# Female Feral Cat



## feral (Jan 8, 2009)

Hello,

I have been feeding a female feral cat for 7 months now (Dec to Jun) and have yet to see her pregnant. She looks to be around 2 years old. I would think that she would have gotten pregnant by now since she is friendly with a male feral. I can take her to the Humane Society to have her spayed but wonder if she maybe is infertile and spaying would be unnecessary. Thank you and regards.

Diane


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## Heather72754 (Nov 1, 2013)

It could also be that she is not a true feral, but an abandoned/escaped pet who has already been spayed.


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## feral (Jan 8, 2009)

She is definitely feral. When I first saw her in Dec (which in Ottawa, Canada, the temperature was way below zero), if she even got a glimpse of me in the window she would take off. I started putting food under a tree about 40 feet from house and she would eat it. It took many months but I now have her coming to me when I call her for food and can even pick her up. We have 3 cats (2 males and 1 female) and she is very afraid of them, especially the female. We would like to bring her into the house but our cats will not tolerate her. If I was to take her to be spayed, would the vet be able to tell if she has already been spayed?


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

feral said:


> She is definitely feral. When I first saw her in Dec (which in Ottawa, Canada, the temperature was way below zero), if she even got a glimpse of me in the window she would take off. I started putting food under a tree about 40 feet from house and she would eat it. It took many months but I now have her coming to me when I call her for food and can even pick her up. We have 3 cats (2 males and 1 female) and she is very afraid of them, especially the female. We would like to bring her into the house but our cats will not tolerate her. If I was to take her to be spayed, would the vet be able to tell if she has already been spayed?


The vet might be able to tell if the cat was spayed by shaving some of the fur on her tummy and searching for a scar, but it's not always possible to determine whether a cat is spayed based on the _lack_ of a scar. This is why eartipping is important for any cat that is being TNRed.


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## feral (Jan 8, 2009)

*TNRed*

I have never heard of TNRed. I googled it and I now know but could not find that the letters stand out for.


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## feral (Jan 8, 2009)

OK, I just found out. It is Trapped-Neutered-Returned. We have 2 feral cats that we had spayed and neutered but they don't have their ears tipped.


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## NBrazil (May 16, 2013)

Trap-Neuter-Release


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Many cats which are abandoned by heartless people become skiddish in order to survive. They do come around if you work with them. I have a cat which I had to feed out from my sisters house in the hedge. He wouldnt let me near him for two years. Once we got him TNR he came around and eventually started come in the house to be with her other cats and fosters. Long story but he is now my indoor only cat. He is 12 years old and is the most loving, docile, affectionate cat in the house. 

Your vet will be able to tell if this cat has been spayd or neutered. Take the cat in to be checked and vaccinated and have the ear tipped so there wont be any question in the future.


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## feral (Jan 8, 2009)

This is for Mitts & Tess, how were you ever able to bring that cat into the house with other cats? I brought this feral cat into our house and the first time I separated her from the others but they could see each other through a glass door only. Then another time, she was loose in kitchen and my female sneaked in and attacked the her. So, now, she is very afraid and I have not brought her back in. I've left the big garage door open just enough for her to get in and I've got a box with blanket in it. She has been sleeping in there and I can go in and pick her up, put her on my lap and she just loves the petting.


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## 21inCostaRica (Aug 18, 2013)

Sometimes you can feel a "knot" in her abdomen or see a scar. Perhaps you can take her to the vet as soon as you see signs that she is in heat?

It´s very possible that she was spayed and then abandoned or got lost; I lost a cat for two months and when I found her she was semi-feral and had to coax her with bread that I had in my backpack 

Bear in mind that a surgery doesn´t necessarily mean a spay. I remember the look my vet gave me when she shaved one of my cats who had had a bladder stone removed when she was 3 months old.


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## wallycat (Nov 10, 2012)

I agree, she is probably abandoned. True ferals will rarely ever come near enough to be touched, IMHO. Runaways or dumped cats who have had experience with people can be coaxed.
My 2 ferals accepted the 3rd a few years later and I am not sure why.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

The faux feral as we call him changed when I had him neutered. I kept him in a wire kennel for several days feeding him and making sure he was healed and ready to be released and a full tummy. My cat started laying by the kennel and they became friends. After I released him he diseappear for two days and then showed up again. My cat laying on one side of the screened porch and our faux feral on the other. He started sitting by the french doors looking in and we let him in for short interaction. 

You may want to start with limited vision of your other cats. Let them get use to him/her being there. Eventually they will accept her and start supervised interaction. that is how Id do it.


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## feral (Jan 8, 2009)

Heather72754 said:


> It could also be that she is not a true feral, but an abandoned/escaped pet who has already been spayed.


Your were right Heather. I took the cat to a vet and we found out she had a microchip and found the owner. The cat had escaped 1 year ago.


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

feral said:


> Your were right Heather. I took the cat to a vet and we found out she had a microchip and found the owner. The cat had escaped 1 year ago.


Oh wow! That's wonderful news for kitty and owner.  Thank you for caring! If any of my cats went missing, I would be praying for someone like you to find them.


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## Heather72754 (Nov 1, 2013)

Awesome!! :kittyturnI love happy endings. Good for you for following through on this and helping this poor kitty be reunited with her owner.


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