Except for one thing and the following pictures detail that one thing.
That is Jello. He/she is a stray we've been feeding for about two years now. Jello is confident around us but never lets us get within about 4 feet of him and he has never even considered coming in the house.
So we're all worried what might happen if we move. Right now the option seems to be to attempt to catch him. That's why we've now put his food in the pet carrier. The pet carrier is sort of a last resort to trap him if I can't get ahold of a live trap. I'm not sure how I'd rig it up but I'm sure we'll find a way. Hopefully I'll get some calls back from local shelters though and one of them will have a trap we can use.
Now, what Jello will think of all this, I don't know. Even once we get the poor chap trapped he'll have to deal with Chewy, our cat and the dog, Kia. Not to mention all of us. Oh well. None of us want to take the chance that once we leave, no one will look after Jello.
4 comments:
aw, hi Jello! (cute name) ...looks like he's willing to go into the carrier, which is great - if he'll do that when you're around, you'll be able to catch him....
Don't be surprised if he's a real PITA for the first while of livin g with you guys in a new place....prolly take him quite some time to adjust to living *with* a family, as opposed to living near one...but it'll be such a wonderful home for him! :-D
A quick search on Google brought up tips for training/taming a feral cat. Good luck!
How far are you moving? You might want to try a sedative in the food. Ask your vet. If not, a humane trap should do the trick.
Hi! I'm so glad you are planning to take Jello with you. He is a lucky guy to have some very kind human friends. And it is a great lesson to kids about caring for animals.
You are smart to have started feeding him in the carrier, getting him used to going into a box type thing for food. The Humane society, other shelter or local Animal Control, or a feral Trap-Neuter-Return group should be able to loan you a humane trap. (Maybe once you catch him you could also get him neutered if he's not already, it could lessen his urge to get into fights and wander away while trying to establish a new territory and mating rights in the new neighborhood, and it may calm him down a bit in general and make him easier to tame.)
And it would be a really, really good idea if there is any way you can keep Jello inside for at least a few weeks at your new place so he gets used to feeling more established in his new territory --otherwise cats who are let outside right away often run away trying to get back to their old territory. Best to start any cat out in one little room and let them feel secure with that "den" first. (with a non housebroken cat that is what you would need to do anyway. A good litter to train former ferals is Dr. Elsey's "Cat Attract" which I have found at Petco as well as independent shops & online. )
Cats love to have a high place they can sit and survey the world, and like to have a hiding place.... or both in one - an elevated hiding place!
you could spray Feliway (a product that mimics feline facial pheromones) on surfaces in the room which may help calm him a bit.
Not easy to tame adult ferals, and best to take it slowly, but sometimes once tamed they are incredibly loyal and loving to one or a few people.
A good way to start interacting is to play with a wand toy or long string, where they dont have to get right close to you to play.
Don't stare right at him (very rude in cat body language!) or reach at him from in front (like toward his face), that may feel threatening.
Happy New Year!
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