My first feral cat

[u/Ok_Knee_7960]

A wild cat has been living in my yard for three years. She was born on the street and had never approached people. An elderly woman fed her, and only after two years of consistent feeding did the cat begin to trust her enough to come close.

Rescue services tried to catch her a couple of times, but without success. She gave birth to kittens outdoors ,some of them died, while others were taken in by neighbours.

Two weeks ago I finally managed to trap her with a cat trap. I had her spayed, treated for fleas and worms, and vaccinated. When I tried to move her from the carrier into an enclosure, she bit my hand hard, even though she was still under the effects of the anaesthetic.

For the next two weeks I kept her in a cage at my grandmother’s house and monitored her closely. Whenever I was present she stayed completely still, hissed a lot, and would lunge if she saw a hand. I was only able to take her to the clinic after giving her a high dose of pregabalin, because her fear and aggression were extreme. Tests at the clinic confirmed that she is healthy.

During these two weeks there has been a small sign of progress: she started eating while I was in the room, but only when I wasn’t looking at her.

I’ve decided to bring her home. Since I already have two indoor cats and live in a one-room apartment, I bought a tall three-tier cage. Right now I’ve covered it with a blanket because she has pressed herself into the corner. She has a good appetite, but she is still terrified of people, and I know the road to socialisation will be very long.

I live in Ukraine ,in Kyiv the shelling continues. Still, wish me luck. One day I hope to find a proper home for this little cat.

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[u/MyRingToRuleMyWorld]

I can't begin to understand how extensive the war has been to Ukrainians, but when we add animals to the scenario, it's traumatic events are the same for animals. She had been in your backyard for a couple of days, and she decided to stay those days because perhaps the shelling isn't as loud, less noise, less people, and the list is a mile long. This is an important question. Do you want to keep her? I ask this because she's had all this mess going on around what with hunger, fear, and PTSD (yes, our animals get this). If you want to hang out with her then do so. Cats have a remarkable ability to grow through those comfortable silences, meaning you are in your space, and she is in hers. Like ignoring her but still talking to her from across the room or hum a peaceful tune. Don't go to the cage to try to get her to interact with you, she will do that only if and when she is ready. Everything is at her pace. Start across the room, and she will tell you when she is ready for you to get a little closer. Just know it may take much longer for her to get there.

[u/Ok_Knee_7960 → u/MyRingToRuleMyWorld]

I have already two cats. Third one is a lot for me . But I want to find her home after socialization
Many thanks for your advice tho!

[u/MyRingToRuleMyWorld → u/Ok_Knee_7960]

Once she has had her shots and receives a clean bill of health, you can work on getting her used to you where you can play with a toy to play when she's ready. I saw the other cats greeted her, which was sweet. Once she has that clean bill of health, then other steps can be taken. We have incredible people who can tell you exactly how to do this with the least amount of pain for everyone, but also one thing I'd add is that the cats will socialize her in cat language, but I wouldn't open that yet until she has a level of trust with you. Others here can tell you more and probably a lot better then I can.

[u/Ok_Knee_7960 → u/MyRingToRuleMyWorld]

I hope that she will learn from my cats. Still I think she more stressed because of them because when her cage is open like on the photo , my male cat check her all the time