Semi-feral: Bring Them Inside Or Not?

[Avery]

Lucky and Palmer are doing well, but it is going slowly. They are still just in the upper hall, eating treats together or sitting and watching each other and purring. Sometimes grabbing at a wand toy. So far they haven't moved too far from the safe room. I keep their encounters to maybe 5-15 minutes, then close up the door. I'm thinking of waiting until Palmer is taking a nap downstairs one day soon, and letting Lucky out into the rest of the house to see how they will interact in a different location. I'd be sure to have plenty of treats ready, but I am not 100% sure this is a good plan for them! Lucky has been out in the rest of the house, but always with Palmer locked away.

I know shadowsrescue has had feral cats in safe rooms for fairly long periods of time and I'm wondering -- did you ever allow your other cats into the safe room? A few days ago, Palmer wanted to go in and I let him and followed him around so he wouldn't get near Ruby who was watching him from the top of the cat tree. Now that I'm at the beginning of the introduction stage, I'm wondering if the safe room is to be kept only for the feral cats or if you would use it as a way to help integrate and introduce them to the other cats. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[shadowsrescue]

Yes, I allow my other cats time in the safe room. One of my resident cats I put on a harness and allow him time to walk around and smell the room. I do mostly keep him out of the litter box. Another of my resident cats is free to go into the safe room with the feral boys. He does so well with them. He even uses their litter boxes with no issues.

When I did introductions on my prior feral cats, I always used the safe room for face to face intros. It was a nice small space and easier for me to control all the cats.

 

[Avery]

Thanks for the speedy reply! Palmer will be happy to hear this as he is very interested in going back and snooping around some more! I am hopeful that this might be good for Ruby, seeing Palmer (her son!) interact more with Lucky. Palmer is also easy to control because I can grab him if he gets too nosy but he is usually a sweet, calm boy so that could be helpful to Ruby, too.

 

[Avery]

Such a good morning at my house! I'll try to be brief... somehow that is hard to do!

Palmer was hanging around outside the safe room so I opened the door and gave Lucky and Palmer a few treats in the hallway. Nothing new there, but then we moved into new territory!

Lucky was braver than usual and walked past Palmer, down the hall, into my bedroom, and up on the cat tree. Palmer followed, scratched on an old ottoman (there for that purpose), and scratched at the bottom of the cat tree--I'm thinking that was to show Lucky whose room it really is!?

Then Lucky went downstairs and I let Palmer wander into the safe room. (If I could clone myself, I would have followed Lucky, too, but I knew he couldn't get into much trouble downstairs so I just stuck with Palmer.) I put treats on the cat tree where Ruby was sitting and, unlike the other day when she seemed too nervous to eat them, she ate them right up and seemed more alert and engaged than before. Lucky came back upstairs and into his safe room within a few minutes so I picked up Palmer, took him out of the room, gave Lucky and Ruby a few more treats, closed the door, and came to work!

Such small things really, but an example of one step forward! Yay!

 

[shadowsrescue]

Wow!!! Great progress. How brave Lucky is being! I just know Ruby will get there. I am sure curiosity will get the best of her!

 

[kittyluv387]

How are they doing now??

 

[Avery]

kittyluv387 , thanks for checking on me! We have been making some progress! At least twice a day, I open up the safe room to let Lucky out. I no longer put Palmer away -- he usually goes right in and snoops around. He is especially interested in their litter boxes, but hasn't used them yet. One time when Palmer entered the room, Ruby was on the floor at the base of the cat tree and they sniffed noses! They did it a second time and she gave a little hiss and backed up. When she is up on the cat tree, where I think she feels she is safe, I don't let Palmer jump up and scare her. She is watching all the action, but so far they haven't had another encounter.

Sometimes, Lucky doesn't want to leave the room, so I just give him some petting or brushing. Other times, he goes out of the room and heads downstairs where he will wander around. Lucky and Palmer are doing really, really well together. I haven't heard any hissing and only saw one little skirmish which ended when I clapped my hands and they jumped apart, looking guilty! They are very aware of each other, will sniff each other or lay down near each other, have done some very brief and harmless chasing, but don't really interact too much. I hope in time they will become friends and will play together. As far as little 15-year-old Rosie, she and Lucky have touched noses a few times and all seems OK there. As I write this, Rosie is snoring next to me on the living room couch, Palmer is sleeping on a blanket under the end table, and Lucky is cleaning himself on the chair nearest the TV. For a cat with only one good eye, he really likes watching TV!

I think that within a few weeks, I will trust Lucky to be out all the time unsupervised. First, I would need to let him explore the basement, where there are a couple of litter boxes. The basement has a ton of hiding spots, but Lucky doesn't seem inclined to hide. I'm just not sure how to handle this next step because I still need to keep Ruby in the safe room. So would Lucky be kept completely out of the safe room? Would he have meals with Rosie and Palmer? Would I put him in there at night? I wonder if Ruby would be lonely if he was never there or if she would thrive without him. Maybe she would become closer to me without Lucky asking for petting all the time! Or maybe I would let him in for visits. I can't quite figure this out!

Anyway, another long story! Bottom line, I am very happy with how things are going with Lucky and, while I'd love for Ruby to also want to leave the safe room, it probably would be better if I could pick her up and pet her more before she starts exploring. I do see small steps with her, more head bumps when she gets treats and more acceptance of petting then, too. If Lucky is away from the safe room more and more, it will be interesting to see how she reacts.

 

[rubysmama]

As I write this, Rosie is snoring next to me on the living room couch, Palmer is sleeping on a blanket under the end table, and Lucky is cleaning himself on the chair nearest the TV.

That sounds paws-itively precious. Really sounds like things are going well with the 3 of them. Now just need to get Ruby on board.

When Lucky is out exploring, is Ruby's door open?

 

[Avery]

Thanks, Rubysmama! When I was restricting Lucky to the second floor, I left the safe room door completely open, and twice I saw Ruby (on the camera later on) go to the doorway to peek out and once she went out into the hall for just a second. With Lucky going downstairs now, I wouldn't want Ruby to have that much freedom yet so I lock the baby gate. Ruby is on the cat tree directly opposite across the room so she can see out over the top as well as through the gate itself. Sometimes, if I get nervous, I also close the door. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot to see out that door and Ruby usually eventually curls up and takes a nap on the cat tree! Hmmm... maybe once Lucky is downstairs I can put up the blockade so Ruby is restricted to the upstairs and I can leave the door open again. I'll have to think about this and experiment!

Since I'm writing again, I'd like to add that I had a little trouble getting Lucky back into his room tonight! Had to chase him around until he finally decided to head upstairs. Once he was there, he had treats and I gave him some attention so he was purring and fine, but we both had a good workout running around the house! I think I need to introduce him to the other litter boxes sooner rather than later just in case this keeps happening and I decide to let him stay out overnight.

 

[rubysmama]

I love that Ruby has ever so briefly tiptoed outside of her room. Someday she'll join the entire family downstairs, I'm sure. And Lucky sounds like he's ready for more freedom. You're doing such a good job with them.

BTW, any chance of seeing some 2019 pictures.

 

[KrisinOhio]

Hi Avery!! Just catching up on your good news! So happy for you. Ruby's just going at her pace, im sure. Gotta love the cat chasing workout... really gets the heart rate up!

 

[kittyluv387]

Sounds like Lucky wants to be part of the family!! Ruby, she's still fine on her own pace.

 

[Avery]

I was just about to post some news and ask for help because for about a week Lucky hasn't been that interested in leaving the safe room to explore. He had just been going out into the hallway and staying for a short time, then back in, either to take a nap or to race around like a nut. Palmer likes to go in the room and wander around so they were kind of interacting in a passive way. Sometimes, they would just lay on either side of the open door and stare at each other. Kind of figuring each other out I guess!

But tonight Lucky seemed very happy to leave the room! Yay! He rolled around with a catnip toy in the hallway, dashed back and forth acting silly, wrestled with Palmer a few times, went into my bedroom to snoop around, then chased downstairs with Palmer. After a few minutes, Palmer chased Lucky back upstairs! They were near each other the whole time and I'm pretty sure they were having fun!

I have been a little worried because Lucky always starts the wrestling with Palmer. It doesn't look like fighting, but I'm not 100% sure it is playing, maybe just testing each other? Palmer, who is a few pounds lighter, extricates himself quickly and jumps aside with a look on his face like "what just happened?!" He has never lived with a bigger cat who tries to jump on him so he just seems surprised. After the tussle, Palmer might move a few feet away but he always comes back within a few seconds so I don't think he is afraid of Lucky. Palmer makes cute, little chirpy noises at Lucky which to me seem very friendly and playful. I hope so much that it works out and they become good buddies!

 

[rubysmama]

It doesn't look like fighting, but I'm not 100% sure it is playing, maybe just testing each other?

Have you read this article: Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing?

 

[Avery]

Thanks, rubysmama ! That is a really helpful article. I read it a few times and printed it out. I am going to watch more closely the next time I see them wrestling! I THINK from what I am reading that they are playing.

 

[KrisinOhio]

That article was very helpful to me! My feral mama and 5 month old kitten were roughhousing. I assumed they were playing, but this article tells you what specifically to look for. I hope yours are playing too Avery!

 

[KrisinOhio]

Hi Avery ! I was thinking about you! How is everyone doing?

 

[Avery]

Hi KrisinOhio ! Thanks for thinking of me! I just read your post about trying new food for little T. I tried to feed my cats Wellness and a few other good brands, but they wouldn't have it, so they usually are OK with Fancy Feast canned and Blue Buffalo crunchies. I add a little water to the canned food to give them extra moisture.

So I have a little news! Depending on my work schedule, Lucky has been allowed out of the safe room for up to about four hours and he heads out the door without hesitation. He goes downstairs for a little exploring, but mostly goes on my bed or up on the cat tree in my bedroom, sometimes with Palmer on another perch of the cat tree, which is very cute. He chases Palmer but Palmer seems to like it and goes right back for more. He also jumps on Palmer and they wrestle briefly -- they show all signs that they are playing although I think Palmer gets a little scared. Tonight, I heard Palmer making a noise like he was being hurt (I saw a few pieces of loose fur so Lucky must have used his claws) and I clapped or made a noise and Lucky immediately stopped and ran into the barrel of the cat tree where he often rests. Ruby, who was a few perches above him, came down and started batting at him from above, hissing and growling! She did that one other time when Lucky was too rough with Palmer... almost like she is saying "you leave my little boy alone, you bully!" although I doubt that she really knows Palmer is her son. I have Comfort Zone plugged in but I'm thinking of getting some calming spray to use as well. I really don't feel I can completely trust Lucky and Palmer together if Lucky is going to be rough. But I haven't had two young male cats before so maybe this is normal??

A few times, I have used the wire gate to block the stairs and restrict Lucky and Ruby to upstairs only and keep Palmer downstairs. I did that today, leaving the safe room open all day, and Lucky headed out and went on the cat tree in my bedroom. In the past, on the camera, I have seen Ruby peek her head out the door two or three times. Today, she went completely out! I only have a camera in the safe room so I had no idea what she was doing although I did hear some running/chasing. After about twenty minutes, I couldn't stand it so I went upstairs and there she was in my bedroom on the cat tree with Lucky! After four months of being in the safe room, she left the room for the very first time and explored! I was so happy! Of course, as soon as I started back downstairs, she jumped off and went back to the safe room! I still can't pet her whenever I want and I can't pick her up, so I'm not sure how this will all end up! One step at a time, I guess!

 

[shadowsrescue]

This is just the best news!! I am so proud of Ruby!! Lucky and Palmer are off to a wonderful friendship. I didn't realize that Ruby was Palmer's birth mom!

You are doing fantastic and their progress is remarkable. I am so happy for you and all the kitties. Please keep updating!

 

[KrisinOhio]

Great news Avery !! So proud of Ruby! And who knows, maybe she somehow knows she wants to protect Palmer??