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Feral cat - how to continue?

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pah41071@yahoo.com - 24 May 2005 21:08 GMT
I don't know what to do with a cat I picked up three months ago. Harold
& Maude were found at a local restaurant dumpster this winter as small
kittens. They were taken in by one of the employees, who called me in
March because they were still not letting her touch them. We caught
Harold by putting food in a carrier but had to trap Maude. I believe
both to be somewhere between 7-9 months at this point. Harold has made
great progress and immediately comes out to be petted and played with
when I come into 'their' room. Maude has gone from being scared-shy
(1st month) to being scared-defensive. She is literally scared to death
of people. Her eyes dilate and move rapidly when I cross the imaginary
6-foot boundary. At 3 feet she hisses and any closer she swats.
Occasionally when I catch her by surprise, I can pet her in the basket
they both sleep in, but her whole body twitches when I touch her.

In theory, I have found an outdoor home for Maude on farm with several
other cats (everyone's FIV/FelV tested and altered). Given her fear,
I'm afraid that she'll simply take off never to be seen again once she
is released, even if we cage her for a few weeks after the re-location
so she gets used to the environment. Thoughts, ideas?

Petra
zuzu22@webtv.net - 24 May 2005 22:02 GMT
> Maude has gone from being scared-shy
> (1st month) to being scared-defensive.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> for Maude on farm with several other
> cats

You can't release her. You've had her inside for three months and at
this point it's too late and would be cruel to do so.
Three months is a teensy amount of time in terms of socializing a feral.
If you want to make better progress your best bet is to separate her
from Harold, cage her and start working with her one on one. You can
read more about the specifics here:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.pets.cats.health+behav/msg/0d0486868356b
c98?hl=en


It can take several months to make progress with a feral and sometimes
years, but it is an extremely rewarding experience that I, and I'm sure
others in this group that have feral cats, wouldn't trade for anything.
At this point you don't have much choice but to work with her and as
long as she's safe and happy, that's what matters.

I'm working with a couple right now that trapped an adult feral last
October and, although she has been harder to tame, she continually makes
progress and every tiny little step she makes is seen by her guardians
as a major breakthrough and they are regularly thrilled, especially
since they have never done this before and were absolutely terrified
when I first met them.

Needless to say, as time has gone on they have fallen in love and
learned to understand their little cat and be patient for however long
it takes. Hopefully you will do the same. :-)

Megan

                                   
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