Semi feral or just scared?

[ACP269]

Hello! I am new to this site and I would love your advice. My husband and I have been fostering with a rescue for 3 years but my experience has mostly been with litters of kittens or adult cats that need a new placement for whatever reason. However, we recently took in two adult cats who were found together living outside. I am wondering if they are semi-feral or just really scared. Our rescue was told that the cats were found on the side of the road huddled together and that the person who found them was able to just pick them up and bring them in so they assumed they were friendly.

These two cats are not aggressive at all, but they are also not friendly. I have had them in rescue for about 3 weeks (which I know isn't a long time). When they first came to me they would not even sniff me or respond to me in any way. They do not meow, hiss, or growl. All of that behavior suggests that they are possibly feral, however, if you scratch their backs they will start to knead and purr and if your hand is close, they will butt their head into it. If you move away, they will not seek any more attention. They will not come to me for food, even chicken baby food, but they will lick it off a spoon if put close by.

They are extremely tense and keep their tails wrapped tightly around themselves. They have the most extreme flight response I have ever seen in a cat and will do anything they can to get away if you try to pick them up, like when trying to get them in a carrier to go to the vet.

I think we are making a little progress because of the purring, kneading, and head-butting, but I want to make sure we are doing the right thing for them. On the advice of another foster, we separated them to different rooms in the hope that they would come to depend on us for comfort not each other, but I want to check with you all and see if you think that is the best way or not. Is there anything else that we should be doing or avoid doing? I wonder if they will ever be relaxed enough to be adoptable. Should we stop petting them at all till they are more comfortable? Should we just sit in the room with them so they get used to our presence? Or should we be looking to release them to be barn cats or something like that? Thanks for any advice!

 

[VAMama]

Classic signs of battered/abused cats. They lived with humans who hurt them and abandoned them. It's great you have them purring in three weeks. It often takes much longer than that. Keep petting them so they get more experience with humans being kind.

You have them separated, but can they visit sometimes?

 

[CalicoKittyDaisy]

I would keep them together since they get along. They can comfort each other. It will take time to trust you.

 

[tabbytom]

Hello! I am new to this site and I would love your advice. My husband and I have been fostering with a rescue for 3 years but my experience has mostly been with litters of kittens or adult cats that need a new placement for whatever reason. However, we recently took in two adult cats who were found together living outside. I am wondering if they are semi-feral or just really scared. Our rescue was told that the cats were found on the side of the road huddled together and that the person who found them was able to just pick them up and bring them in so they assumed they were friendly.

These two cats are not aggressive at all, but they are also not friendly. I have had them in rescue for about 3 weeks (which I know isn't a long time). When they first came to me they would not even sniff me or respond to me in any way. They do not meow, hiss, or growl. All of that behavior suggests that they are possibly feral, however, if you scratch their backs they will start to knead and purr and if your hand is close, they will butt their head into it. If you move away, they will not seek any more attention. They will not come to me for food, even chicken baby food, but they will lick it off a spoon if put close by.

They are extremely tense and keep their tails wrapped tightly around themselves. They have the most extreme flight response I have ever seen in a cat and will do anything they can to get away if you try to pick them up, like when trying to get them in a carrier to go to the vet.

I think we are making a little progress because of the purring, kneading, and head-butting, but I want to make sure we are doing the right thing for them. On the advice of another foster, we separated them to different rooms in the hope that they would come to depend on us for comfort not each other, but I want to check with you all and see if you think that is the best way or not. Is there anything else that we should be doing or avoid doing? I wonder if they will ever be relaxed enough to be adoptable. Should we stop petting them at all till they are more comfortable? Should we just sit in the room with them so they get used to our presence? Or should we be looking to release them to be barn cats or something like that? Thanks for any advice!

and welcome to TCS!

Thank you for taking in these two kitties. From what I read, they may have been through some unpleasant ordeal.

I’ll jump straight in and say that it’s better to keep them together. Since they’ve gone through who knows what and they are clinging to each other, it means that they find courage and comfort together.

Yes, on one hand they are may be afraid of people but on the other hand, they need the love from human and that’s why they are purring and kneading and head butting. They are in two minds now and since it just 3 weeks in, it’s still a pretty short time for them to gain enough courage to be really friendly. They are just taking precautions.

Spend more time with them and build up their confidence in you and your husband. They need to trust you both enough to be more open.
Yes, please keep petting them and let them head but your hand and by doing so, it shows that you are not a threat to them and help them overcome their fears. Keep giving them food even if they take it from the spoon. Let them associate you with food.

They need to be handled with gentle care and love and adopting them out or releasing them as barn cats is out of the question now. If you do that, it means that they have to start all over again in trusting people and they may not even get through it the next time. Please do not let them go through this as this may look like another betrayal by people and they may never trust anyone again.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I would definitely keep these two together. They appear to be a bonded pair. These two need time, patience and love. Baby steps are needed. Are they food motivated? You can try plain cooked chicken or Gerber stage 2 chicken or turkey baby food. Most cats love it. Churu lickables are great too.

Have you tried any calming products like Feliway plug in or Composure?

I would sit in the room with them as often as possible. If they are somewhat food motivated I would bring something special every time I come into the room. It will start the process of associating you with something good.

What about some catnip toys? It can often help to bring cats out of their shell. Having a window to look outside or a cat tree to perch on.

I would hope they don't have to be barn cats. Shy, scared, abused and somewhat feral cats can take quite a long time to adapt to inside living. As you mentioned, 3 weeks is not that long. I hope that you are able to give them the time and patience they need.

 

[ACP269]

Classic signs of battered/abused cats. They lived with humans who hurt them and abandoned them. It's great you have them purring in three weeks. It often takes much longer than that. Keep petting them so they get more experience with humans being kind.

You have them separated, but can they visit sometimes?

I hadn’t thought about them being abused and dumped. I have had them separated for about a week, but sounds like from other advice here that I should put them back together.

 

[ACP269]

and welcome to TCS!

Thank you for taking in these two kitties. From what I read, they may have been through some unpleasant ordeal.

I’ll jump straight in and say that it’s better to keep them together. Since they’ve gone through who knows what and they are clinging to each other, it means that they find courage and comfort together.

Yes, on one hand they are may be afraid of people but on the other hand, they need the love from human and that’s why they are purring and kneading and head butting. They are in two minds now and since it just 3 weeks in, it’s still a pretty short time for them to gain enough courage to be really friendly. They are just taking precautions.

Spend more time with them and build up their confidence in you and your husband. They need to trust you both enough to be more open.
Yes, please keep petting them and let them head but your hand and by doing so, it shows that you are not a threat to them and help them overcome their fears. Keep giving them food even if they take it from the spoon. Let them associate you with food.

They need to be handled with gentle care and love and adopting them out or releasing them as barn cats is out of the question now. If you do that, it means that they have to start all over again in trusting people and they may not even get through it the next time. Please do not let them go through this as this may look like another betrayal by people and they may never trust anyone again.

Thank you for all the advice! We plan on letting them stay with us for as long as it takes. I’ve just never had cats with these behaviors before so I was sure what to do in the long run. We currently have them in pop up cats tents on separate floors of the house. They don’t have anywhere to hide in there, but they are in a room separated from all other animals in the house. It is quiet and calm but do you think we should provide a place for them to hide? They are eating and using the litter box when we aren’t there, so I know they are comfortable enough at times. We can put them back together today and I hope that my separating them didn’t do any more harm in their journey to trust us!

 

[tabbytom]

Thank you for all the advice! We plan on letting them stay with us for as long as it takes. I’ve just never had cats with these behaviors before so I was sure what to do in the long run. We currently have them in pop up cats tents on separate floors of the house. They don’t have anywhere to hide in there, but they are in a room separated from all other animals in the house. It is quiet and calm but do you think we should provide a place for them to hide? They are eating and using the litter box when we aren’t there, so I know they are comfortable enough at times. We can put them back together today and I hope that my separating them didn’t do any more harm in their journey to trust us!

You are welcomed

Place them in the same room. Have a cardboard box for them if they need to hide. Leaving them with no place to hide makes them more scared as there is no defense for them. Having a cardboard box is like having a place to retreat to if needed. This is natural for them.

It‘s normal for them to eat and use the little box when there’s no one around. Visiting them frequently will boost their confidence and trust. Leave your clean unwashed non perfumed garments with them. This will help them get use to your scents. Familiar scents will help them build up their trust.
You may also place a few towels in the cardboard box to soak up their scents too. After a few days, take one or two of the towels and place it out of the cardboard box a few feet away so that when they move around, there’s familiar scents and that will also boost their confidence.

 

[ACP269]

I would definitely keep these two together. They appear to be a bonded pair. These two need time, patience and love. Baby steps are needed. Are they food motivated? You can try plain cooked chicken or Gerber stage 2 chicken or turkey baby food. Most cats love it. Churu lickables are great too.

Have you tried any calming products like Feliway plug in or Composure?

I would sit in the room with them as often as possible. If they are somewhat food motivated I would bring something special every time I come into the room. It will start the process of associating you with something good.

What about some catnip toys? It can often help to bring cats out of their shell. Having a window to look outside or a cat tree to perch on.

I would hope they don't have to be barn cats. Shy, scared, abused and somewhat feral cats can take quite a long time to adapt to inside living. As you mentioned, 3 weeks is not that long. I hope that you are able to give them the time and patience they need.

Thanks for your advice! I currently have them in pop up cat tents so they can’t get to the cat trees or anything like that. I worry that if they have free roam of the finished basement that we will never see them again because they will just hide. I was hoping to keep them confined while they get used to us and a routine. Maybe they need more space to figure out how to feel relaxed here?

I do feel like they are bonded so I will put them back together today and just continue with spending time with them. They are eating but don’t seem very motivated by food. They will take a bit of chicken baby food off a spoon but only if I put it near them.

They will definitely have as long as they need here with us, I just want to make sure I’m doing the right things to keep moving in the right direction!