Hi all, thank you in advance for any help you can provide. There was a cat in my neighborhood who I had seen on numerous occasions. I'm not sure whether she'd be considered stray vs. feral. She would never let me touch her, but I would put treats down and she would come within a foot or so of me to eat them. In the fall, she had babies and she brought them to my yard. Her and the 5 babies hung out all day even despite the fact that I was there outside with them and I had my dog outside on a leash, they still didn't run. I contacted a TNR group who came and trapped them all. I became the foster for them. By the time the babies were ready to be separated from their mom, it was freezing outside. The rescue said she was feral and would not be happy living indoors and to release her. She never seemed stressed to me and we live up north so it was below freezing at night already so I decided to keep her inside until spring when it was warmer out and then release her. I set up a room upstairs in my house with toys, beds, scratching posts etc. After a few weeks she began to play with her toys and entertain herself. Spring is now approaching, and I am having a real internal conflict - is releasing her the right thing to do? Would she be unhappy as an indoor cat? I do have other cats and a dog. I have been trying to get her to not be so afraid of me during the months she's been with me. I try to put treats down starting far away and putting them closer to me, I sit in there and talk to her every day, I try to stay in the room with her while she's eating. She will eat in front of me on occasion but more often than not she will wait until I leave to eat despite how long I wait. She will eat her treats in front of me, she will give herself a little bath in front of me as long as I stay still, but she is definitely still afraid of me if I move too quickly and will hiss and hide. She plays with me on occasion with one of the long stick toys. Does a true feral play with humans like that? If I did release her I would make her a shelter and continue to feed her and care for her. Some things I read say that it is cruel to keep a feral inside and they will never truly be happy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks again
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Looking for guidance on what to do with my feral
- Thread starter DB89014
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Hi there, if you’ve gotten this far then she can be easily transitioned to a domestic. Have you tried getting any calming products into her food. That is how I did with my girl and how a rescue showed me. You can get Cat calmer treats on Amazon for about $8 a bag and she will chill right out and if she is playing that is huge!! I’m currently working on transitioning a young feral and she doesn’t play or want anything to do with me just yet but I have Indeed done it before with ones more friendly like yours. I would look on Facebook for cat groups who can maybe take her and get her adopted out. Good luck!
It sounds like she will be happy indoors, assuming you have the patience and are willing to accept her boundaries.
Most rescues say feral cats will be happier outside because humans like to insist on petting and want a lap cat. Plus some feral cat will never relax around humans to the degree they just hide and never come out. Which is a miserable existence for the cat. But it sounds like she doesn't think you are horrible and is starting to trust you some.
Personally? I'd give her more time inside and see how she does when it warms up. If she ever darts out the door, don't yell or try to force her back inside. Accept that she wants back outside and let her come back in when she is ready.
Most rescues say feral cats will be happier outside because humans like to insist on petting and want a lap cat. Plus some feral cat will never relax around humans to the degree they just hide and never come out. Which is a miserable existence for the cat. But it sounds like she doesn't think you are horrible and is starting to trust you some.
Personally? I'd give her more time inside and see how she does when it warms up. If she ever darts out the door, don't yell or try to force her back inside. Accept that she wants back outside and let her come back in when she is ready.
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She may always be more awkward roommate than fur family member. But that doesn’t mean she won’t benefit from an indoor life. If you’re willing to afford her her autonomy and accept that she may never be a lap cat, I’m sure, with time, she’ll find her own ways to express gratitude for a loving and patient home. It’s rough out there. And if she’s already been with you for a season, I think it would be tougher on her to put her out again.
Hi. If you are willing to add her to your indoor family, keep on working with her and keep her inside. She sounds like she is coming along quite nicely, and I agree with the others, especially the part about having her inside for as long as you have, and then putting her back outside now.
See if any of these TCS articles will help you through the transition process with getting her acclimated more with you/your home, and then moving on to introducing her to your other animals.
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside – TheCatSite Articles
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat – TheCatSite Articles
Introducing Cats To Cats – TheCatSite Articles
How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog – TheCatSite Articles
See if any of these TCS articles will help you through the transition process with getting her acclimated more with you/your home, and then moving on to introducing her to your other animals.
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside – TheCatSite Articles
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat – TheCatSite Articles
Introducing Cats To Cats – TheCatSite Articles
How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog – TheCatSite Articles
I have been in this position often since I only deal with strays and ferals. All of the above advice is really very true so I don't have a lot to add. To me, it sounds as if she might be in the middle of a transition into becoming a pet on her terms and I think that putting her outside is not the best thing for her since she sounds as if she is comfortable in the house and has been there for so long. Probably about half of my cats in the course of my life have been pets on their own terms and it has always worked out.
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- #7
I used to have similar questions: my rescued tomcat is 100% indoor cat and I felt guilty for not letting him outside.
He used to badly scratch the entrance door to get out and even attempted to turn the keys! (believe me or not)
Three years ago I used to walk him on a leash. That was good for him, but we encountered a lot of problems (I had to take care to avoid leftovers on soil- not to poison him, I had to get customized myself to the cat's behavior - walking a cat is absolutely different from walking a dog and so on).
During these years, I kept asking myself whether keeping him in the house is the right thing to do.
But one year ago the cat colonies around my home started to proliferate. I live in a big city.
So I noticed terrible events: 2 kittens found dead on the street, 2 others hit by cars. I saw them trembling in the cold weather and I am sure some were poisoned by rats poison placed on the basement of the dominions. I saw terrible catfights and terrible wounds - I prefer not to describe.
So now I can say, from my experience- an open city is not a place to live for a cat. No matter how small a home could be, cats have a better life indoor than outdoor. Perhaps this judgment does not apply to barn cats or cats in special places - like large gardens.
He used to badly scratch the entrance door to get out and even attempted to turn the keys! (believe me or not)
Three years ago I used to walk him on a leash. That was good for him, but we encountered a lot of problems (I had to take care to avoid leftovers on soil- not to poison him, I had to get customized myself to the cat's behavior - walking a cat is absolutely different from walking a dog and so on).
During these years, I kept asking myself whether keeping him in the house is the right thing to do.
But one year ago the cat colonies around my home started to proliferate. I live in a big city.
So I noticed terrible events: 2 kittens found dead on the street, 2 others hit by cars. I saw them trembling in the cold weather and I am sure some were poisoned by rats poison placed on the basement of the dominions. I saw terrible catfights and terrible wounds - I prefer not to describe.
So now I can say, from my experience- an open city is not a place to live for a cat. No matter how small a home could be, cats have a better life indoor than outdoor. Perhaps this judgment does not apply to barn cats or cats in special places - like large gardens.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #9
Thank you all for your responses. I am going to take her to the vet to make sure she doesn't have anything contagious and try to add her to our family. My next question is, should I keep working to get her more comfortable with just me or should I start to slowly introduce my other cats to her? She is extremely interested in seeing them and they also are frequently sniffing under her door. Everyone is calm when this is happening and the only time she ever shows any sign of aggression is if someone hisses first then she will swat at the door but so far she has never been the aggressor.
I would start to have short periods of introduction since no one is displaying aggressive behavior in any extreme sense. Review the article about introducing cats to cats and give that a try. Don't be discouraged if they don't rush into each other's arms....they may appear to backslide but then over time become more accustomed to each other.
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- #11
Will do. i know when I brought home my 2 kittens my older cat acted absolutely horrible. It took him a really long time to get used to them and now they are all the best of friends. Thats also why I'm hopeful maybe this will all work out because he is so calm on the outside of her door. When the kittens first came home he would be hissing and growling and carrying on no matter where he was in the house i couldn't get near him at first
