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litter box training a ferel



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 18th 05, 10:15 PM
basilz via CatKB.com
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Default litter box training a ferel

we "trapped" a ferrel in our house, it came in out of the cold, we shut the
door and he ran and hid. we put a litter box and his food dish were he
would find it. he hasn't eaten yet(3rd day) but did dirty on the floor. any
ideas on how to train him or is it possible. we know he's a year old

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  #2  
Old February 19th 05, 04:59 AM
Chris
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Well, first if he's going on the floor, he must have eaten... Do you have a
bowl of water in there as well You might try putting some dirt in the
litter from where he used to go when he was outside. Cats are pretty smart
about that but the scent should draw him to the box. They don't usually
like to go where they can't scratch. Also, don't put the food/water right
next to litter box as they don't like to eat where they go. Finally, use a
litter tray rather than covered box for a while....
"basilz via CatKB.com" wrote in message
...
we "trapped" a ferrel in our house, it came in out of the cold, we shut
the
door and he ran and hid. we put a litter box and his food dish were he
would find it. he hasn't eaten yet(3rd day) but did dirty on the floor.
any
ideas on how to train him or is it possible. we know he's a year old

--
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  #3  
Old February 21st 05, 06:36 PM
Priscilla Ballou
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Default

In article ,
"basilz via CatKB.com" wrote:

we "trapped" a ferrel in our house, it came in out of the cold, we shut the
door and he ran and hid. we put a litter box and his food dish were he
would find it. he hasn't eaten yet(3rd day) but did dirty on the floor. any
ideas on how to train him or is it possible. we know he's a year old


Put the "dirty" he did on the floor into the litter box. That'll
"prime' it and let himknow what the box is for. As the other respondent
said, also separate the litter and food/water. Maybe put some dirt over
the litter in the litter box.

Good luck!

Priscilla
--
"And what's this crap about Sodomites? It's always Sodomites this and
Sodomites that. What about us Gomorrahians? We were there too; we
deserve some mention. Sodom always gets the credit, and Gomorrah always
does the work." - JohnN in alt.religion.christian.episcopal
  #4  
Old February 22nd 05, 09:07 PM
basilz via CatKB.com
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Chris and Priscilla: thank you for your input on my ferrel "in the house"
and litter box training. I ended up buying a large dog cage, got her from
under the bed and into the bathroom. closed the door, set up the cage
outside the door way and then went in and "guided her into the cage. I had
one angry cat! I put in a small litter box and as suggested put in her
"thankyou" she left on the bathroom floor. This morning I noticed she had
used the litter box. I had put too much litter in it and she spread all
over, one big mess. she's a calico and very pretty i only hope she can be
tamed, I really don't want to let her out in the wilds again or take her to
the shelter and have her put down. Thanks again for your help.

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  #5  
Old February 22nd 05, 10:06 PM
Priscilla H. Ballou
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"basilz via CatKB.com" wrote:

Chris and Priscilla: thank you for your input on my ferrel "in the house"
and litter box training. I ended up buying a large dog cage, got her from
under the bed and into the bathroom. closed the door, set up the cage
outside the door way and then went in and "guided her into the cage. I had
one angry cat! I put in a small litter box and as suggested put in her
"thankyou" she left on the bathroom floor. This morning I noticed she had
used the litter box. I had put too much litter in it and she spread all
over, one big mess. she's a calico and very pretty i only hope she can be
tamed, I really don't want to let her out in the wilds again or take her to
the shelter and have her put down. Thanks again for your help.


Patience is the key. Patience and giving her time. Oh, and being
willing to wait. Patiently. ;-)

Priscilla
  #6  
Old February 23rd 05, 05:09 AM
Chris
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Glad to hear things are going well... Just another thought for you... If
you have a large cage, you might try leaving her in there for a couple of
days with food/water & some little toys (balls, etc)(it gets a little
messy). Put the crate somewhere where she can see you a good deal of the
time (but throw a sheet over it so maybe she can see only out of one side).
Try putting crate on some boxes or something so that you're not towering
over her. Just putting your hands in & out to clean litter, change
food/water, will give her a sense that you're not going to hurt her. THen I
would try leaving the gate open & gradually moving the food to just below
the crate so she can jump in & out... I did this with an adult stray and
now he is the most affectionate guy in the world! It really only took a
couple of weeks for him to slowly discover the couch & bed & decide it was
better than the towel in the crate..... I think what did it was that he
could see & hear all the routines of 'indoor' life and still feel safe in
his little den. At first he would only come out to explore at night or when
he thought I wasn't looking.

The other thing I did right away was bring him in the crate to the vet for
exam/shots. It avoided having to chase her in there later on. Vet gave me
some pills, ace ? which sort of kept him reasonably calm but no matter what,
be prepared for rough time at the vet. Whatever you do, do not open the
gate except in your home...

Have you given her a name? How old do you think she is? She's a real lucky
little one! Just be patient and go at her own pace but let her see you and
everyone in your home as much as possible....

"basilz via CatKB.com" wrote in message
...
Chris and Priscilla: thank you for your input on my ferrel "in the house"
and litter box training. I ended up buying a large dog cage, got her from
under the bed and into the bathroom. closed the door, set up the cage
outside the door way and then went in and "guided her into the cage. I had
one angry cat! I put in a small litter box and as suggested put in her
"thankyou" she left on the bathroom floor. This morning I noticed she had
used the litter box. I had put too much litter in it and she spread all
over, one big mess. she's a calico and very pretty i only hope she can be
tamed, I really don't want to let her out in the wilds again or take her
to
the shelter and have her put down. Thanks again for your help.

--
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  #7  
Old February 23rd 05, 07:05 PM
Priscilla H. Ballou
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Default

Chris wrote:

Glad to hear things are going well... Just another thought for you... If
you have a large cage, you might try leaving her in there for a couple of
days with food/water & some little toys (balls, etc)(it gets a little
messy). Put the crate somewhere where she can see you a good deal of the
time (but throw a sheet over it so maybe she can see only out of one side).
Try putting crate on some boxes or something so that you're not towering
over her. Just putting your hands in & out to clean litter, change
food/water, will give her a sense that you're not going to hurt her. THen I
would try leaving the gate open & gradually moving the food to just below
the crate so she can jump in & out... I did this with an adult stray and
now he is the most affectionate guy in the world! It really only took a
couple of weeks for him to slowly discover the couch & bed & decide it was
better than the towel in the crate..... I think what did it was that he
could see & hear all the routines of 'indoor' life and still feel safe in
his little den. At first he would only come out to explore at night or when
he thought I wasn't looking.


When I was socializing Sebastian, after a while I got a cage I'd put him
in and put him in various rooms with me and the (then) other two cats.
At the beginning I'd shroud part of the cage as Chris suggests above.
That way Sebbie got to interact with Caley and Benjamin without their
being able to tangle, and he got to size up the house. He visited every
major room multiple times. He got to see me cooking, eating, watching
TV, doing computer stuff, and so on.

When it finally got to be time to release Sebbie into the general
population, at first he didn't want to leave the guestroom where he'd
been living for 2.5 months, but then, when he did leave, there was no
slinking around the perimeters of rooms. He walked right down the
middle of each one like he owned it. He knew the house already, because
he'd already been everywhere.

Hope this helps.

Priscilla
  #8  
Old February 24th 05, 01:02 AM
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basilz via CatKB.com wrote:
This morning I noticed she had
used the litter box. I had put too much litter in it and she spread

all
over, one big mess.


If the dog crate is large enough, put a smaller cat-size carrier inside
the dog crate. Most feral cats will hide inside the smaller carrier,
especially when you come around. It's easy to close the door on the
smaller carrier (If necessary, use a long wooden dowl.). This way, you
can remove the cat in the carrier and give the larger crate a good
cleaning. It's also helpful to use pellet litter, like Feline Pine or
Cat Country. This type of litter is not as messy as clay or clumping
and does not pose a health danger if accidentally ingested.

she's a calico and very pretty i only hope she can be
tamed, I really don't want to let her out in the wilds again or take

her to
the shelter


You've forgotten what is most often the best option for true ferals.
Spay her, release her and maintain her as an outdoor cat. Longterm
confinement of adult ferals is not a kindness to these proud,
resiliant, competent animals.

T-N-R for adult ferals is certainly preferable to "taking her to a
shelter" where she will, undoubtedly, be destroyed as "unadoptable".

  #9  
Old February 24th 05, 04:56 PM
bill zwick via CatKB.com
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much appreciation to all. This is the 4th day that our ferrel has been
caged. She is using the litter box( advice from you has worked), she has
stopped meowing at 5 am, the vacum cleaner, television are no longer a
concern to her, she is more relaxed, watchs me play with our two ****zsues
and our other cat. our plan is to get her to the vet next week for
shots/checkup etc. patience is certainly the key. I really do not want to
turn her loose since i feed many different birds and would prefer her not
feeding on them. Thanks again to all, your advice has been right on!

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  #10  
Old March 4th 05, 02:32 PM
bill zwick via CatKB.com
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happy to report our new cat, formerly a ferel, has adapted thanks to the
help everyone gave . a little worried, took her to the vet and he tells me
she has a "touch of feline leukemia" and wanted to know if i "wanted to
keep her". I,m keeping her. Can't touch her but she walks around without
fear, eats, butt heads the dogs, ignores the other cat we have, lays in the
middle of the floor ignoring the pillows and uses the litter box. she was
kept in the dog crate for ten days, slept under a bed for two . it was
tricking getting her into the cat carrier for the vet visit, in 30 days she
goes back for another blood test and to be spayed. thanks again to all the
good advise, appreciated. bill

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