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Help, formerly Feral cat stopped making progress

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kalendae - 25 Mar 2004 23:55 GMT
We recently adopted a formerly feral kitten (4 months old) from a local
homeless cat network.  For the first few days, the kitten was very scared
and hid in corners and under stuff.  But as he got used to us and we hand
feed it wet food it has made some progress.  Right now he will come out and
play and lie down near us.

The problem is, since then, he has not made much progress.  It has been 2
weeks and he still is very shifty.  He refuses to be within 3 feet of us
unless he is being hand fed.  He will lie down comfortably on the bed or on
the couch or the ground as long as he has some distance.  if we move closer
to pet him, he will move away and resettle 3 feet away.  If we attempt to
pick him up, he will get very paniced and force us to drop him very quickly.
Since adopting him we've yet to experience having him in our laps and
petting him.  This is somewhat frustrating since he is irresistably cute.

Does anyone have any experience with similar formerly feral cats? what are
somethings we could do to speed up his process of getting close to us?  Is
there a chance that he never will?

There is also a separate issue of the cat being very nocturnal.  We both
work during the day, so the cat seems to just lie in his little den and eat
and such, but at night when we are home and sleeping, it becomes terribly
active and will run across the bed and play with everything.  We can't close
the door since it will make him lose access to the bathroom where the litter
box is.  Any ideas how to turn him around so he is more active during the
day when we are wide awake?

thanks in advance for any advice or help.

- kal
kilikini - 26 Mar 2004 00:06 GMT
> We recently adopted a formerly feral kitten (4 months old) from a local
> homeless cat network.  For the first few days, the kitten was very scared
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>
> - kal

Unfortunately, I've heard cases where it took a year or so for a cat to come
around.  I've also heard that a cat may never come around.  My two cats were
both feral, but I found them as young as about 8 to 10 weeks so they
adjusted fairly quickly to my house.  Whenever anyone comes through the
front door, tho, one of the two just vanishes for hours.  She's 7 years old
now.  I don't think that's something she'll ever get over.

Good luck!
kili
Larry - 26 Mar 2004 01:10 GMT
My crew includes two feral cats. One was between one and two years old and
the other less than a year.  I have had them for over three years.  The
older one is still very distant.  I can't pick her up.  When she wants to
come to me for petting that is all right but when I try she goes away. The
younger one is a lot better but still not like my others.

Signature

Larry - Owned by six cats

> We recently adopted a formerly feral kitten (4 months old) from a local
> homeless cat network.  For the first few days, the kitten was very scared
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>
> - kal
JoJo - 26 Mar 2004 01:29 GMT
It takes some time.  I have a "semi" feral that is 6 months old.  She will
now come up and curl up on my lap or sleep next to me, but on her terms.  I
swear every time I took her to the vet or shelter she would become so much
nicer when we returned home.

I've had her for about 4 weeks.  For the first time this week she actually
decided to leave the safety of the second floor and check out the rest of
the house.

I cannot just reach down and pick her up like I can with my others, if I
walk too close to her, she takes off.  But those small little snippits of
affection from her are worth it, she will now rub noses or cheeks with me on
occassion.

I had kept her in a crate when I first got her, did a lot of holding and
petting when I would bring her out of crate.  Petted her when she ate and
fed her off my hand.  Your's might come around, it could take a lot of time
though.  Be patient.

I have a friend whose two cats are skittish as hell.  She spent a lot of
time working with them, feeding them from her hand and petting them when
they ate.  Now they both sleep on her at night.  Since she had her daughter,
her oldest cat has become downright friendly...he used to run from me, now
he wants me to pet him.  (Not that I would suggest something as drastic as
having a child in the hopes the cat would come around! :))

> We recently adopted a formerly feral kitten (4 months old) from a local
> homeless cat network.  For the first few days, the kitten was very scared
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>
> - kal
m. L. Briggs - 26 Mar 2004 02:02 GMT
>We recently adopted a formerly feral kitten (4 months old) from a local
>homeless cat network.  For the first few days, the kitten was very scared
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>
>All it takes is time!
Ted Davis - 26 Mar 2004 02:46 GMT
>We recently adopted a formerly feral kitten (4 months old) from a local
>homeless cat network.  For the first few days, the kitten was very scared
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>box is.  Any ideas how to turn him around so he is more active during the
>day when we are wide awake?

Kittens learn from their mothers, or lacking a mother, from whatever
other adult cats may be around.  A lone kitten is like a child with no
role models - it is really hard to manage.

I recommend getting a very tame adult cat to be the kitten's mentor.
That should help (after the initial introduction period) with both
tameness and excess night time activity - after all, cats are
basically nocturnal animals, but a very tame adult would be more
diurnal and the kitten would likely adapt to its schedule.

T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body)
Tracy - 26 Mar 2004 08:57 GMT
Yes. We're going through the process with a two year old semi-feral
cat that has lived with us for six months. She wasn't born feral, but
was abandoned sometime in her 1st year and ended up living on the
fringes of a colony. At about 13 months, she was picked up in a TNR
program, and the kind woman who trapped her saw how scared she was and
didn't want to return her to the outside. She "somehow" convinced a
no-kill shelter that the cat was adoptable, and the cat stayed there
for six months until I adopted her as a companion cat.

It's certainly been an experience and I've learned a heck of alot
about cats. She spent the 1st month under the bed and the second month
scattering whenever we entered the same room as she was in.

But at six months, she begs for pets and will cuddle with me, allows
me to collar her and give her flea treatments and will roll over and
show me her belly. She tolerates an occasional pickup. But she makes a
little progress every day. Most importantly, she gives me those
wonderful slitty-eyed looks of gratitude and contentment regularly :>

It just takes time. And it's hard because we want a cat to "give" to
us emotionally and a really scared cat just can't do that at first.
They have to just "take" love and affection and care and stability for
a while. They have a deficit.

Talk to the cat alot. The sound of your voice is soothing and I swear,
they get something from it. I do think having another more socialized
cat around for your cat to observe is very helpful. She sees how the
other cat trusts me. Try to be consistent about schedules so the cat
has a growing sense of security. They like to have things they can
depend on and boy do they have an internal clock. Try to give the cat
space to observe the people and what they do without drawing your
attention. And be patient. Cats need and want affection and the kitty
will come to your for it. In time.

Good luck!
M.C. Mullen - 26 Mar 2004 10:56 GMT
I find it very interesting that our new cat who is in exactly the same
position as yours does not really want to go outside. This was our first
fear that an ex stray would want to wander away. But she's so thankful
having a home that she likes to stay inside. Sometimes I put her outside
thinking some fresh air and outdoor entertainment would do her good. But
then she just walks around the house and comes back in through the cat door.
Unfortunately the tom is an awful one for going away far, although he got
neutered early.

Carola

| Yes. We're going through the process with a two year old semi-feral
| cat that has lived with us for six months. She wasn't born feral, but
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
|
| Good luck!
Tracy - 26 Mar 2004 19:28 GMT
> I find it very interesting that our new cat who is in exactly the same
> position as yours does not really want to go outside. This was our first
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Carola

Both cats enjoy outdoor access to the yard during the day and are
inside all night. Our 1st cat is always crazy to go outside and spends
a good part of her inside time campaigning for more outside time. She
was an indoor only cat as a kitten, due to our living situation at the
time and is very clear that s
he doesn't want to go back. The semi-feral adoptee was always
interested in outside and although I was quite scared to let her out
at first, she has proven to be very sensible and in control out there,
staying pretty close to the house and out of the road and generally
out of trouble. She is far less adventurous than her sister and
worries about being locked out or missing a meal (never happened) -
things that never seem to occur to the other cat. I will say though,
that she NEVER complains about having to stay inside at night and
curls up contentedly on as many blankets and pillows as she can find
in one place :
M.C. Mullen - 26 Mar 2004 07:36 GMT
| Does anyone have any experience with similar formerly feral cats? what are
| somethings we could do to speed up his process of getting close to us?  Is
| there a chance that he never will?

Unfortunately: Yes!
If that is the case then get another cuddly cat. This is the way it works
for us.

| There is also a separate issue of the cat being very nocturnal.  We both
| work during the day, so the cat seems to just lie in his little den and eat
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
| box is.  Any ideas how to turn him around so he is more active during the
| day when we are wide awake?

This is a proper kitten behaviour. It will stop around 9 months old (and
then you'll miss it).

| thanks in advance for any advice or help.
|
| - kal

Carola
L. Kuller - 30 Mar 2004 23:40 GMT
It took nearly a year for my 1 yr old ex-feral cat to feel comfortable
enough to stay out and interact with me and my other 2 cats.  She stil
hides when people come over and it's so funny because as soon as they go
out the door and the door closes she is down the stairs. Just be patient,
2 weeks isn't very long.  Good luck.

> We recently adopted a formerly feral kitten (4 months old) from a local
> homeless cat network.  For the first few days, the kitten was very scared
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>
> - kal

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