After a lot of procrastinating and excuses and planning and trying to control what i can't control, i finally decided to release Runty and Stubbs last night.. About 2 weeks past their release deadline i think and almost a month since they were spayed.. maybe longer.. I had sort of imagined that they would dash out of the carrier and just run for their lives and freedom when i brought them outside. but they didn't.. so now we sort of have a problem..
these two are too feral and scared of people to be pets.. but at the same time they are not quite feral and independent enough for the outside world i think.. they haven't been outside since they were taken away from their mother.. these two are such a unique case. their siblings were tamed and became sweet adoptable kittens but runty and stubbs just couldn't get used to people no matter what we did. now they're fearful adults who grew up indoors. but because they grew up indoors they are scared of the outdoors. and the reason why they spent so much time indoors is because i was trying to socialize them but failed miserably. fuck fuck fuck. i've got indoor ferals. what the fuck am i going to do.
last night i wrapped my hands in a large towel and put them one by one into the carrier. of course they hated my handling them that's why i needed the towel to protect myself. once in the carrier they started hissing and spitting of course. i brought the carrier outside and placed it on the ledge in the driveway where i feed daisy mama cat everyday. that ledge is a little feeding station i guess and sometimes daisy mama's stray friends romeo and tybalt drop by for a meal too. its high enough that the dogs can't bother cats up there eating and there's a tree next to it for shade and a little shelter. anyway once on the ledge all a cat would have to do to leave my yard is jump through a gap in the wall. i placed the carrier in front of the gap. i put food and water at the carrier entrance. then i opened the door backed off and waited.. and waited.. and waited.. no one came out of the carrier.. the two raging balls of fur i expected never came flying out of the carrier.. after three hours (around 1am already) we decided to call it quits and bring them back in the house. once they were back in the house they were bitchy of course and untouchable.
what should i do now? just keep bringing them out in the carrier every night until one day they want to explore? or continue with the taming process that has produced no results for months?
(Almost) Wordless Ryu
2 days ago
6 comments:
Wow, that is quite a quandry. Do Rubty and Stubbs like other cats? I've known people who have had semi-feral cats as pets. These kitties can't be petted, but they get along well with the other cats in the house. So in a way, they are kind of the "pets" of the tame kitties that live there...
Oh, and your failed release experience kind of reminds me of a cat named Hilton we once had at our shelter. He was pretty feral (he used to RUSH the front of his cage when we opened it to feed him or change his litter box - no joke!), and we caught him with the intent of neutering and then releasing him into a feral cat colony. Anyway, when they tried to release him, he would NOT leave that carrier, and after like four hours, they brought him back to the shelter. Long story short, the experience of almost being back out in the wild must have "scared him straight." It's like he was a totally different (and nice) cat! After a few weeks, he was actually exposing his belly to be petted. True story!
I guess the reason I'm telling you all this is that you just never know. Hang in there, know that you are doing wonderful work, and follow your heart. You'll know what to do. :)
Oops, just saw a typo in my previous comment. I meant *Rusty* :)
It sounds like you are stuck in the middle of this equation while the answer is not far off. I suspect that time will be your best friend - I sure don't have an answer!
I think it's probably worth keeping up with some taming activities since they've decided it's too scary outside now.
If you can, get hold of some Valerian Root Herb - it stinks. Really stinks. It smells very similar to what comes out of cat anal glands, but it's useful in taming because it smells of cat.
Rub some on your hands and just leave your hand (maybe with gloves on) near them in their cage (ten inches ish away is a good distance) - cats seem not to be able to resist the smell, and with time may start sniffing it, moving closer to you and rubbing their heads against the yummy smell. This will let you gradually start using a finger to pet their heads, use a cat tongue lick motion to start with and let them take the lead.
No guarantee it will work, but I've used it several times to sway a cat away from the dark side of not tame/not feral.
You might want to wear a gas mask whilst you do this. Really the stench is grim. Valerian is quite calming, unlike catnip and also unlike catnip, all cats get off on it.
Best of luck :D
Seriously LOL!!!! i love how you're so frank!
"It smells very similar to what comes out of cat anal glands"
"Really the stench is grim"
Agreed! Follow your heart =) Runty & Scubbs will eventually understand & appreciate whatever u have done for them. Keep up the good work.
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