On 8/22/2014 5:56 PM, John Doe wrote:
Joy toastie real-me.net wrote:

I'm new here, although I'm a long-time subscriber to rpca. I'm
hoping somebody has some suggestions to help a poor little feral
kitty.

Five years ago I adopted two three-year-old littermates, a male
and a female. A few months ago the male got cancer and
subsequently had to be PTS. The female (Pickles) has been very
lonely and demanding of attention.

I thought I'd get her a companion, and consulted others about
this. The consensus seemed to be that a young male would be the
best fit.

About a month ago I adopted a 4-month-old neutered male from the
local shelter. When the volunteer took him out of the cage so I
could pet him, he struggled and she said, "He's still a little
bit feral."

I kept him secluded for about a week. During that time he spent
most of his time hiding. Just as I was about to initiate an
introduction between the two cats, I got the results of a test
showing that he had an infection. For the next ten days I had
to dig him out of his hiding place and give him medication.
Naturally, that didn't make him feel any more comfortable about
his situation. I almost never saw him unless I was medicating
him.

A few weeks ago I started spending about half an hour every day
in his room, lying on the bed, reading. and talking and singing
to him.

About a week ago he was through with his medication and tested
well, so I opened the door to the room where I'd been keeping
him. Once or twice Pickles would go into that room and they'd
exchange what sounded like insults or threats, but there was
never any physical contact.

At some point they apparently reached an agreement, because now
Pickles never goes into that room, and he never comes out of it.
Since I opened the door, I've seen him out from under the bed
three times.

I know he's scared to death, and I'd like to let him know he
doesn't need to be scared. I'd also like him and Pickles to
become friends. Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I
can accomplish either of these things?

I agree with the other reply. Give it some time. I think you're
lucky there isn't serious fights. If there is, clip the
aggressor's claws. Your home cat would normally be jealous. Having
some experience, I definitely wouldn't expect it to accept the
newcomer for quite a while. I would concentrate on the home cat.
The things are very much aware of who you are giving attention to.

If the new cat doesn't come out, that means it's okay where it is.
As long as it's using the litter box, you are doing well.

If you want to know what feral really is... I've had a feral
female that I took in (trapped) from the not so great outdoors in
May 2007. I had no idea. To this day, it's afraid of me. Scared to
death of other people. No touch. Still hisses at me sometimes. But
even though it's unneutered, it would rather stay here than go
back into the not so great outdoors.

I have tried singing to it, many times. But I suck at singing.
There is a mental wall between it and human beings. Recently, I
believe it has started playing with my other two cats. Probably
the most fun it's had in its otherwise miserable lifetime.

My cats get places up high and out of the way (a skyway) as you
can see on my picture page...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210@N04/

Besides a place to get away from it all, a skyway helps provide
exercise. The feral spends most of its time in a loft in another
room.

They also get to hear the outside sounds thanks to an infant room
monitor (connected to a speaker for decent sound). That's nice
especially if you're gone much of the day. The calico, the newest
addition hung out by the speaker all the time when it first got
here.


Wow, you really go all out for your cats! That's great.

I'm no good at singing either, but I do it anyway, just to get him used
to my voice.

Yes, I'm giving Pickles lots of attention. I just hope we reach a time
when the new one isn't scared all the time.

Joy

--
Joy Unlimited
Colorful Crocheted Critters
Photos at http://www.PictureTrail.com/joy9