Nice call today

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

And then the next day THIS HAPPENED !!!

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php?topic=1115.0

Tramp is now the most loving cat in the world. He sleeps on my bed and is a right lap cat !!
Although it took me 6mths to win him round - Goodness knows where he came from but where ever it was he deff doesnt want to go back there !!
He's neutered and chipped so HE'S MINE now anyway 

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

I feed a feral cat for 10yrs and the only time i managed to touch him was the day he callapsed.

Awww god love him    Did he have cancer of the nose? 

Yes Dawn he did.
I had a tough decision with that,
Did i trap him and cause him so much stress when there prob wasnt anything the vet could do anyway OR just leave him as he seemed healthy apart from that and eat like a tropper.
He had matacam in his dinners and i would put antibiotics in when he nose looked really sore.

He was fine up until the day he had a stroke.

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php?topic=1088.0

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php?topic=1093.0

[Stuart]

Thank's for all the reply's Very informative
I undertand what your saying about "true Feral" and "Semi Feral" Ela, But I think the one I caught
(like Dawn Said) "was extremely Frightened!!" and had Never had Human Contact B4..This Cat was Nut's!!!!
sorry to hear about your Feral Michelle

And Dawn I Understand about the feeling of acomplishement after taming the wild beast !!!
I suppose there's no greater Reward !!

P.S. Dawn, I have a pair of Welding Gauntlet's I could let you have   and if you sprayed them with Catnip
it may make life simpler  

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I feed a feral cat for 10yrs and the only time i managed to touch him was the day he callapsed.

Awww god love him    Did he have cancer of the nose?  This is when I always know when there's something wrong with mine, some won't let me near unless they really need help, by then it's usually too late 

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I find I get a lot of these calls as well and generally a lot are alright once they've been trapped but do tend to show the feral tendancies until you manage to get hold of them.  We do have a lot of countryside though and quite a few are proper ferals but I suppose most would be litters from previous "pet" cats, I've had a few "nice" adults in and their offspring have been as nutty as anything but these have had very little contact with humans, some can be tamed, others it's virtually impossible.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Yup, there are some real nice folks out there 

Noticed Feral Cat's mentioned again !! and was wondering How wild do Feral Cat's get??

I feed a feral cat for 10yrs and the only time i managed to touch him was the day he callapsed. (i took him to be PTS and we had a lovely cuddle before he crossed over)
He had a little house right outside my front door with heating in it.
He got better over the years and i could get quiet close to him but he would never allow me to touch him

[Ela]

was wondering How wild do Feral Cat's get??

Feral cats are the descendants of domesticated cats that were abandoned by their owners or that strayed into wild areas from their homes.  Adult feral cats, that were never socialized with humans, can rarely be socialized.

A true feral is as wild as they come. However, so many people including some in rescue say I have a feral in my garden when in reality while the cat seems very wild and unapproachable in reality it may have been domestic at some time but either got lost or thrown out and gradually turned into what some people call feral (I call these garden cats) as it has to rely on its instincts to survive. In these cases once trapped and placed in a secure environment usually after a period of time become domestic again. although a few weeks before you may have thought it a true feral. Of course a true feral kitten can usually be tamed very quickly. I get at least one call a day about a feral or more usually ferals, very few are true ferals.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Glad to hear you got to deal with a nice person Mark, it is nice when you come across them.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

Some of the ferals I've had in are absolute head bangers and will shred you as soon as look at you.  They are just frightened and in their eyes, they are fighting for survival and I don't know why, I just love them to bits      I started dealing with them a few years ago, and my love affair with cats began, I love moggies but you can't beat a feral......when you gain their trust, they are just the best        Most of the cats I deal with are feral but if not handled right, they are a dangerous animal and can do a lot of damage.  A few years ago I got bit by one and he broke the bone in my hand, the pain was excruciating and I ended up in hospital in the afternoon, he'd also bit me about 15 times and put a deep gouge in my arm, I made the mistake of scruffing him as I'd spent weeks trying to trap the little horror and he was having none of it    I always think twice now about scruffing as if not held right, you will pay the price    It was worth the pain though as this little one had a tumour in his stomach and he wouldn't have survived much longer.  I made friends with him eventually and we had him a few months before he went to the bridge,  he actually died in my arms      He was a long haired tabby and once he got over his fear, he was a real sweet babe.

I've got a little female in at the moment, she is very dainty but also possessed, she lunges at me everytime I feed her and has already bitten me twice, I will be glad when she's released again and my hands can have a break from being savaged 

[Stuart]

Yup, there are some real nice folks out there 

Noticed Feral Cat's mentioned again !! and was wondering How wild do Feral Cat's get??
Just that I remember when I was about 13, up at my grandfather's house, was alway's out with my dog Gyp but
one day , I heard Gyp Barking like mad, and circling something on the ground?? I went rushing over and here was this fushty(un kept)
Cat lying down in a defensive position clearly not Happy !!! I got Gyp away as the cat was going mental!!!
I tried to Calm cat down, but it was having none of it (I couldn't get near it) at 13 yrs old I did tthe first thing that came into my
head and took my Jacket off and threw it over Cat....WELL.. Holy  this Cat turned into a Bee's Hive
I carried Gurring Hissing, spitty cat (taking care not to get scratched by His Claws TALLON'S, they were huge !!
walked about half a mile to take Cat home and it carried on with it's most displeased motion's n noises all the way, I showed my
Grandfather and Dad the Cat, that's when I first Heard the word "Feral" I heard the word's " Mad " and " Wild " b4
they told me to just let it go and it will find it's own way back (nothing you can do for it) I let Cat down and it ran to the
Byre, and stayed there for a couple of hour's, before it disappeared !!
Now this Cat was Grey and White in colour, and one eye was cloudy white (blind??) and I think it may have been
skittled by a car at some point too because it didn't seem to have full control of it's hind leg's ?? it's hind quater's ran in
a kinda loopy way ??
my question is though, are feral Cat's usually this wild?? this Cat was absolutely possessed !!!!
OK, Understandable under circumstances, being chased by dog, then having jacket thrown over it

but I alway's wonder what happend to it?? and I will never forget it!!

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

The area is pretty safe and I think as long as he can be monitored, he should be okay.  There is another one there as well and the other week I did trap him but I let him go again    He freaked in the trap and started to keel over but I think it was the shock of being caught      He was so frightened bless him and I was in two minds what to do but when I mentioned it to Sean, he said to try and get him again and he'll check him.   The problem is finding out what is actually wrong though as they can't check him without knocking him out and unless they can monitor him whilst awake, there's not a lot they can do    He's there everyday for his grub so I'll see what we can do, he seems fine in himself but reacted abnormally when caught.  They are a worry but you can only do so much for them 

[Mark]

Hope its nothing major - must be hard deciding what to do as he might be unhappy if you keep him but at risk if you let him go 
Nice of the man to help out with vet bills 

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

There are some nice peeps out there thank god     Where I've been trapping the ferals and where the gorgeous Lucas came from, the guy has offered to contribute towards their care whilst they are here and one of the ferals will need x rays when he's caught which he has offered to pay for.  The feral walks a little weird and he looks as if he's been hit by a car at some stage, poor little babe, he is coping okay though but I want to have a full MOT done on him when he's caught just in case.  If his injuries are going to cause him problems in the future, we may have to have a rethink about him returning    He is getting fed daily but I still worry about him, but he doesn't appear to be any pain......I just need to trap him first so we can suss out what's wrong with him 

[Mark]

A lady left a message with her number and nothing else. I called her back. She said "Are you Canterbury cat club?" - I said "no we are CP" She said "I need a trap" - I said "what exactly do you need it for" she said "to catch a cat with a bad leg that's been in my garden a while - I want to get his leg sorted at the vet and then I'll keep him as I'm quite fond of the old boy and doubt anyone else wants him"  - Then she had to go as she had guests at the door. I called her back a bit later and she said "not to worry, I borrowed one from the cat club - sorry to bother you"  Shame there aren't more like that