Need Help Socializing Feral Cat With Indoor Cats

[shadowsrescue]

I really believe Bob is picking up on you being nervous. A really good approach is for you to sit on the other side of the screen door for awhile and see how he reacts. Start by sitting in there and talking to him. Lots of people just read aloud. You also could make phone calls or just be active in the room. You want him to get used to voices and other noises. I would suggest doing this daily a few times. The more exposure he has to you the better. I like to start with short 5-10 minute sessions every 2 hours throughout the day. Then move to longer and fewer sessions.

I would really try to find something really yummy that he likes. The stronger the smell, the better. Try a can of tuna. Divide up the tuna into small bags and freeze them so it will keep longer. Then take out a fresh bag every few days. While you are on the other side of the screen door, you can toss him pieces of tuna. If you use chicken, just make sure it is plain without any added salt or spices.

I would try to do the removing of the kennel and the placing of the new condo all in one sitting. No use upsetting him twice.

Another approach is to have both you and your husband go in together. Watch how your husband goes about interacting with Bob. When I brought in my first feral and he was getting used to being out of his room, we had a lot of trouble with him going after my resident cat. I was a mess. I was nervous and upset and I knew it was making things worse. I took an entire weekend off and had my husband and son take over. Things went so much better. The cats were relaxed. I had to really get my emotions in check.

Please don't take Bob's reaction to you personally. Feral cats are so much different than domesticated cats. They have been through so much and their fear runs deep. Also be sure your expectations for him are reasonable. Bob may never ever be a lap kitty, he may never ever enjoy pets and he may also be timid and shy. Yet, he is in a home away from the dangers of outside and in a home where people love and care for him. When working with ferals, there is a saying, "One step forward and two steps back". I used to set very high expectations for my ferals. That was unrealistic. It's just best to go day by day and set goals very low. Keep goals simple. For now, you want him to stop growling/hissing.

I hope your husband can get the condo done soon, so the kennel can be removed. For now, try sitting on the other side of the screen door and see how that goes.

 

[maggiedemi]

Is there any way you could try petting him with a long handled duster or something soft taped to a long stick? I swear that really sped up the process with my ferals, once they realize that you are touching them and nothing bad is happening.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Is there any way you could try petting him with a long handled duster or something soft taped to a long stick? I swear that really sped up the process with my ferals, once they realize that you are touching them and nothing bad is happening.

I posted about his in post #59, I believe. There is a picture too. I don't think Bob is ready for any petting yet. But once the room is complete with the kennel removed, this will be a good thing to try.

 

[dbcatperson]

Thank you both for your replies. We have a longer stick with a nice soft sock on the end of it. We used that once while he was still in the kennel and we needed to try and scoot him into the carrier to go back to the vet and one touch from that sent him running into the carrier. I still have this and once the room is set up and in better shape, maybe we can try to pet him with this—I sure would feel better if he would stop hissing and growling first, though.

Maybe being away from Bob for a couple days would help. or maybe my husband can go in the room and he could hand me his stuff and that way Bob wouldn’t see me.

I’ll have to get more cans of tuna. I was worried giving him tuna too often wouldn’t be good for him—every few days would be okay as long as it isn’t too much at a time?

My husband said he’s going to work on Bob’s condo more tonight—he thinks he should be able to get it all done during this week. Then comes the scary part of taking the kennel out and putting the condo in. yikes! Hope it will work out okay.

I agree about what you said about Bob and not setting my expectations too high and taking things day by day. That would be great to get the hissing and growling under control and one of the main things I would like to see happen.

Thanks again.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Feeding tuna as the entire diet is not good for cats, but for training episodes it should be ok for him to have it daily. I prefer to use plain cooked chicken as it doesn't smell as bad!! But you have to use what works and what excites Bob.

Just take things day by day. I would just start spending some time in the other room. He can see you, hear you, but is a distance away. It may help him get more comfortable with you.

Keep us posted!

 

[dbcatperson]

Okay, I have tuna right now that I’ll give it a try and I’ll use chicken next time I make it to see what he likes more.

He hissed and growled at me again when I went in his room this morning so I’m going to see if my husband will handle that part for Bob at least for a couple days. I’ll continue to talk to him by the screen door but I think I need to keep away from inside his room area for a couple days. It’s stressing me out and making me feel like crap. It scares me that I drop what I’m holding—even though I know it could happen, it still scares me.

I will definitely keep you posted and I’ll let you know as soon as the condo is done.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[dbcatperson]

Bob is extra grouchy today and now I see he has diarrhea. I’m wondering if it could be from the Jackson galaxy feral drops? I started using them again this last week and now he has diarrhea. or maybe it’s from the greenies treats or I gave him too much tuna? So hard not knowing what's causing the trouble. Maybe I’ll go back to putting the forti flora in his food again? I also see he threw up some of his food too. gee, I hope this isn’t something serious.

My husband still has to finish his cat condo and it should be done today but now I’m really worried how to move things around if he’s not feeling well. My husband went in to clean up his stuff this morning—just when I opened the door to go in and put a plate of food down, he was hissing and growling right away so I’ll have to let me husband take over for a while.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I would take a sample of the diarrhea to the vet. How much tuna are you giving him? Small amounts shouldn't cause a problem, but maybe he is sensitive to tuna. I would stop the tuna and start with the forti flora right away.

If he still has diarrhea tomorrow, I would get a sample ( you can keep it in the fridge overnight) and take it to the vet on Monday morning for them to analyze. Do you know if he was eating the tuna right away or did it possibly sit for many hours? If the tuna or any other wet food sits out for too long, it can grow parasites which can make a cat sick.

Just a few thoughts. I would hold off on placing the condo if he is not feeling well.

Also what cat foods and how much are you feeding him. Also how much does he actually eat?

 

[maggiedemi]

Which variety of Greenies treats are you giving him, is it the hairball one?

 

[dbcatperson]

Last night I didn’t give him any tuna but the day before I had put tuna and canned food out and it’s possible that could’ve sat for a while before he ate it. We were gone for most of the day so I left food out for him. We didn’t get home until late and everything was gone but I don't know how long it sat before he ate it. So it’s possible the food sat too long. He had some solid in his big box but it’s was liquid in the small box and then he threw up some food this morning. I didn’t put too much tuna when i was giving him some--maybe a spoonful? Maybe I better stop that for now too? I’ll put fortiflora in his food for tonight.

He did seem more agitated today and he even was up on top of the kennel when I went in later this morning—he jumped down right away but other days he’s usually sleepier later in the morning. When my husband goes in by him, he always turns the light on. I don’t do that. Could that be a reason he hisses more at me too? Is that better to have the light on? I still think he’s picking up how nervous I am, though, because he didn't do this in the beginning.

We’ll see how Bob is doing tomorrow and won’t stress him out with moving things around right now. so upsetting to see him suffering with diarrhea again. Oh I’m still feeding him wellness core. That’s the food I switched too when he was having diarrhea before and it seemed like the diarrhea stopped after he was eating that. I switch off with two flavors—one is a chicken/turkey pate and the other is a hearty cuts with gravy—whitefish and salmon. Before when Bob would eat in the morning and at night, he was getting one can a day—half at each meal. And I leave dry food out all the time too which he eats overnight. But he hardly ever eats earlier in the day since he's been out of the kennel—only sometimes. So he always eats his food at night, though. I think I should give him the food a little later—sometimes it sits until it’s darker out before he eats.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I would stop the tuna. Just keep an eye on him and add the fortiflora to his food. If you see the diarrhea again, I would withhold food for at least half the day and allow his system to settle.

I would be sure that he eats all of his wet food within an hour of you setting it down. If he doesn't eat it then pick it up and try again later. Maybe the food is just sitting out too long.

Also, M maggiedemi asked about the type of greenies? If you are using the hairball type and he got too many it could cause both vomiting and diarrhea.

I would feed him very lightly tonight. If you have any plain chicken you could boil for him that is usually something that is fairly easy to digest.

 

[dbcatperson]

It is the hairball type of greenies and also the tartar control too—I only put about 4 or 5 pieces out of the hairball one but not every day—and only 2 of the tartar. Maybe this is too much for him?

I’ll have to be extra careful with Bob and his food. Do you just boil the chicken in plain water or do you add any chicken broth to it?

 

[maggiedemi]

I was just curious because I was using some hairball stuff for my cats and it was working great, but I think I overdid it. I got some diarrhea, puking, and hissing too. I was alternating some hairball treats, paste, and food to see which worked best. I thought I was spacing it out okay, but I guess I overdid it.

 

[dbcatperson]

I’m sorry to hear about your cats having trouble. I wonder if there’s something else that could be used for hairballs that would be easier on their stomachs. Is it safe to mix oil in their food and would that help for hairballs?

It’s so odd how my other cat, Tigger, just goes nutty for the greenies and if she could, she would eat the whole bag. She’s never shown any problems from them but I don’t know how good they really are and if they are safe to have every day. Each cat sure is different.

 

[maggiedemi]

I've tried coconut oil and olive oil in their food, but they won't eat it. If I put it on their paw they freak out and try to smear and fling it all over. I think I will try skipping two days between the hairball treats, maybe every other day was too much.

 

[dbcatperson]

Maybe that will work with having more time between doses. I hope it works out okay and they are feeling better soon.

 

[shadowsrescue]

For the chicken, you can just boil it in plain water. Once the chicken and water is up to a boil, lower the heat so there is just a low boil and cook about 20 minutes. Cool and then cut into small pieces.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have a cat that has lots of hair balls. I use Egg Yolk Lechithin. I buy it from Swanson Vitamins. I started with about 1/4 capsule once a day and worked up to 1 full capsule a day. I usually split it between meals. I did that for a month or so. Then I backed down and used 1/2 capsule 2-3x per week. It has greatly reduced his hairballs. He is longer haired cat and was having hairballs some times more than once a week. I had tried so many remedies. This really helped.
Here is an article
How Best to Manage Hairballs

 

[dbcatperson]

Thanks for the information about hairballs and the chicken. I thought I had some chicken in the freezer but I don’t. Maybe I’ll just do his canned food later with the fortiflora and I’ll try to pick up some chicken tomorrow to give him. I sure hope he’ll be feeling better tomorrow.

 

[shadowsrescue]

How is Bob today?