Do you remember how homely Cat was when she first showed up here?
Here’s a picture I found from August.
Cat
I really can’t get a good picture of her because she’s so scared of us.
She’s pleasantly plump but she’s been that way for a while so I don’t thing she’s pregnant but who knows. This is as close as I could get to her this morning.
Cat
Her coat is now pretty and thick.Before, she showed very little of her tortoise markings but now it’s blended in nicely and pretty. Her coat reminds me of Boots . . not long, but not short.
Someone had mentioned early on that her left ear looked like it had been tipped, maybe indicating she had been spayed but the spay/neuter program here doesn’t tip the ears but almost every picture I take of her, that ear does look tipped but in real life, it doesn’t look tipped at all. Weird, huh?
Cat
I wish I could at least get close enough to her to get a decent picture. She is a pretty cat and she was not pretty when she first got here.
I can get about three feet from her but she just sits and hisses at me. I don’t push my luck . . I may never be able to pet her but I’m able to get much closer to her than I was a few months ago. At first, we had to put the food out and hope she came and got it because we never really saw her eating but now she’s waiting on her platform for me at daylight and she’s back out there just before dusk, waiting to be fed . . and sometimes she wants an afternoon snack!
Helene says
You’re a good cat mama!
Vivian Oaks says
We have a couple of feral cats around here, too, but we don’t feed them, in hopes they’ll start eliminating all the moles that are tearing up the yard! If we so much as look out a window at them, they run as far and as fast as possible! Good luck in getting her to allow you to get closer!! 🙂
Kate says
She is probably not pregnant now – but she WILL be pregnant in the spring, unless you are really lucky and she has been spayed…. given that she didn’t have any kittens this summer, you just might have hit the jackpot !!
Where does she go when it is cold??? I saw some great cat houses on the web – people just took large Sterlite bins, cut a big hole, and then secured it up on a branch in a tree… safe from dogs and coyotes… and just getting protection from the wind helps a lot… she is a beauty, and does indeed look so much better now.
Anne says
I have a yellow tabby male who has been hanging around my house and my neighbor’s house. I don’t think he’s as skittish as your girl, but he doesn’t want me to get too close. I bought him food and just ordered him a snuggly bed that I’m going to put into a box so he has somewhere warmer at night to sleep. He’s not bothered by me as long as I stay on my deck, and he doesn’t seem to be at all bothered by my dog. He is NOT neutered, so I may have to trap him so at least he’ll be neutered and get some basic shots. What worries me is that we have a large owl population in our neighborhood, and they are very big owls. So I’d really prefer he let me catch him, vet him, and then he can live in the house…. don’t want him to feed the owls.
Good luck with your gal, she’s very pretty and does look quite healthy for a feral cat, all thanks to you and your dh. 🙂
Theresa says
You’re doing it right, going slow and respecting Cat’s boundaries. It may take a while, but one day you’ll be able to pet her and take her to the vet.
Tam McBride says
We have a year old big male car who was feral when we trapped him with Francis of Assisi trap. Also his feral parents and a sibling. All were neutered/spayed, given shots and one ear each nipped. They were returned to the residential neighborhood and we brought one home to live in the bathroom for a few days. Jasper is a 15 lb indoor jumper now.
Barbara says
I have a friend that has a former feral cat living in her house. It’s been over two years and she still has never touched the cat. She is a good person.
Andrea says
Have you tried the slow blink? When she’s looking at you blink slowly a few times then turn away. This indicates that you are not a threat to her and that you aren’t threatened by her. A cat that stares at another cat is either wary or planning an attack, so by not doing it you’re letting her know that you’re relaxed around her.
Some cats take a long time to come around, and some never do. There’s no way to tell how Cat will be, but I applaud you for sticking with her even though she’s not rushing to cuddle.