Taming a Stray Cat

Any cat including a feral cat can be tamed, but it does take time and you must be patient.  My husband and I trapped a stray cat that had been injured and needed veterinarian care. This cat had been living in the woods by my home and we had assumed it was feral. We quickly learned that was not the case because the trapped cat was meowing. Feral cats will hiss, snarl and spit but they do not meow.

We took this stray cat in and oversaw the socializing/taming of this cat. The cat was terrified of us, had behavior issues such as marking and was suffering from stress.

Socializing a stray cat that has lived outdoors for several years takes time and patience. The cat has to learn to live indoors and to not fear humans. We have to teach the cat manners, to use a litter box, not scratch the furniture, and to also allow humans to pet the cat without the cat scratching or biting.

Before we could socialize this cat we needed to take him to the veterinarian. The cat was tested for FIV and FeLV, given vaccines and was neutered. The veterinarian also stitched up a wound on his paw and give the cat an antibiotic shot.

When we brought the cat back to our home we put him in the cat safe room where he would reside until he was dependent upon me and socialized to live indoors and to be nice to humans.

View this video to learn more about a cat safe room.

We tamed this cat by spending time with the cat daily. We also used the product Feliway classic diffuser that goes in the electrical outlet. This product is very good for calming a cat that is feeling stress. Feliway is a clinically proven formula that comforts cats in your home and decreases urine marking, scratching on furniture and hiding.

Whenever we are socializing a cat we make a point to spend quality time with the cat. I will take my laptop and work in the same room as the cat, or I will read a book. The cat knows you are there, and at first, the cat will hide from you, hiss at you from afar. But soon the cat will start to trust you and each day your bond with the cat will grow stronger.

Feeding the cat at the same time daily is important. Also never leave food bowls for the cat to snack on. You want the cat to look to your for food, to be dependent upon you. We feed all cats a mixture of canned and dry kibble food and provide the cat with fresh water twice daily. The water stays in the room at all times.

Most cats become dependent upon people quickly, it took this stray cat 10 days. One day I walked into the room with the food and the cat came out to greet me. He was sitting where I set the food bowl.

When the cat was sitting waiting for its food my husband tried to pet the cat. The cat was fearful and scratched my husband. Then the cat hid behind the chair.

I do not recommend that humans make the first move when socializing/taming a stray cat. The cat will have to make the first move, normally they will roll around on the ground or floor and show you their stomach. In the cat world, this means “I feel safe with you and I trust you”. Or the cat will rub their body on you, they are putting their scent on you as if to say “you are my person”

“I think it is best to wait for the cat to accept you rather than to corner the cat, make it feel uncomfortable” “The stray cat will let you know when it wants to be petted”.

I suppose the black and white cat that we rescued must have been abandoned longer than we thought because it took a good six months for this cat to let down his guard down.

Now the cat lets me pick him up, pet him and he will sit on my lap. He is very talkative and will come to sit next to me when I am reading a book.

We never force a cat to accept humans but instead wait for the cat to let us know when petting is okay.

Now, this cat is ready to be adopted. His leg is fully healed and he is walking better. My neighbor that helps us with the cats did sponsor this cats vaccines and neuter and told us she loves the cat. So he adopted him and the cat went to his forever home.

Learn more about Feliway Classic here.

About Declawing Your Cat

To declaw a cat by surgically removing the cat's claw is inhumane and animal abuse. Many people declaw their cats because their veterinarians still offer the procedure but you should know that if the shoe was on the other foot a declawing on a human would be cutting off your finger at your knuckle.

 A declawing is extremely painful, and many times the cat becomes lame, has pain when they walk, cannot put pressure on their paws, they are not able to jump. They cannot use the litter box, inability to scratch and move the litter and they develop behavioral issues such as biting.

I have rescued a cat from people who no longer wanted it because it would not stop meowing, they had the cat's claws surgically removed and the cat was in extreme pain. The problem is cat declawing is still allowed in many states so the pet owners are not breaking the law and their veterinarian is in agreement to do this, It is an extremely painful procedure and cats that are declawed may be lame for the rest of their lives..

This is Lucy the cat I speak up that people no longer wanted because she was meowed constantly after declawing.  She no longer meows but she does hide and she bites.
 See her front paws, they look deformed. 

Cat owners need to be educated on the procedure and they should be aware of alternatives, such as clipping the claw short and gluing it. The cat that I rescued this week (white cat) I thought it was declawed as I could not see the claws, but learned that the cat's claw was cut short and glued. (I have searched for the nail cut and glue procedure online and found nothing on it, so it is maybe something a local veterinarian is doing) The claw can grow back but it is very slow to a grow..the cat is not lame, will act like it is scratching, can jump up and down and run through your house but it cannot go outdoors.

I have seen cats with cut and glued nails, In fact, one of my cat helpers told me she had this procedure done for her cats, said her veterinarian did it...the cat is fine.

You cannot see a claw because it is cut very short. My friend has 4 cats all of them have clipped and glued nails, she said it has put a stop with them hurting each other when they play rough and they no longer scratch her.

Instead of declawing, you can clip your cat's nails weekly so that they are not sharp and provided them with many scratching posts or you use soft claws on your cat.

Another option would be soft claws. My veterinarian recommended this product to me because my one cat refused to use his scratching post, he would use when catnip was applied but got bored and would go after my Berber rug. The soft claws allow Budd to scratch on my carpet and furniture but his scratches are not damaging. I am not going to kid you, it takes practice to put the cap on your cats claw. I managed after my husband held Buddy still. You clip your cats claw then put the glue in the cap and slip the cap onto the claw

soft claws 

. .Learn more about declawing your cat by viewing this video.

I do not recommend surgically declawing cats. If you are someone who is considering this procedure I would suggest that you reevaluate the type of pet you bring into your home and consider adopting an animal that does not have claws.

Christmas Shirts for Cat Lovers

For the last several years I have designed a variety of Christmas cat pattern shirts at my Zazzle store. I bought the shirts to give as gifts to my neighbors and friends who helped us throughout the year with the feral cat colony and stray cats that were in our care.

A cute  Christmas cat designed t-shirt for kids. 

Then to my surprise, one of my neighbors asked if she could buy one of the shirts for her daughter.  From that point forward I was in the business of selling my Christmas cat shirts. 

As a designer at Zazzle I will do the artwork for the shirt but I do not own the shirt.  I earn a royalty for the design when it is sold and this royalty I use to pay for the products that I use for the cats. 

So with that said, if you are someone who likes cats then you will love the Christmas cat shirts.  To view at my online store you would click on the hyperlink under the photo and this link will take you to the product where you can view it larger and in a higher resolution. 

Thank you for your continued support of our mom and pop cat shelter.

All of the shirts come in a variety of styles which include long sleeves and hoodies. The cat design can be transferred to another product if you do not want cat clothing.

Meow Christmas Black Cartoon Cat Holiday T-Shirt

by Susang6

Fun Christmas Party Ready T-Shirt

by Susang6

Christmas Cat with Holiday Tree T-Shirt

by Susang6

This shirt was designed from a cut out of my rescued FIV cat named Sam

Cute White / Red Santa Cat Christmas Girls T-Shirt

by Susang6

Found a Lump on My Cat

We have a semi-socialized feral cat that shares our home with us. She is not what you would call affectionate. She spends her time being stand-offish but at night when my husband is asleep she will come and sleep on his head and he can hear her purring.

Daisy on my husband's pillow

We trapped this cat when she was 4 months old. We felt we needed to because a neighbors dog had killed all of her litter mates and thought she would be next. As a rule, when feral cats come into a home and are socialized they tend to overeat. Our cat is now older and overweight and due to this, she has developed a lump.

We found the lump yesterday when my husband held her down and I examined her fat belly. The lump is solid and the size of a Kiwi. It could be a fatty tumor called lipomas. This tumor will show up anywhere on a cat and even though they are not cancerous they do not need to be removed unless they hinder the cat from getting around, or make the cat feel uncomfortable.

As a rule, this type of fatty tumor is common in overweight older cats. I made an appointment at the veterinarians because I need to know what this lump is. My veterinarian will do a wellness checkup and may do a biopsy with a needle to get a sample to test fluid inside the lump for cancer.

I think it is a good idea to examine your older cat once a month for lumps and bumps and if you find them to take your cat to the veterinarians. Best to get your cat a checked to know if the bumps are cancer or not.

Learn more about cat lumps or bumps by viewing this video.

Moved Shelter Cats to Warmer Location

The two neighborhood stray cats that have been hanging out in my yard all summer have entered my shed and are using it as a shelter from the cold. The shed has heat lamps and a space heater and it provides the cats with a windbreak, protection from the rain and snow but it is not insulated and is cold.

 Last night we used a space heater and heat lamps and the shed was 56 degrees. The cats had cozy self-warming beds but with tonight's low in the single digits, we decided to move the shelter cats to a warmer location.

cat tree

It is not a good idea to leave a space heater unattended so I stayed awake last night to check on the unit hourly. I did not get any sleep so my husband and I decided to move the shelter cats to our attached sun porch.

The sun porch is insulated but has no heat. It also has an exterior door that leads to our fenced in patio and dogs kennel. The sun porch is primarily all windows and this room is quite enjoyable during the daylight hours. The sun from the south keeps the room warm and cozy but at night it does feel chilly to cold.

We like that the stray cats can go outdoors during the day and come into the sun porch at night. Overall by allowing the stray cats access to this room we will save on energy because we will not have to use the space heater during the day and I will not need to check on the heater all night long because the room is insulated and we will not have to set the heat thermostat at a high setting.

Another benefit to moving the cats to this warmer shelter is ease of access for my husband and I. We will not have to get dressed, put on rubber boots, coat, hat, and gloves to walk 150 feet to the shed. Now we can walk across the house and look in the glass panel on the door that is located at the entrance of the sun porch. It is a room that was added onto the house that is closed to us and our other cats by a door. An ideal shelter for stray cats during the cold winter months.

About the Cats

The stray cats have homes two blocks away but their people put them outdoors when they got kittens. The older cats did not get along with the younger cats and when the cats were not allowed to go back into their home the cats found their way to my yard.  The owner knows they are in my yard, know that we feed them and give them shelter.  The owner never came to get the cats.  So they are now neighborhood cats, they visit my yard and my neighbors yard, busy being social during the day but come to my shed for shelter at night.

Getting the Room Ready for the Cats

The only thing that we did was remove the drapes, and the furniture and replaced it with self-warming cat beds, cat toys, litter boxes, a cat tree and food and water bowls. We also added a Feliway Multi cat diffuser to the electrical outlet as this will help the cats to adjust to their new shelter without feeling stress.

garden shed for stray cats

* We would like to buy a window unit heater for our shed in the yard.  Because I think it is a better shelter for the neighborhood stray cats.  But in the meantime, the sun porch will have to do because it is too costly to run a space heater 24/7.

Cat Virus is Serious / Rescue Kitty Euthanized

It is never easy to have to put down a rescued kitty. But that is exactly what needed to be done today. For the last month, I have been working to get a pretty calico kitty to become dependent on me for food and water because this kitty was abandoned when her people moved away and was not doing good on her own.

Most cats when abandoned are stressed out and do not trust other humans. When we tried to trap her we found that she ran and hid in the woods and instead of trapping a cat we got a raccoon and a possum. Two weeks ago we were able to get a hold of her long enough to get flea control on her. But at the last minute, she jumped from my arms and got away.

We finally made headway and this little kitty came to us and we put her in our garden shed where there were self-heating cat bed and a space heater to keep her warm and cozy on a cold winters night.

I checked on the kitty and the space heater many times during the night and noticed that she was not eating or drinking from her bowl. I figured it was stress so I plugged in a Feliway diffuser to aid in calming her since she was in a new area. By early morning I noticed that the rescued kitty was hiding, in a self-heated bed behind a storage container and that her eyes were draining and there was a discharge from her nose. I suspect a cat cold and planned on calling the veterinarian as soon as the office opened.

At 9:00 AM I noticed that her breathing had become labored and I called the veterinarian. They saw her at 2:00 in the afternoon and told us that she had Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis. An infection that had gone into her lungs and caused fluid to build up. He also suspects Feline Leukemia or cancer. Her teeth indicated that she was a very old cat and being abandoned and getting beat up by other cats put her at risk for cat disease.

There is no cure for Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, all you can do is provide your cat with comfort, keep your cat warm and treat the symptoms. Your veterinarian may give you a prescription for antiviral medication. But in our case the veterinarian recommended euthanasia.

We stayed with the little stray kitty throughout the entire procedure, I held her paw and kissed her head told her she was a good kitty. Even though I had not known this kitty for a long time I did feel attached to her. I had thought we could get her the medical treatment she needed, and give her good food and make her a healthy and happy kitty again. But I guess she was outdoors too long and had to too many cat fights, lack of food and shelter and the stress was too hard on her.

We buried her in our yard with all the other stray cats that we could not save.

Know that the only way To prevent your cat from getting infected with Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis or feline influenza is to get your cat vaccinated. The best way to prevent Feline Leukemia is to get your cat vaccinated and keep your cats indoors. A cat that is permitted to go outdoors may easily come in contact with a cat that has infections feline disease:

Learn more about Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis here

Cozy Beds for Stray Cats

Tonight is the first cold night and we have three stray cats in our garden shed. This shed is not insulated, but it is dry and protects the cats from wind, rain, and snow.

All cats prefer to be warm, they are heat seekers and that is why you will view them lying on the hood of a newly parked car or lying in the sun on a cool day. I have also viewed cats tunneling under a pile of leaves because the leaves block the cold air. So when it comes to stray cats that are in a cold garden shed we made sure that they all had cozy beds that would keep them warm when temperatures dipped into the low 30’s.

We have dog houses that are filled with straw and self-warming beds that are up off the cement floor. Then one of my neighbors gave us a high-quality space heater that has a thermostat, timer, and automatic shutoff when it overheats or is knocked over. Then another neighbor gave us insulated drapes for the windows and my husband picked up a few Berber area rugs to cover the cold cement floor and heat lamps for the ceiling lights.

Presently the temperatures outdoors is 41 degrees and in the garden, shed thermostat indicates that it is 61 degrees. I am thankful to my neighbors for giving us the products to keep the cats cozy and warm on this cold night in autumn.

Here is a photo card that I created from one of the neighborhood cats that goes to my garden shed for shelter. We call this cat Bob and he is sleeping in a bed of straw.

Feral Cat Sleeping in Winter Shelter Post Card

by Susang6

View video to learn how to make an insulated winter shelter for stray or your outdoor cats.

TOP PICKS for Cat Houses

When it comes to shopping for cat houses for the winter season I tend to shop offseason because the selection is better and prices are lower. 

I will shop in town before I shop online and will look for quality made houses that are not drafty. Many pet houses look great and you think they are made well but you really need to check them out because not all cat houses are made well.

My husband and shopped locally for an outdoor cat house. We went to Walmart, Pet Smart and did not find quality outdoor houses. What we found was flimsy wood houses with drafty floors or plastic houses that really were intended for a dog. Since the selection in town was poor I shopped online at Chewy Pet Supplies. It did not take long as I found a few cat houses that were suitable for outdoor feral and stray cats.

Here are my top picks for outdoor cat houses. 

I recommend these houses because they provide the cat with their own space and the houses were insulated to keep the cat cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Plus they were waterproof. The houses offered year-round comfort and safety for the outdoor cats.

I really like the New Age Pet ecoFlex outdoor cat house at Chewy .com.  This is a well-made cat house and the interior is roomy enough for two stray or feral cats. Unlike other cat houses, this one comes with a front door and a side door so if there are any predators the kitty can get away from the side door.  The interior of this cat house is roomy enough for two cats.

Putting the cat house together was easy.  The front door flap is a good grad plastic but I did leave off the front one because the feral cats by me are turned off by door covering. 

Since this cat house does not come with a heating pad I opted to cover the walls and floor with K&H self-heated cat pads.  The pads made the cat house more cozy and warm.  In addition to the cat pads, I did add some wheat straw.

straw keeps outdoor cats warm

This cat house is low to the ground so I set it up on some cement blocks. By lifting it the water runoff from a hard rain will not get into the house and neither will snow.

The ecoFlex outdoor cat house but do think that the roof needs an overhang to help divert the sun from making the cat house hot in the summer and also help in keeping snow and rain out of the house.

We also bought a Trixie outdoor cat house that was made of wood. This is a small house for a cat under 8 pounds.   A larger cat would not be comfortable in this house.

But in spite of the small interior space, this Trixie cat house got good customer reviews. So we bought this house for the feral and stray cats that we take care of.

This Trixie cat house is drafty. A chalking gun was used to seal the gaps. Then we applied a water seal to the outside of the house. Since this cat house is not insulated we used a mylar blanket to insulate the cat house. 

The blanket was cut to size and glued the ends for a snug fit on the ceiling
and side walls of the Trixie cat house. Next we added a thick layer of
wheat straw and set this house in our shed.

The house comes with a plastic door covering but I removed due 
to the cats in my area being fearful of door coverings. Overall the cat that
has made this house her home seems to really like this cat house.

If you were to use this house outdoors I would recommend that you set 
this cat house on a covered porch or deck. It is also a good idea 
to keep it close to the side of your house because it provides wind 
break.  I read a customer review on Chewy.com that said the Trixie cat house 
did not hold up in the rain. It would be a good idea to use this cat house 
on your covered porch, garage or basement.

Helping Baby Kitten to Pee or Poop

When it comes to caring for baby kittens that are rescued you must feed, keep them warm and teach them to pee or poop. Newborn or baby kittens do not go to the bathroom on their own, so if you are the foster kitten mom then caring for them means helping them to go to the bathroom

A mother cat will stimulate the kittens by grooming them, so the best way to replace the roughness of a cats tongue is to use a soft washcloth that is dampened with warm water.  Use a new cloth, and designate this washcloth for kitten use only

After you bottle feed the baby kitten, set the kitten on a towel or small blanket. The kitten should be on their back. Then use a soft cotton cloth that is dampened with warm water and gently massage in a circular motion the kitten’s anus and urinary areas. If the kitten is wiggly you may have to hold him in one hand and use the other hand to stimulate the kitten.

A circular motion with the damp cloth will stimulate the area and enable your kitten to go pee or poop. Wipe the kitten clean with the damp cloth and then put the kitten into their warm box so that they do not get a chill.

When your kitten is older (2-3 weeks) and going to the bathroom on their own you will be able to teach them how to use a litter box. I recommend that you buy a litter box with a covering and natural litter like Feline Pine. There are many natural litters available, choose one that you like.

Learn more about helping your kitten pee or poop by viewing this video

Found Cat / Seeking Pet Owner

Two weeks ago we observed an adult fox chasing a gray and white tabby Cat The cat was running for its life down the middle of the street at dusk. People who were close to the chase did run toward the fox waving their arms, this of course scared the fox and he gave up the chase. The same cat that was chased by the fox ran for its life and ended up at my house 5 blocks away from where the chase began.

It is safe to say that this cat was found because the cat ran into the open door of my basement and commenced with a sorrowful meowing. My husband and I investigated and found a friendly kitty, that is well groomed and nails trimmed. We decided to keep the cat in our basement overnight to prevent it from getting chased by another fox. We were certain that in the morning the cat's people would be searching for this very well groomed and cared for cat.

Nobody was looking for the cat. So my husband and I went door to door with a photo of the cat asking if anyone had lost their cat. To our surprise, not one person in a 5 block radius knew the cat, but all agreed it was a very nice looking cat and that there was a problem with foxes in the neighborhood.

When we could not locate the owner we took the cat to our veterinarian so they could check for a microchip. None was found. Then we learned that the cat was sterilized, nails clipped, no fleas and if the pet owner does all that, then the cat is current with vaccines. We also learned that the cat was in excellent health.

The next thing that we did was see if the kitty would go home on its own. Nope, it laid in my catnip garden most of the morning then laid by our pond or chased lizards in my wildflower garden. The following day I posted a found cat classified ad in our newspaper. No calls were received. Posted on a public cat rescue on Facebook and on the Humane Society Facebook page.

After having the cat for a week, we looked for flyers for a lost cat, when none were seen we posted a found cat flyer. We spoke to so many people that we made new friends. Everyone says it is a nice looking cat and did you find the owner?

We know that most people do not realize that their cat is missing until the cat has been gone for 10 to 14 days so we are still hopeful that we will find the cat owner in our neighborhood or somebody will know the person who lost their cat.

Rescued Abandoned Orange Tabby Cat

In April my husband and I learned that a family in our neighborhood had moved and left their 8-month-old orange tabby cat at the house.  At first, we thought maybe the cat was outdoors and that they would come back for the cat so we located the house and watched for the cat.  The cat returned in the early evening and sat by the front door.  The cat sat and waited for somebody to let it in, we observed the cat sleeping on the porch by the front door. We fed him and gave him water.  His people never returned.  They had moved and abandoned their cat.

Cats rarely come to strangers, so coaxing the cat to us with food was not going to happen.  We tried to catch this young tabby cat for the next two weeks.  We set up a humane live animal trap and caught other cats but not the cat that we wanted.  We left food and water for the cat and saw that the food was eaten.

We eventually rescued this cat but it was only because he had gotten into a horrific fight and sustained many injuries including deep puncture wounds.  My husband was able to pick him up easily and we rushed him to the veterinarian where they stitched him up, gave him a shot of antibiotics, neutered him and administered full vaccines.

Then when we picked him up we learned that he tested positive for FIV.  Learn more about FIV here.

I have no idea why the veterinarian did not call us and tell us that this cat had an incurable disease that occurs when an infected cat bites another cat and inflicts a deep puncture wound. The virus needs to be transmitted by blood contact to infect another cat. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus is a cat disease and is not transferable to humans or other animals.

 For the past several weeks we have been caring for an injured cat.  A cat with bite wounds all over his body, a ruptured eardrum and bad scratches close to his eyes.  His bite wounds will heal, however, we are not sure if he will regain his hearing.

We will continue to care for this cat and have a follow-up appointment with the veterinarian in June.  Hoping that we will be able to find him a forever home.  It is not easy when a cat has FIV with a disability not many people will adopt a cat that has a special need.

Do you adopt cats with a disability, disease or special needs?

Learn more about FIV here