Anyone have an outdoor cat enclosure or feral cat experience?

[Blackbutler86]

So for almost a year now I have been feeding a stray cat that turned up at my remote outdoor work place. After seeing her for a few weeks I began feeding her and posted her on some local lost and found sites. Didn’t hear anything so tried getting a rescue space but to no avail. No rescue will help, they all pass on the details of other rescues. She was on a waiting list with cats protection for 4 months but then they rang and said she would be too feral from living outside and they don’t deal with that.

I am at a loss as to what to do. Lockdown meant my work shut down but I still drive there 5 times a week to feed her. She isn’t friendly as in I can’t touch her or get too close but she will run over and meow when she sees me. If I get too near her she will hiss or run off. I have been thinking about getting an outdoor enclosure in my garden for her with the idea that when she’s used to it I could leave the door open so she can still roam about but come back for shelter etc. Is this a good idea? Rescues have all advised she wouldn’t be able to live indoors, plus I have 5 dogs and a house bunny. The place she is living now really isn’t great so I need to do something.

Here she is, although I’m not even sure she is female.

Do you know if he/she is neutered? Most charities will trap/neuter/return a feral cat, the usual sign is the tip of ear trimmed (doesn't hurt) as a sign. Most charities help control feral colonies this way and stop the poor thing constantly getting pregnant or fertilizing all the females. They would scan first to check for a chip, it's hard to tell if they are pet/stray/feral sometimes. If she is a stray she could be weary but rehomed if she's feral I know some charities help feral cats find a farm to work on. The cat catches vermin in return for a comfy outhouse, flea/worm treatment and to carry on living away from humans as they would prefer. It might be worth having a look at other charities, there are dozens of smaller ones who may help. An expert with cats could help more, you have a good heart. The life of a feral cat is a hard one.

Also 're reading your post I think the fact that she runs over to you and meows I'm thinking she is a stray not feral, just a bit distrustful of humans hence the hissing. I don't know, I'm not an expert at distinguishing feral cats. I just know a stray has been abandoned by a human, a feral has never been a pet. Let me know what happens.

Ive tamed several feral cats that have sucessfully become house cats, although it takes time, patience and perseverance. One cat still wont be picked up after a decade but comes for a fuss. You need to trap the cat, get it neutered and if youre willing to take it in then dedicate a room for it. Websites like "the lucky few" give good advice on the taming process.

Just to add that this cat sounds like its domesticated and will come round quickly. True ferals wont come near you and usually only come out at night for food.

Thank you for your reply. I have a feeling she was dumped here as we are remote and have found dogs here in the past which the local dog warden collected, some people are absolute scum :(. There are no other cats I’ve ever seen and she was fully grown when we first saw her. I have contacted feral rescues but they can also never help although one sent me a voucher for a free spay or neuter at certain vets. I have no idea if he or she is already done.

She is very nervous, even if something blows in the wind she will cower and sometimes run off. When we were up and running we left the toilet block open at night with a bed in but upper management barricaded it shut so she’s fully outside now though there are sheltered areas where I put her food and bed.

I have toyed with maybe bringing her into my house and keeping her in my spare room to see if she would eventually trust me although I know it would be a slow progress of trust and my house bunny would have to move into the box room. She definitely can’t stay where she is.

Just read the other replies thank you, so there’s a possibility I could try bring her into my house. I looked after a cat before in my spare room when a relative died and I didn’t even see her for about 3 months. I just changed her litter tray and fed her then eventually she would come out and after another month let me stroke her. She then went on to live with a friend and is a wonderfully affectionate happy cat. I didn’t keep her because of my dogs but if I take this cat home it would be her forever one providing she was happy. I really do love her.

I’d just do it. You’ve got room by the sound of it.

Well it would be a squish but I could make it work. My concern is Aurora the house bunny who lives upstairs if the cat comes inside and also all my dogs though they don’t come up very often.

Have you tried Celia Hammond? They have a good reputation for working with feral cats. They're mainly in London but have another centre in the south, I think.

First things first is being taught to use a trap & borrowing one.

She might even be chipped.

I trapped a feral kitten in our garden once. Gave it to the neighbours who kept it in a dog crate in their living room for a few weeks while it got used to people. It’s now the friendliest moggy ever.

Agree it needs trapping and neutering.

I think she will easily come around. Theres loads of good outside shelters on the internet if you have a garden. Im not an expert but im not sure if locking her in a room would work. Mine that come in always have one eye on the door. Can you get a big carrier and put the food in it?

Love the heart shaped bowl you bought her.

You sound such a great person! Love how you care and still go to feed the cat etc. Agree with others on here, she's not feral, she's been a pet at some point in her life. She trusts you and recognises you, that's a great starting block in gaining her trust. Good luck x

Three years ago my friend worked in a bookshop with a courtyard behind it and started feeding two feral kittens who were living there.
They were similar to yours in that they would run over and meow but wouldn't let her pick them up.
After they had failed to find anyone to take them, we agreed to try and catch them and take them in. I think they were around 5 months old at the time. It was a nightmare getting them in baskets, but we did in the end and of course they were absolutely terrified when we got them to our house.
We did very slowly manage to tame them. We had more success with one than with the other whose default was to lash out if he was in what he perceived to be a difficult situation. The other is super placid and very loving.
When we eventually got the more tricky one to the vet to be chipped and neutered, it did not go well and the vets said they would only see him again if he was in a special cage so they didn't have to touch him.
They did adapt to life with us and we had to just demonstrate a lot of caution and patience. In many ways they saw us as the place they got food and their preference was for the outdoor life, but overall I am so glad we took them in.
Of course they were young so it was probably easier. We were living in Denmark when all this happened and we did even manage to drive them successfully across Europe when we moved back to the UK!

homeandroost.co.uk/product/cat-kennel-xl-self-heating-one-way-privacy-window/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3ZX4BRDmARIsAFYh7ZLrnGuKyoh-oHJc4OKN4k0Ko3wI8BjQGZHLzuWZoF3tXHgWSFCqpHgaAqoFEALw_wcB

I have this for my cat who was a stray and had kittens behind my shed. We also have the one surviving kitten.
Cat prefers to be outside but she comes in to eat and goes straight back out. I have carpeted this house and she seems to love it.
We also have a chicken coop that we had a rabbit in and when rabbit died I put fresh carpet in it and put a pillow in and this is also used by cat.

Thank you for all the replies, it is very helpful. I haven’t tried Celia Hammond as I thought they may be too far out. I’m in Essex, I’ll give them a try though, I have emailed around 15 or so rescues since last September and when she was on the cats protection wait list I thought she’d be sorted but sadly not.

It is encouraging to hear the stories of cats coming around :). It would be lovely if she was chipped and owners had been looking for her although I did spend a lot of time scouring through lost cat posts online.

It would save me a lot of money if I could try keeping her in my larger spare room and see how that goes. The outdoor enclosures I’ve been looking at are around £750 to £1000 with full insulated enclosed parts for night time.

Couple more photos of her. She is actually a bit of a fuss bag for a stray, she isn’t keen on pate type wet food unless it’s lilys kitchen and likes gravy type foods over jelly. On Christmas Day I bought her a tin of tuna and she knocked it onto the floor looking disgusted haha. It was gone the next day so she may have eaten it off the floor after I left.

I'm from Celia Hammonds. We do cover parts of Essex so it depends where you are. From the sounds of it you just need help with trapping really. If she's been around for at least six months and hasn't been pregnant then she is likely to be neutered - although you still need to book her into a vets to check. It could just be that there are literally no male cats for miles around.

It's relatively easy to trap when you are only dealing with one cat and a lots of charities and even some vets can lend automatic traps. Manual traps are generally better but an automatic would probably do the job in this case as you are only dealing with the one cat. After trapping the first stop should be a vet to scan, chip, flea worm and do a spay-check.

I agree with the poster who says she doesn't sound feral - just very scared and timid. I'm sure she would come round and I think your spare room would be the way to go, but you need to NEVER leave any windows open in there - not even a crack (unless you can put them on draught lock).

I don't understand why she would need to be an indoors only cat if she came to live with you. Is your garden safe? Surely she could just start off in the house and then come and go as she pleased. Or is the problem the dogs? And if she's in the garden wouldn't the problem still be the dogs? If you want to introduce her to your household then you would need a cat flap. Timid cats are only happy to come back inside if they know they can always get out again. And if you start her off in your spare room then you would need to keep her at least a month in there, or maybe even longer to try to get her relaxed and friendly.

Or you could start her off in your garden. She would have to be in an enclosed pen to begin with and an secure outdoor enclosure sounds ideal. Then, after a couple of months, you can allow her access to the garden (again assuming the dogs aren't a problem). And if you want to encourage her to come into the house then again you will need a cat flap and would need to start by leaving the flap off altogether and putting food just inside.

@thecatneuterer thank you for all of that. I’m south east so Upminster/Hornchurch way. I have had a look at cat traps online if I wasn’t able to borrow one, I think an automatic one would be best, then yes vet visit straight away. Obviously I’d speak to vets before hand to arrange to bring her straight in.

It’s good to hear she’s probably just a scared cat and not feral as Cats Protection told me if I tried bringing her indoors she’d go berserk because she’d been outside for so long. She wouldn’t need to stay an indoor only cat at all, I just meant at the beginning when she would need to adjust and get used to me. 4 out of my 5 dogs would be fine and ignore her but my 5th would be a bother however he’s just excitable and overbearing not aggressive so I think he’d adjust. I have seen cat flaps that go in window panes so that would probably work best for me as then she doesn’t have to go downstairs to get out, the room she would go in has a flat roof under it which is my kitchen extension. My neighbours cats lay on it all the time. She would have the run of the house if she wanted of course.

Hornchurch is more or less within my area. I can probably help. I'll pm you.

And I really wouldn't buy a cat trap online. I've seen some traps that have been bought online - they are worse than useless.

It sounds like your'e going to be okay with TCN on board, I'm also in the process of trapping a very trap shy feral and I agree with TCN that some traps out there are inadequate and even dangerous.
The only trap I'd recommend to buy online if you need to is the Eezicatch by MDC, (solid floor is best) they also supply vets and rescues.

5th dog would probably calm down after a meeting with the paw of justice on his nose though.

This is lovely, going to so much trouble for a lovely cat. A few years ago, I was in the same position, working on an industrial estate along the a13, Barking. There were a few cats there, and I started feeding them. Then we were made redundant, so sad to just leave them, so although I had cats and dogs at home, I hated the thought of leaving them. So, I decided to try to get one, even two if I could, I had a cat carrier, started just leaving it with food inside, no movement for weeks. I went on the weekend just before leaving work for good. And managed to shut the door, with one inside. I took her home, and kept her in a room for 2 months, just sitting there on my phone completely ignoring her, until she was used to my presence.
Then, I got her to the vet and spayed.
After that, I kept her in for another two months, until she came to me for affection.
Then one day, I just left the room door open one day, and the rest is history. Here she is now. Only thing she does not like is being picked up.
Loves the dogs, and very affectionate.
Hope you manage to get her.
I did go back and try to get another, but it didn't work out.