Hello all, this could be long , but going to try not to, I have 3 permanent, well adjusted "forever" cats, all former rescue, 2 neuter male, 1 spayed female, one is an older "father figure" and other male , and female, I got close to same age, as kittens, and they are a bit over a year now, they are playmates, and very shy/sensitive.
Several months ago I found a small feral colony of cats living in an old rarely used equipment barn at my job ( there was a female trapped in dumpster near barn, and I got inside dumpster, and just kept following her, cause she was panicky, until she "froze up" and i scruffed her, and got her out, and she ran torwards barn , which is how i found them ) I started giving them food, and after several weeks she actually started letting me touch her a little, I continued caring for her, and discovered another VERY wild female, and male, original female became very tame, and started showing major affection, and she was getting her ears torn from fighting, so i thought she was being picked on ( but looking back I think she was queen bee, because she always ate 1st, with male lurking in shadows , waiting, and I made her a nest box that she was always in, ( until I took her home, and then other female used it ) but the people sweet female I decided to take to vet, and then home, I seperated her, and my place is small so I used a giant dog kennel, and gradually started letting her out, my 3 showed a little aggression , but mostly curiosty, the feral female was bold almost from the start, and her aggression seemed to increase as time went on, she will "guard" my yard area, perimeter of home, against dogs, neighbors cats, and unfortunately my cats, especially the younger 2, so often they hide in bushes since they are so sensitive, and do not stand up to her, she does better with my older male, but has attacked him too, it has been over 3 months, she knows I get upset at her when she is aggressive, so it is mostly done when i am not looking, or near, but i hear, or see from distance, we all 4 go on walks, and she will be close to them , and sorta okay sometimes, both they do not trust her, and i do not either, but I feel horrible to rehome her, because she is SO SWEET , and cuddly to me, she follows me everywhere, like a dog, I told a neighbor lady I was probably going to rehome her, and she did not help matters by saying "she will be heartbroke, she loves you" and goes everywhere with you, but again, I just cannot deal with the intimidation she does with my other cats, and it breaks my heart seeing them afraid to come in yard to come home, I may be putting human emotion into her behavior as "love" , but I guess question is do others see this in their cats ? I have a friend that has offered to take her, and make a barn cat/pet out of her, and she takes AWESOME care of all her animals, and they want for nothing, and of course I have offered to take her back if things go bad, I guess I'd lije to hear others stories of similar, if they have dealt with this, and if you have read this far, thank you !!!
Several months ago I found a small feral colony of cats living in an old rarely used equipment barn at my job ( there was a female trapped in dumpster near barn, and I got inside dumpster, and just kept following her, cause she was panicky, until she "froze up" and i scruffed her, and got her out, and she ran torwards barn , which is how i found them ) I started giving them food, and after several weeks she actually started letting me touch her a little, I continued caring for her, and discovered another VERY wild female, and male, original female became very tame, and started showing major affection, and she was getting her ears torn from fighting, so i thought she was being picked on ( but looking back I think she was queen bee, because she always ate 1st, with male lurking in shadows , waiting, and I made her a nest box that she was always in, ( until I took her home, and then other female used it ) but the people sweet female I decided to take to vet, and then home, I seperated her, and my place is small so I used a giant dog kennel, and gradually started letting her out, my 3 showed a little aggression , but mostly curiosty, the feral female was bold almost from the start, and her aggression seemed to increase as time went on, she will "guard" my yard area, perimeter of home, against dogs, neighbors cats, and unfortunately my cats, especially the younger 2, so often they hide in bushes since they are so sensitive, and do not stand up to her, she does better with my older male, but has attacked him too, it has been over 3 months, she knows I get upset at her when she is aggressive, so it is mostly done when i am not looking, or near, but i hear, or see from distance, we all 4 go on walks, and she will be close to them , and sorta okay sometimes, both they do not trust her, and i do not either, but I feel horrible to rehome her, because she is SO SWEET , and cuddly to me, she follows me everywhere, like a dog, I told a neighbor lady I was probably going to rehome her, and she did not help matters by saying "she will be heartbroke, she loves you" and goes everywhere with you, but again, I just cannot deal with the intimidation she does with my other cats, and it breaks my heart seeing them afraid to come in yard to come home, I may be putting human emotion into her behavior as "love" , but I guess question is do others see this in their cats ? I have a friend that has offered to take her, and make a barn cat/pet out of her, and she takes AWESOME care of all her animals, and they want for nothing, and of course I have offered to take her back if things go bad, I guess I'd lije to hear others stories of similar, if they have dealt with this, and if you have read this far, thank you !!!
