boisdevie1
|
How to tame a feral catThere's a long haired cat hanging around the house. I feel a bit sorry for it and leave food out for it. How can I tame it?
|
Marionb
|
Try feeding it regularly and gradually building up its trust, letting it get used to the sound of your voice etc etc Dont try to catch it or even touch it at this stage.
You could eventually try squatting close to the feed bowl when you feel it is beginning to settle down a bit so that it gets used to you being close and isnt afraid of you.
From then it would be a gradual process of letting it smell your outstretched hand, to letting you touch / stroke it, from which point you should have its trust and find that it will eventually let you pick it up etc etc.
|
wellington womble
|
You can't tame cats. They may deign to allow to feed them, touch them or even sit on your lap (if they happen to be sleepy and you are warm) But it's at their discresion only! 
|
dougal
|
As marionb says. EDIT and WW.
Treat it like any wild animal. It'll be a long hard job to win its trust. And easy to lose its trust.
|
dpack
|
food
|
Woodburner
|
Are you sure it's feral? It sounds more like a stray. Every feral cat I have ever seen was totally independent, with the exception of kittens that had lost their mothers. A neighbour adopted one such kitten many years ago. Even so it kept it's wild nature, it was only a small cat but one day it brought home a pigeon!!
|
mochyn
|
Lots of patience. It took a year to befriend one of ours who had been laft behind when the last people left, but now she's one of our best friends.
|
cab
|
Re: How to tame a feral cat | boisdevie1 wrote: | | How can I tame it? |
Whip and chair. Maybe a cattle prod.
I suggest that you should also probably give it a good clean. Try the shower.
|
colour it green
|
it's probably someone else's cat. - there are sposed to be more cat owners in this country than cats.....
|
lassemista
|
We have (in a sense) a feral cat that came from a rescue at least 3 years ago. They were only prepared to let us have one that no one else would have, because we were going to let it live out, especially at night  .
We have never tried hard to tame her, but feed her daily. She still keeps her distance - occasionally I can get within 3 feet without her running away. So if it really is feral you might never tame it.
We used to have hairy cats that bred on from the one we inherited with the house. The problem is that the coat gets really matted unless it is cared for. So the combination of feral and long haired might be difficult.
Good luck
Andrea.
|
