download/print - Neighborhood Cats

socialize enough, which is very likely, you may end up with another cat in your ownhousehold.Before removing a cat from a colony, you also need to assess the colony’s socialstructure. Feral cats have complex relationships with each other. Friendships may formand last a lifetime. There are also hierarchies with dominant and submissive cats.Removing a cat from the colony can upset this balance, plus you may be depriving the catof her closest ties. It’s important to try to get to know the colony well before making adecision.Another factor is whether the colony is relatively safe or facing impending danger.Will their site be destroyed by new construction? Have there been incidents of violencetowards the cats, even after they’ve been spay/neutered? There are almost always somerisks present in an outdoor setting, so you need to be realistic about whether the situationwarrants trying to re-home at least some of the cats. A secure situation might tendtowards leaving well enough alone while the presence of undue danger would weigh infavor of introducing a feral to the indoor life or, perhaps even better, relocating him tosomeone’s property to live in an outdoor cat enclosure or cat-proof fenced yard.Finally, what about the cat himself? Is he old? Alone? Handicapped? Sometimes aferal cat does well in his territory for many years, but as he gets on in age, can’t handlethe rigors of living freely outdoors like he used to. A comfortable retirement in a secureenclosure or yard or in someone’s warm home could be just what’s needed.If none of these factors point towards bringing in a feral, it may be best to allow thecat to remain in a setting that suits his nature and which he already considers his home.• Socialization techniques for feral teenagers & adultsThere are experts at socializing ferals sixteen weeks and older who will work withthem intensively for however long it takes, even a year or more, in order to completelytame them and make them fully adoptable. These people tend to have years ofexperience, work in shelter settings and are extremely dedicated.For the caretaker who does not have the same kind of time or expertise, the objectivein socializing a feral, especially if she is well beyond four or five months old, is morelimited. The goal usually is not to transform the cat into a traditional pet who can bepicked up, stroked and enjoys being around most people. Instead, a more realistic aim isto teach her how to adjust and feel comfortable in a human home and not hide and be infear for years to come. Beyond this, how far the cat progresses towards being a normalhouse cat will largely be up to her, not you or whoever takes her in. One day she maydecide you’re okay and come and sit next to you on the couch, letting you pet her. Butthis may take years, if ever. This uncertainty must be accepted at the outset or theexperience can be a frustrating one - for you because the cat is not acting like you wantand for the cat because she’ll sense your frustration and not feel at ease. More thananything, socializing an adult feral means learning to appreciate and love her for who sheis, and allowing her to develop as she chooses.The key to a successful socialization is how the feral is introduced into her new home.All too often, people let the cat loose right away with the predictable result that she findssome obscure, unreachable place to hide, then only comes out late at night to eat. If notaddressed, this pattern can go unchanged for years. The way to prevent this is to start the140