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socializing feral cat to non-ferals: impossible?
not sure if this is the right place to post it. Buddy Boo is a young
feral cat who was trapped and had a tumor removed (recovering well), was vaccinated, spayed, etc. I want to let him out of his cage but the weather is not good. My house has 4 cat doors for my other (approximately 30) socialized cats. He is in a large cage. He seems very alert and content but I don't think it's good for him not to get any exercise. Does anyone have any experience with ferals coming in and getting socialized into multi-cat households? I'm sure he could shelter outdoors in my garage, but it seems heartless with the snow and ice. He is more afraid of me and my partner than the other cats. His cage is on one shelf of many where other cats also can sit: this is a cat-friendly home and we have made sacrifices most people wouldn't consider to make the cats comfortable. Any advice or thoughts much appreciated. |
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socializing feral cat to non-ferals: impossible?
On 8 Jan 2006 17:28:31 -0800, "windwatcher" wrote:
not sure if this is the right place to post it. Buddy Boo is a young feral cat who was trapped and had a tumor removed (recovering well), was vaccinated, spayed, etc. I want to let him out of his cage but the weather is not good. My house has 4 cat doors for my other (approximately 30) socialized cats. He is in a large cage. He seems very alert and content but I don't think it's good for him not to get any exercise. Does anyone have any experience with ferals coming in and getting socialized into multi-cat households? I'm sure he could shelter outdoors in my garage, but it seems heartless with the snow and ice. He is more afraid of me and my partner than the other cats. His cage is on one shelf of many where other cats also can sit: this is a cat-friendly home and we have made sacrifices most people wouldn't consider to make the cats comfortable. Any advice or thoughts much appreciated. Bless you for helping out this cat. All I can tell you is my experience with Brando, my former feral whom I trapped, neutered, etc. I kept him in a cage (from what I have read, this is good for ferals, as it makes them feel secure) in a separate room. After he was neutered (which took a few months to get him into the low-cost program), he was allowed free roam of the room. With that, he could sniff other cats under the door and vice versa. After a little time of doing that, I allowed him out with the other cats. They all pretty much love him, and he has become a very loving lap cat. I don't know if you have a separate room or not, but that is what worked for me. Best of luck to you! Ginger-lyn Home Pages: http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/ http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....mmer/index.htm (genealogy) http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against Animals in Movies Website) |
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socializing feral cat to non-ferals: impossible?
Ginger's advice is right on the money. Your little guy will be glad to meet your other cats but he needs to be gently introduced to this whole new life ahead of him. If you want to chat more about this kitten, I would be glad to talk to you. Email me privately. Sharon Talbert Friends of Campus (feral) Cats Seattle |
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socializing feral cat to non-ferals: impossible?
I really appreciated hearing about Brando. Now I don't feel so
terrible about keeping him in the cage for a couple of weeks. We already have him about 4 feet up, above a dining table that cats jump up on in a 3x4foot cage with a box in it for him to lay. We're re-thinking our strategy of letting him out of the cage. If we could let him loose in the house it would be good but there are too many ways outside and I'm sure he's seen our other cats go out the kitty doors in every room. We have another cat that was given to us recently "Little One" who suffered serious injury with a car running over its tail. We thought he was feral but found from the animal hospital that someone declawed his front feet long ago. He's suffered a LOT since it took us two to three weeks to trap him after the accident. He is in the only spare room that has no cat door and needs a lot of extra care several times a day. They are both males and about the same age so I thought maybe put them in the same room together; there is a draft under the door and other cats sniff through the door, as did Ginger's cats, and then BB would not be confined to a cage. I was worried and still am that Buddy Boo doesn't get sufficient exercise: he has a bowel movement only every few days: we tried giving him small amounts of lactulose but he still is not pooping for at least 3 days. He is not handleable. If we leave him alone in the room he eats his food. He stays in the carton otherwise and ventures out to pee and drink and eat. Our cat litter supplier no longer has unscented litter. We are also worried about him drinking his water when he has kicked the deodorized litter into it, changing water several times daily. |
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socializing feral cat to non-ferals: impossible?
Update on Buddy: he is still in a cage near the window and enjoys
watching the birds at the feeder ten feet away. He interacts (sniffs, touches noses) with cats who are on his shelf which runs the length and width of the room. He doesn't try to escape when we leave the door open to change his litter. When winter is truly over (this is New England: March?) we plan to leave the door open. Does anyone think we should not? Hope he does not disappear. Main reason: we're worried over his lack of exercise. Little One the tailess cat is now free to go wherever he wants and is fitting in very well. He's on two meds right now for bladder and other than a few spots on his knees he's healing well. |
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socializing feral cat to non-ferals: impossible?
BTW: Buddy is likely a few years old, and truly feral.
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#7
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socializing feral cat to non-ferals: impossible?
Windwatcher, If he is a true feral cat he will most likely take off if let
outdoors. He might enjoy having a steady supply of food and attention on demand for awhile. He might even like being around the other cats. But I would guess sooner or later he will wander off seeking adventure elsewhere. Willee "windwatcher" wrote in message ps.com... BTW: Buddy is likely a few years old, and truly feral. |
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