5 professional Feral Kitten / Cat Taming tips. Start to finish. #cat #cats #cattaming

Is it possible to tame a feral cat? This video explains the basics of cat taming for feral cats, unfriendly stray cats, or cats with behavior issues. This video will show you how to domesticate and socialize ANY cat safely and the right way. I've been rehabilitating the craziest cats for nearly 20 years and they all come around eventually and don't let anybody tell you differently. You'll see hands on techniques for training your cat not to lash out and attack or bite you. Subscribe for future videos in more detail about taming cats and introducing cats into the home.

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Taming feral cats with patience and love.

[alanhall]

I've been taming ferals that the local rescues bring to me for the last 8 years. Excellent tips. I thought I was the only one putting a sweaty tee shirt in the crate. Normally, they avoid the bed that I've placed the tee shirt on, or they remove the shirt. But eventually, they relent and lay on it. They learn to associate my smell with the safety of the nest and accept me as one of the family. Adult cats have long needle like teeth and they can bite completely through any pair of gloves! Tooth bacteria can be very dangerous, especially if injected into tendons or bone or finger joints. I stuff paper into a glove and use that first. They bite it and I want them to because they see that biting doesn't evoke a reaction. That makes me a badass they can't hurt or scare off. Once we've established they can't intimidate me, they give up on that. It is important to never show fear. If you do, they will always revert to attacking as a defense mechanism. You must always be calm and steady no matter what, but also not put up with inappropriate behavior either, the way a mother cat won't tolerate it from her kittens. I also growl to show I'm not happy with what they are doing, like biting my finger. I never flinch away when they bite, just hold steady and firmly say "No Biting!" The other big problem is even when I've tamed them with me, they sometimes still won't trust anyone else, so I try to have people come over to visit early on. When they are ready, I also harness them and take them to the pet stores to shop and ask people to pet them. Getting them used to being in a carrier and going in the car and to the store is a very important part of their socialization. Most cats can be tamed, but not all. I still have three cats that always run when I approach them, unless I have a treat, and do not like being held. Two of them will bite if I try to hold them. All cats tame themselves to the extent that they can, humans don't tame them. Most want to be tame. They have to struggle against their instincts, like some people are afraid of heights or spiders or confined spaces. It is always a matter of pushing oneself to overcome it, gradually over time.

[Herbie-Went-Bananas-Then-Split]

Lovely video :) I have several cats, one of whom is 2.5 now and was originally feral. Given the busy town I live, she wasn't faring so well & I decided, no matter how long it took, would trap her to hopefully save her life. It took me three months of putting food out x 3 times a day at the back of my garage, each week I'd move the plate of food closer to the garage door, to eventually just inside. Each day she would wait until she heard me walk back through the garage & shut my kitchen door, then she'd run in, gobble her food before running back out again.

One morning, I put her food in the garage, turned to walk back through to my kitchen when the wind caught my kitchen door, slamming it shut. In that moment she ran in for her food, I still had my hand on the garage door handle. She saw me, looked panic stricken, went to bolt and I shut the door. She was a tiny little thing, wild eyed and in a panic. She couldn't escape and launched herself at me. She tore me to pieces, clumps of my hair, bits of my scalp and face were clawed out. I grabbed her and didn't let go, managing to get her indoors. I put her in a spare room and left her so that I could tend to my wounds. Patched up, I returned with food/water and upon entering the room she launched herself at me again. This went on for best part of the day. The last time she launched herself at me, I caught her, held her and didn't let go, talking constantly in a low tone. She growled, tried biting and this went on for what seemed an eternity. Eventually she sighed and I felt her relax. I still held her for a while, kept talking to her while gently rubbing the side of her neck/face, mindful to keep it away from her mouth.

I eventually let her go and sat there. She got up, I tensed expecting her to attack me again. To my shock she walked up, stood with her paws on my chest, put her nose in my face as I shook like a leaf, and to my shock she nuzzled me, rubbing her muzzle against my face.

I phoned around cat shelters/cats protection/cat rescue asking for advice, I was given the same information, "You can never tame a feral cat, they will never integrate in a household, you will never be able to stroke the cat and you won't be able to introduce her to your domestic cats. The kindest thing you can do for her is to open your front door and let her back out, and keep putting out food." That wasn't going to happen.

I had a male and a female at that time, I wound myself in knots wondering what to do. I went with my instinct and picked her up, carried her back downstairs, opened the door to the room where my other cats were - once I had let them all see each other, and I introduced them all to one another. I expected fights, growls, possibly a vet visit if I couldn't break up a fight fast enough. The male and she made a beeline for one another, she rubbed herself against him and they have been a couple ever since, they adore each other. There hasn't been one fight, one hiss from her. She has blossomed into the sweetest kitteh imaginable and is super affectionate, albeit still very skittish. She is super smart, took to learning commands quickly and easily.

Everything was new to her, she observed and absorbed everything. The other two taught her how to use the little trays, how to clean herself, and how to play. She now knows the wonders of how to enjoy life as a domestic house cat - all my cats are housecats. She plays fetch, sits on command, is incredibly cheeky and to my surprise, she has never once attempted to escape. In fact, when a workman left the door open, she stood in the doorway and wailed, getting louder and louder, until I went to close the door.

She isn't my first feral. My first, Blue, was a beautiful male, had never been shown any human kindness in his life, had never been indoors and when I found him, I could see he was a very unwell cat. I took my time to gain his trust, eventually I was able to trap him. Life for Blue was very short due to his illness, but he died being loved, in the warm.

Sorry for rambling on. I'm now being summoned to go play. Such is the duty of a cat mum! Hah!

[caroleon]

I started feeding a feral cat less than two years ago. It took about five months for her to let me touch her, and that was a happy day; I couldn’t believe it. After that, she became the sweetest girl ever; she would meow so I could pet her. Be patient with your feral cat; they have gone through a lot, but they are worth the wait.

[jobond]

I tamed a feral cat and it was never caged. I did trap the cat and had him desexed but released him after the operation. All the tanning was what he was comfortable with. He could have left at any time but chose to stay. Now he loves to begin inside playing with toys climbing cat trees and having pets this was all permission-based training 😊

[carolinejoss]

Reaching towards the cat with your hand sends out an aggressive message but I suspect you tame them faster than me. I never cage or close them in and I always get them to touch me first, but that can take a long time. Either way these beautiful animals deserve our help.

[anitag]

I'm so glad I found this channel! I've been trying to work with a family of four outside for almost 3 years now. They know our backyard is their home, we have tote houses set up for them with self-warming blankets, we feed them every day, but I really want to bring them inside. About a month ago we stopped seeing the father and that has made me very heartbroken and more determined to bring the other three in. I can't wait to find more videos on this channel to help me build my relationships with these cats! One of the daughters would walk right in right now if I let her, but I don't want to separate her from her sister and her mother 🙂

[blueclover]

I've had my Jasmine for 12 years, shes just starting to let me pet her now. I wish I knew enough to make her comfortable sooner, but I didn't know how

[marrissadonet]

Thank you so much for this amazing work you are doing. I will use this tips on my feral cat.

[luciezak]

It's definitely a long process! My baby started off as being hissy and biting feral babies. And now they follow me around everywhere, all they do is play play and they are happy and healthy.

[kelyrin-douceuretdessin]

I’m 2 days away to fostering a feral cat for the first time. Thank you so much for the advice, I struggled to find a video on how to tame an adult feral cat and I’m very happy that I stumbled upon yours ! Great tips ! And in the comments ad well ! ❤ I’ll also be talking to him often and maybe even reading to him so he gets used to my voice.

[seattlesusieq]

I adopted a cat in May to be a buddy for another cat who had lost his first buddy (passed away). They told me he was somewhat feral and was about 8 years old. I kept him in a bathroom for 2 weeks. When I would go in and sit with him, he'd let me pet him, including scratching his chin. I eventually let him out of the bathroom. He and the other cat get along famously, and I’ve never had a cat as playful as this one (Tommy is his name). But he’s terribly frightened of me. I had left the carrier out in the hall all this time and he would run into it for safety (from me). This worked to get him to the vet the first time for his initial vet visit and to see his horrible case of diarrhea. Vet examined him, gave him some medication (antibiotic, I think). Didn’t help. We tried probiotics, immodium, prescription digestive cat food, all to no avail. Vet gave us another medication to try. No improvement.
All this time, while he will approach my finger with food on it, he runs away whenever I walk near him. If I put his food down, he’ll wait until I walk away. Etc.
He no longer uses the cat carrier for safety. I had to get him to the vet last week for more testing for his diarrhea. It was a horror getting him into the carrier. I put food on my finger and while he licked, I tried to grab the nape of his neck. He is so strong, he got away. I put a tiny piece of cooked chicken inside the carrier and he did go in (halfway) to reach it. As I tried to get him in entirely, he backed out and ran away. We ended up trapping him in a corner and when he tried to get away, his only recourse was to run into the carrier. The wail he let out broke my heart.
He was diagnosed with IBD, but I’m questioning this as he doesn’t seem to have any other symptoms. Treatment is corticosteroids (prescription says “for life” – really?) But now – I’m supposed to give him a shot once a week. I have no idea how I will be able to do this. Also need to put medicine in his ears. I can’t get close enough. And I’m supposed to take him back to the vet in 2 weeks.
HELP!!

[bonniemchugh]

I just found your channel. I absolutely loved this. I have been rescuing and have 7. I have also been fostering feral kittens successfully but I just took in 3 feral cat siblings and this video gave me ideas and gave me hope. So thank you 😻

[mphil]

Check out the Urban Cat League YouTube channel for their comprehensive taming workshop! 😺

[firecracker]

We had a feral cat that ended up staying w us a lot.
ShowUp was hesitant at first but within 2 weeks he was staring in my window and crawling onto my lap and give me hugs

[adriennejacobs]

Thanks for the tips! I got a very young momma with 3 kittens under our shed. (We just moved in 1 month ago). She will come to me but her kittens wiil not, yet anyway. I'll keep feeding Momma as she is still nursing them.

[skidooomaas]

I've rescued many adult feral cats and the goal isn't to get a lapcat. And I wouldn't ever start touching a cat if they weren't feeling safe, unless it's necessary (vet, medication etc.) The cat might be aggressive towards people after tackling being frozen because before you've crossed its boundaries.
Nail trimming is not necessary if there's a scratching material available as there should be. And putting a plastic bubble on their head is just uncomfortable and confusing.

[qohbvuh]

Wow, this is awesome and I watch it every time I bring in a cat :) Thank you for making this.

[castrogot]

Dude, I have no idea who you are, but I already admire you... Thanks for the great advice and your effort.

I believe that we, as human race, are responsible for "urban wild-life" and our production systems allow us to take care of all of the species that now are part of our community. We should take real action on keeping them safe and healthy the same way we think about the environment and other humans.

And... the reason I'm here right now: I just catch two feral cats, the kitten is already used to me, and I love him... his mother still thinks I might eat them any day, so I needed good advice, just like yours.

[sunflower]

Amazing tips and advice! Great video, I know this video will help many feral and wild cats

[VeronicaIsles]

This is such a great video. I love how you said all ferals eventually come around, because it's the truth. Thank you for raising awareness on this 💕