everyone else is asleep.

 

[CheetahLover5859]

with the baby gates closed he has access to our bedroom, a spare bedroom (his room) a bathroom and the laundry room. He either sleeps in his room or under our bed. He might sleep on our bed during the day I think.

With the baby gates closed, and her door open, Walli will have access to her room, the catio, the living room, kitchen, and her old room (now our office) only going to close the baby gates at night for now. when the baby gates are not closed Wallis's screen door is closed. Going to open her screen door tomorrow night, I won't know if she comes out of her room tho, thinking about getting a kitty cam.

I think it is pretty common to feel like I'm doing something wrong, Walli doesn't seem happy, but I can't release her now. I hope she comes around soon.
I am reading Total Cat Mojo, I need to work with Joey for when they can reintroduce, He is the one that will be the problem, He wants to see her so much
He will go running up to her and freak her out, He's always looking in her room.
I just don't know yet if he wants to fight or it was just a freakout when Joey approached Walli.

Time, that is what we need. It's hard tho!
She is a 5-6 year old Feral, has anyone had experience with an older Feral?

Thanks for being here for me everybody!

There's a few 'cultural/national/things I'm unsure of the meaning of, "catio"?, something like 'patio/terrace', a particular type of thing? Screen doors? I think I have an idea from films. Baby gates? The only ones I've ever seen aren't cat-proof, if to stop a baby, cats can get through or over them. BUT I understand that Walli is isolated in some way to stop her escaping & coming into contact with old-time resident Joey & perhaps a child?
You don't say how old Joey is or if he is neutered, but as a male, with Wally being female, I very much doubt that he wants to "fight", as in a true altercation. Joey will of course be very inquisitive. I wonder if his access to the room Walli occupies has been curtailed by her occupancy. That may annoy him but I don't think the 'Tom killer instinct' is there in either a neutered or un-neutered male towards females. He is just exercising his male 'boldness' towards the newcomer, in most cases a Tom will just plonk himself there to look at the 'interloper', not attack a little female (or younger males, though they may show dominant behaviours like 'being in their face' to get 'submissiion'.

Walli is "freaked out" when he pokes his nose in for a few reasons. She knows she is in another cat's house, which puts her at a great disadvantage. That cat is bigger than her, the disadvantage grows. At the back of him are bigger humans that all stand & stare at her, she may even distrust their nice, soothing tones & misread their loving smiles as she's feral. And they ALL appear in the doorway, with or without each other, when she is cornered with no way out!!

I have had feral cats & semi-ferals (ones born wild to strays and/or not handled by humans even though they had a 'nominal' home) & grew up among farm cats (I stress to say I was handled by humans too Lol!). Older cats take a lot more settling in. Can I suggest that you take some bedding/newspaper that Joey has slept on to Walli & vice versa, let them get used to each others scent? Perhaps feed Joey & Walli either side of the screens, letting Walli see Joey eating, even if she won't eat her own food until after he's gone (and make sure he's hungry or it's fresh chicken so he's more interested in his belly than her & don't let her know you are watching). Are you able to let Walli out to the rest of the house when Walli is about or if you can confine him. That would make Walli more confident about her surroundings & get her even more familiar with his scent. Then Joey can root around to find out where she's been.
You don't mention HOW feral she is, I assume not so much so, judging by your circumstances. I think the Kitty CAm is a GREAT idea!!! If Joey is neutered, I don't think she is in danger from him & would recommend that in a few weeks, you give her more freedom. Stroke him, then offer your fingers to her (I am assuming that she won't attack you? In which case, stroke him with a cloth & offer that & vice versa, a lot of interest will be shown.)
You are right when you say you need TIME!! I'm afraid it's LOTS of time. Cat behaviour takes years to change & they do it at their own pace. I have an old cat from a normal home, also a semi-feral 11-yr-old I took in when pregnant; she had not been handled so her three kittens were vicious little spitfires, as she was if I went near, though she chose our home for her 'maternity hospital' despite my having a very territorial older female cat. She had obviously had 'contact' with humans but had not been handled. Mum & all three 'kittens' have now 'mellowed' (after about 5 yrs) & will sleep on my bed, nestle against my hand, but NONE of them like being picked up!! I really hope this helps...

 

[maggiedemi]

Cheetah- she said that Joey, her male cat is 11 months old and neutered. Walli came first, then Joey moved in after.

 

[maggiedemi]

No, I never did get to take in an older feral. My two were both under a year old. I would say Demi was about 6 weeks old and Maggie looked about 6 months old. Maybe she was his mother or sister, who knows. She showed up 6 months after him looking about 6 months old, so could be his sister. I don't see any more ferals in the woods since they stopped thinning the coyotes and coydogs out.