my two strays

Question
hello,  two weeks ago i took in and fixed two cats which were living in a cement yard at home depot - a few of us had been feeding them - i took them in - the shy one is from the others litter last year - the mother would let me love on her but not hold her but the kid was very shy.  he now will lick my finger and bat at me in a playful way through the wire cage i have them in  - a large dog crate.  (his claws are out but he does not agressivley swipe - so i guess it is friendly play - you tell me what you think it means?)   I am torn - do i let them be outdoor cats and i care give for them and hope they stay around or do i take them to the humanes society  - they said if they see a glimpse of hope that they can be fully tamed they will keep them - but if they can't they will have to put them down and i do not have the option of taking them back  also they cannot gaurantee to keep them together.  my husband does not want me to keep them plus my dogs are not use to cats.  I have grown to love these two and i just don't know what an expert with cats thinks is the best thing to do for them.

Answer
Kenda,

How sweet of you!

The first thing, from my experience....the Humane Society will lie to you. More than likely they would put them down, quickly. They have SO many nice cats that they don't bother with wild ones.

Are they feral cats? Or are they cats that have been dumped but have been handled? If they are feral cats they do not make good house cats. If the mother lets you love on her and the "baby" will touch you then it doesn't sound as if they are feral, or at least not completely.

What kind of dogs do you have? Do they run loose in the yard? It is very time consuming to adjust dogs to cats. I am going to include some articles for you to read on it that may help you (cut and paste, or type the whole link into your address browser):

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=cattodogintro...

http://www.messybeast.com/first-impressions.htm
(this had the part about meeting dogs further down in the article)


Here are some excellent articles on taming ferals and taking a feral home. They should give you alot of insight on your new cats:

http://www.messybeast.com/feral-home.htm
http://www.messybeast.com/feralkit.htm

It is a hard decision you have. The cats probably would be happier outside because that is what they are used to. The great part is that they are fixed! Bless your heart! That's the best thing you could have done for them.

Is there a place they can go at your home such as a utility shed or garage where they would have a hole to get in and out safely? As long as you have lots of food available, they won't go far, unless the dogs chase them. Do you have a laundry room where you can put a cat door? Do you have room for a large enclosed cat run that can have an opening into the house? You've got to be kind of creative to make a happy medium for everyone, including your husband! Tip: get him to feed them or somehow interact with them. One, so they get familiar with other people (the cats will come to see him as an extension of you), and two, the more contact he has with them the more likely he is to fall for them too without meaning to!

Since you are part way there to taming them, see how it goes. It's the kind of situation that you play it by ear because Mother Nature has some say in it too. They are YOUR cats now though, it's just where they are going to sleep! (smile)

I hope the articles give you some direction. Please keep me posted. I'd love to know how it is going. And if you have more questions, feel free to write as many times as you have questions.

Carol