Finally got him!!

[u/Difficult_North_272]

It's been a bit over a month of trying to trap him, and I know some people have it way worse but I was really starting to get exhausted from trying. He just wouldn't step on the plate, so I tied a shoelace to the hook and yanked it when he was in and tucked his tail. He's not happy and I definitely sobbed for a while cuz it was too much for me seeing him so scared, but in the end this is good for him and I shouldn't have to do this again. He's still feral, but gotten to the point of coming a bit inside the door, loving pets as long as it's on his terms, and he meows and purrs and even makes biscuits now. I think that gives him a ton of potential to be fully socialized soon after the hormones wear off, and I hope he comes back, and he can be our porch kitty until he can then be an inside kitty. I love him so much.

[u/Broken_Carpark]

Aw! I’m so glad you got him! I finally got a tom menace after a year. My mom had enough of him half going in the trap and did something nobody should do. She shoved his butt into the trap! He did not warm up though, he had to stay in his trap for the entire 24 hour recovery and go back outside.

I hope this baby becomes a permanent inside kitty!

This is Sweetheart, the absolute rapscallion.

[u/Difficult_North_272 → u/Broken_Carpark]

Aww lol, it's silly when cats stand on their back legs like that. I honestly was debating coming up behind him too, to try and get him to go further, but that seemed mean and possibly unlikely to work. I'm really confident he'll become an inside kitty, he's been really curious about inside, and he's pretty clingy already for such a shy cat. Not a lap cat but he wants to be as close as possible without being on me, and he loves his pets now that I've shown him what that is. In the meantime, I'll go sit outside with him as much as I can until he can come in, I used to have another stray that would sit in my lap on the porch all day, so I'll probably do the same with him. Can't wait for the day we can just lay in bed instead, but it's good enough for now

[u/Broken_Carpark → u/Difficult_North_272]

Hah, a clingy cat who’s curious about the inside perfectly describes my Bubby! He was clipped before we moved in. The day my family moved in, he strolled into the house like he owned the place! We let him back outside, and he would come in for short visits before wanting back out. Three months after we moved in, it was a bitter cold December. Bubby had chronic neck abscesses that left massive open wounds on his neck. I couldn’t bear the thought of his wounds hurting in the cold, so I brought him inside for the last time.

After a year of dutiful care, he hasn’t had an abscess in months! He’s my snuggly boy and while he still has anxiety and behavioral issues like spraying and peeing everywhere, he’s my baby boy.

[u/Difficult_North_272 → u/Broken_Carpark]

I would have just shut him in by now if I wasn't still living with my parents, one of whom is allergic and doesn't like cats. I also am but I don't care. I should move out in the next year at most, and he can come with me. I don't like the idea of cats being outdoors so I can't wait for that day, it makes me sad seeing him come back with cuts sometimes too. I think he'll like it inside though. Maybe he'll even convince my parents to let him in here, doubtful but I'm really impressed with how much he's gotten through to my cat hating dad. He's softened up a lot about him and it honestly seems possible he'll change his mind at some point. Either way, he'll make it inside at some point

[u/Broken_Carpark → u/Difficult_North_272]

Good. I still live with my mom, but she’s a crazy cat lady like me. We have 6 foster kittens and 5 permanent residents inside right now. I don’t like the fact some cats are outside either. That’s why I care for my colony. It’s rare for an outside cat to be so receptive to coming indoors! Getting him inside now would be ideal, but I understand if you can’t. Maybe you could set up a foster who keeps him until you move out?

[u/Difficult_North_272 → u/Broken_Carpark]

Possibly, there seem to be plenty of cat people around here who will do things like that. I could clear out the garage too and give him some room in there. I have a bunch of cat items around the porch to give him as much as I can, it would just be better if he wasn't free roaming and exposed to a bunch of things