Older semi-feral - what would you do?

[usernameTaken]

Hi. A cat conundrum for you to ponder.

Born to a truly feral mom, trapped and fixed this girl and her littermates at < 1 year old (fixed mom too), released but put food out and offered comfortable but rustic barn like lodging for those that wanted to stay or visit. That was 15 years ago. She was one of the ones that never really left, now she’s the last one of that litter still here. Years and years ago she moved herself into an outbuilding/storage barn and I have kept her set her up with dry food, plus canned food at least once a day, heated and unheated fresh water, heated and unheated sleeping quarters, a litter box, scratchy box and toys. I don’t know if she “gets” the toys, but she does seem to appreciate and enjoy the other items. She’s a loner. In spite of many, many attempts, it’s only been recently in the last couple years that she lets me pet her - on her strict where and when terms, and I have used this newfound trust to apply flea meds, which she thankfully doesn’t seem to mind. When she allows, she loves attention and petting and scratches, but only at the food table and only when she seems to want it. I’ve been trying to pick her up with hopes to eventually get her in a carrier if there’s a need, and while I could probably manage it, if she gets uncomfortable, she gets very stressed, and she seems rather fragile lately, I don’t want to accidently hurt her. If she gets too upset, she tends to back off and we have to start rebuilding trust again, so I try not to push it regardless. For the most part, she’s in good weight and looks heathy, you can just tell she’s getting old. She’s been more vocal in last couple months and waits for me, meows at me, and follows me. As such, I’ve noticed that she has vision problems, (maybe cataracts?) especially in daytime or in a lighted area at night. It’s concerning as she will run into a wall that she apparently didn’t see; or bang her head because she didn’t duck enough, or she follows me into another building, where she will be confused and a little panicky. She’s good when things are normal, it’s when she’s reactive to a noise or in an unfamiliar place (like the occasions she leaves the vicinity of her barn to follow me), that is when she will misjudge distances or objects. She also seems more nervous when it’s clear to me that she can’t see as well. I put up a camera and she occasionally will get another feral cat (who I’ve been trying to trap) in to eat her food but as far as I can tell, he comes in, eats, and leaves, not even waking her up. I’m sure she can smell him but overall, I don’t think he is bothering her, and I don’t see anything else going that would stress her out. She seems quite capable of moving around her space and I don’t see any mobility problems or running into things when she’s just alone doing her thing. But something, her vision or her old age, seems to be making her confused at times.

I’m not sure what to do. Leave her or intervene?

I’ve considered bringing her inside the house, but I don’t know if that would be unfair to her. She’s never been friendly with any other cat that I am aware of, she actually seems more stressed when other cats are around. I have several failed barn cats or drop-offs with health issues that are now in the house. I could set up a 4x8 dog kennel in the house for her, and keep everyone away from her for a while, to see how it goes but a) even if she is kept separate, which due to open floor plan will not be a long term solution, she has not been to a vet in 15 years, so she isn’t up to date on shots (all other cats are). I could probably get her in a carrier and get her to a vet first but would that whole process (it’s a long car ride to vet) likely completely stress her out, is that fair to her? And at this age, would she be able to handle the shots? I think it would require two trips to get her shots up to date. b) will it be too overwhelming for her to remove her from her environment? c) if being in the house goes badly, would she be able to go back to her old environment?

Or is it better to keep things the same and continue to care for her as I’ve been doing?

If it is cataracts, what should I expect? Is there anything I should or shouldn’t do?

I think she’s in a pretty safe space at the moment, seems to keep out of trouble and out of harm’s way, but I just sense something from her and I’m not sure what’s the best thing to do about it.

Has anyone gone through this or other older feral/semi-feral stories, and have advice?

thank you.

[downen]

We have a similar semi-feral girl in our barn who was getting attacked relentlessly by interlopers. It was so bad that she did not come down from the rafters for two years, we had to put her food, litter box, and heat pad up there for her. Our solution was to lock a section of the barn for her, so she can’t get out and no one else can get in. At first she was not happy to be able to roam more, but she’s adjusted now and so much more relaxed. Best wishes with your old kitty!

[usernameTaken]

Thanks for the reply. I was initially concerned it was something like this, which is why I set up the camera and was thinking about bringing her in house. Maybe I could make her outbuilding more secure, keep everyone out. Hm… will look into this.

[downen]

It made all the difference for our girl. Bringing her into the house wasn’t an option because we already had two indoor cats, and after being attacked so much she is terrified of everything, except our sweet old Basset/Lab cross, lol.

[4horses]

I would probably try to fortify the building she is used to living in. As for vision issues, they can get detached retinas from high blood pressure but hopefully it’s just cataracts. I would probably consider euthanasia if she starts to decline more.

Every feral cat I ever trapped, promptly disappeared and was never seen from again after getting neutered. I think that would just stress her completely out.

[Scribbler]

A teenage cat getting frail may have kidney or liver issues and just fade out. Honestly a feral.this old and this anxious about people, I’d just let her live her life out in the barn without trying huge life extension measures or trying to tame her to a housecat. Quality of life for her is having a routine where she feels safe.

[Janet]

Short term logistics

When I have had a semi-feral cat in the barn, I feed in an (open) cat carrier. That way the cat gets used to being in the carrier, and doesn’t see it a s a scary place.

When I need to take the cat to the vet, I just stand closer and closer to the cat carrier after putting the feed in, until I can close the carrier door.

We had one semi-feral who was splitting his time between my barn and my sisters, 1/4 mile away. After I caught him. and he was fixed/vaccinated, he stayed at my sister’s barn, and didn’t come to mine anymore.

[CHT]

Are you able to make her a kitty enclosure to limit her exposure to other animals and ability to wander? I doubt she will do well in a house after 15 years - so many strange sounds and smells.

If you want to get her to a vet, consider a larger dog crate - train her to go in for food and either get her used to you near it (to be able to close the door), or set up a string system to close it. Our vet has no problem with extra large carriers as they can easily reach in with a towel and scoop kitty out.

Most feral/wild animals don’t have pleasant end of life stories, so if she is blind/near blind, euthanasia is far better than most "natural’ alternatives.

[Djones]

Our Pheeble cat is a siamese mix. I think she’s 13ish now. Found her in my pasture when she was a kitten. Hates being held, but follows us every where outside. Tolerates the other animals but is timid about them. Spends her days sleeping in an Adirondack chair and her nights on a raised antique sink with a lid on my covered porch. When it’s very cold, she tells us to let her inside and we’ll let her in our snug basement and she will sleep in the boat that’s been in there for 5 million years.

She’s a frail, funny looking old girl, and she’s a loner and anti-social like your girl. I would recommend you keep doing what you’re doing. It’s working for her.

[GraceLikeRain]

@usernameTaken

I think she’s in a pretty safe space at the moment, seems to keep out of trouble and out of harm’s way, but I just sense something from her and I’m not sure what’s the best thing to do about it.

Has anyone gone through this or other older feral/semi-feral stories, and have advice?

You’re doing a lot of wonderful things. What I would add is picking up a feral cat trap. Once you figure out the mechanism you can zip tie it open.

I’d feed her something really high value in there regularly so that it’s part of her routine. Even just a little bite or two of tuna or another strong smelling wet food. If you need to trap her you can just cut the zip tie, set it with good food, and then you don’t have to try and time closing a crate door.

Personally, I’m always in favor of letting them go early than let nature run it’s course because nature is not kind. If needed, is there a vet who does house calls? If you can spare her the car ride and vet experience I would but I know that’s not always an option depending on your geographic area.

[beowulf]

Caveat that I am a big softy about the ferals incoming: if it were me, I would trap her and bring her inside. It would be a big change of life for her. But cats are surprisingly resilient, and the fact she is following you around and meowing at you is indication that she has just enough people-trust that the transition would be likely to go well. I’ve transitioned a few bonafide ferals (as in, no human acclimation) to indoor life now, and some of them were aged (although I don’t know if any were 15!). I would trust your gut - if you sense something, something is up. Cats talk to us, we just have to pay attention.

My reason for bringing her inside would be because if you are noticing vision issues, chances are they are there to stay. Cats are very crafty at hiding physical ailments - by the time we notice them, they can be quite advanced – and a cat with vision problems is not typically long in the outdoors where everything is on the menu for any intrepid predator passerby. Cats also stress silently, it may be she is very worried about her vision loss and is calling to you because of it.

Regarding your concerns about the vet – I am of the mind that short-term stress is worth it for a better QOL outcome – but it goes both ways, too. You know her best, we are just people reading what you’ve provided - and it may be that being inside will unduly stress her out, and it may be she’d be happy in some sort of enclosure in the barn too.