# Seeking Feral Cat Advice



## atariansun (Apr 23, 2005)

Hello all,

I came across this forum today, and I thought I'd introduce myself, and maybe ask a few questions about a feral cat in my area. My name is Brian, and I've been taking care of this Feral for a couple months now.

I started out by setting up a small temporary shelter for him in my back yard, which I now bring food out to every day. No, I haven't had him fixed yet. I've been working on establishing a feeding routine, which I'm pretty well set with now. I will be contacting the Stoneham Feral Cat Society soon, to see about assistance with getting him to the vets. I don't have the trap, nor the money to pay the vets. They have been doing this for a couple years now, so I'm sure they have a program in place. (If they want something in return, I'll offer to develop them a web page, which they still don't have.  )

Anyway, one of my goals is to try and tame him enough to let me pet him, and maybe bring him into the basement during really bad weather. I'd plan on bringing him in to the main living area, but I'm not sure if my 12 year old, and at times grumpy, cat would ever go for that idea. I haven't made a whole lot of progress yet. When I first met him, he would run as soon as he saw me. Now, if I keep my distance, he will sit there, and talk to me. I have no idea what he is saying, and if I make any sudden moves, he will still run.

What I'd like to know, my yard is nice and safe, and well fenced in. is there anyway I could convince him to stay in the yard more often? Right now, he just comes in, eats the food I put out, and leaves. Or is it just in his nature to roam arould all day?

Thanks for any advice!

Brian


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## KrazyforKatz (Apr 21, 2005)

Hey there and welcome from another newbie.

A tom's natural instinct is to roam, especially if he hasn't been neutered. Once you've had him fixed, he should cut down his range and stay closer to you.

I have never been able to touch any of the adult ferals in my colony, but my neighbor around the corner has six or seven feral cats that she takes care of and she is able to pet all of them. Our mutual vet has speculated that the difference is attributable to the different way in which we feed them - my neighbor sets out individual plates for each cat at a specific time every morning and evening, while I set out a communal food bowl that everyone shares. As a result, there is competition for food at my house, which creates a level of tension that probably impedes any opportunity that I might have to bond with them. Since you have only one cat that you're feeding, you may very well have the same luck as my neighbor.

Also, while this cat is behaving like a feral (keeping its distance), it could be a stray domestic cat who's just jaded and scared. If he is a long lost domestic who's just running scared, you'll probably uncover that when you have him fixed based on how he reacts to being trapped and later handled by the vet. If that ends up being the case, I'm sure you'll be able to establish contact with him as he gains your trust.

If your tom is truly a feral, however, I doubt he'll ever cozy up to you like your indoor cat, but maybe that's just the experience that I've had. Still, you can have a relationship with him, it will just be different than the relationship you have with your other cat.

It's awfully good of you to be looking after him, and good luck with your efforts.


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## atariansun (Apr 23, 2005)

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry it took so long for me to get back here again. I think you may be right though, he may be a stray domestic cat. I'm beginning to wonder if it is even an un-neutered male. I found out he spends most his time in the yard next door. No one lives there right now, so it's a very quiet yard for him. I check last night at 9:00 PM, and he was still there, sleeping under the bush he likes.

Every time I see him now, he meows excessively, and he came within an inch of taking a kitty treat right out of my hand today. So either I'm making exceptionally good progress with him, or he is not as feral as I thought. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I just hope he trusts me enough to bring him in by winter. I don't want to see him go through another rough winter like the last one.

Then I'll be left with one last problem. Will my 12 year old indoor cat accept a new, much younger, brother or sister.

Thanks again,

Brian


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Brian, I think you'll have to make sure the cat is very comfortable with you before you introduce him to your cat. You'll want him is his own room for a while. Put a drop of vanilla on the back of the neck of both cats, so they will have the same scent. There's another thread with good information in this forum. Here's the link:

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=18217

I hope that helps!


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## Feral Fan (Feb 9, 2005)

I bet your older cat would accept a new little sibling with a proper introduction. I wonder if you are right about him being a previous pet. Maybe he is just a bit skittish from being abandoned. Any chance that he used to live in the house next door and that is why he hangs out there?

Jeanie is right about the introduction, sometimes it can take a while to make sure they are introduced the right way but by following the right tips and taking time with an introduction you can have two happy healthy pets! 

Oh and even if it looks like he was a pet I'd still take him in to the vet to get him/her spayed neutered (at least checked) because if the people were irresponsible enough to lose or abandon a pet then they were often not responsible enough to have that pet altered in the first place. (Observation from working at a shelter).

Good luck and keep us posted!


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## KrazyforKatz (Apr 21, 2005)

For what it's worth, I have two older cats (18 and 17), and I took in two feral kittens a couple of years ago. I kept the kitties in the basement for about nine months as I was trying to socialize them. They had a number of health problems and took forever to socialize because they were older kittens when they were brought to me - I was not able to even touch one of them for six months. (It's a finished basement with some light so it wasn't complete torture.)

Anyway, I was absolutely petrified about how my other cats were going to react because one of them is very sensitive and he has not been happy when I've fostered kittens before (expressing his displeasure thought inappropriate urination). But someone I know who has a number of domesticated ferals suggested that I put the ferals in a separate room initially so that they could establish their own territory and so that the other cats could gradually get used to their scent through the door. 

I had them separated for about a month, and then gradually started letting them out for a couple of hours at a time under supervision. Not surprisingly, my older cats pitched a fit but interestingly, after years of hating each other, the two oldsters suddenly came together in what I called the Coalition of the Angry. :lol: So it was two against two, but after a few initial scuffles and growls, everyone kind of settled in and while they're not exactly all the best of friends today, they do all tolerate each other and will all hang out together in the same room. I've even seen my older male (the sensitive one) groom the younger male a couple of times, if only briefly.

So, long way of saying that with a little time, your two will probably work it out.


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## atariansun (Apr 23, 2005)

Hi again everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I thought I'd give you an update on the status of my feral. No, I haven't got him to the vet yet. I am planning on it as soon as possible. Finals are coming up a school right now, and I just haven't had the time. As soon as that is behind me, I plan on taking care of this.

Anyway, I'm almost positive now that he is just an abandoned pet. He is already letting me pet him, and he will rub my legs when I'm bringing his food out to him. (And he is already hanging around my back door in the morning waiting for breakfast.  ) 

Jeanie, thanks for the link to the other thread. That's great information. I love the idea about the vanilla. I have a couple issues I will need to take care of first, before I can do this, unfortunately. First, I don't really have a room ready, that I can close off easily. I have some significant cleaning to be done first. And second, I'm still in college. While I'm there, I'm still living at home. My Father doesn't mind me feeding him, but it's going to take some convincing to get permission to bring another cat into the house. :roll: 

Feral Fan, I hope my older cat will accept him. He is very grumpy, and not exactly the healthiest cat in the world. Come to think of it, when I have the chance, I should post something about him. I'm sure someone at Cat Forum can give me some advice on how to approach some of these problems.

Back to the other cat. There is actually a good chance he may have lived there before. And if that is the case, then he would be altered. I know for a fact my neighbor had a cat. She passed away last year, and her nephew inherited the house. I don't know what happened to the cat, but my neighbor was a very responsible pet owner. I know nothing about her nephew. It's not the cat I remember her having though, but it's possible that cat died, and she got another one. But no matter what, he will be going to the vet as soon as possible.

KrazyforKatz, I'm glad to hear it's been done. But I will have to take care of some of my older cats health issues before I can attempt this. He's already making some weird faces at me when I come in smelling like another cat. :lol: I like that story about how your older cats teamed up against the younger ones. I hope I can get these two together without a lot of fighting though.

Sorry for the long post. I guess that's what I get for taking so long between replies.

Brian


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## atariansun (Apr 23, 2005)

Just posting a quick update for those interested. First of all, I want to start calling my cats by name. But I want to give a disclaimer. I don't have the best cat names in the world. I'm going to start with my older cat. I didn't name him, my father did. Please don't take any offence to the name. I was only 14 at the time, and had no idea what it meant at the time, but he is known as Putz.

The new cat, I nicknamed Bonk, and it just stuck. My neighbors yard has a black chain link fence. The first time I met this cat, it was night. As soon as the cat saw me, it ran head first into that fence, ran a few feet down my driveway, and did it again. The cat bonked it's head off the fence about four times in a row before it thought to run down the driveway. No, I didn't know it was a Stray at the time. Every time I saw it since then, I've called it bonk.

I have no doubt in my mind now that Bonk is either a long lost pet, or abandoned. I've been petting it, brushing it, and even picking it up. It's actually a very affectionate cat. Now if I could only figure out if it is male or female.

Anyway, I haven't brought Bonk to the vet yet. I know, I know, shame on me. The Feral cat Society doesn't really want to cover the full cost of the vet trip since it's a stray, and I want to keep it. But they will get me a discount, since Bonk is a rescue cat. I've got the permissions I need now to bring the cat it, but I don't have a room I can close off yet, to keep it in. So I'm not really sure how to proceed yet.

Putz and Bonk have seen each other through a large window, and Bonk came right up to the window to have a "talk" with Putz. In fact, they seemed very interested in each other, with no hostility. They've done this about three times now. Bonk has been thinking about coming in under it's own free will. I'll hold the door, the cat will start to come in, then chicken out at the last second, and run off. I guess I shouldn't have told it, once it's in the house, it's staying. :lol: 

A couple of times, Putz was right near the door when Bonk was thinking of coming in. Putz doesn't seem to care. He'll sit there and watch, but he doesn't his or growl or anything like that. Just watches. Bonk is a very vocal cat. As soon as Bonk sees Putz, it's like Bonk goes into silent running or something. Stares at Putz for a moment, then runs off, staying close to the ground, not making a sound. It takes Bonk a minute to snap out of it. I just don't understand that reaction. But that's my progress so far. I'd love some suggestions on how to proceed. I'll try to get some pictures posted of my cats soon.

I guess that was a little more than a quick update.  

Brian


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

It sounds as though you'll soon have two cats instead of one.  

I took in a stray last fall, and I want to mention the one problem I had...
Fleas!

For some reason, it never occured to me that the stray I was feeding outside might have fleas. She was very friendly and would rub up against me and just craved attention. I didn't realize that when I was petting her that I was picking up flea dirt or the little buggers themselves and bringing them back into my apartment. Within a week, we had a flea problem and the stray had never even been inside the apartment! After aggressively treating all of the cats (including the one outside) as well as the entire apartment for about 2 months, we finally got rid of the little pests.

If you haven't, I would suggest checking or treating Bonk for fleas and parasites before bringing him inside. I wouldn't want you to have to deal with the same problem I had.


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## atariansun (Apr 23, 2005)

Hi Nell, I love your photo album. Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting Bonk in the house. I think it would be in the best interest for both cats. Putz is very overweight. It's my hope that Bonk will give him some exercise.

Thanks for the tip about the fleas! I haven't noticed any fleas at all, but maybe it would be a good idea to take a preemptive strike, just in the case Bonk might have some. That's the last thing Putz needs right now.

As promised yesterday, here are some photos of my two cats:










This is Putz. Sleeping is his second favorite activity (Behind eating). As you can see, he is aiming for the title of the worlds fattest cat. I spoiled his plans by putting him on a diet though. He also has a bad matted fur problem. I'll be taking him to the vets about that soon. I'm just concerned that at his age and weight, the stress of having it shaved might be too much for him.










Putz loves this window. He's much happier now though, since those plants have gone out for the spring and summer, so he has a lot more room for his belly. He has us well trained to put him in the window when he wants it, since he can't jump anymore.










This picture was taken today. He sleeps here a lot, since his food is in easy reach. He is also a little arthritic. No big surprise, considering his weight. He doesn't more around much. I just started him on Cosequin for cats yesterday. We'll see how that goes.










And here is Bonk. This is the day he met Putz through the window. It's funny, he'll go right up to Putz when there is glass in the way, but once they can meet in person, he'll go running.










Here is an older picture I took in April of Bonk leaving the yard after breakfast. I took this one through the window, because Bonk didn't trust me that much back then.










And here is my first picture of Bonk. It was drizzling a little, and I had the camera in my pocket. I took it out too fast, and scared the poor cat. He looks angry in the photo, but he never once hissed at me. He just kept meowing.

I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.

Brian


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## Feral Fan (Feb 9, 2005)

Awwwww! Your cats are VERY cute! I love their names, anything said with affection is a good name in my books. Besides if you look around the forum there are all sorts of interesting creative pet names here (and nicknames.... my boy Fawkes is often called Dork! :roll: ).

I think you are making wonderful progress with Bonk. He is lucky to have found you. I am sure when the time is right you will end up with two cats! The introduction has already started, eventually you might feel confident enough to bring Bonk inside and start him in a bathroom even for a day or two and let them meet. 

Fleas might be an issue, or worms. Probably when you decide to bring him in a vet visit would be helpful. I know when I brought in Fawkes as a stray in January he was a bit, ummm, smelly. A vet visit and a neuter and my house smells normal again and Fawkes settled in well! (he also got a shot to take care of any worms).

I bet your kitties would adjust to being brothers... even older cats can adapt though it might take a month or two for things to be all the way relaxed. Growing up we had one female tabby cat from when I was a baby. When she was 12 we did her the injustice of bringing in a puppy! 8O She always pretended to hate him, but after the first little while would actually play with him and I think he kept her pretty spry (she was nearly 19 when she died). When she was 17 the neighbor's young male cat decided he would much rather live with us. I was worried as our Kitty was pretty old at the time, but they tolerated each other very nicely!

Best of luck with your kitties, I love the long updates and hearing how well things are going so keep the pics and updates coming!!!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

To quote Feral Fan


> I love the long updates and hearing how well things are going so keep the pics and updates coming!!!


Me Too!


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