thinking of adopting a semi feral cat, am I mad?

[Karmagoat]

Our lovely kitty had to be pts last November and i now feel ready to adopt another cat, been looking around online and have fallen in love with an 8 year old male cat called Smudge, only problem is he is semi feral, been living in someone's garden. Is it possible to tame an adult semi feral into a house cat? im not expecting him to become a lap cat but what are the pros and cons and does anyone have any success stories?

Look at the TinyKittens website to see how amenable some feral cats can become.

It really depends. I take on a lot of semi ferals and I would say probably 70 per cent end up tame (like to be stroked), but it can easily take at least two years. However all of them are very happy to live alongside me and are very rewarding in their way. The essential requirement is a cat flap. For them to feel at ease inside they have to feel they can get out again if they want to.

What are your specific concerns?

My pair were born into a feral colony and were trapped by the rescue when they were about a year old - bonded pair of siblings. They are very shy, so it took a year before I came along and they decided to claim me as theirs; though the rescue were fantastic, they didn't have the time to fully socialise all the cats who came in.

4 years down the line, I have 2 incredible house cats. One of the conditions of adoption was that they are kept as indoor cats in case their feral instincts take over again. Though neither are lap cats as such, they are now both very demanding of attention and love their cuddles (next to me not on me). They always use their tray, are fantastically gentle and have never bitten or intentionally scratched. I have just escaped from an hour long cuddle session on the sofa with Boycat with my hand buried in his belly floof & scritching round his jaw & mouth. This was a follow up to the half hour session curled up together on my bed snuggling, which is a requirement before I get dressed each day. Girlcat prefers the evening for her snuggles on the sofa with me, and pesters me relentlessly when she thinks it's time.

So - if you meet him and he accepts you, I'd go for it! He may take more time to settle than many, but he's likely more than worth it (mine are).

We did. There was a stray often in our garden, but unwilling to come near us. He was an entire tom.

At one point he hurt his leg, and was limping badly. It took us several days to catch him into a borrowed basket and get him to the vet. He was surprisingly amenable at the vets; he was kept overnight after the wound was cleaned and dressed, and was neutered. When we came to collect him, he strolled into his basket, strolled out of it into our sitting room, chose the comfiest chair and settled right down. After a couple of days he preferred to sit on us.

I guess like many feral cats he had been owned at some point, and that his graudual recollections of being in a basket, in a house, and being stroked made him feel secure. We had him for years and years.

So worht a try.

*Cadburys Your cat wasn't a feral. He was a stray. There is a world of difference. A feral cat is one that didn't have any human interaction as a kitten. However the chances are the the OP's cat also isn't really a feral - rather an ex pet that was either thrown out of got lost some time ago. Those tend to become tame pretty quickly. 'Proper' ferals sometimes become tame but often don't, but nearly all end up happily living in a house as long as there is a cat flap.

It does say on the rescue page that he could be anywhere between 5 and 8 years old, and the only background is that he was living in a woman's garden and she was feeding him and very fond of him, but he kept bullying her other cats so he's a bit of a bruiser and yes it is very possible he could have been someone's pet before and become a stray. He's so gorgeous I can't stop thinking about him lol!

Karma
It's hard to know whether he is actually feral or an abandoned pet. If he is an abandoned pet, there's a good chance he will be delighted to be off the street and into a loving home. You seem keen on him and the good news is you don't have a cat so he can make your garden his territory even if it takes a while to get him inside. It sounds like his current person wants to rehome him because of his effect on her cats. If you don't have cats, why not offer him a home? Good luck

Have you got a photo

I've recently given a home to an older stray cat roughly 12 years of age. It took approx 2 years for him to settle and become more of an indoor puss. During that time I managed to gently ambush him several times in order to take him to the vet to be neutered, have a check up, teeth cleaning, shots, microchip, etc. In the beginning he wouldn't stay inside the whole night and wanted to be near the catflap. He's a lovely lad, but still cautious, likes to play a little bit and have a few rubs. I just let him be and am just happy that he has a comfortable life now.

Go for it! He sounds lovely. My heart is still breaking over mine and the neighbours ex stray that died last week. He was wild until TCN sorted him out and he became the most loyal boy very quickly. He talked to my neighbour like mad and followed her everywhere. We only knew him a year but we still cry every day. I have a ginger who comes in from outside and he would be a lovely cat but he wont be tied down! Then theres another one who I would describe as feral because hes gone for me twice in three days. Im scared of him. I suspect that when hes done he will probably be ok.

Then there was our lovely Paddy who was a proper bruiser you would never have thought he would settle down but he changed completely and very quickly. I believe he has a lovely home now and is living his best life.

Go for it you honestly wont regret it.