Newbie At Taming 2 Young Feral Cats

[Kiddo464]

Hello, I am delighted to have stumbled upon this wonderful group. You have given me hope. I have been searching for advice on what I should do with my two feral cats. I really want to tame them enough so they can find their forever home.

So I trapped them so they could get spayed and get any medical attention they needed. Brought them home and kept them warm while they recovered from surgery. THEN I couldn’t release them back outside into the cold.

Lilly and Blackie are both female. They are about 8-9 months old and live in my spare bedroom for about 6 weeks. Liter trained instantly. Never had an accident. They have never been hostile but hide when we enter the room. We put up a screen door which helps them get used to our two cats (all female oh boy) without any confrontation. It’s working well. They Will come up to the screen and play with the laser beam. We have touched them when they were in the pet carrier. My husband opened the door and pet both of them and actually put them to sleep. But in the open room, no luck. I work from home and I work in the “cat room”. They sleep the entire time I’m in the room. One in her cardboard safe box and the other on a chair.

I my question is what’s my next step to allow me to touch them? They really need nails trimmed. i guess I will try to get them to come to me with pieces of turkey or chicken. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
K Kiddo464 - At risk of sounding trite, you're already doing everything right. I'll offer a single tip: stay low when approaching them (or when hoping they'll approach you). I have eight ferals (and three strays), and becoming a Master of the, "lying down, leaning on one elbow," pose will speed things along considerably.

That aside, it's a waiting game, where patience wins the day. They're safe now, and they're Loved, and as Virgil reminds us, no force in the Heavens nor on earth can stand against Love.
.

 

[margd]

to TCS! I'm glad you found us, too. A lot of our members have experience with taming feral cats so you should be able to get some valuable tips - 1CatOverTheLine has given you a few already. I'm not one of those experienced members, unfortunately but I can offer a few observations that work with shy cats in general.

It's a very good sign that Blackie and Lilly sleep out in the open when you're working in their room. (Let's face it, that's their room now. They just let you use it.) Even though they hide when you enter the room, if they didn't feel safe with you, they wouldn't allow themselves to be vulnerable by sleeping in your presence, especially not out in the open in a chair. So, you do have some trust there already on which you can build.

Do you play with them, other than with the laser pointer? One of the best ways to bond with cats is through play. You can take something as simple as a string and move it in front of them while they swat at it. If you move it closer to you, odds are they will follow it up to a point. Don't rush them - with time they should follow it as you bring it closer and closer to you. Be sure to reward them with treats such as the chicken or turkey you mentioned. You want them to see play with you as fun and enjoyable, something they want to repeat. Something with a reward at the end.

If they aren't into playing (some cats aren't), you can try gradually coaxing them closer and closer to you with treats. The idea is to gradually make a line of treats that they follow until they are within patting distance.

You may be able to touch them and eventually pat them when they get close enough but if they are still too nervous, you can try using a short pole or stick with something soft wrapped around one end. Let them check it out thoroughly and then try to pat them with it. It may take awhile before you can substitute your hand for the stick so you'll need to be patient.

One very important thing: Let them lead the way. Don't push them or try to rush things. Things will go much more smoothly if you give them the lead in this. It sounds like you may already be doing this, which is great.

Here are some articles that might give you some ideas. I'm including one on clipping their nails - you may already know this since you have other cats but there may be something you can use to make things go more smoothly.

How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
How To Best Take Care Of Cat Claws

Home, Sweet Home: How to Bring an Outside Cat Indoors : The Humane Society of the United States

I think it's wonderful that you couldn't send Lilly and Blackie outside again and have made them a part of your family. The fact that they've never shown any hostility towards you and are not actively trying to escape shows that they are happy that you made that decision as well!

 

[Kiddo464]

to TCS! I'm glad you found us, too. A lot of our members have experience with taming feral cats so you should be able to get some valuable tips - 1CatOverTheLine has given you a few already. I'm not one of those experienced members, unfortunately but I can offer a few observations that work with shy cats in general.

It's a very good sign that Blackie and Lilly sleep out in the open when you're working in their room. (Let's face it, that's their room now. They just let you use it.) Even though they hide when you enter the room, if they didn't feel safe with you, they wouldn't allow themselves to be vulnerable by sleeping in your presence, especially not out in the open in a chair. So, you do have some trust there already on which you can build.

Do you play with them, other than with the laser pointer? One of the best ways to bond with cats is through play. You can take something as simple as a string and move it in front of them while they swat at it. If you move it closer to you, odds are they will follow it up to a point. Don't rush them - with time they should follow it as you bring it closer and closer to you. Be sure to reward them with treats such as the chicken or turkey you mentioned. You want them to see play with you as fun and enjoyable, something they want to repeat. Something with a reward at the end.

If they aren't into playing (some cats aren't), you can try gradually coaxing them closer and closer to you with treats. The idea is to gradually make a line of treats that they follow until they are within patting distance.

You may be able to touch them and eventually pat them when they get close enough but if they are still too nervous, you can try using a short pole or stick with something soft wrapped around one end. Let them check it out thoroughly and then try to pat them with it. It may take awhile before you can substitute your hand for the stick so you'll need to be patient.

One very important thing: Let them lead the way. Don't push them or try to rush things. Things will go much more smoothly if you give them the lead in this. It sounds like you may already be doing this, which is great.

Here are some articles that might give you some ideas. I'm including one on clipping their nails - you may already know this since you have other cats but there may be something you can use to make things go more smoothly.

How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
How To Best Take Care Of Cat Claws

Home, Sweet Home: How to Bring an Outside Cat Indoors : The Humane Society of the United States

I think it's wonderful that you couldn't send Lilly and Blackie outside again and have made them a part of your family. The fact that they've never shown any hostility towards you and are not actively trying to escape shows that they are happy that you made that decision as well!

Margd thank-you for all your suggestions. Sorry for the delay but I am still navigating the site and I lost the thread. I am finally reading some of your suggested articles. We made progress this week. Blackie is really interested in playing. She has come to me and very lightly touched my hand. Lilly smelled my hand on the other side of the screen. Small steps.

 

[margd]

I'm so glad to hear that Blackie and Lilly have both approached you. This is exactly what you want them to do. Even though they may continue to be cautious for awhile, they are on their way to developing trust in you.

I hope the articles are useful. If you have any more problems with the site, feel free to send me a private message and I'll be more than glad to help you with it.

 

[Kiddo464]

What a great night with Lily and Blackie. We left them out in the hall tonight. Lily loved it and even head butted my husband’s hand a few times. She even ate out of my hand. Blackie is the scaredy-cat lol. They now sit at the door just waiting to come see them.

Each day we go a little further and they come a little closer to trusting us.