After being trapped 2X, my 2 feral cats won't let me touch them, even a light tap makes them jump, any hints?
Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at
8:40 pm
1st time trapped was to spay
2nd time was for shots and then move into house (long story)
they don’t seem to want to go back out. Door’s been open a few times, and they’ve never taken the chance to "escape"
They’re a mother/daughter, both adults, always outdoor until 10 months ago when I brought them in.
Filed under: Cat Behavior
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You’ll have to have them come to you. Begging, goading, forcing, won’t work. Sit on the floor often, in places they’ll want to be -before- they get there. Don’t invade an area they’re already in. Be as mellow about it as you can. Talk to them, offer them food, (treats are a big bonus!) let them re-learn that you’re O.K. to hang out with. Probably not dissimilar to what started the friendship outside, to begin with.
Provided you don’t leave a big pile of food out 24/7, (some people do, some don’t,) feeding time might be great. Put the food bowl next to you and wait…if they’re not immediately interested, do it somewhere where you can do something like watch T.V., to pass the time.
Once you see they’re comfortable eating next to you, try sneaking in a nice pet. If they shy, don’t persist, but stay around and chat. Try again next time.
When attempting a peting if they’re not feeding, start at the front end. Don’t sneak up on them but let them see and smell you coming. That’ll take the surprize out of it.
Eventually your scaredy cats should open up to you again. I wouldn’t think it would take too long, but it’s hard to say without knowing how traumatized they were by the incidents.
I brought my cats from the city to the country by car and they freaked out the whole time (mother/son). We put them in one room, with an open door and it took them about a week to get out and explore the house. If they don’t allow contact after 10 months then I wonder what went wrong….check this site out. good luck!!!
they like the good life now in the warm
You’re very brave to try to domesticate adult ferals. We were given an adult feral to take to the SPCA for spaying and rehoming. Unfortunately we opened the box. 10 years later she is still with us. It took her about 6 years to finally accept me! My girlfriend was relatively Ok, she was accepted after a few weeks.
We have 2 feral kittens at the moment. One is almost trusting me, the other is terrified of everybody! And they are siblings!
What I am trying to say is ferals, especially adults, are very unpredictable. However, in my experience, patience (lots of it) will pay off in the long run.
Try to spend a lot of time in the same room but not necessarily interacting with them. My kittens have a ramp up to a high shelf in my study (the penthouse suite) where they can feel safe and watch me work. I talk to them all of the time and they are coming along, slowly.
Don’t worry about them not going outside, they will eventually. Perhaps they associate outdoors with being caught in a trap. After all, it happened to them twice!
Lots of luck. It will all work out eventually.
just play with them ,and get them with theywant
Kudos for taking in the feral!! Just be patient and don’t give up on them. It takes a big heart and caring person to take on this task and you seem to have both traits!! The fact that you have two feral together instead of one should make it a little easier to settle into the house and accept you. Good luck!