Shy Stray Cat

[Sunnyryuji]

Hello everyone. I was just hoping to post my story and get opinions on what my next steps should be and on if I could end up adopting her.

Near the beginning of the year a cat began showing up on my balcony. At the beginning she would fight with my cat through the glass and immediately leave when she saw someone approaching the door. However as time went on, she no longer seems to care much about my cat and mainly comes to the balcony to sit on our chairs. I began feeding her a few months in and I feel we have gradually grown closer. Currently she is not scared to approach the doorway even if I am standing in it, and she is not alarmed with my general presence. However she does not allow me to get too close or pet her. I have also managed to lure her into my apartment by placing a cat nip toy in the entrance. She will play with the toy for several minutes even with my boyfriend and I close by.

Now that I know she is easily lured with cat nip, I would like to trap her and take her to my local shelter. If they say everything checks out, my main hope is to bring her into my home. My boyfriend however believes we should build more trust with her before trying to trap her. I am also worried the shelter will not find her suitable for adoption, or that my current cat will not warm up to her due to him already knowing her.

Sorry for the really long post, I guess I'd just like to hear some thoughts about the situation. Thank you so much for reading and your time.

 

[msaimee]

Why would you take her to a shelter and not a vet clinic? If you take her to a shelter and they don't find her "adoptable," she will be euthanized. Why not arrange to take her to a vet clinic to be spayed (if she needs to be spayed) , vaccinated for rabies, and have a SNAP test done (to rule out FIV and FelV). Then take her home to recover from spay surgery for a few days in a room of her own in your house. If she's healthy (no FelV), then you can begin the socialization process with her to your home anf resident cats. We can help you with that here. You've been caring for her for a year. Has she had kittens or gone into heat that you know of? It's possible she was owned and spayed at some point, then dumped, and is not a true feral. Whether she's a feral or shy stray, it's going to take weeks or even months to fully socialize her, but it will be worth it. I would not leave the decision about whether or not she can be socialized to shelter staff or even a veterinarian. I have socialized several feral and semi feral cats that my vet clinic, a clinic that actually specializes in treating feral cats, had suggested were too wild. Many of us on this forum have. At the very least, get her spayed and vaccinated for rabies, and after she's fully recovered from the surgery (at least 48 hours for female spay) release her back outside and continue to feed and care for her. Do not relinquish her to a shelter, that is likely a death sentence.

 

[Sunnyryuji]

Honestly I have not really dealt with any stray/feral cats before this one and always assumed you first go to a shelter with a lost animal in case they may belong to someone, and also because they have resources. As far as I can tell she has never been pregnant, but honestly I am not 100% she is female, however once when she laying on her side it looked that way. I understand what you are saying about socializing cats but honestly I am nervous about taking it on by myself which is another reason I thought about taking her to the shelter first. But I thank you for your thoughts and will see what we can do about taking her to the vet ourselves.

 

[foxxycat]

You can do it. Look at it this way. She knows you and your place. Now you want to yank her out of her environment and put in a scary place where she most likely will be euthanized?? Yes the public thinks shelters take in ferals and adopt out. I'm learning the hard way it's not that way.

I would suggest you follow the advice above. Cats are meant to live together with others. At least she knows you and has been coming back for a year. Please don't give up on her. Sit outside. Ignore her. Yiu will slowly find she gets used to you. To speed it up treats!!! Toss treats her way. Cats are motivated by food. You may have to put the treats down and leave before she eats them at first.

But as time goes on she will learn to trust you more.

 

[foxxycat]

If she's coming into the house to play then there's definitely hope. Sorry I missed that part. i was skimming.

Yes continue the toys and now add treats. Your other cat will be fine. You come this far already.

 

[Norachan]

I'm afraid that if you take her to a shelter she will in all likelihood be euthanized. It's very hard to re-home cute friendly little kittens. Older cats, particularly the more skittish ones, don't stand a chance.

I suggest you trap her as soon as possible, get her spayed, blood tested and vaccinated and then continue trying to tame her. She won't be any harder to tame once she's been spayed and at least you won't have to worry about kittens, diseases passed on by mating etc etc.

Almost all of my cats were feral born. They were TNR'd and then gradually became more friendly after that.

She won't hold it against you if you trap her now. They soon forgive.

 

[rubysmama]

S Sunnyryuji : Hello and welcome to TCS. Thank you for feeding and caring for the stray/feral cat. It sounds like you've come a long way in getting her to trust you, and that should help if you make the decision to trap her and keep her inside.

I don't have any experience with ferals/strays, but many members do, and can give you advice. Also TCS has the following articles which should answer some questions for you.

A Feral Cat Or A Stray Cat? How To Tell The Difference
Handling Feral Cats
Adopting A Stray Cat
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside

If you bring her inside, she should have a room of her own. And she should be kept away from your resident cat until she is vet checked and cleared of any illness.

You're quite a ways from doing introductions with your cat, but I'll post the TCS articles anyway, so you'll have an idea of what to expect.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Introducing Cats To Cats
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction
The Multi-cat Household