- Joined
- May 29, 2022
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- 21
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Hi,
I have posted about my boy, Lavender, a beautiful rare male blue tortoiseshell, a few times now for various reasons. But after doing a ton of research I keep getting mixed answers.
To summarize my question, is it possible to socialize a senior feral cat? He is not able to be returned outside as I had been planning on doing because he is already a senior at 10+ years old, has FIV, bladder stones, no teeth, and is blind in one eye - the vet told me that she didn't think he would last another winter living outside in his current condition but his bloodwork came back looking fantastic so he does have a good quality of life ahead of him, as long as he remains indoors with a consistent premium diet and temperature control.
I had been feeding him outside my off-campus house at school for about two years before finally being able to trap him to get him vetted and neutered before I graduated (it took over six months to catch him)... I couldn't leave him there without someone looking after him because it would have made me sick to my stomach. He would walk up to me to be fed and let me pet him outside but only when he was eating (he never seemed to 'enjoy' being pet, only tolerate it) but it's been difficult ever since I brought him inside. I brought him inside with his semi-feral friend (who is not feral at all anymore) and I had them both living in my boyfriend's house which was a two min drive down the road from where i caught them for about two and a half weeks to get free vet care from a cat rescue I had been working with (I caught them on May 20th) before I had to take them to my family's house which was a seven hour drive away.
The traveling seemed to set him back so much on our socialization progress. He didn't eat for two days when I brought him home and it scared the life out of me. He would come out during the day at my boyfriends, sometimes jump on the bed and hang out on the windowsill next to my bed and let me pet him. But after traveling I can't seem to get him to act the same way anymore. He occasionally gets on my bed in the middle of the night and makes biscuits <3 on a fluffy blanket I always put on my bed and he lets me pet him and sometimes leans into the scratches, but he's basically stuck under my bed other than those rare instances. I am afraid to block off underneath my bed because his bladder issues can be exacerbated with stress, which I'm sure that would cause and I am terrified of him getting a blockage. Is this even possible or am I just torturing him for no good outcome?
He also has not been eating his prescription bladder stone diet as much as I used to see (hills stress management c/d). He also gets a 2.5 oz can of tiki cat twice a day
I have posted about my boy, Lavender, a beautiful rare male blue tortoiseshell, a few times now for various reasons. But after doing a ton of research I keep getting mixed answers.
To summarize my question, is it possible to socialize a senior feral cat? He is not able to be returned outside as I had been planning on doing because he is already a senior at 10+ years old, has FIV, bladder stones, no teeth, and is blind in one eye - the vet told me that she didn't think he would last another winter living outside in his current condition but his bloodwork came back looking fantastic so he does have a good quality of life ahead of him, as long as he remains indoors with a consistent premium diet and temperature control.
I had been feeding him outside my off-campus house at school for about two years before finally being able to trap him to get him vetted and neutered before I graduated (it took over six months to catch him)... I couldn't leave him there without someone looking after him because it would have made me sick to my stomach. He would walk up to me to be fed and let me pet him outside but only when he was eating (he never seemed to 'enjoy' being pet, only tolerate it) but it's been difficult ever since I brought him inside. I brought him inside with his semi-feral friend (who is not feral at all anymore) and I had them both living in my boyfriend's house which was a two min drive down the road from where i caught them for about two and a half weeks to get free vet care from a cat rescue I had been working with (I caught them on May 20th) before I had to take them to my family's house which was a seven hour drive away.
The traveling seemed to set him back so much on our socialization progress. He didn't eat for two days when I brought him home and it scared the life out of me. He would come out during the day at my boyfriends, sometimes jump on the bed and hang out on the windowsill next to my bed and let me pet him. But after traveling I can't seem to get him to act the same way anymore. He occasionally gets on my bed in the middle of the night and makes biscuits <3 on a fluffy blanket I always put on my bed and he lets me pet him and sometimes leans into the scratches, but he's basically stuck under my bed other than those rare instances. I am afraid to block off underneath my bed because his bladder issues can be exacerbated with stress, which I'm sure that would cause and I am terrified of him getting a blockage. Is this even possible or am I just torturing him for no good outcome?
He also has not been eating his prescription bladder stone diet as much as I used to see (hills stress management c/d). He also gets a 2.5 oz can of tiki cat twice a day
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