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As stated it was totally not true: "Cats are independent and are meant to be outside" "If you want an indoor pet, get a dog" Etc etc. Antagonistic troll post.
What you pose about feral cats is fine but please do not equate the two. You're talking about a cat born outside and not among human contact vs a cat born inside and always among human contact who has never been out.
Some realistic expectations may be important even with a stray former pet who has spent a lot of time outside. Some of them decide that being inside is fantastic and show little interest in going out. Others may not be happy without going out sometimes. But using that one aspect of cats to justify that they are all meant to be outside is irresponsible.
Given the interest in going in and interacting with the OP, there's a high likelihood that the cat in the OP's case is a stray former pet and not feral.
I don't think I have a problem with your point of view generally. But here you're using it to defend an indefensible post.
No I think you are wanting to teach kitty a lesson... (Dont be mean to someone who takes you in)
I would wait a few days and then SCOLD HIM saying not to ever do that again.......... Then pet him and give him some goodies
Good luck!!
Since cats don't understand human language, nor will a cat understand that food is being withheld "to teach him a lesson" this is the wost advice yet.
Since the OP is feeding kitty, and has let him live in his home, this cat is not a stray cat, the cat belongs to the OP, and is his responsibility. Refusing to feed your pet is considered neglect, which is against the law, not to mention cruel and inhumane.
There is some very good advice on how to live with a cat in this thread already, such as letting him have his blanket, respecting his space and temperament, getting him to the vet and so on.
For the past few months I have been feeding a stray cat and letting it in on cold nights. The cat has bonded with me and been affectionate. Lately it has taken my hospitality for granted. Actually it has become hostile. When I moved a blanket it was sitting on it bit me. Then yesterday for no reason at all it (not sure of it's gender) scatched my face hard. If the scratch was any closer to my eye it would have been a medical emergency. I kicked it out. That was 24 hours ago and to the cats surprise I did not feed it today or let it in. It's meowing and scratching on the window trying to make me feel guilty. It's almost working but I'm staying strong. I just look at the scratch mark on my face and I don't give in. Too bad the cat doesn't understand that you dont bite the hand that feeds you.
Am I being too cruel considering it's used to being fed twice a day? Is a cat capable of learning a lesson? If in a few days I let it back in will it make it a priority not to attack me? Or will a cat raised outdoors not change it's behavior no matter what?
You sound like you are believing that cats think like humans. It is a feral cat for pete's sake. It is not plotting against you, it is not taking your hospitality for "granted", it felt threatened in some way and reacted, it is a wild cat. I don't know that I would let a wild cat into my home and have the run of the house. I would feed it and maybe have it come in but in a confined room, even the garage with a warm bed. No, I don't think you should stop feeding it. It is winter and it needs someone that will feed it and help keep it warm at night and it is wonderful you are doing that. Maybe limit where the cat can roam in your house and be careful approaching it as you have seen it can turn on you.
This cat is not feral. A feral cat would not come into a house and bond with a human. The cat was taken in by the OP and allowed to feel at home. He needs understanding and love and care, not "taught a lesson". This cat has shown some trust by coming inside, and showing affection, but obviously still has trust issues and tolerance levels.
One of my cats has lived with me since she was 6 months old (she is 10 now) but she still has boundaries that I don't cross. If I try to, I risk getting bitten. She has learned to control her mistrust and to control her auto-reaction to bite and scratch when she feels threatened, but the need is still there. She just has control of it, because she trusts me, but it took years to earn that trust.
A feral cat would not come into a house and bond with a human...
Six of our nine kitties are ex-feral. They are all domesticated and affectionate. They love to be petted and groomed, and to sit in our laps and to sleep with us at night.
Three of them, from two litters, chose to come in and be domesticated. They had litter mates who would not come near us, but these three seemed to be attracted to us.
The other three were sick feral kittens that we kidnapped. Although they were born in the feral colony they were so small when we got them that we thought they would grow up domesticated. And they did.
The other three feline members of our family were born as domesticated cats but became homeless for one reason or another.
Six of our nine kitties are ex-feral. They are all domesticated and affectionate. They love to be petted and groomed, and to sit in our laps and to sleep with us at night.
Three of them, from two litters, chose to come in and be domesticated. They had litter mates who would not come near us, but these three seemed to be attracted to us.
The other three were sick feral kittens that we kidnapped. Although they were born in the feral colony they were so small when we got them that we thought they would grow up domesticated. And they did.
The other three feline members of our family were born as domesticated cats but became homeless for one reason or another.
But you worked at domesticating them? If the cats simply settled into the household without any work on your part, then they weren't feral to begin with. They may have been abandoned house cats, but they were not wild.
I did not say feral cats could not be domesticated. What I said was (based on the original post) that THIS cat in question is not feral, since he apparently took to house living and human affection right away..
We took in a cranky cat ten years ago. We used a toy to pay instead of our hands and if she went for the hand by mistake, I would let out yell that you must have heard. She got the idea not to go for the hand and learned to play with toys instead. She is still cranky and will squirm and act up but her teeth and claws are not part of the equation. I spent many back breaking hours with her teaching her to play as she didn't have toys as a kitten but I didn't want to give up on her. They are all individual and it seems like the OP's cat is trying to dominate. You can't let that happen so spend gentle time teaching them how to get along with their people.
But you worked at domesticating them? If the cats simply settled into the household without any work on your part, then they weren't feral to begin with. They may have been abandoned house cats, but they were not wild.
I did not work at domesticating them. They domesticated themselves. All I did was let them come in the house and loved them like any other feline member of our family. I fed this colony for several years. I knew their mothers, their grandmothers, their great-grandmothers, and several more generations. I knew their cousins and half brothers and half sisters and their possible fathers. I also saw each litter when they first came out of the brush with their mothers to eat the food I put out for them.
One of the friendly ones was an Orange Tabby from a litter of five who would come out of the brush and follow my wife around when she worked in the garden. Then he would sneak inside and find a good place to hide and sleep. That was about six years and a thousand miles ago. He prefers my lap now, but likes to spoon with my wife at bedtime.
The other two are Frankie and Florie. They are litter mates. Frankie is a huge orange tabby and his sister Florie is a Torty. Their mother was an Orange Tabby and they had three Silver Tabby siblings in the litter. Their mother and the rest of the litter would never come close to us, but at night when we went out on the patio to the spa, Florie and Frankie would come over and sit and watch us. Frankie has some attraction to water and was really interested in the hot tub. He would climb up and sit on the edge. Even today, when it rains and a puddle forms in the driveway, he goes out and plays in the puddle and sometimes he sits right in it. Florie had some special attraction toward me. She liked me to touch her and I pretty much became her personal human. After Florie moved in, she got Frankie to come in and then we had two more.
The little sick kittens I got directly from their mother who was an Orange Tabby. She was sick and couldn't feed them. I knew her mother and her litter mates, and even though they would never come near so I could touch them, she must have trusted me because she brought the sick babies out of the woods and brought them over by the door to the house. There were five in the litter and three survived.
When we moved from that location, ten cats came with us. Seven were feral, two were homeless, and one we had all his life.
Fat Freddie, you have a gift for writing, as I read your post I could 'see' your family. How lovely and thank you for posting. It was like reading a heart warming short story.
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