Former feral cat issues

[m1stify]

I rescued a 5 yr old former feral cat in March of last year, she had been with a foster home for about 2 months and been "tamed" & had all vet treatments done. The night I got her she freaked out so on advice from the rescue I crated her for a while until she got used to me. I was able to pet her in the crate and she seemed to enjoy it. The fosterers were able to pet her outside of the crate - in fact when I went to see her I was able to pet her. She gradually came out of the crate and I haven't been able to pet her since! I decided to let her come to me. She rubs up against my leg if food is coming and she seems to have accepted me and is happy. I have another cat also and they get on well. However when I reach down to pet her she jumps out of the way. It’s been over a year now and I think if I leave it to her it will never happen! She needs her vaccinations done and I can't bring her to the vet if I can't get near. Any tips? I actually think now she allowed herself to be touched in the fosterers through fear and not choice.

 

[Antw23uk]

We used to foster cats and ended up taking on the 'ferals' that couldn't be rehomed (most weren't feral at all!) Now forgive me for how I word this because it has never sounded right ... But we used to force them into being friendly and by forcing I mean we didn't give them a chance to run from fear. They started off in the bathroom so they couldn't hide (other than in a cat basket bed) and we would spend lots of time in there reading, on the laptop etc just to get them used to us. We would obviously be feeding and cleaning litter tray out ... everything we did was aimed at them being unable to run away in fear ... this was because if they are running away and hiding in fear they aren't thinking things through properly. Got me? We had to 'force' them to understand that we weren't going to hurt them and the only way we could do that was by stopping them running in the first place. Over a period of time, some quicker than others we would gain trust to stroke them and reward with food and eventually they would start to actually like the stroking and attention and then actively look forward to it .. this point was when the bathroom door was opened and they were allowed to venture out for a short period .. mainly when we were settled on the sofa for the evening and unlikely to move (because if we moved ... yep you guessed it we would scare them and they would run in fear ... something we had worked hard not to happen because they then associate you with fear) This would go on, the bathroom being the 'hub' until they were coming to us for affection and food and then they would have the run of the flat and we were ready to rehome them.

Its a process and it takes time and being consistent BUT I would say this .. if we had left them to it and let them hide and make all the decisions on their terms (choice) we would still be there today! I would take a step back to a smaller room where she cant hide (force) (your probably past the crate stage now) and use food and 'force' (my force I hope I have explained is not actually force in a nasty way) and start 'forcing' her to be more friendly.

Sometimes and more often than not they don't know how nice being stroked and petted is until they are 'forced' to put up with it. Like I said I hate using the word force when trying to explain this as it really doesn't come across or sound right you know?

 

[MagicMelon]

I think Antw23uk has hit the nail on the head. We also used to take on ferals as a temporary home when my mum used to be in the CPL. We would keep the cat in the bathroom basically until it was happy with us, the bathroom is good because there's few places to hide (although give it a cat bed etc. obviously). We would just spend time in there with them, I was a kid at the time and loved it, I'd go and read in there etc. and just slowly move a little closer to the cat every day. It didnt take long for the cat to accept me and once you start stroking them very gently and not for long, slowly increasing it then they finally realise you're not going to hurt them and they actually like it. Never had one who wasn't friendly by the end of it

 

[honetpot]

I have a rescue whilst not a feral she had been kept in a cupboard most of her life and was frightened of everything. We had an empty house and I got her to keep down the mice, and apart from the poo in the litter tray and the food being eaten I never saw her. She could squeeze in to the smallest corner.
Its taken two years but she is sat on the sofa in her space, but she likes her space and does not like to be touched. We often think she had brain transplant as she now faces off the dogs and meows for us to open the door.

 

[peaceandquiet1]

Agree with Antw23uk. We did the same with the three ferals we have had. If a feral comes round they can become the most loyal and loving of cats. But they need to be shown the way.

 

[Antw23uk]

Agree with Antw23uk. We did the same with the three ferals we have had. If a feral comes round they can become the most loyal and loving of cats. But they need to be shown the way.

Agreed, very loyal and its so rewarding. The first one we had, Joey ... because apparently Joey was a boy! ... He was actually a she but we were the first to get near enough to her to find out. She was amazing and was obsessed with licking my eyelashes!

 

[m1stify]

Sorry only replying now. I actually see where you are coming from with the "forcing". That explains really how the rescue got the feral cats to enjoy being stroked. I will think about how to go about it and report back.. Thanks for all the feedback

 

[peaceandquiet1]

The first two we had we sat with for ages and held them, using gauntlets to start with. After a while they would purr. Eventually they slept on our bed and were as loving as cats could be. Our current feral was rehomed at three years after someone else unsuccessfully tried and we used to touch him with an old shoe. If he let us do that we knew he would let us stroke him. He has gone from being a condemned man (cats protection refused to take him) to a much loved pet much to our vets' surprise, as he had hissed and spat and lashed out at everyone while he was in their cattery. You do have to spend time handling them and you have to be confident around cats. The gauntlets are great in the early stages.