Can a wild cat be house trained?

[Chris142]

Lately a Black Cat has moved into our shed. I've been feeding it on our back porch. It's scared of people. It used to run if it even saw us through a window. Now it wont run until we open the door to go out. It usually only runs 15 ft then watches where we go.

If we head the other way it will come back and finish eating.

It's rather unusual as it has huge feet! It's body is the size of a regular house cat but it's got muscles that I can see when it walks and as I said it has huge feet.

It hangs out with my kitty w/o starting a fight.

I'd like to take it in to get it fixed before it has or makes babies.

I'm afraid that if I set up a trap and take it to the vet that it will take off when I release it after the trip and never come back. I'd like to keep it around as a mouser.

So has anybody ever made a wild kitty tame?

 

[JimPghPA]

It will stay in the same area it knows when you set it free after getting it fixed.

But expect it to space out big time when it finds itself in a trap.

I have an uncle in Rochester NY, and he and his wife have caught and had fixed several feral cats that frequent their back yard. They all stayed in the same area when they were set free after being fixed.

 

[JimPghPA]

Thick leather welders gloves like you get at Harbor-Freight might be a good idea to wear when handling the trap after the cat is in it.

 

[Drew99GT]

If he gets along with your cat and you keep feeding both of them on a routine schedule, I don't see why not. If you decide to take him in, make sure and get him checked at a vet. If he's chill and starts getting along with people, he can be a keeper.

One of my current cats is a stray black cat. He's my sidekick.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

although i admire your compassion, i prefer to start with kittens and raise my own. I dont see any harm in your trying though.

 

[JimPghPA]

I trained our last cat to not be afraid of the cat carry cage. I started with the bottom half, and place cat food in it when it was time to feed the cat. Then after several weeks I put the top on but left the front door off. Then after several weeks I put the door on. Then after several weeks I closed the door for only a second when the cat was in it. Then I gradually increased the time up to a couple of minutes.

The cat still meowed some on the way to the vet, but we were able to remove the cat and put it back in while at the vet.

You may not have the time to get your feral cat use to a cage. Almost all the cats my Uncle and his Wife took to the vet turned out to be pregnant.

 

[pcoxe]

In my experience, most feral cats will tame up to a person that feeds them regularly. That being said, I currently have one unspayed female cat in my habitat pen that still won't let me touch her after 5 years. Her 4 siblings are all tame. I guess there are some cats that just weren't meant to be tamed. She's happy in her little habitat world though and enjoys the company of the other cats. Maybe one day she will get friendly.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Absolutely can be tamed. House trained,dunno.

 

[JimPghPA]

Allowing you cat to associate with an outdoor cat is increasing the probability of your of you cat getting fleas big time.

And there is always the chance that any new cat contact will expose your cat to the very highly contagious feline leukemia, so your cat should always be up to date with its vaccines.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
although i admire your compassion, i prefer to start with kittens and raise my own. I dont see any harm in your trying though.
It just showed up so thats what I have to work with.

I'm pretty far out in the sticks and I have no idea how it got here. No close neighbors.

The first time it came around it stayed about 6 weeks then it disapeared for a week. We thought it was Coyote bait. Then it showed back up for a couple weeks then disapeared for a few days.

Now it's back again.
I wish it would stay close by and not get eaten.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Chris142

Now it's back again.
I wish it would stay close by and not get eaten.


There's a simple remedy for that: feed it before it gets eaten!

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

I domesticated a homeless cat that we were feeding a while, worked out fine and he turned out to be a great indoor cat. He doesn't tear up the house, is very good in the litter box and got along great with our other cat. (Males are usually more friendly than females).

However, it takes time and there is a process. I borrowed a humane trap from the local animal shelter, then left him there to be evaluated for a few days. After they gave him the okay, I got him neutered and checked out at a low cost clinic that deals with a lot of ferals. The neutering made a huge difference in his disposition, before he would hiss and spit at me, a month later he had calmed down considerably.

Once he was safe to bring in the house we gave him a sanctuary room, after a few days I left the door open so he could come out when he was ready. No fleas or other health issues even after living outdoors a few years.

I saved him just in time I think, he was looking pretty beat up, dirty, scratches on his face, probably from fighting with other cats and wild animals. They don't last long outdoors, eventually a predator or something else gets them.

 

[user52165]

I am not a cat owner but I know this:

Just before Halloween, the crazies look for black cats that are used for their ritual excesses........imagine the worst. Maybe not in your area, but just a FWIW.

The animal shelters will not allow adoptions of black cats in this time period.

And I would bet Apple Valley is coyote canyon..........suburban San Diego is.

 

[Lead Shoes]

My friends domesticated a baby deer in with the cows at the farm, it was VERY sketchy around me at first, but after a while it warmed right up and was no different than a dog and knew my cars exhaust note and my voice when I called it, but remember they are still a wild animal.

Here's a pic of me trying to hold him straight for a pic of his 4 point spread, we left the low fence open all year, he jumped out every few days and would come back later, one time he didn't... he went to the DNR officers yard a few houses down last year and was letting his kids hand feed him, they took him to a petting farm, he escaped. To this day I still call him when I see deer not afraid of humans and give my car the 2000 rpm note I pulled in the driveway with all the time

.

Here is the only pic I have of him as a Bambie

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/26/0318121821.jpg/

 

[Stu_Rock]

First, thank you for being so compassionate with the little guy.

There are lots of good comments here. The little guy may or may not end up tame, depending on what you mean by that term. If you take him indoors, I'm pretty confident he could be trained to use a litterbox, but he may never be cuddly. Be sure to have him checked out for diseases like FIV before mixing him with your other cat(s).

I have two feral yard cats that have never gotten cuddly, but they certainly know me. Sometimes they keep me company at 10 ft distance while I work outside. When they need veterinary care I herd them inside (using trickery) and they always use the litterbox I set up for them.

And then I have an exact opposite story. A few years ago there was a feral cat that I spent two years trying to catch. When I got him, he tamed very quickly but litterbox training took a lot of work. He was a great cat--extremely cuddly despite growing up on the street as an intact male. A local shelter found a home for him in a matter of days even though it was kitten season and he had a lot of "competition." I think his situation is extraordinarily rare, but it can happen.

Good luck!

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
Lots of good comments here. If you take him indoors, I'm pretty confident he could be trained to use a litterbox, but he may never be cuddly. .

Right, our rescue is no lap cat, he can be picked up and nuzzled, but thats about it, he is definetly friendly but a little skittish sometimes, especially with strangers.
If you want a super affectionate cat thats what animal shelter adoptions are for.

With ferals its more about saving them and perhaps getting a buddy in the process.

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: Brenden
My friends domesticated a baby deer in with the cows at the farm, it was VERY sketchy around me at first, but after a while it warmed right up and was no different than a dog and knew my cars exhaust note and my voice when I called it, but remember they are still a wild animal.

Here's a pic of me trying to hold him straight for a pic of his 4 point spread, we left the low fence open all year, he jumped out every few days and would come back later, one time he didn't... he went to the DNR officers yard a few houses down last year and was letting his kids hand feed him, they took him to a petting farm, he escaped. To this day I still call him when I see deer not afraid of humans and give my car the 2000 rpm note I pulled in the driveway with all the time

.

Here is the only pic I have of him as a Bambie

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/26/0318121821.jpg/



During rut deer can and will attack. A friend of my dad had a son who shot a deer and then got too close to it. The deer was still alive and gored the young man causing an artery to bleed on the top of one leg near the groin. There was no pressure point above the bleeding artery and no one could stop the bleeding. The young man bleed to death.

A wild animal is a wild animal, and if it is big enough and powerful enough to harm or even kill a human sooner or later it probably will.

Don't kid your self, there are seasons in the year when no one should get near any deer, even if it has been around humans.

 

[JimPghPA]

Our last cat started out as an outside cat that ate left over KFC skin thrown out in the back yard. When the weather got cold it wanted in the house and just walked right in. When piked up and held upside down with both arms, it purred. That cat had no problem being around humans.

 

[Lead Shoes]

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
Originally Posted By: Brenden
My friends domesticated a baby deer in with the cows at the farm, it was VERY sketchy around me at first, but after a while it warmed right up and was no different than a dog and knew my cars exhaust note and my voice when I called it, but remember they are still a wild animal.

Here's a pic of me trying to hold him straight for a pic of his 4 point spread, we left the low fence open all year, he jumped out every few days and would come back later, one time he didn't... he went to the DNR officers yard a few houses down last year and was letting his kids hand feed him, they took him to a petting farm, he escaped. To this day I still call him when I see deer not afraid of humans and give my car the 2000 rpm note I pulled in the driveway with all the time

.

Here is the only pic I have of him as a Bambie

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/26/0318121821.jpg/



During rut deer can and will attack. A friend of my dad had a son who shot a deer and then got too close to it. The deer was still alive and gored the young man causing an artery to bleed on the top of one leg near the groin. There was no pressure point above the bleeding artery and no one could stop the bleeding. The young man bleed to death.

A wild animal is a wild animal, and if it is big enough and powerful enough to harm or even kill a human sooner or later it probably will.

Don't kid your self, there are seasons in the year when no one should get near any deer, even if it has been around humans.


I believe everyone has a time, and when mine comes I plan to be ready and face it like anyone who has lived everything to the fullest. I don't play scared in front of nature or the ghetto, I carry my .45 legally and proud, God bless America, and when I get my bachelor in computer science I plan to protect it behind my E4 rank.

Respect nature or fear it, it can be the difference between life and death.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: Chris142

I'm pretty far out in the sticks and I have no idea how it got here. No close neighbors.



I live in the boonies with no close neighbors. Feral cats have an incredible roaming area and can travel for miles if another cat is in heat. Myself, I'd try to get the thing completely tamed before taking it to the vet to be fixed. I've tamed a couple of them, but it takes awhile and also depends on the cat and what experiences it has had with humans in it's lifetime.