Taming a Feral Cat

We recently acquired a black cat that was living in a tree in a relative's back yard. Technically, this cat was not a feral cat, as he had once been domesticated, but after being outside for approximately a year had become very leery of humans, even though he would eat food people left outside for him.

Our plan was to let this cat get to know us and then tame him to be, if not totally domesticated, at least a friendly outdoor pet.

We had a cat door in a tool shed on our property, so my husband fixed a cat bed and feeder inside, and then set out to get acquainted with the cat so we could surprise him with his new home. The problem was that the cat, whose name was Rusty, wasn't really interested in having a new home. He only wanted food, and the first time I ventured into the shed to visit him, he flew past me out the door seemingly at the speed of light and disappeared.

After doing all the regular things you do when you lose a pet-posting signs and knocking on doors in the neighborhood, placing a lost cat ad in the local newspaper, and wandering around with an open can of tuna calling his name for a few days, we finally gave up.

Then, a few weeks later, Rusty appeared at our bedroom window in the middle of the night, but when we talked to him, he left. Since we knew he was still in the area, we set food out on the balcony by our bedroom in hopes of attracting him to pay another visit.

There were several "Rusty sightings" but never any that would allow us to get within capturing distance so we thought we would just provide him with food and forget about his new home in the shed. The trouble is, not only did Rusty come to visit again, but a number of other creatures discovered where they could find a free meal at any time of the night or day. (We had to leave the food out all the time, because Rusty might show up at dusk for a few days and then arrive at 3 in the morning the next time he came.)

All in all, 17 cats, 2 raccoons, and a possum at one time or another trekked across our balcony for the free food. After a while, it turned into an expensive hobby for us.

Finally, I ordered a "humane" animal trap, thinking that we could at least catch the raccoons and the possum and haul them out into the country to find a new home for themselves. They seemed to be the greatest consumers of our bounty.

The first night, we caught our next-door neighbor's cat. After dousing him with some water to make sure he got the idea, we released him and haven't seen him since. The following night, at about 2 in the morning, we caught the larger raccoon. It was kind of late to get up and take him for a ride, so we thought we would leave him in the cage until morning. He didn't agree with our plan and made such a racket rattling the cage and moving it all over the balcony with his jumping around that we decided we had better release him, too, and hope he would be too upset by his experience to come back, again. By the way, don't get too close to a mad raccoon. They can be vicious.

Two hours later, we caught Rusty in the trap. We let him sit for a while and then brought the cage into the house, hoping that being close would help him get over his fear of us. After shutting the door to our bedroom and the adjoining bathroom, we opened the cage and let him out. My husband had to go out for a while so Rusty and I were all alone.

He dashed under the bed, and peeped out at me, but when I went near him, he retreated and went under the bed. He repeated this scenario several times and I was beginning to think I would probably be scratching his ears for him in another hour or so. I bent down a little closer and held my hand out toward him. Like a flash, he dashed behind a roll top desk and managed to wedge himself into a space about 3 inches wide. Did I mention that he is a big cat?

After he maintained this position in absolute silence for about an hour, I thought I had better help him get out. Stupid me. I grabbed the scruff of his neck and tried lifting him up. He flipped over on his back, clawing me for all he was worth, flipped back over and scooted behind a computer desk where he spent the next several hours. (I tried encouraging him to come out by pointing the vacuum cleaner hose in his direction but to no avail. He wasn't budging.)

One of our grandsons showed up, so we enlisted his help. We unloaded the computer desk so we could pull it away from the wall. When poor Rusty realized that there were three people after him now, he went berserk, dashing under the bed, up the wall, knocking pictures askew as he traveled, back under the bed, up another wall knocking toiletries all over the place, and finally hopping onto the curtain rod over the doors leading to the balcony. He wrapped his paws around the rod and held on for dear life as my grandson found a box to place over the cat and then wrapped his hand in a thick towel before he reached up and shoved Rusty off the rod into the box.

The box was quickly covered and Rusty was transported to his new home in the shed.

The original plan was back in place. For a few hours at least.

The next morning, my husband took a book and a chair out to the shed, intending to read, and to let Rusty get used to having him around. Rusty had disappeared. Somehow, that cat had managed to push the doors of the shed out just a little which left a space of a few inches at the top for him to squeeze out. We are now back to square one, but far less enthused about domesticating a cat named Rusty, or any other cat for that matter, feral or stray.

Feral cats are a problem in many countries, and the problem is dealt with in different ways. The removal of feral cats in some areas have caused a huge increase in the number of rats and rabbits. This can cause even more problems than were originally caused by the cats.

In Canada, there is a feral cat colony near Parliament House where a structure has been built for them, and a volunteer is given a stipend to feed the cats. Local veterinarians donate services to care for them.

Rome, Italy is said to have over a quarter of a million feral cats that group themselves into colonies. One such colony is found at the Colosseum.

In the United States, some states are arguing that wild cats should be shot, but most are now dealing with the problem by using what is called Trap-Neuter-Return. When cats are trapped and brought to the local animal control premises on pre-arranged days, local veterinarian volunteers neuter the pets, and if finances are available, also give them rabies shots.The person who trapped the cats in the first place returns them to the area where they were found. Eventually, it is hoped that this will be a cost-effective method to control feral cat populations. Such programs have also been introduced in Australia and several other countries.

If you live in an area where feral cats have become a problem, I strongly advise against trying to tame one for a pet. Instead, check out your local animal shelters to see if a Trap-Neuter-Return program is operating in your town. If so, invest in an inexpensive humane animal trap and start being a part of the solution. It's a bit like going hunting with a camera instead of a gun. You're always wondering what you'll bag this time around, and you don't have to harm the animals to do it. In fact, in the long run, you'll end up helping them.

* Check out the link that accompanies this article for information on the ASPCA support of the Trap-Neuter-Return program.