i have a high risk garden. in addition to the regular stuff, i have 7 fig trees out there.
most everything that walks or flies loves figs.
you can't even use a dog to guard fig trees, because the dog will get the figs before you do.
now, i built a 6' high wood fence to stop the cattle. buried chicken wire to stop the evil bunnies.
i'm good with my side arm, so i can protect my trees in daytime, but mice n rats move at night. they dig, they climb.
so, i've been using poison, but i hate that.

so, anyway, monday last, i decided to take a walk in my garden in the evening cool.
as soon as i opened the door, i saw an ACTUAL CAT!!
soon as she saw me, she fled in panic. she was over the fence quicker than you can blink.
so, a feral cat. lost strayed or abandoned cats don't act like that. she thot i was gonna eat her.
well, i left out a bowl of milk as a thank you for hunting my garden.
in the morn, it was gone.
that night, i left out milk, a piece of pork n water.
in the morn, that was gone.
so, i ordered 16 pounds of friskies, because all cats like friskies.
she won't show herself, but comes every night to eat.
i was worried i might be feeding something else, but it's not full dark when she comes.
i saw her eating thru the window. maybe calico, therefore female, taller than average but the skinniest cat i've ever seen.
she must be a great hunter to be alive at all, but she's just getting by.
i'm still amazed by all this. i call her feral cat, but a better name would be impossible cat.
there is no way she can be here, but she is.
see, i'm 3 miles from pavement n there are ravenous coyotes all over the place. they are so bold they have come up onto my porch at night.
can't shoot them. this is cattle country n everyone shoots them on sight, so they know about guns n don't move in the daylight.
for you city folks, the rule is a cat can't move thru coyote country without getting dead, fast. coyotes think cats are yummy.
so, i got me a guard cat. more expensive to feed her than use poison, but a cat is a far more elegant solution to my problems.
i'll try to keep her alive.
she will never be a pet that you can pick up n cuddle, but she's very valuable like she is.

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susie

What growing zone are you in to grow figs?

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Front sight and squeeze

You just made an old cat guy feel good.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

i'm zone 7, but you can grow them inground in 6 too. you just have to wrap them for winter protection.

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susie

rusty, any ideas how i can doctor her without getting my hands on her?
she probably has every disease known to cats.

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susie

Thanks, I vary between 4 and 5 so out of luck.

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Front sight and squeeze

What kind of doctoring are you proposing to do??? I would check with the area vet or animal care center. A good dose of antibiotics probably wouldn't hurt but not sure they will give it to you without seeing her first.

Probably the best that you can do is to feed her and give her good clean fresh water. I see a lot of healthy coyotes and none of them get vet care.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Diagnosing a cat is difficult without contact. Friskies has vitamins and nutrients specific to a cat's needs. Good food and clean water are not only a kindness but a must if you wish to keep it around. (I don't even want to think about the pathogens in standing water)

Who knows, given time, as it becomes acclimated to you, it may let you approach it.

Hope it works out.

Loves me some figgy pudding.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Sick and tired of shelling out $ for weed & insect killer that seems to work like a weed & insect booster. A group of sand hill cranes now come by almost daily to eat grubs, mole crickets, etc and kill moles. I haven't seen them eat the moles, just kill them very dead, so far.

When I moved to the burbs, the little old Italian man next door brought over a fig tree and planted it in my backyard. Said it brought luck.

I've certainly had my share of luck since then. Maybe fig tree luck extends to high-plains kitty also?

Ya gotta love those little old Italian men

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

My three tamed feral cats keep my land clear of rodents, snakes, crows, but I haven't had chipmunks in a decade at my bird feeder, One I call Forest Gump, he showed up with his brother this weekend, I holler out run forest run. He flies away. Boy can he run. But my cats are red dot lazer trained, story to continue.

My 400lb blackbear is no match. He's shaking my pear trees already.

bill, i need to know everything about how you tamed them. i assumed it was impossible to tame an adult.
i know if you get a baby , just handling it lots will turn it into a normal kitty.
i checked online n no one else seems to be able to do it after 8-12 weeks old.
it is important that she tolerates me.
see, if she hangs out in the garden in daylight, she can eliminate birds. no bird id fast enow to escape her climb.
also, i could then build her a cat house. the more time she spends within my walls, the longer she will live.
coyotes might dig under my walls but sure can't jump them.

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susie

Well, I'm not Rusty , but...

You might try a Havahart trap. If you nab her, then you could take her to a vet for an exam. You're already spending money on food for her, so why not a bit more to trap her and get her checked out, possibly even spayed. I mean, if you're gonna do something, why not do it right?

If I were in your situation, that's what I would do. You're apparently up there in the plains...winter's coming up there when?...maybe another month or two?

I hear that medium rare steak tips work well...........

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James Redfield
LM #497

A feral cat adopted us in 2007. We named him Sam. When he came to us he was almost starved to death and his ears were full of mites, and someone had shot him with a BB gun...had a pellet in his hind quarters. He became one of the best cats we ever had, he passed away last year. It took almost 6 months of coaxing before he finally let us touch him. Once we made contact he never left us again.

Give your cat some time and maybe go sit a short distance away from her when she eats. Sooner or later she will probably get close enough to make contact.

Here is Sam, we still miss him.

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I just feed them and keep water and let Mother Nature take care of the rest. Might try low dose of cat wormer you can get over the counter. Stool sample could be checked by a vet if you wanted to spend the money. The ones around my shop keep the mice and rat population in check. Have one I tamed young but she doesn't have anything to do with any people but me. A good hiding spot for it will help keep it around.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

You're halfway to taming your cat with the food and water----maybe a third. If it's at all possible, bring the food and water about the time she shows up to eat--and let her see you do it. Once you've laid out dinner retire to a point where you can still be seen, but not close enough to be a threat. If she doesn't approach dinner, you're too close. If she comes and eats, but watches you like a hawk, back off some. After maybe 4-5 days of this, start talking to her------slow, soft, and easy, Given that she tolerates this, keep talking; and move a little closer. She'll let you know when you're too close.

Bottom Line: Get acquainted----slow and easy. We have all sorts of critters. All of them respond----often without the food. They've been getting their own food forever. After not too long, you belong on their turf---and their turf is wherever they happen to be at the time.

Ralph Tremaine

i have a haveahart her size, tho i use it to trap animals i kill.
but, i'm afraid if i trap her, she will hate me n leave.
it is important that she stay here.
once the canal dries up, i'm the only water she will find.
we need each other.
lee, i can't sit near her, because if she sees me she flees
i do not believe sam was feral.
he was a stray that you rescued.

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susie

thanks, vonn, rtc.
i wish i could be closer when she eats but this is a wild animal. i don't believe she has ever been in a house or had any truck with humans.
no way will she come into the garden if i'm there.
my scent is all over. i feed where i lie to read every day.
i'm hoping she decides i'm the source of good things.
i just wanna keep her safe. i just need to convince her of that.
you know, beside protecting my garden she can easily pay for her feed. every winter, when it gets cold, mice get right into my house.even now, i got traps n poison all over because they freek me out.

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susie

I would stick to just food and clean water for a very long time. With cats, they will make friends if and when THEY decide to. Anything that you do beside feeding will be interpreted as a threat.

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James Redfield
LM #497

It's possible, but he was in a group of 3-4 other cats that were definitely feral. His ear was notched which is a sign he was captured and neutered and then returned to where they caught him. We started leaving food out for him some distance from the house and then moved it closer and closer. He disappeared for a time, almost a month, then he returned for keeps. He was very aware of Coyotes and would alert us whenever one was near. The Vet said he was about 3-5 years old when he showed up. He was starving because he couldn't hunt at all! His diet was ants and other bugs....even after he was eating in the house he would go outside and eat ants. Took a long time before he stopped that habit.

We recently adopted a rescue cat from Petco a month ago. Her name is Molly and is about 1 year old and she all ready is well into training us!

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First, I have a fig tree that is unbelievably hardy. I've cut the thing back to a stump and it grows so fast it is all on and through my fence and laying against the neighbors house. It's in a perfect place, sunny but sheltered and a LOT of water drains through our property. You would think the thing was on growth hormones. It put out fruit by the bushel, untll the lady across the street cut off the buds for some silly reason. She thought it would make more figs or something. It hasn't been the same since.

Now, stray kitties. It was starved so badly all of it's hair was broken off. It looked awful. After a few months of good food and TLC she's grown this ultra luxurious coat and is SO affectionate that she drives us nuts.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Apparently she's been spoiled by those organic, gourmet rodents.

Andy

I don't go to town much, but today i did my monthly shopping. since the amazon order was delayed, i bot more friskies,
note i didn't buy the cheap store brand, i bot friskies that are almost as much as hamburger.
i knew there might be a problem because all week i was feeding chicken n pork because that's all i had.
well, it's friskies or nothing for her.
this animal looks like a concentration camp victom.
she's not even a pet n she's trying to push me around.

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susie

We have three feral cats here at the ol' homestead. One we brought from northern California when we moved back home to Utah. She still runs away and hides from everybody except for Ms. Judy and me. But, she's a purring machine when we're with her. We pick her up, pet her, and she'll roll over on her back so we can stroke her belly.

Our second one is like the one you described. I had seen her hunting around my woodshed about six years ago, but the minute she saw me, she'd take off.

It took several months of me talking to her while "ignoring" her as I did my chores. Eventually, she didn't run off when I'd look at her. Then months later, I was able to approach her, then months later actually touch her...but she bit me on the hand. Yep...just took a big chomp, but fortunately I was wearing my heavy elk hide work gloves. Didn't even break the leather.

Then, I didn't see her for a couple of weeks until one morning I saw her drag herself out from under the woodshed. There was a large patch of hair, a little larger than a golf ball, missing from her right hind leg. It looked as though she had been bitten by another animal. The area was hot, red, and oozing with puss. She couldn't put any weight on it at all.

She limped over to me on three legs and just flopped over. I started petting her, then retrieved my big horse first aid kit. Believe it or not, she let me flush out the wound, then I packed it with nitrofurizone salve. Bless her heart...she didn't even flinch during the whole procedure. Go figure. It must've hurt like heck.

I continued to do that every day for two weeks. She'd just lie there and let me work on her. A little over a month later, she was putting weight on the leg. Now, she follows me around the place like a dog. Really. I'll be out in the corrals and there she'll be. Or I'll go out to the pasture and she'll be trotting along behind me. And every morning, she's there waiting for me to feed her. She spends most of her time around the barn or fields with me when I'm outside. Goes into the garage for her breakfast and dinner, but prefers to sleep in the barn. I have her sleep in the heated garage with our other cat during the winter, but for the most part, she prefers to be outside.

And, miracle of miracles, she's exceptionally friendly with other people, too. She lets the grandkids pet her and pick her up. It's taken years, but she's changed.

Now, our third feral cat is at the stage where he doesn't run off when he see's me. He'll sit there while I walk by, but he still doesn't let me approach him. He's been around for a few years now. We've made some progress, but it's been slow.

Sorry for this long, boring story, but I just wanted you to know that's it's possible. It takes time, but it's possible. I think it depends solely on the cat. They're all different.

Good luck. It sounds like you have a winner.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

I received three feral kittens. First they were almost dead from no food. They took the mother away too soon. These kittens were born outside no human touch at all. My first attempt was to had feed them with tuna. One in my hand could just pick up his head barely. He didn't like me but the smell of the tuna was overwhelming. I got all three kittens to eat. Now my problem was there traumatized. Still hissing at everyone. They would hide and keep to themselves. It took a longtime to gain there trust and lots of love. Still they had a chip on their shoulders about humans. It took me a few years. Every abondoned litter of kittens I find I adopt. There all tramatised from the ordeal. But they had human contact once so they come around quickly. Now my feral kittens are almost over a year old. When I took in a orange tabby with his tuxedo brother(black n white), the orange tabby is very outgoing. The three feral brothers really opened up with him. It was good therapy to adopt the tabby. It took another year for them to be friendly with me. I taught them to come to my call when their outside, now there learning to go to the front door or back door by command to come in or go out. They are special now. When they started licking me I knew they accepted me into their family. I just received two more kittens I have seven cats now. One is another orange tabby. The first orange tabby acts like there papa. He's the papa to all of them. It takes time and lots of patience plus love and care to get them to accept you. I never knew I could be so close to a pet. I just wanted to save the three brothers. Then I read online how to work with them. How to talk with them. Squint your eyes and nod your head up or down. They will return the squint. Trust me it works. Lots of patience.
When I adopt kittens I get two or more because their happier together. Males are easier to work with. Females are harder to work with, they let me pet them then the next minute I can't touch them it's on there terms. But another female can be the opposite and be a lap cat. Go figure. There's posts of info on the net about talking to your cat and training them.

Since the first orange tabby worked with the three brothers and got them to open up there friendly with strangers too cautious at first but then they open up. I tell them it's ok. There smart.

I lost outside cats to coyotes too. Now I don't cut the claws on the cats that go outside. This way they can climb trees faster and defend themselves better. My other four cats don't go outside.

Now I have a outside feral turtle colored cat that came from the water shed land. My wife put out food and water, she comes eats, drinks and leaves. Now she has not been here in while I think she had kittens. I seen a kitten in the woods before but by the time I put food out it was gone.
My only problem now is I have two opussoms and two raccoons eating the dry food too. I figure she's going to take the kittens here soon to feed them. The food is in my wood pile.

susie:

IIRC, GripMakersWife (Jennifer) has a lot of experience with feral cats. If she doesn't see this thread, send her a PM. I'll bet that she will have some ideas in addition to the excellent advice that I've already seen on the thread.

Best Regards, and Best of Luck with your kitty.

Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Give her time. And don't be upset about the Friskies, she may have tooth problems. Bad diet can do that.

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Even older, even crankier....

A friend of mine had a feral hanging around her back yard so she would leave food out and it stuck around.It had a litter about 2 years ago and when they were weened Mary trapped them.3 are domestic now,one isn't.It took another year before the mother cat would let her pet it and 6 more months before it would go in her house

thanks tons guys. the more you tell me, the more i understand.
bill if you ever have an extra [especially orange, please send her here. i'll gladly pay shipping n your gas n everything. i really want an indoor kitty or two.
things are getting pretty funny here. it's almost dark, so cool enow to walk my garden.
that so called wild animal was out there pacing around her bowls, waiting for something better.
pretty cute.
on the plus side, she saw me thru the window n ran off. but, all she did was run normally.
before, she fled in terror, at top speed.
i saw no terror here, she no longer thinks i'm gonna eat her.

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susie

Good for you. I've found that most animals, domestic or wild, do not forget kindness. They may never be your friend but neither will they forget.

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A gun has no brain.. use yours

We had a mother and 3 kittens hanging around our yard a few years ago until one day the mother disappeared. The little ones would not let you get near them. All I had to do was make a noise at the back door and all you'd see were their fuzzy little behinds scurry under my lawn mower. We put out food and water. I couldn't let them starve. Summer led to fall and my daughter pleading with us not to let them freeze. I set a plan into motion. I put food just inside my back door with the door open and me behind it. I waited until they ventured inside for the food and closed the door. We had a box we cornered them in and then to the basement were we set up a old play pen to isolate them until we could get checked out by a vet. The were shy and huddled together when we approached except for the tabby. She was feisty and would spit and hiss at me. Luckily they were all healthy and we allowed them into the general population once they got used to us. Today they are family and are all inside cats. They all love to cuddle and get their share of loving.

suzieqz,

It's my considered opinion that your cat is doing a pretty darn good job of taking care of herself without any attention from a vet. I sure would'nt impose a trip to vet on her unless I could see definitely signs of sickness or injury. Even then, it would be a big challenge, as well as expense. What you are doing right now is the best thing you can to eventually tame her a bit. She knows where those groceries are coming from, and she certainly knows the dangers outside your high fence. Just be really patient, try hard not to scare her, talk where she can hear you and get used to hearing it. As long as the chow you are putting out for her disappears, you know she's still on the job. Biggest danger is feeding her too much. Right now she's on her own and taking care of herself. You don't want to make a welfare cat out of her or she'll stop taking care of your vermin! Just enough to let her know she ain't gonna starve around your place and once she feels comfortable there, she'll stay. She already probably knows the next closest place is a long and dangerous journey away from your place.

You should know you never own a cat. It chooses you so just don't give her any reason to decide someplace else would be better. Good luck with her!

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So long ... Ken

acorn, i wish i thot that would work with an adult. i think if i trap her she will hate me n go away to die.
she can't live once the canal dries up.
it's 8-9 miles to the nearest crik.
i can't use any force that might drive her away.
kt, i'll go with what you say.
i know how to deal with housecats, this is different.

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susie

[QUOTE=susieqz;139680238]bill, i need to know everything about how you tamed them. i assumed it was impossible to tame an adult.
... the more time she spends within my walls, the longer she will live.
coyotes might dig under my walls but sure can't jump them.[/QUOTE
Some years ago, we had a big feral tom appear in our yard. He was a beauty, and my wife put a little food out every day for him, gradually moving it closer to the porch, then on the porch, then she started to move closer to him, very gradually, then started extending her hand to him holding a treat. After a while she'd sit on the steps and he'd come by for a treat, then she'd offer her hand and let him smell it, always moving very slowly and never in front of his face. Eventually she could touch him, then pet him, then he'd come and sit beside her when she'd call his name - Gray Kitty. We managed to get him in a cat box, then to the vet, and the dumb vet tried to put a rug over him to hold him for an examination and Gray Kitty went berserk, actually trashing the exam room. Eventually the vet managed to subdue him, ran tests, found out he had feline leukemia and wasn't long for this world, and euthanized him.
The whole process took almost two years; I hope you have better luck.

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sounds good, dad. not sure how to do it tho. if he sees me, he's over the wall.
i'm in no hurry tho. if she keeps the rodents out, i'm happy.
i just would like her to move nto the garden, into a cat house. that would extend her life better than anything else. sooner or later she'll make a mistake n end up as coyote lunch.

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susie

We had a few in our old neighborhood. One was so hungry he snuck into our kitchen and stole cooking chicken out of a frying Pan! We stated feeding him and another and they began to trust us more. The little theif we called Dark Kitty. He would come in during the day but always had to be out at night....after eating well for some months he became a HUGE tabby. Lots of good stories about him and his brother cat...we had 17 living with us at one point, but that's another story.....best of luck with your buddy!

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Even older, even crankier....

Slow movments and kind words
will get your cat start trusting you.

But it will take time.

Our little stray is calming down some,
but won't sit in my lap.
When i start "meowing" he comes close enaugh for som stroking.

[IMG][/IMG]

I have no idea what i'm saying, but it seems to work

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Jamie wants big boom

Susie, around here we refer to it as a "kitty cottage." I certainly wouldn't want my feline girls to get a bad reputation.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

i wouldn't object if she had male visitors. i'd love a litter.
i can support a bunch of outside cats n a house cat too.

actually, the mortality rate would be high.
unless mom's ability to avoid coyotes is passed down.

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susie

As has been mentioned, sometimes they surprise you.

The stray/abandoned little kitty, that adopted me several years ago, would run away if I even made eye to eye contact with her, when she first appeared with her head sticking out from under the fence.

I kept giving her food every day & she stayed just out of view but slowly, after going thru two winters, slowly she got closer & closer until one day I touched her tail & she didn't run.

Now she stays by the patio in the fair weather & comes into the garage in the winter when I call her.

Even my son had to shake his head & admit he was wrong in thinking she'd never be more than a scaredy cat.
.

susieqz: I hope things work out with your little helper.

.

- Lil Kitty catching some rays on a cold morning -


.

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Waiting for the break of day

Just keep feeding it and making appearances. When it gets to the point it doesn't run off, speak to it in a quiet gentle voice. Just become part of its normal world. Let it get used to you. I too have had wild cats slowly come to trust me. It even works with deer. In the winter I regularly set out some feed for the deer that come through my yard. They got so that they would be waiting in the mornings for their treat. Slowly the distance that they ran away when I came out to spread out the alphafa pellets or corn got shorter. Then I started backing off a bit and gently talking to them and they would approach the feed and eat getting less nervous everyday. Now they will stand there while I throw carrots and apples at them. A couple of the older ones will let me within a few feet and there was a fawn we named piglet that got to taking crackers and such out of your hand. He was a little buck though and either something happened to him or he got moved off.

Food, exposure and time.

Growing up on a farm we had several feral cats show up, my grandmother would throw scraps to them. Unfortunately we were never able to get them to be pets, way too skiddish. She did have one that she could hand feed, couldn't pet but would take food from her hand. Great mousers! Pretty sure I never heard my dad or granddad say they were going to a cat house!
Good luck susie!!

I had 6-8 feral barn cats for years. We had trapped, spayed and released them all and they stayed around. Kept the place free of gophers and mice. Then last year this big, mutant coyote came into the area. We think he was a dog hybrid. Looked 100% coyote but was a half size bigger than the normal scrappy little 'yotes we have all over the place. A six foot fence was no challenge to him from a standstill.
He slowly picked off all but one of our feral cats, and our livestock guard dogs never could get him. Real smart. He would come in broad daylight when the dogs were napping and unprepared. Left the goats and sheep alone and instead nearly wiped out our poultry. I never could get a good shot at him, but another neighbor finally did. I didn't find out about it for several weeks or I'd have gladly paid to have a DNA analysis done on the beast, I am quite sure he was no ordinary coyote.
Anyhow, the sole remaining feral cat works overtime now on the gophers and mice and interestingly comes to the door when she's had a bad day hunting and lets me pet her a little and takes some dry food. She's getting old, I'd love to convince her to come in the house and retire, but I doubt she'll get that friendly.

They don't have such a great life & kill way to many birds that I would rather see. Owls, hawks, snakes, coyotes, bobcats prey on rodents as well. Snap-n-kill rat traps with a little peanut butter don't cost much. TEHO

natcho, traps are only so-so. some pests are too smart. plus those traps rust real fast.
i've tried them. the only workable solution is poison. that can harm the critters you mention, if they eat a poisoned mouse.
i've tried everything.
nothing is as good as a cat.
if some bird is eating my figs, let him be lunch for feralcat.

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susie

Try tuna it gets there attention quickly.

You can't catch them all. Traps only kill 1 animal. Poison is effective, but too indiscriminant for me. A bolt action rifle using 22 short CB caps is my quiet garden defender during daylight hours, it used to be a bow. Squirrels are a more realistic target than mice. A couple times back while turning over my compost I had a rat kabob. They don't freak me out that much anymore, just doing what rats do. Getting old & soft maybe.