New Stray Cat

[Dwell]

Hi there,
I work at a local upstate NY collage and I am often driving around the campus. During the summer I noticed a orange tiger cat walking along the side of the road hunting for food. We have a population of feral cats on the campus and a program for spade,neuter,return. Well when it started getting colder and snowy I found tracks back to an old trailer in our stock yard. I started leaving food and would go back in the morning and find it gone along with fresh tracks.

Long story short I built a shelter and the cat used it and became used to me feeding him. after a couple months he finely let me pet him and pretty much came right up to me and let me pick him up and take him to my truck. I decided the next time I saw him I would take him and have him Feline tested and get him neutered and chipped to take him home. (Obviously a student left him behind because he was not a feral cat)

Here's the not so good part. I brought him home put him in the spare room with all the essentials. He loves to be petted and he's all over me purring and loving me. I also have 3 other cats in my house. Well he got out after a couple days and went after my male cat and I broke it up and made the very bad mistake of grabbing the new cat and he bit into my arm really bad. ER visit and antibiotics. a couple days latter because of my stupidness he rushed the door and went after the female cat and bit her. (this is all within a week of bringing him home) Well it's been two weeks and myself along with the female are recovering. The new cat is still living in the spare room which it doesn't seem like he minds. But do you think I'll ever be able to integrate this cat in with my others. A friend of mine is going to take him into his home but he has to small dogs a chihuahua and a Dachshund. Hopefully this will work out but if not I'd really like to try and keep this cat instead of trying to adopt him out if at all possible.

Any help is greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post

BD

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I think you can do this, but BOY are you in for the long haul! And he won't do any better in a home with dogs (possibly worse), and he LIKES you, so...First, if you haven't neutered him, do so asap. This will, after a short time, cut down on quite a bit of his aggression. But it will take several days to a week or so as the testosterone slowly leaves his system. NOW comes the real work, and I'm going to give you a BUNCH of articles. They are not long, and they are clear, concise and easy to read. They cover everything from information about ferals to introducing cats to breaking up cat fights! You are going to want that information at hand! Meanwhile, you are part of a community of cat lovers who applaud what you are doing, so you have a cheering section! Now, the first one dealing with ferals is just for general information. I have a sneaking suspicion that your cat is actually a stray who has spent a LOT of time on the streets. I'm not sure you would have ever put your hands on a "true" feral. After a certain amount of time, the two look and act very much alike

Should You Try And Tame A Feral Cat?
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats (somebody's gonna be stressed!)
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist (ditto)
Introducing Cats To Cats
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight (LOL, you KNOW why this one!)
and finally, How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction (because you may well have to back up and regroup a time or three!

Let me know how things are going! I'm rooting for you!