Cats, especially strays, so let’s call the one here Stray Willy, do not misbehave intentionally. They react according to their life experiences, their basic instincts and their deep need to survive. They don?t climb on top of your refrigerator and launch bottles of spices onto the dog?s nose because they are trying to push your buttons. The spices sitting on top of your refrigerator must be prey, otherwise the bottles wouldn?t move, and that animal prowling below definitely is a predator- so ?Predator Be Gone!?
The cat?s instinctual behavior can be broken down into several areas:
Stray Willy?s behavior is going to be based on a large portion of what he endured before arriving at your home. It can be daunting indeed to eagerly approach a new cat, only to be met with teeth, claws, growling, hissing and swatting. Your new kitty is now puffed up like a poison toad. And here you thought he would be grateful for the rescue.
Cats don?t misbehave intentionally as some people believe they do. They simply react by instinct. Stray Willy is scared and on the defensive. In his mind, he needs to protect himself and will do so at any cost. He has inherited behaviors and learned behaviors. Watching subtle body changes in his crouches, paying attention to his ears, tail, whiskers and eyes will give you awareness of what he is going to do next.
Pretty much at this point in his life Stray Willy is of the opinion that anything larger than him is capable of eating him. This includes you, the human with a kind heart who just wanted to rescue Stray Willy from what can be a cruel existence outdoors.
Just like a hermit crab, Stray Willy is going to seek out a hiding place if he is scared, upset or stressed. But unlike a hermit crab, Stray Willy?s refuge won?t be portable, so he will stay put. He will place himself at an advantage, going where he can see you, but it takes a bit for you to find him. Generally this is behind a piece of furniture you got from Aunt Mabel when she passed away. Made of oak, the dresser takes an act of God to move, either that or three strapping young men whose arms are so long their knuckles brush the ground when they walk.
Or he could decide to just dive under the bed and keep the dustballs company. This way, he can watch all feet as their approach, and he can scamper away clear to the other side of the bed if need be. No one can reach him there, unless they become an under-the-bed diver and navigate their way through the dust balls, misplaced socks and various other items that find refuge under a bed.
If you don?t want Willy to be under the bed, you can effectively block that hiding space with pieces of cardboard duct-taped together. But you better be sure that Willy has alternate safe places to hide unless you really want a stressed out cat peeing out of the litter pan or doing what us humans believe is “unacceptable behavior.”
You can watch his body position, the placement of his tail and his whiskers in order to get a clue what type of a mood he is in.
Just like those mood rings that were so popular in the 1970?s Willy?s tail and ears are a good indicator of what his mood is in the moment.
The Tail Talks-
Stray Willy?s tail is the needle pegged into his temperament and moods. Watching the placement of the tail will give you a good indication of how he is feeling at that moment, and how you should proceed with him.
Upright, slight curve at the tip, tail waving back and forth slowly:
Your cat is indifferent. He is going about his day, without a care in the world. In other words, he is mellow.
Tail raised in the air as the cat rubs himself alongside another cat:
This is a typical cat greeting. Cats have sensors all along their back and these sensors are engaged when this rubbing activity is going on.
They are also swapping their scent, accepting of each other.
Many times when you are opening cat food for mealtimes, your cat will swipe himself alongside your leg. He would do the same thing with his mom-cat when she is presenting prey (food) to him when he is weaning.
Back arched tail up at full -mast and quivering.
Watch out! This cat is ready to spray!
Yes, even neutered males, spayed females and 6 month old kittens can and do spray. Fully intact males and females are notorious for spraying.
Unaltered male cat pee is extremely foul-smelling. Nature makes it this way to help lure in females that are in heat and scare away other tomcats that also want to mate with the females.
When the female pulls her tail off to the side and lowers it to the ground:
She is signaling to the toms that she is ready to be mounted. She will duck her head in submission waiting. Once the tomcat mounts her, he will grab her neck in his mouth and bite down, pulling her head up, making her back further into him.
Flicking tail:
This motion can indicate your cat is irritated. If the tail is flicking while the cat is resting, the tail is being used as a sensor to feel for any presence behind him.
While the cat is sleeping, the paws and tails will also flick from time to time.
Cat is at rest, and his tail is wrapped around his body unmoving:
He is contented and happy. Maine Coon cats have such long tails that they use their tail to keep warm when the weather turns colder.
Chasing the tail:
This is common kitten and young adult play. The tail is raised and the hair is fluffed up. Prey instinct is engaged, because the tail moves, therefore it must be a mouse!
If your cat is chasing his tail and won?t quit, you might want to investigate a disorder called Feline Hyperesthesia- compulsive tail chasing and running in circles repeatedly are two symptoms of this baffling disorder.
Tail biting:
Tail biting can be a result of a flea infestation, a sign of pain or early signs of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). If your cat is repeatedly biting at his tail, please contact your vet quickly. Tail wounds are sometimes slow to heal and bacterial infections in deep bite wounds can occur.
Combat Signals: Or Stray Willy is ready to rumble:
When cats are getting ready to do battle, their tails tell a tale. A fully aggressive cat prior to attack will be puffed up from the head to the tail. This is an attempt for him to look larger than life and intimidate the aggressor. The tail is held low to the ground, and once he launches, he tucks his tail protectively between his rear legs. This is why many cat bites appear right at the base of the rump. The tail would be an easy ?mark? to hold onto, so the cat instinctively tries to protect himself by keeping it low.
If the cats go airborne, as they often do in battle, the tail is used as a rudder to direct the action of the body. Once the cat is locked in battle in the air or on the ground, the tail again is lowered into the protective position. Any time the cat stands with his butt in the air and his tail held low, this cat is ready to do battle and should not be approached.
A cat?s weapons of war are fully engaged when the cat is on his back. Claws and teeth at the ready, the tail is held, not protectively between the legs but spread out flat on the floor.
The attack will come from the rear when the aggressor targets the neck or belly. The cat instinctively knows and protects the tail which is quite fragile because ten percent of the bones found in cats are located in the tail. Thus, the cat keeps the tail out of the way of injury.
A well placed bite on a tail can cause the tail to break. This break can result in bladder and small intestinal problems for Willy and large vet bills for you.
I’ve just found your blog and am impressed with what you do. You are the first person I have run into (so to speak) who has allowed feral cats into their home. I’d a love a little advice from you if you have the time to answer me. I have rescued over 30 stray cats over the last 4 years in my city neighborhood in Minnesota. I have also done a little TNR for ferals (and continued to feed and house them , though none so far have continued to return after a year or so. Too many die of the cold or dogs or cars or mean neighbors) . This past summer I had a young feral mom bring her 5 3-month old kittens to my back-deck feeding station. I TNR’d all but released them at the advice of a vet so mom could teach the kittens how to survive. However they stayed nearby while mom took off, so I not only feed & shelter them but have tried taming them while outside. They are semi-tame now but do not allow me to touch them at all. As winter has closed in on us, and even though I fashioned a good variety of feral winter housing for them, including transforming my garage for them – I still broke down and started letting them come into my home. When it is cold they come and spend the night (though one has taken to hanging out all day also). I also continue to give them wet food inside so they will come in. They can come and go as they please. However I have 4 older indoor cats (who miraculously cannot use the elevated catdoor to get out that these 5 , now-7 month old kittens use). But I have discovered that someone has roundworms (I suspect the kittens rather than my cats) and I am being told to worm them all. So far I have not been able to get them to eat the worm medication. And I cannot handle them. So I am really concerned about having decided to let them come in. How do you worm the ones you can’t handle? And do you have any that you let come and go? Or are all of them living inside your house and enclosure? I have a tiny house and 9 cats is way way way too much for this house. But I am very worried now about they spreading disease in my house! Any advice or suggestions for me? I would greatly appreciate your thoughts.
Hi Miriam-
Welcome to my blog, and thank you so much for your comments. There is a topical wormer on the market today for just such cats. You can only get it from your vet. It is called Profender. It stops roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and in some cases also heartworm! Extraordinary stuff! It is still new though so all the “side effects” haven’t been listed.
I would do this- once you purchase Profender, sit down near where the wet food is laid out. not close enough so they think you can grab them, but they just need to get used to you being there. Gradually move closer and closer. Feed at scheduled times during the day. Strays crave routine. They want to know that at 9:00 a.m. food and water will be out for them etc…feed several times a day, but only feed small amounts of wet. This leaves them to hang around a bit, so try and engage them with a toy like Da Bird so they can play with you- but only supervised play as this toy is highly attractive to all cats and dangerous if they are given it alone (it has a lot of string) String and cats are a bad combination- leads to high vet bills and sometimes feline death.
Once they are used to your presence, increase the amount of wet food you are giving, and staying low to the ground- don’t stand, apply it to their neck. That’s all there is to this medication.
I would bring the kittens inside if your older cats aren’t returning to their feeding grounds. I would keep them inside during the colder winter days. I know even my barn cats come inside when the weather gets in the low 30’s.
Our cats live inside our home but we have a large tunnel made from irrigation culverts that run out our dining room window. These are the entrances to the cat enclosure and the cats can come and go as they please. I have several barn cats as well- they have a hay bed in the barn and also a shop they can get into plus they often just go under the house to escape the cold. I have heated cat beds on the back porch which is enclosed, but there is a cat door they use freely (so do the skunks, racoons and possums)
Good luck with your good work. I will post a photo of our tunnels so you can see what I am talking about.
I love your blog. Thank You for the valuable information on the Profender.
I just discovered your web page and wonder if you could answer a question for me. If a feral cat has been using a cat door with a plastic flap for months and one day encourters a barrier where the cat door is, manages to open it after a couple of minutes and get through it, will the cat refuse to go through that cat flap again once the barrier is removed? There is food and heated sheleter through the pet door into the screened in porch and the cat has been using the area for two years, (there’s also another pet door on the opposite side of the porch) but would that be enough of an incentive to pass through the pet door again or would a cat decide it’s too risky?
I’m not sure I am following you here? Are you trying to keep the cat inside the home or the porch, or keep the cat out? Most barriers that come with cat flaps are inadequate for strays, because they can remove them in various ways. If they are used to finding some sort of comfort or need beyond the door, they will continue to go through the standard barriers regardless. I have one cat who would remove the stops with her claws, the “barrier’ would crash down on the ground and she would proceed to come into the house.
It would help to understand why you are asking this question- what you hope to achieve by this barrier?
Because of a road being widened in front of our home, I have found that letting the cats in and out at will is dangerous. I tried several times to barricade the cat doors with the standard wood barriers, but the cats found that they could remove them. I finally screwed a large plastic lid from a rubbermaid container over the door on the outside. It has now been in place several years and has not budged even with their best intentions.
I’m attempting to socialize a fermal neutered feral cat. I’ve had her for ~ 4 months. I trapped another feral 3 years ago and he is a gem. He never hissed, swatted or bit me. When he’s scared he just runs away and hides. The new cat is a different story. She seems to be getting used to us. She comes over to us and lies next to me on the coach. But while we’re petting her and she’s purring, she’ll suddenly hiss and swap us. It seems to be without warning. We try not to reach toward her head when she’s looking at us to allay her fears.
There also is a difference in her beharvior in the morning and the evening. When I go to her room (yes, we set up a bedroom just for her) in the morning, she runs over to me wanting to be petted, but in the evening, it’s a different story. She hisses, runs and hides, even if I’m brining her food and talking to her.
I’ve tried on a couple of occassions to bring the 2 cats together, but Fermi (my 1st feral), growls at her. She runs over to see him, rolls on the floor submissively, but he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. She did get scared on one occassion and hiss and swat and him so I don’t want to force that relationship.
The last thing involves nail trimming. Her nails are getting really long. I worked for a vet years ago when I was in college, so I could probably put on some thick gloves and hold her while my husband trimmed her nails, but I’m afraid that will only scare her more.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I would stop petting her first of all, as this is causing her to become overstimulated. You could get bit if you keep on trying to make contact. Let her just lay next to you without feeling any pressure that someone is trying to pet her or bother her.
Instead of trimming her claws, buy her a hardwood cat condo or really tall scratcher. No carpet or rope- the scratching she does on the post will dull her nails. If you can’t find a suitable scratcher and you are near the woods or a beach, go beachcombing for driftwood or go find a log she can use. Be sure and spray it with pesticide and let it sit outside and bake in the sun at least 2 days before bringing it inside. There is a new cat scratcher on the market Emerycat Board that I am currently reviewing with my crew. I have had it in the house for five days and not one cat has touched it yet.
If your cats aren’t growling- chasing, or showing attack body language; ears flat, body low to the ground, eyes narrowed- let them get together. Have a dark blanket nearby, but let the door to the room open just a crack, step back into the shadows, lower your stress level and let the cats take it from there. Swatting, hissing and growling are acceptable- chasing or meeting in mid-air means there will be trouble. Toss the blanket over them if they decide to go for it and then manuever one of them into their own room and shut the door. Don’t get in the middle of it- just use the blanket to defuse the situation and startle them apart.
Hi,
I am so happy to find your site! We need help!! We trapped, spayed
and released a lovely feral cat after we discovered her with a litter of kittens
under our neighbors deck. (We trapped, neutered, socialized and placed
all the kittens). There is also a large feral tomcat who I’m sure was the
father of the kittens (we would even see him playing with them with the
mother cat) who we have not been able to catch. They were the best of
buddies until we got her spayed….he chased her off in April and we had
not seen her until she showed up 5 months later (Sept 11, 2010) very thin
and hungry. I never was sure of why she left as we really loved her and
provided plenty of wet food, heated house etc. Needless to say, after
sitting outside with her for several hours (she continued to be very
watchful) here came the tomcat who proceeded to run at her in a full
attack and I heard a terrible fight….it was dark and I couldn’t see where
she headed….We are heartbroken and want her to be able to come back.
There is a good chance he has FIV as two others we have rescued did.
I have ordered a Tomahawk trap which should arrive by Thursday and
an outdoor security camera so we can tape and see if she is coming and
eating when he is not around. My question is..If we can trap him and
if he does not have FIV or is not ill in some other way, will neutering
him make him defend his territory and food source any less, will he
allow her to come home?? I am sorry this is so long winded. We have
four other neutered house cats that never go outside. Any suggestions
that are humane would be appreciated. Thanks so much!!
He is chasing her to mate with her and she has to run or he could possibly kill her. That is just the way of it. Depending on how old he is, he won’t lose his aggression after the neuter for at least 6 months. he will continue to spray, and pursue the females until the testerone is gone.
I would be inclined while he is at the vets, to set the trap again and trap her and get her inside. If he has hurt her and that is a strong possibility she will go to grounsd (hide nearby and nurse her wounds) some cats have remarkable regenerative powers and some do not. Suspect she is under a deck, or a house nearby. His scent is around and being a tom, it is strong- so you have to overcome this by presenting her with friendly scents. Feliway Spray sprayed on bushes and tress near your home will help- if she has bonded with someone in the family, their scent will draw her back- get a thin tee shirt, have the person put it on and get it really sweaty- wringing wet sweaty. Strip it out and hang the strips nearby. Catnip is also a strong scent and might pull her back in the area. And of course stinky, smelly fishy cat food.
Good luck
Thank you so much for your reply only it certainly frightens me…I incorrectly
assumed tomcats would not be interested in trying to mate unless the female
cat was in heat. I figured he was guarding his territory and attacked her because she was at our back doorwall by the cat food bowl where he eats everyday. I am the only one she trusted and she let her guard down for a short time while I was kneeling down talking to her and the tomcat came from
the other direction and was not at all afraid of me, he just went after her
ferociously. She knows her name but if I go out at dusk around the neighborhood backyards calling her, he knew her name too. He is an older male tom….my vet will not keep ferals overnight whether he spays or neuters.
If he has FIV and is in bad shape, I will follow my vets recommendation re:
euthanizing him. She is very smart and I’m not sure I can trap her a second
time as she will probably remember being trapped and taken to the vet to be
spayed and vaccinated. I pray he didn’t kill her or hurt her, I feel so bad.
I did use Feliway on the bushes all around our house and on the little cat houses out our back door when she first left, but will wait to get him situated
before I try to draw her back home. I will use the tshirt idea….Thank you for sharing and caring, I really appreciate it!
He is more than likely responding to the smells of other females in heat in the area and is working on that type of response. If you have any soiled litter, you can gather that into a small pan and that might bring her back to you quicker. That is, if it is her smell in the litter and not other cats that would scare her. i did not wish to scare you- but I wanted to let you know t hat this tom could indeed be a danger to her or he could be just erratic from illness or disease. Hard to say as I am not there to witness the attack- but the large screams you describe comes when two cats are generally aerial in attack mode.
Thank you, I will keep you updated and keep her in my prayers!
Andy
I trapped a feral female 3 months ago who had 2 kittens; boy and a girl. The kittens were 9 wks. old when I trapped them all. Since then I had the mom fixed and now both kittens. Mom loves me now and I had a cat door put in my garage access door so she leaves every morning and comes back early evening; when I then lock the door so she can’t go back out- we have coyotes, foxes and big-horned owls. The babies are living in a bedroom above the garage and are precious! They have every toy imaginable with carpeted stands to play on-I go up there all the time to play with them; (they don’t go outside)…My question is= the mom seems to want to be around her babies but when I let her she licks them and then grabs them with both of her paws and bites under their necks. She acts like she is going to hurt them so I have broken it up. Should I just flat out keep them apart? Does she look at them as competition with me?……Thank you for this site!
I would keep them apart as she will instinctively try to drive them away or she could hurt them. Cats aren’t like us, they don’t stay attached to their litters for years- not the strays anyway. For them what drives them is to survive, pure and simple. If this were in an enclosed area where you were providing the only source of food and not being responsible by neutering-they would eventually inbreed and the colony would grow and become sicker over time. it is not uncommon for brother to mate with sister or even with mom when he gets old enough or aggressive enough. If you aren’t going to keep the kittens then best of luck finding good, loving homes for them. Seems like those are becoming extinct lately. It’s the economy and people unwilling to take on another responsibility or another mouth to feed.