Sara

I can only go on my experience. The Fabulous Furballs could best be
described as "semi-feral" when I got them. They had been born in a
shed and never handled or let out. The day they arrived they hid
behind the washing machine and would only come out to use their litter
or explore- (Sarrasine of course came out to eat even with us in the
room but she was wary and jumped behind the washing machine if we even
looked at her)when we were in bed.

Over the next few days, it went from hiding whenever they realised we
were up and about, to sitting on the washing machine and watching us
put their food down. We didn't make a big fuss of going near them, we
just talked to them an

Then it got to allowing us to stroke them when they were eating.

By the time we'd had them about a week they were exploring and within
a week or so they'd decided laps were a fine thing

Lesley

Slave to the Fabulous Former Semi Feral Furballs

Phil and Tracy,

I have to agree with both of you that this is not a fully feral animal.
He behavior in the car was much too quiet, even fully domestic cats
will raise a ruckas if they aren't accustomed to riding in cars, even
in a carrier.

As for the litter vrs. dirt, hey maybe she didn't like the way the
litter felt, cats are, afterall, very tactile creatures.

Since this is a young cat and you have the desire I would at least give
things a try.  I once took in an older cat that had been living on it's
own for heaven only knows how long.  She had been a pet at one time.
It took several months of feeding her and her kittens to get her to
trust me, but in the end she acted as if she had always been a part of
our family.

Hemmaholic

No overtly hostile behavior when they've only just met is already pretty huge,
IMO.

It sounds like she is doing fine! Patience and gentleness will win out.
You're doing a great job.

One method to help cope with overt hostility is to clip the
aggressor's claws.

A lot of experienced feral rehabilitators do recommend this. They use
something like
http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-697-0ef
7f5aa4306440842e7cf4aac5373f5&ps_session=cc1c8c6fc3ce78143c7aefc17c55bcdd

They put a blanket over it to give kitty a sense of comfort. I'm sure they
will give more detailed explanations soon.

I second the motion that you move the cat into a cage or at least a small
room that will offer her at least one hidey hole but none you can't
access.

I would refer you to my article, "Taming the Tiger," but the Campus Cats
website seems more bedraggled than ususal today.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats

Sounds like you're making good progress.  I did take Sebastian around in
a cage, but not until he'd been socialized pretty well to me.  There's a
danger of a feral bonding to the other cats to the exclusion of the human.

I'd keep working on her one-on-one for a while.  Two weeks is but a
moment in the socializing of some ferals.  Have you been luring her
closer to you with food?  That worked for Sebbie and me.

Priscilla

On Wed 02 Mar 2005 03:04:41p,  wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
(news:1109793881.608070.133150@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com):

I tamed a feral by using a cage. She spent her first two weeks in
my house in the tiny bathroom downstairs because I couldn't get
near her. She ended up in my trap when I was TNR'ing strays and
ferals in my neighborhood two years ago, but she was too small to
release. But man, she was a feisty thing. Very feral at about 5-6
months old. After getting her out of the bathroom and into a cage,
it took two months before I could let her out of the cage and into
"her" room (but left the cage in there with a hidey-hole so she had
a safe place). It took more months before she'd come to me, and now
after almost 2 years, she will climb on my lap for short periods,
but is mostly comfortable sitting next to me, or at my feet. I
spent a lot of time socializing her with a feather toy, petting her
(first with gloved hands, then bare-handed (!scary!). I worked with
her with food, and she bonded with one of my other cats, even
though its suggested to get her used to human first before other
cats. Even though she bonded with another cat first, she is fine
with me now. I just can't pick her up yet.
Here is her album during her socialization period:
http://community.webshots.com/user/csellner
(it's the Bonnie album, but webshots isn't working right now. I
hope it is by the time you see this message)

snipped for brevity)

Hi Group,

This is the original poster, back with an update on li'l kitty, whom I
have named Susie.

After reading all the posts about using cages to socialize, I was
inspired to do the same.  But instead of using a cage, I cleaned out a
little bedroom to "cat proof" it, and figured I could socialize her in
there.  The only problem was getting her from the laundry room to the
little bedroom.

I enlisted one of my cat-loving friends to help.  I moved the
appliances in the laundry room away from the wall and took all of the
junk out, so we would have some working room.  Since Susie (the kitty)
had already acclimated herself to a carrier, I figured it would just be
a matter of getting her into the carrier, and thought this could be
accomplished by some gentle nudging with a broom ...

HAH!  Susie had other ideas!  She was flying around the laundry room
like a bat!  One shredded dryer hose, one wounded arm, and two frazzled
cat-ladies later, she was declared the winner of the battle.  I felt
terrible, because when we finally gave up she was cowering behind the
water heater.  And when I went to check up on her later that night, she
was still there.

But this morning, she is in her usual spot, in the corner behind the
dryer.  I thought she would run when she saw me, but she just looked
serene and triumphant.  Like she was thinking, "This one's a real
pushover.  How can I further exploit my power?"

So I guess the rest of her socialization will be done in the laundry
room.  But she's gotta get used to the sounds of the washer and dryer,
'cause I refuse to take my stuff to the laundromat any more ... I call
that a compromise.

And yes, I **did** explain to her beforehand that her accommodations
were being upgraded.  But I guess some critters just prefer a cheap
roadside motel to the Ritz.

Take care and thanks for listening,
Sara