Impossible Cat

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
two weeks ago, i decided to walk in my garden, in the evening cool.
as i opened the door to my garden, i saw an ACTUAL CAT!
she fled in terror, flying over the 6' high fence that surrounds my garden.
therefore, feral.
i was stunned. i'm on the high plains, 3 miles from pavement. she may have followed the irrigation canal for 20 miles.
this is not possible, as this country is swarming with coyotes who think cats are yummy.
looks to be an adult, taller than normal but the thinnest cat i've seen.
anyway, i left out a bowl of milk to thank her for hunting my garden.
that was gone by morn, so the next night i put out milk n a piece of pork.
when that disappeared i ordered 16 pounds of friskies. most cats seem to like friskies.
i've seen her thru the window a couple of times at dusk but she will not come if i'm outside.
i'd like to keep her alive, but i need her to tolerate my presence.
if she would, i'd build a cat house in my garden where she would be safe from coyotes.
i don't want to trap her. if i did, she might hate me n leave.
if she did she'd die.
in a couple months the irrigation water will be shut off. there is no open water. she drinks here or she dies.
i know about feeding an animal n slowly moving closer over the course of weeks.
i can't do that because this is a wild animal.
she will not be anywhere near me.
may i please have some suggestions as to keeping her alive?
thanks,
sue
 

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
35,986
Purraise
17,680
Location
Sunny Florida
Where do you live?

Your best bet for now is to continue feeding and watering the cat.

He or she will slowly begin to trust you more, hopefully to the point where you can sit outside nearby while the cat eats and visits.

It could take months, but perhaps the cat will become less frightened over time. Someone may have dumped the cat out where you live on purpose, far away from its former home.

You should go ahead and make a safe "house" for the cat to escape coyotes. The cat can go ahead and learn to use it. Waiting does not sound safe.

Keep us posted!
 

hexiesfriend

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 29, 2013
Messages
1,672
Purraise
430
Location
Orlando, Florida
I think you will need to trap her and try moving her to a closed off area of your house where she can get used to you. Cayotes do love cats and it's amazing she has survived. Until you can trap her you may want to make a hiding places for her maybe in the corners of your backyard where there is not a lot of traffic. It can be as simple as a picknick table with a blanket over it where she can hide under and have shade. I'd put her bowl near that area. Milk is not the best thing for her but that's better than nothing. plenty of water and proteins is good. Cat food is best. She needs a home and will warm up to you but I think you just have to get her to not worry about food and not worry about the dangers of the outside anymore first.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
thanks, art.
i'm 3 miles from pavement n further from the nearest house.
i don't believe this is an abandoned cat. i think it has never had contact with humans. the way it fled, it thot i was gonna eat it.
she is very valuable to me. in my garden, i have 7 fig trees. everthing wants to eat figs. you can't even use a dog to guard fig trees because he will eat the figs before you get them. i'm armed n can defend my crop during the day. the fence keps out cattle n with chicken wire underground, even evil bunnies.
but i can't keep out rats n mice, but she can.
i'll do what i must to help her.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
thanks, hex.
no, i can't give her a hiding place until she calms down. she will not be in my yard in my presence.
i'm more than happy to build a cat house but she refuses to be anywhere near me.
truly wild.
 

keeneland

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 30, 2016
Messages
138
Purraise
155
she fled in terror, flying over the 6' high fence that surrounds my garden.
therefore, feral.
This pretty well described our male cat Spot when he first came to our house as he was wild, wild and then some! I was actually a bit scared of him at one time. Leave feed out and start slowly with the interaction and you will wind up with this:
Spot.jpg


i don't want to trap her. if i did, she might hate me n leave.
Keep in mind if you don't trap & it's a "HER" kittens are sure to follow. I thought our ferals might leave also but it doesn't work that way as cats seem to know when someone is trying to help them. Best .......
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
hoho! today i went out at dusk n there she was!
i froze n just said ''hi, kitty''.
she just loped to my work bench n then looked at me over her shoulder, before leaping over the fence. she was quite calm. very different from the panic she previously showed,
that's how i measure progress around here, by the speed of retreat.
 

vyger

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jun 24, 2017
Messages
810
Purraise
1,434
Location
Northeast Montana
I saw a youtube video compilation of cats that suddenly just show up. People have come home and found these cats in their house, lounging on the table and such but the people don't have a cat. They can't figure out where they came from. One was an apartment on a 5th floor of a building. They left the window open and suddenly they had a cat.
It would be really fun to know the history of a cat like yours, where it was born and how many places it has wandered, unfortunately they keep that a secret.
 

Draco

NOT Malfoy!
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
8,721
Purraise
2,780
Location
LawnGuyLand, NY
susieqz susieqz that'd be great if she'd stay and you can take care of her (Assuming it's female here).

It'll take time for her to trust you. Days, weeks.. months. Who knows, it's up to the cat to decide when to trust you.

What sort of cat house were you thinking about? A large cage sort of thing to keep her inside? or a dog-house type of thing with a hole small enough for her and keep the larger animals out?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
draco, yesterday she was hiding under my work bench.
i saw her n talked to her n she didn't run.
since she feels safe there, i guess i'll just enclose the bottom with plywood.
i'll leave a door but i don't know the best size doorway to make.
 

msaimee

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
1,850
Purraise
1,697
Location
Western PA
Putting a feral cat in a large cage would likely cause extreme anxiety in her, and once you let her out, she would likely not return to you. Take the time to befriend her. There are all sorts of pet houses you could provide her with depending on the climate. I used a cedar wood pet house for my feral with a heating pad inside of it that I got from the kitty tube company. Or you could use a thermal self heating cushion with mylar inside of it and fill the house with straw on top of it. Be sure and keep food a good distance from the shelter so she is safe from other animals who might try to get to the food. I don't know what a coyote proof pet house would be, but I'm sure you could find some information on this forum about different shelters for feral cats. When you are ready to trap her to get her spayed, you can rent a humane trap from a Humane Society or purchase one from Tractor Supply for about $20. Then you can try taking her into a room in your house for a few days so she can recover. You would know in a few weeks if she could adjust to being indoors or if she is too set in her ways to adjust to indoor living. If she caterwauled and scaled the walls after her recovery, trying to get out of your house, then you would know she needs to be back outside. Then you could release her back onto your property and care for her outside. She is very lucky to have found you.
 

vyger

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jun 24, 2017
Messages
810
Purraise
1,434
Location
Northeast Montana
I read about some people in New York that were making shelters for feral cats in the neighborhood using the large foam boxes that grocery stores ship meat in. I just did a google search for winter feral cat shelter and there are all kinds of projects that come up and even a few youtube videos. There should be something in those that you can use. Most of them are low cost easy builds.

I have been thinking of starting a new thread about my newest success. I have had a wild feral cat visiting for almost 2 years now. He stayed around through the winter last year and has slowly been getting closer and closer to me. At first he used to stand off about 10 feet and wait until I left before he would join the other cats in eating when I called them and put food out for them. He began to realize he was getting leftovers and to make it worse this spring I started hanging around playing with the other cats. So he started getting closer and eating at the farthest dish when I was there. Nothing bad ever happened so he got bolder. Then I started leaving that one on the end empty so he had to move closer. Anyway this has been a long slow process until we got to the point that I could put a dish down and slide it to him and as long as I was an arms length away he was ok. So a month ago we finally made the last breakthrough. He got so used to me being there and talking to the others that he got close enough to touch. At first he was startled that he got so close but then when nothing bad happened he accepted it. Finally I reached out and touched him on his back. He jumped away, then thought about it and came back to eat. Over the week of this he finally let me scratch his back. He discovered that he really liked it and we moved to his head and sides. Now he actually comes up to me not for food but to get his head rubbed and now he purrs and pushes back into my hand. He has actually let me move him around to a different dish to eat so we are very close to being able to pick him up. From totally wild to a tame pussy cat that likes hanging around me with never being trapped. Totally his decision. It is a very gradual process but it can be done. I think he is number 6 or maybe 7 now. Never trapped any of them. Just talked them into realizing what they had been missing.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
thanks, vyger. i did that google search n found lots of ideas.
a place in the garden where she feels safe [from me] would be helpful.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
i just ordered a factory second cooler. it cost less than the plywood it would take to build a cat house n is insulated for winter.
i'll just cut a cat door n i'm set, if she will use it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
hoho, feral cat is one smart kitty. in just 2 weeks, she has learned a voice command.
every night, whe i put out her food, i shout '' suppertime, kitty''.
this morn, as an experiment, i put out food n shouted ''suppertime, kitty''.
within 5 minutes she was eating.
it is now possible to get her into the garden during daylight.
progress!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

susieqz

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
569
Purraise
688
Location
high plains
i am happy to report that feral cat responds to posture like any other wild animal.
no animal fears me when i'm flat on the ground.
i do my reading on a very low deck under my arbor, lying on my side.
she will now come to eat in my presence. more, she will then relax with me, tho she stays 12' away.
she has even learned how to meow.
her first meows sounded like rusty metal scraping rusty metal. i never heard such a metallic sound from a flesh n blood throat.
but after practice she sounds like a cat.
she is no longer emaciated n is a beautiful animal.
 

dsclp

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Messages
5
Purraise
7
hello susie, i'm new to the site and have been following your thread for a while and honestly i feel proud of your progress lol
as far as i know cats only meow when they want to interact with humans (re: cats don't really meow to each other without human interference), so that this cat has started to meow at you likely means that they now feel safe enough around you to try to communicate with you! now for what the meow means, could be anything really lol
best of luck in this journey, i'll be rooting for a happy ending!!!
 
Top