Expert: Tina - 4/12/2007

Question
I had a feral female outside for over a year but was never able to tame her.  She would come when I would call but would never let me touch her. She had 5 kittens at my feet this past November and let me pet her during the entire births of all 5.  I moved them into my garage and kept her for 3 months and found homes for all the kittens and my parents adopted Mom.  They had her spayed and declawed and took her directly from the vet to her new home.  She has been hiding for almost two months now.  Either under the bed or in closets.  She is eating and using her litter box but only comes out when no one is around.  She will let you pet her in her hiding places and will eat treats out of my Dad's hand but will not come out and socialize.  I am so worried about her.  I have two of the kittens and I even took them over and she would not come out for them either.  She let me pet her and layed her head in my hands but would not come out to me.  She is a wonderful cat and I feel awful that she is living like this. While in my garage I was even able to pick her up for short periods of time but she always wanted petted and loved. She was happier in my garage.  My Dad tries leaving treats out on the bed but she sneaks out to get them. He is really trying with her, my step-mother is not really too involved.  What can we do?  I'm ready to try anything.  I was even going to bring her back here and leave her in the garage.  I adopted two of her kittens but I already had two neutered males, 6 and 12 years old.  It would be a house full but I just don't know what else to do????  Any advice would be appreciated.  

Answer
HI Sandy,

You have done your best to help this cat and her kittens, and you've been doing a great job by finding them homes and getting them all spayed. However - I don't want to just make you feel bad after the fact since it can't be changed now - but I really really wish you had not had the cat declawed. Declawing is bad for so many reasons, but especially for a formerly-feral cat.

The recovery from declawing - which is the amputation of the last bone in each toe to which the claw is attached - is extremely painful and traumatic for any cat, but especially one whose trust for humans is so thin. She can never ever be allowed to go outside again, so if you do take her back into your garage you can't let her escape, she can't climb trees or defend herself. Also, cats know they are defenseless after declawing and many show very big behavior changes for life - they become either more timid, or in some cases, more aggressive by biting. Here is more info about how declawing affects cats:
http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/antideclaw.pdf

However back on track to what you CAN do about the situation. I'd recommend catching the kitty and confining her to a smaller space or even a large cage for a while. Although this sounds mean, most feral cats like having a safe space they feel is their den. You can get large "playpen" cages or a big dog crate at a pet store, cover it with a blanket and set up food water and litter. Or, find a room without too many hiding spots - for example block up under the bed. Give her a hiding spot, but one from which she is accessible so she can't just retreat. If a cage is used it can be placed in the living room or another room with lots of human activity, no where too quiet or out of the way. She can get used to the sounds and smells of life with humans. Here's an article I wrote on socializing feral cats with some tips for you:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/socializing_ferals.html

This cat needs time to recover from her traumatic vet visit and to settle in to the new home. Feral cats don't adjust well to changes at first because they often only learn to trust one human - you, and that took years right? So your dad will have to have some patience and let her come around in time. In my experience, any cat who has once placed her trust in a human will learn to trust again, there are very few ferals who are completely un-tameable.

Finally, you may want to try adding some flower essences to her water. Flower essences are a mild type of herbal medicine that seems to work especially well for cats. You can buy these at health food stores or Whole Foods Market and online. Bach's Flower Essences makes a blend called "Rescue Remedy" that helps with stressful situations and fear - I'd recommend trying it (it is widely available). You just but it as a liquid preserved in alcohol and add 4 drops to a bowl of drinking water, it won't be detectable to your cat.

Good luck!