Taming feral cats

[jessmarimba]

Anyone have any luck with this? I have one that will let me touch him as long as he doesn't think I'm going to scruff him. He actually tried to come in my house the other day as I was going back in.

The other one I call Ninja-kitty - she will eat in front of me as long as I don't budge (or look her in the eye) and won't move if she sees me looking at her (I have to close my eyes, then when I open them she's a few feet closer, but sitting the exact same). She climbs up on the roof and comes looking for me in the morning if I sleep in, though (it is so cute to wake up to the little pair of ears out my bedroom window).

They're both fairly young, and I'd like to get them fixed and socialized but I don't know how much of a project I have ahead of me.

[bmccasland]

It took me a couple of months to get a feral kitty to warm up to me. I'd continue what you're doing.

[jessmarimba]

Just thought I'd share some photos of them, b/c they're cute The orange tabby was born in February or March, if I remember right. He's super-curious and fascinated by my cat, who is easily 3 times his size and oblivious of his presence.



The tortie is Ninja-kitty, she is maybe a year older than he is. I'm pretty sure they have the same dad (there is a gray tomcat around with the same white chest and socks) but their moms were sisters. She babysat him when he was a kitten and pretty much still keeps him in her sight, no matter how scared she is.



Edit - he's making a pretty silly face in that second picture. He spits out all of the orange food pieces until that's all that's left, then eats them b/c he's still hungry. Sorry cat, ferals can't be choosers!

[indysteel]

I'm currently feeding several ferals myself. Even if you approach to socializing them is slow, I would get them spayed/neutered ASAP. Otherwise, you're going to have kittens to care for, too. Good luck!

[Biciclista]

yes, you can tame feral cats. My wonderful cat Enza was feral. I trapped her when she was 4 months old and she came around slowly but surely. The best way to tame a feral of course is to trap them and isolate them (like in a bathroom or a large cage). But the way you are doing it will work too, especially with some cats. You do need to trap them to neuter them, or you will have 8 feral cats by spring.
THere are some videos on youtube that can help you with this as well.

[ttaylor508]

Please be careful around feral kitties. My husband had several feral cats around his work and one of them bit one of his co-workers. The poor kid ended up with a red line going up his arm that night and spent most of the weekend in the hospital getting IV antibiotics. I had no idea a cat bite could be that serious.

[indysteel]

Two of our three ferals are skittish, so we keep our distance. I would rather they felt comfortable getting their food; that generally means staying away from them. The third is very friendly. We can freely approach him, but in an abundance of caution, we usually just give him a few pets. We're trapping him tomorrow and getting him snipped. Jess, you might see if there are any local groups that assist with feral cats, e.g., by offering low cost spay and neuter services. Indyferal is one of our local groups. They have a ton of good information on their website.

[Possegal]

I had no idea a cat bite could be that serious.

Cat bites are usually far worse than dog bites. It is the nature of the puncture wound, rather than a ripped open sort of wound. Then the puncture can easily get infected because of the difficulty in cleaning out a puncture.

In the course of a couple weeks, I had a sister, a brother in law, and a brother, all with infected cat bites. My brother was the only one that went to a local ER and they told him that their protocol was to automatically admit anyone in the ER with cat bite, due to the risk of infection. He warned the other two to just go to the doctor unless they wanted to spend the night in the hospital.

It was a tough couple of weeks in the fam last summer.

And Indy - I thought Indyferal was the name of one of your feral cats. Indysteel has her feral cat, Indyferal.

[indysteel]

LOL, Possegal!!!

[jessmarimba]

Hahaha, me too!

I am definitely looking into organizations that will help with them.

And I have no intention of putting them in a situation where they might think to bite! Trust me, I've tormented my own cat enough to know better.

Their mom is the one that I really need to catch and get fixed. She seems to be the only cat around here to have kittens routinely, but very few of them seem to make it

[Biciclista]

I tamed a couple dozen feral kittens and never got an infected bite. (I'm sure i got a little bite or two) You can be cautious and take your time with these kitties. good luck!

[bmccasland]

Their mom is the one that I really need to catch and get fixed. She seems to be the only cat around here to have kittens routinely, but very few of them seem to make it

Can you borrow a live-trap (such as Hav-a-Heart) from your local shelter or feed store to trap Mom? If you get the kittens, some nice smelly tuna might lure Mom in. Seems like on some of the animal rescue shows, they covered the traps with a towel or blanket so kitty doesn't see the trap parts, and is driven by the scent of the food. Just a thought.

Can you also make pre-arrangements with your vet that once you trap Mom, you can just drop her off and they work her in? That's what I did when I was trying to get my porch kitty taken care of.

[Biciclista]

that's how i caught my first litter of ferals. I caught mom in a trap, then i shifted her into a cat carrier.
I put the cat carrier out with mom in it butted up against the hav a heart trap. i caught 4 kittens that way.

[indysteel]

We got a live trap at our local tractor/farm supply store. We put a small bit of canned food at the end of it and then sprinkle of a few cat treats near the opening of the trap. So far, it's worked for three cats. We trapped our last one today--a male. I was really holding my breath, as it was raining and I needed to leave at 6:45 to make it to the dropoff location on time. Well, he showed up at 6:40. My husband coaxed him into the trap and away we went. We cover the traps with a blanket or sheet once they're trapped, and that calms them down at least to the point of not thrashing around.

I considered not fixing my male ferals, but for a couple different reasons, I think it's a good idea. For one, that means there's one less male cat that can impregnate any stray unspayed female they encounter. For another, it generally makes them less aggressive, which helps lessen the chance they'll get in a fight with another cat--a cat that may be infected with a variety of things.

I'd add that one of the other women there has multiple litters of kittens that were born to stray moms this summer before she'd had a chance to get them. Bless her heart for getting all of them spayed and neutered. It's costing her a pretty penny.

Good luck, Jess. You're doing a good thing.

[Irulan]

I considered not fixing my male ferals,

Other than cost, why wouldn't you fix a feral cat, male or female?