Expert: Jessica - 12/28/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jessica
My husband and I fed for about 6 months a feral Siamese boy and we fell in love with him.  We decided to trap him and work on taming him.  We trapped him on 12/22/09 and vetted him and brought him home the same day.  He is at least 2 – 3 years old and he is a lynx point Siamese.  He is right now in a cage in his own bedroom.  He started eating 3 days later and has been drinking from day 1.  He is using the litter box but he looks depressed and eats very little compared to how much he used to eat outside.  We are feeding him the same foods as before which are Natural balance wet and Natural balance mixed in with Evo dry.  We are aware that his world is upside down and he doesn’t understand what is going on but we are concerned that he eats little and looks very depressed.  We keep his litter box clean and his water and food are fresh and we go and visit for short periods of time and talk softly to him.  Could you please advise what else we can do to comfort him?  We know that taming takes a long time and it is up to him how much he wants to open up to us.  We love him very much.  We have 4 other kitties but of course they haven’t met him yet since it is way too early.  Your help would be very much appreciated.


ANSWER: Hi Marina.  Thanks so much for giving this needy kitty a safe home!  

Taming ferals is definitely a challenge, and I find the biggest challenge is to watch the cats go through the initial terror and depression they face.  I admit I let my first feral go because I felt so badly!  Fortunately, I was able to trap him again a month later, and he became a sweet, loving housecat.  

It’s normal for ferals to eat less than they usually do when they first come inside.  However, a lack of appetite can also signal illness, and cats are more susceptible to germs when they go through periods of stress like this.  It will be difficult to look for additional symptoms since he is in a cage, you have limited (if any) physical contact with him, and he is so withdrawn.  But if he starts eating any less, it would probably be the best idea to get him back to the vet.

In the meantime, I really recommend to supplement his food with special treats.  Stage one chicken baby food (for humans) is a healthy snack that most cats can’t refuse.  It might be best to leave this in his cage just before you go to bed, as ferals are generally more willing to eat when the house is completely dark and quiet.

You can also feed treats of boiled chicken breast, and I recommend to try feeding this to him by hand.  He’s very unlikely to take it from you at first, but hold it under his nose several times a day and see if he’ll go for it (this is assuming he’s not swiping or snapping at you at this point).  If he doesn’t take it, lie it down for him.  Feeding ferals special treats by hand is really the key to earning their trust.  Chicken breast has been the most tempting with my cats, and because it’s protein they need, you can feed several bites of it a few times a day without throwing their nutrition off balance.

You may want to purchase a Feliway diffuser to use in the room he’s staying in.  This is a synthetic facial pheromone, a hormone that encourages relaxation and calmness.  It’s excellent to use during major changes like this, and in fact, I use it at all times in my house to maintain multiple cat harmony.  You can learn more at www.feliway.com.  It’s available all over the internet and at pet stores.  I have found the initial set ups to be least expensive at amazon.com.

Additionally, a flower essence might help to relax him.  I like Spirit Essences, formulated by a well respected holistic vet and an animal behaviorist.  See www.spiritessences.com.  They have a Feral Cat Rehabilitation formula to use during taming.  You can add it to his water.  I have not tried this particular formula, but I’ve used others, and I like them.

Finally, depending on how you think your cats will react to him, it might be a good idea to start exposing him to them through the cage.  My own cats are used to fosters, and new cats don’t faze them in the least.  I have found ferals to be extremely accepting of other cats, especially early in their introduction to home life, and domestic cats make excellent teachers.  The term “copy cat” really applies to them – they learn from one another far more quickly than they will learn from people.  I always spend a lot of time cuddling my tame cats in front of my ferals, and eventually, I hold the ferals in my lap while the others come around and purr.  It works wonders to build their confidence in humans.  However, it will only cause him further stress if your cats will react negatively to him at first, so definitely make your decision based on this.

Best of luck!

Jessica




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jessica
Many thanks for your reply and encouragement.  We can not get close to him because he snaps.  For now we have to isolate him at the back of the crate using wood planks, so that we can clean the litterbox and put fresh food and water.  Yesterday we started scratching his back using a backscratcher and today we progressed towards his head, he seems to like it.  He ate very well last night.  We just don’t know when to begin hand feeding like you recommend in your answer.  He has been home with us for 6 days.  Also how tame are your ferals, can you handle them so that you can take them to the vet when necessary?  There is so much we and him have to learn, it is definitely an emotional rollercoaster.
thank you again
Marina


Answer
Hello again.  Do you suppose you could offer him the chicken through the bars of the crate without being swatted at?  Even if you need to place it at the end of a fork and stick it through the cage for him, I would start trying to hand-feed him now.  If he won't take it, toss it into the cage for him.  He should gobble it down when no one's looking, and he'll have seen you were the one that provided it.

Personally, I begin contact with my ferals very early on, beginning just a day or two after their intake.  A feral never comes around on his own - the contact has to be forced at first.  And while they hiss and spit and swat (with claws retracted), I've only actually been scratched by one feral when I just tried to pet her (picking up is a completely different story!).  The back scratcher is an excellent idea, and I would suggest trying to use your hands as soon as you feel comfortable.  There is a RISK of being scratched, but most ferals are quite reluctant to do this.  You can wear gloves for an extra measure of protection.  I know this takes some working up to.  At this point, I have nerves of steel.  But if you can take the risk, you will be on your way to building a relationship with the kitty much more quickly.  They don't understand that we're not going to hurt them when we reach for them until we begin petting them, and don't hurt them.  Until we force them to see this truth, they generally remain defensive.

A cat's genetics have as much to do with their personality as nurture does.  If you have a kitty with outgoing and friendly genes in his background, you will make a lot more progress than you will with a cat who has timid and antisocial genes.  I have 22 ferals housed in the sanctuary that I trapped as adults.  Of those, only 2 must be fed a sedative in order to get them to the vet.  Some others put up a struggle when trying to put them into the carrier, but no more of a struggle than I've gone through with some domestics!  I can pet all the ferals except those two, and I can pick up and hold half of them like teddy bears.  In fact, my two friendliest cats were complete ferals trapped when they were approximately 1 and 4 years old.  And today, I napped with a feral I trapped this summer.  She curled up on my pillow and kneaded my hair.  It's really impossible to predict which cats will open up to the point you can call them domesticated, especially based on their reactions when they first come into the home.  My worst-behaved feral (the one who scratched me) turned out to be my most relaxed!  But almost every feral will come to trust their caretaker enough for at least a little contact, and I think the more you "force" on them to begin with, the better your chances are that they will warm up.  

I'm glad he's eating better!  Sounds like he's beginning to relax a little, and hopefully his heightened sense of aggression will calm down.