- Jul 26, 2011
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Hi! It's wonderful that you took this little guy in and are giving him a good life. I volunteer for a cat rescue group where I usually take the feral cats and socialize them, and here's what always works for me:
* Put the cat in an a smaller enclosed area where he can't hide from you. If he isn't able to hide, he will be forced to get used to you out in the open (dog cage or room with no furniture works well).
* Give him water and dry food and a bed to make him comfortable.
* Several times a day, as often as you can, go into his area and offer him a very tempting treat (like wet cat food or canned baby food, which they love!!)
* The important thing is to feed him out of your hand. It takes a lot of patience! But eventually he will approach and eat the food off your fingers.
* Try to stay as still as possible when you're offering the food on your hand. Take a book and read and don't pay attention to him. Eventually he will approach.
* Once he eats out of your hand regularly, you can start trying to reach out and touch him while he's eating. Eventually, you'll be able to pick him up.
This whole process can take a long time, but it is so worth it. When you tame a feral cat, they will become so attached to you. My biggest challenge was a litter of 5 feral kittens that spit and scratched and launched themselves at you. By the end of 5 weeks, with tons of time and patience, they were following me around the house and climbing into my lap. I adopted them all out as loving family pets.
Good luck and keep us updated!
* Put the cat in an a smaller enclosed area where he can't hide from you. If he isn't able to hide, he will be forced to get used to you out in the open (dog cage or room with no furniture works well).
* Give him water and dry food and a bed to make him comfortable.
* Several times a day, as often as you can, go into his area and offer him a very tempting treat (like wet cat food or canned baby food, which they love!!)
* The important thing is to feed him out of your hand. It takes a lot of patience! But eventually he will approach and eat the food off your fingers.
* Try to stay as still as possible when you're offering the food on your hand. Take a book and read and don't pay attention to him. Eventually he will approach.
* Once he eats out of your hand regularly, you can start trying to reach out and touch him while he's eating. Eventually, you'll be able to pick him up.
This whole process can take a long time, but it is so worth it. When you tame a feral cat, they will become so attached to you. My biggest challenge was a litter of 5 feral kittens that spit and scratched and launched themselves at you. By the end of 5 weeks, with tons of time and patience, they were following me around the house and climbing into my lap. I adopted them all out as loving family pets.
Good luck and keep us updated!