I posted about this cat about a month ago. He was TNR'd and chipped as part of a "Community Cats" program in late May and showed up in my backyard in early June. I verified with the local shelter that he was a "Community Cat" and not a pet, but there is really nothing feral about this cat. He loves pats, enjoys people, and he has been essentially living on my deck for four weeks now. We feed him and provide water, we visit with him on the deck several times a day, and he has always been a little nippy with my kids, but it has decreased over time. I have been working with a local rescue to try to find him a foster or a placement, but there has been no luck there. In the meantime, my children have grown increasingly attached to him. He has also been terrorized every day by my neighbor's very territorial indoor/outdoor cat, and this morning he had scratches on his face from a scuffle with that cat. So this morning, after much begging from the kids, my husband finally relaxed the "cat quota" and we brought him inside.
His name is Tucker, and he is current on rabies (they do that when they TNR here) and flea treatment (I did that, since we were petting him so much), and he has a vet appointment in 10 days for everything else.
In the meantime, he is isolated in my daughter's bedroom with his food, water, and litter. I have two other cats who are definitely aware he is there, but other than everyone sniffing suspicuously around the door, there have been no issues among the cats (yet).
He slept and groomed and kneaded whenever we went into her room to visit him today, and he never seemed at all inclined to try to leave. There has been no meowing, no scratching at the door, not even any wistful looks out the window. He has used the litter box perfectly. He actually crawled almost onto my lap at one point today, which he had never done before, so I think he is pretty happy.
Tonight, when my daughter went to go to sleep, Tucker initially curled up next to her (it was precious and she was thrilled), but then he sauntered off under the bed. When she leaned over the side of the bed to look for him, he clawed her across the face.
So now my husband is freaking out. He thinks we need to put Tucker back outside because he is "too wild." My daughter insists Tucker didn't mean anything, she told us she was looking him in the eye and she thinks he got scared because cats think that is a sign of aggression. (FWIW, she is 8, she has read many cat behavior books, and she wants to be a wildlife officer when she grows up, LOL). She does not want him to go outside and got hysterical when my husband mentioned that. She went to sleep on the bunk bed in my son's room tonight so Tucker could have "his space".
In the meantime, I am trying to convince my husband that Tucker is not a lost cause.....but please help me know what to do next. Aside from visiting him during the day, keeping him isolated, and being calm around him, is there anything else I should be doing? I'd hate to have to put him back outside because I think he really likes it in here, but how can I help him adjust?
His name is Tucker, and he is current on rabies (they do that when they TNR here) and flea treatment (I did that, since we were petting him so much), and he has a vet appointment in 10 days for everything else.
In the meantime, he is isolated in my daughter's bedroom with his food, water, and litter. I have two other cats who are definitely aware he is there, but other than everyone sniffing suspicuously around the door, there have been no issues among the cats (yet).
He slept and groomed and kneaded whenever we went into her room to visit him today, and he never seemed at all inclined to try to leave. There has been no meowing, no scratching at the door, not even any wistful looks out the window. He has used the litter box perfectly. He actually crawled almost onto my lap at one point today, which he had never done before, so I think he is pretty happy.
Tonight, when my daughter went to go to sleep, Tucker initially curled up next to her (it was precious and she was thrilled), but then he sauntered off under the bed. When she leaned over the side of the bed to look for him, he clawed her across the face.
So now my husband is freaking out. He thinks we need to put Tucker back outside because he is "too wild." My daughter insists Tucker didn't mean anything, she told us she was looking him in the eye and she thinks he got scared because cats think that is a sign of aggression. (FWIW, she is 8, she has read many cat behavior books, and she wants to be a wildlife officer when she grows up, LOL). She does not want him to go outside and got hysterical when my husband mentioned that. She went to sleep on the bunk bed in my son's room tonight so Tucker could have "his space".
In the meantime, I am trying to convince my husband that Tucker is not a lost cause.....but please help me know what to do next. Aside from visiting him during the day, keeping him isolated, and being calm around him, is there anything else I should be doing? I'd hate to have to put him back outside because I think he really likes it in here, but how can I help him adjust?