Introducing Semi-feral Cat into existing cat household
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:41 pm
Hello
I would appreciate any advice regarding the following problem I have, please:
About three months ago I spotted a small, scruffy tabby cat in my garden. I assumed she was a stray so put food down for her with a view to trying to catch her and take her to the vet to see if she was microchipped. She wouldn't let me approach, hissing and spiting at me and so I wondered if she was feral. Anyway, after making enquiries I discovered that she belongs to a neighbour a few doors from me. He told me that he bought her as a small kitten from someone who assure him that, although she was in a cage at the time and not friendly, understandably, she would settle. She didn't, unfortunately, and managed to escape from his home a couple of weeks after he got her and has been living outside ever since ( she's just over a year old) . He did manage to trap her and take her to the vet to be neutered a few months back but, as the vet informed him she was feral, he just let her out again as soon as he got home.
He has been putting dried food out for her but he goes away a lot, so he has just been leaving a big pile of food out in the hope that would be enough but, of course, the local cat population soon got wind of the free-for-all, hence her poor state when I saw her. As she has set up home in my garden, he asked if I would continue feeding her, which I have been doing.
Over the time I have been feeding her, I have managed to befriend her to the point where she will sit on my lap and allow me to stroke her - until she's had enough, then I get rewarded with a bite or a swipe I have also managed to persuade her to come into my hallway to eat due to the flies and wasps that would go on her food if I left it out in the hot weather we've had and she comes in readily now. As her confidence has grown, so has her desire to explore and, whilst I've managed to keep her in the hall most of the time, occasionally she has got past me into my home. This is where my problem comes in as I have three black rescue cats of my own who are all terrified of her! They are related females, two sisters and the adult kitten belonging to one of the sisters, The girls are 8 years old and the "kitten" is 6 but still very much acts the baby as she's never left mum! My mother cat is finding the presence of another cat on her "patch" particularly stressful I think, as she is normally the dominant one of the group but has taken to hiding in the wardrobe to sleep recently. She is also a lot more grumpy towards her sister and her kitten than she normally is. I've been using a Feliway diffuser to see if that would help but it doesn't appear to have done a great deal so far.
The tabby cat's owner has pretty much given up on her, as he thinks it would be a good idea to rehome her. I can see his point but he thinks it would be best to take her back where he got her from and I really don't like the sound of that. I don't think she will ever be a domestic lap cat but why should she be! I do think that she would become a bit more tame with patience and kindness and feel she deserves a loving home where she will at least have warmth and shelter for the winter but my problem is that I can't see how I can keep her when my own cats are so frightened of her. They don't go outside very much but on the odd times they have interacted in the garden, Bubbles ( the tabby) has stared at them and they just turned tail and fled! Even when Bubbles got into the lounge the other night it was she who was the aggressive one, even though she was in an unfamiliar place. She is a very feisty little soul but then, living rough since a small kitten, on her own, I imagine she has had to be feisty to survive.
I have tried contacting local rehoming centres myself but they are all overflowing with cats at the moment and, as one lady said to me, they have enough trouble finding homes for the more biddable cats, so don't hold out a lot of hope for rehoming Bubbles.
I do apologise for the length of this post but if anyone has any suggestions of ways I can try and get my girls to adjust to accepting Bubbles, or any suggestions for a possible rehoming, I would be very grateful.
Thank you.
I would appreciate any advice regarding the following problem I have, please:
About three months ago I spotted a small, scruffy tabby cat in my garden. I assumed she was a stray so put food down for her with a view to trying to catch her and take her to the vet to see if she was microchipped. She wouldn't let me approach, hissing and spiting at me and so I wondered if she was feral. Anyway, after making enquiries I discovered that she belongs to a neighbour a few doors from me. He told me that he bought her as a small kitten from someone who assure him that, although she was in a cage at the time and not friendly, understandably, she would settle. She didn't, unfortunately, and managed to escape from his home a couple of weeks after he got her and has been living outside ever since ( she's just over a year old) . He did manage to trap her and take her to the vet to be neutered a few months back but, as the vet informed him she was feral, he just let her out again as soon as he got home.
He has been putting dried food out for her but he goes away a lot, so he has just been leaving a big pile of food out in the hope that would be enough but, of course, the local cat population soon got wind of the free-for-all, hence her poor state when I saw her. As she has set up home in my garden, he asked if I would continue feeding her, which I have been doing.
Over the time I have been feeding her, I have managed to befriend her to the point where she will sit on my lap and allow me to stroke her - until she's had enough, then I get rewarded with a bite or a swipe I have also managed to persuade her to come into my hallway to eat due to the flies and wasps that would go on her food if I left it out in the hot weather we've had and she comes in readily now. As her confidence has grown, so has her desire to explore and, whilst I've managed to keep her in the hall most of the time, occasionally she has got past me into my home. This is where my problem comes in as I have three black rescue cats of my own who are all terrified of her! They are related females, two sisters and the adult kitten belonging to one of the sisters, The girls are 8 years old and the "kitten" is 6 but still very much acts the baby as she's never left mum! My mother cat is finding the presence of another cat on her "patch" particularly stressful I think, as she is normally the dominant one of the group but has taken to hiding in the wardrobe to sleep recently. She is also a lot more grumpy towards her sister and her kitten than she normally is. I've been using a Feliway diffuser to see if that would help but it doesn't appear to have done a great deal so far.
The tabby cat's owner has pretty much given up on her, as he thinks it would be a good idea to rehome her. I can see his point but he thinks it would be best to take her back where he got her from and I really don't like the sound of that. I don't think she will ever be a domestic lap cat but why should she be! I do think that she would become a bit more tame with patience and kindness and feel she deserves a loving home where she will at least have warmth and shelter for the winter but my problem is that I can't see how I can keep her when my own cats are so frightened of her. They don't go outside very much but on the odd times they have interacted in the garden, Bubbles ( the tabby) has stared at them and they just turned tail and fled! Even when Bubbles got into the lounge the other night it was she who was the aggressive one, even though she was in an unfamiliar place. She is a very feisty little soul but then, living rough since a small kitten, on her own, I imagine she has had to be feisty to survive.
I have tried contacting local rehoming centres myself but they are all overflowing with cats at the moment and, as one lady said to me, they have enough trouble finding homes for the more biddable cats, so don't hold out a lot of hope for rehoming Bubbles.
I do apologise for the length of this post but if anyone has any suggestions of ways I can try and get my girls to adjust to accepting Bubbles, or any suggestions for a possible rehoming, I would be very grateful.
Thank you.