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theres a feral cat who will get somewhat close then run off. how do i get him closer to me? : (
Keywords: feral cat
Answers to this question
6 Answers
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In the last 7 years my family has been trapping and taming feral cats. I’ve worked with feral cats for over 30 years. We have observed and learned from “our” colony of ferals. Trapping and taming ferals takes dedication and lots of patience. If you don’t have the time to invest in the taming process, let someone else deal with these cats. You’ll be doing more harm than good.
A semi-feral is one that has turned wild because it was lost or abandoned. These cats will settle down almost instantly to domestic life if they can be caught and brought inside. They seem to remember days past when they had a home. But they can remain skittish if they’ve been abused. These cats will learn to trust you and eventually come to you when you bring their food. You’ll be able to reach out and pat these cats. Not to say these cats won’t fight if they feel threatened. They really should be trapped in a live trap such as a hava-heart to avoid injury. Some can be covered with a towel or blanket but don’t try to catch a true feral cat that way. It can be done with kittens but not adults. You’ll be putting yourself at serious risk of bites and they can carry rabies. Semi-ferals can be feisty as well when cornered.
Remember, if you get bitten by a feral, semi-feral or a stray cat and you weren’t able to catch that cat….you should seek medical attention right away. If you have the cat, it should be quarantined for 10 days. By day 3, if the cat has rabies, it will show signs of illness. If the cat dies, it should be tested for rabies and treatment on you should be started.
A true feral is one born in the wild that has never had human contact. These cats are equal to a fox or raccoon and will fight with all their strength to rip you apart if you corner them. Yes, they can carry diseases and they’re usually loaded with fleas, ticks and worms. They should be quarantined for 10 days when you first bring them home. We used a dog crate for the adults and covered it with a heavy blanket. As they settle down, we would fold the blanket back to expose on the front of the cage. Watch their eyes. You can learn a lot about their state of mind through their eyes. This gives them the feeling of being in a den. After 10 days the adults were taken to the vet to be neutered, wormed and vaccinated.
The kittens were handled (with gloves) and wrapped in a towel on day one a few hours after they were brought into our home. Don’t underestimate kittens. They can still bite. But kittens will settle down very quickly. I knew when they sighed, we had crossed the first hurdle.
True ferals can not be approached unless they are very young. Ferals usually sleep during the day and hunt at night. They are seen during the day when their routine has been interrupted in some way or their den has been compromised or they live in an area that is very quiet. Any activity in an area and the ferals will stay hidden until all is quiet. Feral kittens start coming out of their den around 4 or 5 weeks.
Ferals have strong instincts for survival. They do not know that you’re trying to help them. Granted they will learn that your presence means food but don’t be fooled into thinking if that cat comes up to you when you’re feeding it, that you are instantly going to become friends. The wrong move or sound from you and the feral will bolt. It can take weeks before you see it again. And that makes it harder to gain back their trust.
True ferals are best trapped in hava-hearts. When we were trapping our colony we asked people to stay away from the den. We had stubborn people who were trying to catch them but wouldn‘t listen to our advice. They drove them off and it took us longer to find them again. One person was attacked by the mother when he got too close to the den. Because of the interference, one cat that “they” approached as a kitten….took us a year before we trapped her. The smell of humans meant danger because “they” interfered.
Our last litter was compromised because of well-meaning people. There were 4 kittens. Because they interfered, the mother moved the kittens. We didn’t find them again until they were 3 months old. We went to set our traps but the den had been attacked by a predator and one of our kittens was dead. We were able to trap the remaining 3 (Diva, Dylan and Dakota) and the mother that week but it has always bothered me that we lost Dewey because those people would not stay away.
I have another thread about age and taming with ferals.
Source Link: http://www.cats.com/search-results/?x=feral+cats
Comments to Answer
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With the subject heading Feral Cats...
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catsofmany (my mom) was asked to write a book about feral cats and her experiences with them. She actually was approached by a publisher that read several of the rescue updates she sends by email monthly to family, friends and people in our rescue network.
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thats sad that people get in the way.sounds like they ruin many lifes not porpusley. even if they do love them they have no right to get in the way.
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Ooh - Catsofmany will pipe in on this one, I’m sure. She has lots of experience with ferals!! 
I, however, do not, so I shall rely on the world wide web to help me out!
I’m adding some links under my “Source Links” to other discussion threads on this forum where users like Catsofmany have provided insight on taming ferals. Check those out. I’ve also added a couple of general websites on taming ferals.
Source Link: \
Source Link: \
Source Link: Taming Feral Cats & Kittens
Source Link: Taming Feral Kittens
Comments to Answer
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Ok - those first two ARE actual links to pages on this website - but I guess you can't put your titles in quotations!!! The first one is "I have a feral cat that I have cared for for five years"... and contains some good insight in the answers section. The second one is "Feral Cats" - Catsofmany's response to this one is more valuable than the post itself, which isn't terribly pro-feral... You can still get to both of those websites by clicking on that backslash above. Sorry that they didn't format correctly! :-)
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hehe....you know me well, ziggy! People need to understand the difference between a semi-feral and a true feral. Too many times I've heard people say they had a feral cat that truly was a semi-feral. It gives people a false sense of confidence if they were to deal with a true feral. And dangerous as well.
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1st OF ALL…
Ferrol cats are either born wild, abused runnaways or abandoned…sooooo Rirgt from the get go they are very, very “skiddish” of us humans.
They can also carry diseases and pests so you have to be very careful. Once you’ve made your presence known to the cat, IT WILL KNOW whether you are friend or foe. If you show yourself friendly to it… it will know.
Cats aren’t stupid.
Soooooo…
Talk to it. Offer it a bowl of good food and fresh water.
Chances are when you bring the food, it WILL run away.
Put the food and water good distance from you.
Back away and sit down in a quiet atmosphere and have a cup of coffee or juice or something.
Wait…make a clicking sound with your mouth and say “Here Kitty” in a high pitched voice…and wait.
It may not come to the food untill you go in BUT IT WON’T Forget it.
You have to build it’s trust and it will take time.
The cat will come to you when IT WANTS TO. That’s th way it is.
Start moving the food closer and closer to your door and walk away…until one day you put the food inside the door and leave the room.
Whatever you do DON’T SHUT THE DOOR!!! You’ll lose the cats’ trust and make it feel trapped, besides…It could be a nurturing mother and have babies outdoors. I’m Quite Sure if YOU got locked up somewhere and had children out there to feed it wouldn’t make you too happy huh.
Well…Good Luck and Take Care,
Douglas B. Shafor
dshafor@yahoo.com
Comments to Answer
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Good answer! Feral cats need alot of trust from you. Don't become impatient and just try to force it into your home. Every day, just place a bit of canned food in a bowl, and everyday place the bowl closer to your house. Just like what dshafor said, don't close the door when the feral actually comes into your house. This will get the feral to not trust you. When you finally have the feral in your house for a few weeks, bring it to the vet to make sure it has all its vaccination and shots. Good luck!
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Semi-feral and true ferals are totally different and should be treated as such. You will not be able to approach a true feral. They should be trapped in hava-heart traps.
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If you close the door and lock in a feral, they may very well run right up your body! I have seen feral cats truly run up the walls! And if you are in their way, they will rip you to shreds.
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wow that explains a lot
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Well I have had some experience with a feral cat once.
We left food for it outside in a safe place.
It was a sweet cat that loved to be pet so I guess its kind of different .
If you really want to have it as a pet leave food and towels in a large cat carrier or cage than once it has been in there for a while take it to your vet to have it get shots and get spayed or neutered. You will also need to have it checked for heart worm or any common illnesses. It is hard work taking care of a feral or stray cat and I don’t recomend doing so.
Comments to Answer
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My cat was a feral for 2 1/2 years! She is incredibly sweet and loving though! This just goes to show that ferals can easily adapt to life with humans!!
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Yes, they can. And it's sad that many of them are not given the chance because of their age.
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She probably was semi-feral. You have to be ready to commit to any cat whether it be a feral or a stray. But feral cats do need more time and you have to know what you're doing before you take one on.
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i met a cat who was horrified of me earlier in my life then i saw the same cat so i sat down and talked to him/her (i dont know which) and he/she came over and let me pet him/her also my dog was curious of her/him (she is a shi-zu) so she came over and sniffed her it was wierd they didnt even fight. o well i still dont understand the cat….
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well then i guess this cat is semi-feral. thanks for the help. he/she is getting closer and closer to our house. ecspecially because we bring food and he hangs with our one cat cottonball.
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