Timmy,7yr old TNR true feral! COLD TURKEY!

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Kwik

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How about a remote control mouse/ball? There are toys that are interactive and with this, you don't need to be present all the time. As long as he touches the interactive toy, the toy will start to move in random direction which is supposed to make the cat go chase it or paw it around.
I have a mouse that's battery operated & my cats love it,it goes on every few minutes for about half an hour,it's quite noisy and I've put it outside and Timmy was terrified by it.... so I didn't think to re-investigate that idea,glad you mentioned it-perhaps something soft or with feathers as opposed to the 'giant' white plastic mouse that has flashing lights!🙀
 

silent meowlook

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I think wand toys are great. You are involved yet not threatening him. With cats it’s all routine and association. You are there and he eats. You are there and he plays. You are there and life is interesting. He will learn to look forward to seeing you.
 

silent meowlook

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Sorry missed a post.
Remember his boredom is your friend. The more bored the more he will want your attention. When I have tamed ferals the thing that causes problems are people not the cats. A really bored lonely cat is a cat that will tame down quicker. Is it cruel? Not in the long run. Not more cruel than getting hit by a car.

I had a very feral 4 year old cat. The type that hurts themselves by body slamming the trap. It took four months but he wound up being a lap cat. It works but it is hard for people to do.
 
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Kwik

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Sorry missed a post.
Remember his boredom is your friend. The more bored the more he will want your attention. When I have tamed ferals the thing that causes problems are people not the cats. A really bored lonely cat is a cat that will tame down quicker. Is it cruel? Not in the long run. Not more cruel than getting hit by a car.

I had a very feral 4 year old cat. The type that hurts themselves by body slamming the trap. It took four months but he wound up being a lap cat. It works but it is hard for people to do.
Very difficult to do,my Timmy ran full speed whenever I opened my front door,followed me everywhere and would sleep on my feet.... my hearts breaking seeing him sleep all day in a cubby... tonight for dinner he didn't eat until I left the enclosure & sat beside it.....I hate him being in there,he basically comes out at night and cries-whst else can I do for this boy?
 

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It's gonna be hard to do as there's not much room space for me in his enclosure & I've not seen any that'll for through the wire mesh-thats why I was inquiring if anyone might have some suggestions that might be of interest to Timmy?He has no clue what typical"toys"are,he's not interested or attracted to catnip so if you can come up with any ideas to tickle his instincts to hunt something I'd be extremely willing to try anything....
I hate seeing my boy confined,he didn't retreat into his cubby this morning when I went in to clean so I'd love him to come down off the shelves to smell(& be smelled,lol) with my others-or is it just way too soon,it's not been 5 days-what do you think
Typically when relocating ferals( working cats) they are usually confines for a minimum of 4 weeks-but that's to be released outdoors and have a place to come back to.....I'm not so sure about inside the house,I've heard of 3 months and longer...and socializing for adoptions begin with already pretty social kitties.... hmmm,much easier in facilities,lol Probably because we don't hear them crying at night ,breaking our hearts.
Ahh, I didn't even consider the enclosure. That'll teach me to respond before my second cup of coffee. :lol:
If you have an Ipad or tablet, could you rig it up right beside/ outside of his enclosure and put some Cat TV with birds or squirrels on it? My cats love it. It might get his instincts going, and you could leave some toys around and see if he gets in the mood to hunt or stalk something.
 

silent meowlook

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Try to think of it in the sense that Timmy is safe now. He has a wonderful set up. He has food and water. He doesn’t have to worry about predators or getting in fights. Give it time. He is not suffering. He just needs time to adjust to his new surroundings.
 
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Ahh, I didn't even consider the enclosure. That'll teach me to respond before my second cup of coffee. :lol:
If you have an Ipad or tablet, could you rig it up right beside/ outside of his enclosure and put some Cat TV with birds or squirrels on it? My cats love it. It might get his instincts going, and you could leave some toys around and see if he gets in the mood to hunt or stalk something.
Hi ipappy!I'm just grabbing my 2nd cup so I know exactly what you're saying,lol
Yes,"the enclosure"-making this a first for me(in the house!),I couldn't come up with any other option to bring this lil wild child into the house,let alone with 4 housdcats -especially that Timmy had not come from a colony,he's been alone all his life
Anyway-, tabbytom tabbytom gave me Cat TV info at the start & its been wonderful for him to hear the birds & squirrels when I shut the outside doors,however my kitties are much more interested than Timmy but when he comes out of his cubby I suppose he's much more focused on looking for a way out than anything else atm,I'm hoping after he realizes that's not feasible perhaps his attention will shift. Any thoughts?
 
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Kwik

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Try to think of it in the sense that Timmy is safe now. He has a wonderful set up. He has food and water. He doesn’t have to worry about predators or getting in fights. Give it time. He is not suffering. He just needs time to adjust to his new surroundings.
You don't know how much this means to me,you are quite the Encourager & I sure did need to hear your comforting words-truly
When you told me about your 4yr old it is very inspiring,I'm sure you know the negative feedback people like us receive,it can really start to get to you
All my life I've just followed my heart,go with my gut no matter who says "it can't be done"especially with wild animals,love always wins out...I really don't consider feral cats "wild" they've survived in the wild and their behavior is all that is different than a domestic cat-its not another species and it was not part of their DNA,it's learned....most seem to disagree and quite honestly in over 6 decades,professionally I've rarely had anyone agree- you( you all here at TCS) are a breathe of fresh are to this Ole gal,thank you
 
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Kwik

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Wow ,I'm sitting on the patio,doors to house open,enclosure right behind me and I'm just reading around TCS-I got up to get some more coffee and Timmy's sitting quietly on a shelf right behind me,just watching listening to me talking(I talk to them all ALOT,lol)
I think I'll go bring him a special treat in a bit,maybe some nice smelly sardine-get some more petting in😻
 

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Timmy's sitting quietly on a shelf right behind me,just watching listening to me talking(I talk to them all ALOT,lol)
I think I'll go bring him a special treat in a bit,maybe some nice smelly sardine-get some more petting in😻
Make him feel at home.
 
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Make him feel at home.
Yes,I was disappointed he didn't come out for his sardine treat but the moment I sat down & looked up he was lickin his chops-,then he sat near me again and finally started grooming himself,such a positive sign-baby steps.....I keep waking him up every so often and he's been out of the cubby some,I ordered a nice laser and have been looking up different wind up toys as S silent meowlook suggested and the remote toys as well,nothing appealed to me yet-they are noisy and very unrealistic so far
Plus I'm tempted to hack away at his favorite scratching tree outside,probably get some grief over that from the Condo lol!!!!Oh well,I can take the heat....
 

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Yes,I was disappointed he didn't come out for his sardine treat but the moment I sat down & looked up he was lickin his chops-,then he sat near me again and finally started grooming himself,such a positive sign-baby steps.....
Yea, slow and easy does it.
 

silent meowlook

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Sorry, I was suggesting wand toys, but then realized that you don’t have the space to play with him in the enclosure.
 
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Sorry, I was suggesting wand toys, but then realized that you don’t have the space to play with him in the enclosure.
Actually,as he comes out more (if& when) I'm gonna try anyway-theres enough room for me to bring in the little foldable stool I've always brought outside to sit with Timmy ,as he's getting used to me coming in & out I want to try sitting in there for little sessions.... I might try to get his attention with some feathers on a wand after he's more used to me sitting there..... this is new for me although I'm pretty sure if I had started him off in the house he'd be a chronic hider and litter training would have been a big problem..... besides 4 cats not thrilled at his "moving in"...
I'm hoping the enclosure will be his familiar place once he seems ready to come out,it could stay where it is for however long he needs it....once my house is escape proof it'll be opened up to him.....it's far too risky with big screens on the patio,cat doors and no barrier between my front door that leads to the outside world
 
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Oh yeah tabbytom tabbytom ,I did take your advice & get those 24"panels and went all the way up with wood on top for a safety area when entering & exiting the enclosure,he's not even thought about door dashing YET but it's there as a precaution...here's photo
Oops,too large? How do you resize?
 
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Kwik

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That's pretty neat!
Your idea,lol and you did say it would be NEAT and right again my friend..... Thank you,you've been such a Blessing to me from the very moment I arrived
Btw,I'm crazy about January - he is the cutest lil guy,he's just fabulous!How old is January? Those kitten photos of him are delightful,such a handsome boy
 
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