Feral cats

Question
QUESTION: I always was a "dog person" but I love all creatures. One day this little cat was mewing from behind the hedges on the side of my townhouse. I put some spoonfuls of canned dog food (I keep it handy for lost dogs I find) in a dish and put it in front of her. She moved back, but waited till I moved back far enough, and she ate it hungrily. The next day she was waiting in the same place. I gradually moved the dish to my back doorstep and she followed. She would pull back and hiss if I extended my hand. She is one of those sleek black cats with the white blaze on the chest and the Bahama ocean green eyes - absolutely gorgeous. In the cat book, she looks most like Burmese but is mixed with something else. The feeding continued. About 3 months later, she brought her kittens to my patio. Every so often the dad cat would come by and I'd put out food for him, which he would eat after I went back inside. He looks part Burmese as well but but mixed with some fluffy cat. His fur is long and poofs out, especially around his face, so he looks big, but when he turns sideways, he is a skinny little fluffy thing.He has honey - colored eyes. The mom and kittens and I kept this relationship going. Then 2 kittens were missing. I hope someone took them to good homes. The remaining kitten was the most skittish one, who jumped back in the bushes when I came with the food dishes. This kitten is a handsome cross between the mom and dad. He has eyes that have a band of honey around the central green. They continued coming to my patio area. Then July 4th we had the door open and they came just inside the door in fear of the fireworks, I would think. They just hung out there and left around 9 PM. Then the mom disappeared but the kitten stayed in my plantings so I continued to feed him. One day when I opened the door to go back inside, he ran in! Fast forward. He is the most loving, cuddling babydoll who now lives inside part-time. He has never hissed at me and never even tried to scratch me. He reaches up his paws and begs to be picked up and snuggled just like a young human toddler. He ALWAYS touches me with his paw with claws held in. I feel I was his surrogate mom after she left. My husband says she dropped the kitten off here as she knew it would be cared for. The mom came back one day but it seemed like she and the son were at odds with each other. He would just walk up to her and she would swat him in the head with her paw - smack ! He would just pad away. I had to give them separate food dishes as she wouldn't share with him. Then she decided to live here part-time also. She has, just in the past few weeks, started rubbing her tail against me and touching my foot or leg with her paw with claws held in. The two of them fight (or are they playing?), chase each other, ambush each other, eat out of each other's dish, eat out of the same dish at the same time, and all kinds of stuff. They bring in squiggling little animals and insects, which is icky, but they are cats so I accept it. Yes, I had them spayed and neutered. The dad still drops by every so often but I don't think we will ever catch him so we can neuter him too. My question is can you tell me something about their behavior and feral cat behavior ? Does the mom wonder what happened to her other kittens ? They were never part of a wild colony as we usually think of ferals, probably just lost kittens or cats someone left behind or dropped off. The kitten has slept with us in bed overnight; the mom will sleep in a closet or under the table - but these sleepovers are rare. They usually sleep in during the day and go out all night. Can you give me some insight regarding ferals ? Thank you.

ANSWER: Mary,

You have made amazing progress in a short time! They are very lucky kitties. The mother showed a lot of trust in you to bring her kittens to you. Yes, she knew, and trusted that, you would take care of it (or them). In the beginning, a true feral will run when they see you...a stray/wild cat will stay back and watch you but not come near you. The older the feral cat is (and the wilder and 'street smart' he is), the harder it will be to gain his trust and tame him. But it is SO rewarding when you do!

Ferals CAN become affectionate and loving, but it takes a LONG time for them to reach that point. And it takes a lot of time, patience, and love. And when they do reach that point when they are affectionate and loving, they normally still do not like to be held, restrained, and barely even petted. There is a human distrust that is inherited and inbred into them. They will never be like a typical domesticated housecat, but they can follow you around, rub against your legs, and lay next to you happily. Getting ferals as newborns or young kittens you have a better chance for a friendly kitty, but even then they still carry the feral behavior with them. Of course there are exceptions, but that is the standard behavior for ferals. They also usually only bond with one person. And will remain skittish and frightened of strangers.

To protect yourself from bites or scratches you need to watch the feral  closely. They will give you warnings when they have had enough petting or touching. Ears will pin back, they may growl, but the main sign is their tail. If it starts twitching or swishing back and forth, the time to stop petting them is....NOW! When you have a feral that doesn't like to be touched....don't. Respect how the cat is and accept it. It will make for a happier living situation.

They are natural hunters and enjoy being able to do it. They are happiest being able to be an indoor/outdoor cats. They like to be outside to hunt, but they also like to be inside where it is safe and not scary. You also will run across the ones that never want to go outside again.

If you keep them inside all the time then you have to satisfy that hunting urge to keep them mentally well-balanced and happy. Giving them a raw beef rib bone (I have the butcher cut them in half) satisfies the "fresh kill'. Plus the fibers help clean their teeth. They need stuffed toy mice you can throw so they can chase it and "catch" it. A pet laser light is great for letting them try to catch the "little red bug" on the walls, floors, and ceilings.

If the cats are not fighting with major fur being shed or blood flowing, then they are probably playing and interacting. Cats can play what seems like rough to us, but it isn't to them. At this point the mother will not recognize the kitten as her baby. They do not have any concept of family.

I have 4 feral cats who I have had since they were born (they are almost two years old now) that were from a vicious, mean truly feral mother who sneaked into my house and had kittens under my bed! The mother lived in the house for 6 months because she wouldn't go back outside. In all that time I only touched her once...and she bit me hard! She was as wild 6 months later, when she died of a severe upper-respiratory ailment, as she was from day one.

We learned to co-habitate. She was fine as long as I NEVER looked at her or acknowledged her presence. When she came out to eat and use the litterbox I had to freeze until she was done and went back under the bed. She even got up on the bed a couple of times and laid down, but if I looked at her or moved she ran.

The kittens (cats now) are all sweet, playful, and loving. One is VERY skittish and will run and hide if she hears ANY strange noise or sees people; Two will sit on my lap contentedly, but NONE will let me hold them to cuddle them...they immediately squirm away. I just accept that they don't like it and I don't force the issue.

Because of the feral mother's health when she was pregnant one kitten is totally blind, one has herpes of the eye and is slowly losing her sight, one has one eye (one eye was removed by the vet because of a serious eye infection), and one has perfect eyes...but was born with a rear foot completely backwards. You gotta love 'em! They all have SO much heart.

I also currently have a black trap/spay/release female feral that wandered to my home from somewhere. She stayed outside until one day she decided that she wanted to come in too...and did! I can pet her and pick her up for a short periods of time, but usually it's when she wants something different to eat other than what is available, or she wants to go outside. The rest of the time I can pet her maybe twice before she comes out swinging with her paws (claws USUALLY are out) and pins her ears back. She  is a GROUCHY cat and has picked 2 of my cats that she tries to intimidate, and growls at the others. Luckily she stays and sleeps in one spot in the house and doesn't roam around. She either gets up in the morning and goes outside, or she will go out at night. She is always at the the door after a period of time ready to come back in and RUNS into her 'box'....and always with her 24-7 case of PMS! You gotta (try to) love her!

Interesting facts about feral mothers:
In the wild feral moms can have an instinctive survival and protective behavior that is inbred and inherited. It has been proven that if a kitten survives this behavior of the mother, the kitten will grow up and repeat it.

- If there is a lack of food available, or winter is coming and a feral mom that has kittens will can, or will, kill their babies. That is because they know that they will be in competition for food when the kittens grow up and they want to cut down on that competition.

- A feral mother cat will kill her kittens if they know that they can't take care of the babies and provide them food.

_ A feral mother cat will eat her kittens if she is very hungry and/or if she has a severe mineral deficiency

- A feral mother cat will also kill her kittens if she feels they are in danger. She does that to protect them.

Mother Nature seems cruel but "the only fittest will survive". This is especially true with feral cats.

I hope this gives you some insight on ferals and their behavior. If you have other questions about them please feel free to send a followup.

Tabbi

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much, Tabbi.
Sometimes the mother will groom the son. All over and completely. If he moves an inch while she is doing this, she "bites" him and he freezes position. Is this normal?
He will rub his face glands (I believe - the lower sides of his face) on my chin and then "bite" my chin, so I think he has marked me as "his" plaything. Yes?
When I took him to the vet, I was told that he was a very well-dispositioned cat. Their folder has "NICE CAT !!" in all caps written on it. I hope one day to be able to get the mother to the vet; it was an Arlo Guthrie scene getting her to be spayed(spay and neuter service).
I do find it difficult to believe that mother and son don't know each other are family by smell or something. So they just think they are 2 cats who hooked up as friends ? It's weird because sometimes it seems like they are on the lookout for and afraid of the dad cat, yet other times they walk around like a little family of 3. Can you decipher this for me ?
I am constantly learning of the intelligence and adaptability of cats as I observe my little ferals.
You have quite alot of patience and love with your pets and then in addition, helping others through the advice you give is even more karmic payback. I cyberwrite "NICE HUMAN!!" on your folder.

ANSWER: Mary,

Thank you for the kind words.

Mother and son are 'familiar' to each other by association and smell. Cats do not have any concept of 'familiar' in the sense of being related after weaning. That is why there is incest among cats (and other animals).

The freezing position is very normal for ferals and other wild animals. It is inbred into them that when the mother bites them or grabs them by the scruff of the neck to freeze and not make a sound for protection from danger. That is basically how you can tell a feral kitten from a domesticated kitten. A feral kitten will freeze when you pick them up by the scruff, a domestic kitten will wiggle and fight. You should only let the mother do any 'scruffing' though. Also feral newborns or young kittens are very quiet compared to domesticated kittens for the same inbred defense mechanism reason....to protect them from predators.

I also had a 'tame' feral that the vet said was 'so sweet'. Ha! This one was SO skittish that you could barely catch her in the house. But when the vet picked her up or worked with her she would 'freeze' from fear, and self-preservation, and they were able to work with her easily. So she was perceived as being a willing and meek cat because of it. But it sounds like yours is that way naturally. That's great!

Cats can have kittens from each tomcat that bred the mother during her heat cycle. That is why kittens from the same litter can act different and look different. Your kitten may have had a loving domesticated 'dad' rather than the feral tomcat. When the cat bites your chin he is showing love. Cats can't pet you to show you affection so some will give you 'love bites'. I have one (not a feral) that is a chin biter when he gets stimulated from petting. His bites are more of a sexual stimulation reaction from being petted, even though he is neutered. He is a VERY affectionate and loving cat and easily stimulated which may be the same with your kitten.

As far as the the 3 being together sometimes and nervous other times is that the tom is the dominate cat and yours are accepting of that. At times they may react to his 'mood smell'. They are probably reacting at times to his 'bad mood' and stay out of his way! (smile).
Sometimes only the cats know why they do or act in a particular way.

I hope this further information is helpful. Don't hesitate if you have further questions or concerns to do followups. That is a wonderful thing you are doing by taking care of the mom and kitten. So very, very many cat and kittens die every day scared, alone, or sick, never having known any love, affection, warmth, or having enough (or any) food, and before they had a chance to catch their first mouse. You have some lucky kitties to have you give them what they might never have had.

Tabbi



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Tabbi. Since we know the cats communicate, as in "get the lizard!", "the human is putting out food!", etc., doesn't the "tamed" kitten 'tell' the momcat that it's ok to be petted and even held by the human?

Answer
Mary,

I'm happy to answer your continued questions on the subject of ferals.

It is habit, experience, instinct, and heredity that makes a cat behave like they do. Cats are 'copy cats' and the kittens will copy and learn from the mother in a lot of situations, and some kitten behavior is instinct (like lizards).

Kittens can also can pick up bad habits from the mother cat. I am fostering a mother cat with kittens. She has a bad habit of sleeping in the litterbox! I keep booting her butt out of it. The next time I look, she's out of it, BUT her kittens are sleeping in the litterbox!

The mother cat may watch you petting the kitten, absorbing that nothing 'horrible' is happening to it, but her inbred level of distrust of humans prevents her from allowing the same treatment right now. The kittens do not have the negative experiences that the mother cat may have had, such as never being handled by humans at an early age, or experiences with people chasing her off, etc. The experiences that the kitten has had with you makes it easier for it to trust you, though it may remain skittish with others.

The older a kitten or cat gets (even by weeks) the less chance you have to socialize them. Or if you do, it can take many months of patience and 'baby steps' to accomplish it.

Tabbi