Feral cat update.

[another_liberal]

As I type this comment the kitten of a young feral cat I adopted a little over a year ago is playing at my feet. It is a bit odd to call him a kitten anymore, he is almost eight months old. Still, despite being nearly twice his tiny mother's size, he is very much a kitten through-and-through. We call him "Harper" and he is transitioning well to spending his nights inside (days he prefers to be out and about in the yard). He has a new black collar and silver tag for "bling."

The mother has also tamed to a degree, allowing a brief pat or two as she is being fed, but she remains essentially a feral animal. It was a real adventure to capture and contain her long enough to get her to a vet for shots and spaying. The little thing nearly burst right through the latched door of our cat carrier (it was necessary to carry it on it's end to keep her inside for the trip to the vet). The surgery went well and O. C. (pronounced "Oh-see," for Outside Cat) seems as active and healthy as ever.

I would like to thank once again everyone here who offered advice and encouragement. Yes, with patience and perseverance it is possible to tame a feral kitten, even to protect a feral adult cat without adding to the explosion of such animals living wild.

[anniebelle]

1. You're a good human!

Out of our 7 cats, one was feral, the rest came from different shelters in our area. Like you, when we were finally able to trap 'Rufus' and get him to the vet for neutering and ear tipping, it was such a relief. He now condescends (3 years later) to let us feed him and stroke him while he's eating, but stays out all day. We don't allow any of ours out overnight because of the coyotes, mainly, and other dangers. If everyone who has feral cats in their neighborhood would act accordingly, we would not have so many in these high-kill shelters. I do keep nesting boxes ~ crates with straw in them and a tarp overhead ~ just in case some inhumane human decides to dump in this area.

[Proserpina]

2. Second that!

We took in a feral cat who didn't really settle down until her kittens were born...but she was the sweetest thing! She didn't even know how to purr, until the birth.

[another_liberal]

4. Thank you . . .

They have provided a good deal of enjoyment in return, and some really fascinating experiences (like getting to watch O. C. teach a very young Harper how to climb a tree for the first time).

[malaise]

5. Great news

Funny - yesterday was the first time one of Boy's last set of kittens allowed me to pet her. She's only about eight weeks and I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow - I think something is wrong with her. She's way too thin.

[another_liberal]

8. It is so easy to grow attatched to them . . .

It is best to get them checked-over, just for the peace of mind.

[blondie58]

11. Get her Some goat milk!

I have Heard that will Fatten her up! Good luck!

[aksptth]

16. Milk not so good for cats

Milk and cats not good. Use formula replacer which is mostly whey protean and animal sourced fat. I feed it regularly to my ferals as well to give them some extra nourishment.

All Star brand is a good one.

[malaise]

17. She's eating her Friskies

and she's delighted to see me now.

[aksptth]

15. Worm her

The biggest thing you can do for a feral cat is worm them regularly. Has to be on a regular basis because they get reinfected. I keep my feral colony wormed and they have all grown into big healthy pusses.

Message me if you need to know what to get and use.

[malaise]

18. Thanks

I'll call my cousin's cousin

[japple]

6. Bless you for taking these little ones under your wing.

[Omaha Steve]

7. I love a good rescue story

K&R!

OS

[Township75]

9. Awesomeness !!!

[mahannah]

10. Trap-Neuter-Return

[Igel]

12. That's what we did a few weeks ago.

Captured a feral cat that repeatedly brought kittens into our yard. Live trap.

We've claimed the kittens for taming. The last of the 4 is finally verging on "adoptable tame."

Kept her inside for a while until she recovered from spaying, ear tipping, and a package of shots (like anti-rabies). Then she was still in the house for a while, kept in a relatively unused room, until we could get her back into the trap for transport outside. Just didn't want her running crazed through the house.

[Arugula Latte]

13. That's great! Thank you so much for helping these sweeties!

[Xolodno]

14. Our cats are from a feral mother.

She was very young and wasn't doing a good job of taking care of her young, so we took them in. One we knew wouldn't survive long as it was obviously born with development problems. Despite only having him for a few days, he was the happiest kitten I've every seen. We were able to re-home another and kept the rest....which love to keep us warm at night.

[another_liberal]

24. It seems kittens love to snuggle . . .

Then purr themselves to sleep.

[leftyladyfrommo]

19. One of my customer's has a feral cat

That showed up and never left. She had been spayed and her ear clipped. She has gotten really pretty tame and is a nice cat. But you can't put her in the house. She just goes completely nuts. So she has a nice cat hutch outside that is full of straw and has a kind of hallway that goes into a nice protected room. It's really neat.

[another_liberal]

21. That sounds great . . .

I would like to bring our feral mother cat inside when the weather turns really cold, though she has never shown any interest in coming in voluntarily, even for a visit. She is clearly a wild animal at heart.

[leftyladyfrommo]

31. I think they got the directions for the cat hutch

On the internet and just built it.

I had another who bought one for a feral cat and it is like a little doghouse with a very small door and it has a heated mat inside. You have to be able to plug it in. I think the mat stays at 102 and the cats lI've it and they are in out of the weather?

[trueblue2007]

20. we have 5 cats and we rescued all of them. ANNIE, TAFFY, INKY, SADIE & SALLY (our Boy)

Inky, Sadie and Sally were all feral kittens. Hubby cares for a feral community. Feeds them every day. has places for them to be out of the rain and snow.

Annie and Taffy were rescued from a metal recycling yard.

Annie, Taffy & Inky are 5 years old. Sadie and Sally are 3 years old. WE LOVE THEM DEARLY. They are all inside cats. (we live on a floating home).

[another_liberal]

23. A floating home?

It sounds like your cats might get fresh fish fairly often. They must enjoy that.

[freeplessinseattle]

29. Are you in Seattle?

I've seen a couple of cats walking around the floating homes on Lake Union, and always wondered how well they adapt.

Mine used to be semi feral, living under I-5, but now are snuggled close to me, and the heater!

[joeybee12]

22. Hooray for you and teh kittehs!

[niyad]

25. awwww, thanks for the update--so glad you are doing this for our beautiful feline friends.

[3catwoman3]

26. Fellow cat lovers - be sure to acquaint yourselves...

...with tinykittens.com. This is a non-profit cat rescue organization out of Langley, British Columbia. Amazing work, and pictures and stories that will tug at your heart. I think I learned about it here on DU. I have spent many hours on this site, completely entranced.

[oldandhappy]

27. Thank you lots and lots

My completely spoiled and domesticated lap cat would never understand the outside life. Fortunately for me she likes the warm lap and dinner on demand, smile. We don't have any strays here in the senior mobile home park. I keep an eye out.

[greatlaurel]

28. Thank you so much for helping the feral cats.

We live in a rural area and there are so many people who dump cats here. The poor cats either get hit by cars, shot by hunters or eaten by coyotes, except for the few who manage to make it to someone's home who will feed them and give them shelter. We have 15 we are taking care of currently.

You are a very good egg.

Thank you, again.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[U4ikLefty]

30. Cats should be kept indoors. nt