Is she actually feral?

[rookierescuer]

As a quick intro, I want to make sure the kitten I trapped is actually feral and not someone's outdoor pet. I made my first post here about a feral kitten I had managed to trap this past Sunday. Up until today it's been the expected feral behavior I've read about - scared of me, won't eat near me, slowly tolerating me sitting next to her but generally not liking my presence. We had made small (but good!) progress in about 24 hours where she ate one treat with me in the room and sniffed my hand, but then she got overstimulated and was hissy for the rest of the night.

Then today, a complete 180, it's like a switch flipped. I had my hand on the cage for her to sniff and she comes up to me and starts rubbing all over my hand, purring, letting me pet her, meowing at me, etc. It's like a different cat. In anyone's experience, does this mean she's not actually feral? Everywhere I've read says this kind of progress can take weeks, certainly not two days. She's been seemingly living in my backyard and under someone else's porch for weeks, but I've never actually seen where she goes once she finished the food I put out. I just know she was skinny, small, and scared of people. What's more is that I had seen her mom about a month ago who was clearly used to people and even ate out of my hand, so I had assumed it was a case where mom got out and got pregnant and was an unfortunate stray. I haven't seen her once since, so I figured she left once kitten was more of a teenager, but now I'm starting to worry that someone is missing their pet.

TLDR, I'm worried I may have taken someone's outdoor pet kitten. Or is it possible that she's gotten accustomed to me this quickly? Calling to vet today to see if maybe she's microchipped.

 

[GustifursMom]

I think the microchip scan will objectively answer this question for you. Some feral cats love humans and some domesticated cats hate humans - very subjective. I hope you get to keep her!!

 

[rookierescuer]

Thank you! You're definitely right, I was so shell shocked when she let me touch her that I ran straight here, but a microchip will say once and for all. I hope so too!

 

[game misconduct]

my guess is that your gaining her trust and hopefully she isnt chipped so congrats on your new cat(hoping you decide to keep her)

 

[rookierescuer]

my guess is that your gaining her trust and hopefully she isnt chipped so congrats on your new cat(hoping you decide to keep her)

Thank you for the vote of confidence That's my hope! I'll update here once I know for sure

 

[game misconduct]

its always a good reading about another homeless cat finding a loving home.dont forget to post pics so wee all get to share your happiness

 

[Willowy]

I've found that, usually, if the mother cat is fully feral, their kittens will be too, even if you catch them at a very young age, but if the mother is human-friendly or used to be human-friendly (raised as a pet and then went feral), their kittens will be much easier to tame, even if they have no human contact until they're older. I don't know if it's learned behavior or genetic memory but that's been my personal experience.

 

[rookierescuer]

I've found that, usually, if the mother cat is fully feral, their kittens will be too, even if you catch them at a very young age, but if the mother is human-friendly or used to be human-friendly (raised as a pet and then went feral), their kittens will be much easier to tame, even if they have no human contact until they're older. I don't know if it's learned behavior or genetic memory but that's been my personal experience.

That is so interesting! I've been reading about ferals the past fews days and never came across anything like this, that's so cool. Thank you for letting me know! It's so fun learning from those with personal experience, I'm starting to find that socializing is a very mixed bag in terms of what you can expect! Thanks for your response

 

[fionasmom]

I have dealt only with ferals and strays and it really runs the gamut. My avatar and her sister were born to entirely feral parents and they both became, with very little effort, complete house pets. Litters I have rescued have often turned up mixed results...two completely friendly kittens and the rest complete ferals. By this time I should have figured out a pattern, if there is one, but I have not. My going on 17 years old Eve has been in the house for the last 16 years and has never transitioned from feral. She is meticulous and clean, but just this morning gave me a huge hiss and swat as I looked under the bed to see if she was in her little basket.

While this is anecdotal, some ferals seem to suddenly "get" that they are in a place where there is food, shelter, and protection and make a decision to hand in their feral card.

To me, this kitten sounds homeless, however she got that way. Even if there ever was a human in the picture, she has been living outside on her own and in need of help. To some people, owning a cat means that there is one someplace in the vicinity and it is more or less their pet even though they do not take care of it.

 

[Willowy]

While this is anecdotal, some ferals seem to suddenly "get" that they are in a place where there is food, shelter, and protection and make a decision to hand in their feral card.

Yep, that's true too. I've seen entire litters of fully feral kittens, most of them entirely wild, but one of the kittens looks at humans and thinks "hey, they have food and warm houses, and look at that pet cat who gets fed and a warm bed, I think I'll be a pet cat" and bam, now he/she is just as tame as any pet cat, just like that. Also a few adult ferals seem to get that too, not as often though. You just never know.

 

[rookierescuer]

Small update for those who were curious! Gonna check for a chip and if there’s not one, she’s all mine

 

[Anchoress]

Inside every feral there is a house cat longing to emerge and Live the Dream

My hardest is my neighbour's totally neglected cat. But he is totally third generation inbred and systematic starvation as in, " I don't have time to feed a cat:" … He may never be an indoor cat but always a loved and well fed cat.

 

[fionasmom]

What an adorable little face! She loves you....it is easy to see.

 

[game misconduct]

View attachment 399915
Small update for those who were curious! Gonna check for a chip and if there’s not one, she’s all mine

chipped or not i hope you keep her. "you" belong to her now can see it in the eyes ahem not that i am encouraging you to make an immoral choice.

 

[MindyStClairesMom]

Be sure to give us an update!

 

[gilmargl]

Some stray kittens have known human contact for the first few weeks in their lives but have later been abandoned and left to their own devices. When trapped they will act as true ferals and it takes some time to gain their trust. But when they do, they are so grateful and make lovely pets! If she's not microchipped and registered then, at least in my area, get her chipped, registered and spayed and you can safely call her your own.