Moving with a feral cat

Why not take the plunge and see if she will adapt to being an indoor cat? If you have been feeding her for 12 years, and she accepts your presence, it’s quite possible that even though she’s not young, she can adapt to a less hazardous lifestyle. All of my cats are ex-ferals, and all live happily indoors - but some were kittens when first caught, so they might not count. A friend who runs a rescue group has a lot of experience with this, and while some cats simply will never adapt to being indoor kitties, my experience has been that 90%+ will regard a gig that includes food, shelter, and scritches, as being perfectly adequate.

I agree. Make her an indoor cat. If she goes out, she’s gone.

I have a feral - not as long as yours (just 5 months) - and after making a stink for close to another 2 or so months she has adapted to being indoor only. What I found was that I needed to keep her confined to one room for several weeks until that smelled like home to her. Then I let her in the rest of the place when I knew no one was going in or out. And watch your screen windows if a window is open. I put her back at night (well actually I switched to having her in my room in a cage at night which she liked.). I had the complication of other cats where they had to get used to each other. After I stopped caging her at night she’d still go in there voluntarily to sleep. I have had several non-ferals who had been dumped and outdoor only for months before I managed to catch them and bring them indoors. They all adapted eventually.

Get her used to a body harness (they can’t get out of those as easily - not one that goes around the neck, rather one that fastens in more than one part of their body and those pieces are fixed length that you adjust). I had one cat who did flips the first time I put it on him. Then take her outside on a leash. You want her to really get to know where you live and call it home or she will try to find her way back to your old house if she is loose. This requires her scent everywhere, her food dishes outside while she is there with food in them while she is outside and so she knows where they are. Stay outside with her though as she will be at a disadvantage tied up on a leash if there is trouble.

A friend of mine bought a big sort of chicken coop (more than one level) she has in her back yard that she puts her one ex-feral in so it can be outside some of the time. Eventually she ran a wire tunnel to her window so the cat could go back and forth at will unless she shut the window.

The odds are high she will eventually adapt to being indoors only and if you kick the doors when you come in or go out (so the noise startles her) she will likely not try to rush the door. I have successfully trained that way all number of strays I have had to run from the door rather than to it when I open it. That being said if I leave it open any length of time they will investigate.

You also run the risk that a neighborhood cat will run her off due to territory disputes. That happened to several ferals (outdoor only) that I and a neighbor were feeding. One she managed to catch and brought indoors. He was about 8 and after about 2 months adapted to being indoor only and actually liked it. The other we never saw again unfortunately.

My advice would ignore her being unhappy. She will get over it. Cats are creatures of habit and get bent out of shape with change. Any change. Heck I had to cram my closets full here for a white glove inspection (they didn’t understand why “you people” have more than a chair and a bed so write people up for having much of anything in their apt - fortunately they don’t look in closets) and my cats, indoors only (have had them from 3-10 years) were bent out of shape and acting like I had destroyed their lovely place they reluctantly shared with me. Takes them several days to get over it.

Spend time with her. Let her run around in the house when there is no risk of escape. And don’t let her outside. Ever except on a leash with you with her or in a cat enclosure. Put cat trees in windows so she has a choice of where to go to look outside. And be patient. Good luck.

If you want her to be an indoor cat, put her in your primary bathroom and attempt to friend her anytime you’re in there. Eventually she will warm up. Make sure there are no potty accidents before you release her into the rest of your house.

If you want her to be an outdoor cat put her in a see through cage for a week or two wherever you plan on feeding her. Feed her at about the same time every day or keep her food constantly full. This will allow her to get used to her surroundings and when you let her out she knows where the food will be.

It can be done. We recently moved and had a bunch of barn cats that moved with us. We lost one (disappeared - no idea what happened to him), but the other ones are enjoying the new farm.

Once you get your kitty buddy squared away in her transition room, here are a few tips to build trust with her (pardon me if this is all old news to you):

1. Don’t make any sudden moves. When in the room with her, move slowly. Walk quietly, softly.
2. Talk to her in a slow, soft voice. Let her get to know the sound of your voice.
3. Resist the urge to pet her a lot. If you have been granted petting privileges, don’t abuse them. And remember, just because a cat rolls on her back and exposes her belly to you, it doesn’t mean the cat wants to be petted there. That can be a trap!
4. Provide her with a few cardboard boxes she can curl up in. It makes them feel safe and keeps them warm.
5. Do not try to pick the cat up. Many cats don’t like to be picked up and doing this can make you lose several trust points.

Normally, we leave her be to do her thing, but she’s always been pretty friendly. She seems to want/expect petting when we put food out for her. She usually keeps her distance from me, but she has rubbed against my legs when I’ve been the one to feed her. She’s been scarce while we’ve been packing and cleaning, but returned in the evening when things settled down. My wife picked her up to put her in the crate for transport. She has spent a lot of hours sitting in a window box, sleeping/watching us through the kitchen window. So I think she likes us.

I currently live with 2 formally feral cats. After a rocky start they settled in. No one visiting believes they were ever wild. It is a really good thing you did taking her with you. Patience is the key.

I had an indoor/outdoor cat as a kid and it would sometimes be gone for days before it came home. When my parents divorced it moved with me but then when my mom got remarried and had a baby she didn’t want the cat and it had to move back to my dads. My mom said all she did back then was just brought the cat and let it out when it wanted out (she said if it didn’t come back she wasn’t too worried bc we only moved a couple blocks from where my dad lived) but my cat came back with no problems. And it relocated back to my dads and was a indoor/outdoor cat there too. That’s all the advice I have, like I said I was little kid probable 11 and didn’t do anything.