Feral Cats 2: The Case of Happy Cat

 

This is a series of Caturday posts on the topic of taking in feral cats. 

General information (from pervious posts):

For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas, Murjan, the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall), all of whom get along pretty fabulously.

Of course, all of that is easier said than done, and the bonding took time -- lots of it. Here are some of the things we did to create our cat family, some of which is not at all typical of what others have done, but it has worked for us.

• We don't trap the feral cats at all; we win them over and invite them in. We do this by feeding them a distance from the house and walking away, then moving the dish closer and closer to the house and walking less and less far away, until they are eating at our feet, at which point they will usually let us scooch or kneel beside them. To get to this point may take weeks. Getting to pet them takes additional days. And, then, like magic, they are almost always willing to come into the house if we leave the food inside the door. 
• We have never trapped a cat with a cage, though we do have to put the cats into a carrier (some vets are unhappy about not having feral cats in an open cage because they usually want to sedate them rather than risk being bitten -- I always offer to hold them, and, when allowed, the biting does not happen).
• Post vet visit, things can get interesting, especially if there are other cats; we are always careful in introducing a new feral cat into the family (that topic belongs in another post -- and we will get to that in the future).
• Feral cats tend to be shy; they do not immediately become lap cats, but, with patience, most do become attached, seek petting, and often do became lap cats. The trick is not to force the relationship too quickly and to realize that each cat is different.

In this post, I introduce a new example of a feral cat rescue: Happy Cat

Happy Cat (he had no name at the time) would sit underneath one of the bushes on our hilltop and watch while other cats fed. Not because he was tiny. Quite the opposite: he was a big boy with four polydactyl paws. He was just a gentle giant and a gentleman who let others go first. He would eat what was left. 

Every day he would sit under the same bush, mostly out of sight of people and other cats. He would watch and wait patiently until he had the remaining food all to himself.

Then, one day, as I opened the front door, which is located on the second floor, he lay sprawled out in front of the door, barely breathing. He had to have made some serious effort, while quite ill, to climb those 17 stairs. I found it interesting that he knew which of our several doors upstairs and down was the main entrance. 

I scooped him up and into a carrier -- he was in no condition to resist had he even wanted to. He was clearly looking for help. I called the vet and took him in immediately.

The vet told us he had a lung virus, a very serious one, and would need to be isolated from our other cats for three weeks. He gave him medicine and said he would talk about neutering him once we got him past the virus. 

We named him Happy Cat because he was so laid back. Even the vet noticed that and commented how unusual that attitude/behavior was for a feral cat. He thought Happy Cat deserved a home and told me that putting him back on the street would endanger him (not that I intended to do that).

Happy Cat had no idea what to do inside a house. I put him in one of the bathrooms for a couple of days along with food, water, a cat bed, and a litter box. He did not understand the litter box and would pee beside it on the floor even though I 'seeded" it. He did not understand a cat bed; he preferred to sleep in the bathtub.

And he cried. Yowled, actually, Repeatedly and loudly. He had never been confined! 

So, I kicked the other cats out of the cat room (a converted bedroom, with cat trees and toys and all the accouterments for independent living) and gave it over to Happy Cat for the remaining three weeks. He was more comfortable there but did not like being alone for long periods of time, so I spent time talking to him while he was nestled on the cat tree, at a level where we could see eye-to-eye. He became used to me. More important, he learned to use the litter box. 

After three weeks, he was able to be released out into the rest of the house and make his acquaintance with the other cats. As for me, I was confined for three weeks -- I caught his virus!

Happy Cat was an easy transition, mainly because of his easy disposition. The only altercations he ever had were with Murjan, the alpha cat. Being a street cat who had never had a family, he did not understand family hierarchy. Murjan taught him, with a firm paw. Even though Happy Cat was bigger than Murjan, he did not argue; he learned; he adapted; and over time, he came an important cat family member, nurturing new cats, socializing shy cats, and standing guard for sick cats. 

Happy Cat was a great addition to our cat family, one that we had not planned on. But he quickly became friends with Intrepid and Simone, along with Murjan. Now, we could never give him up. 

In subsequent Caturday posts, I will provide examples of other feral cats we have rescued. They all have interesting, individual personalities.

Happy Cat's human is MSI Press author, Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, author of:

Available retail, online stores, and, at 25% discount with code FF25 from msipress.com/shop.
Read more posts and excerpts HERE.

Co-authored with Laura Dabbs, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Available retail, online stores, and, at 25% discount with code FF25 from msipress.com/shop. 
Read more posts and excerpts HERE.

For more feral cat stories, click HERE.