[Arubalisa]

How do you personally distinguish between the two?

We've caught strays, but the last cat we trapped who we just assumed was a stray turned out to be feral.

What EXACTLY is the difference? I cannot quite put my finger on it. She bit my husband the first time he tried to get near her, bad enough it required a Dr.'s visit.

For the most part she spent the first 2 months in my dd's bedroom underneath her bed. The cat would come out to eat only when there was no one on that floor of the house and only used the litter box at night.

After 7+months she still has not integrated with 4 of the other 5 cats in the family. The cat who she does tolerate is extremely passive. My dh and I get along quite well with her now, dd is still afraid she will be bitten. This kitty is just now beginning to show some interest in venturing about the house. That is as long as the other boys are locked away out of sight.

I do not feel bad about her making herself a prisoner of the second floor of our house. She has 9 big windows, 3 bird feeders, a ground feeder, 2 bird baths and ground water which attract all sorts of wildlife. She always knows she has a portion of wet food 3 X per day and dry food whenever she likes as well as fresh water. Sure beats the rainy day in our backyard when it poured all afternoon and she hid curled up in a ball underneath one of our Leyland Cypress trees. Now THAT broke my heart.

Anyone else with a story?

[mccats9876]

Hi there. Cats can become feral when having to survive on their own. Naturally, the next generation is even wilder. Cats are resourceful animals, but occasionally a feral can become accustomed to humans again, and even be lovable.

We have supported a feral colony (we have a ranch) for 15 years. We have had almost every kitty neutered, but there is always that one that wouldn't go into the hav-a-hart trap. Our ferals will occasionally allow you to touch them, and if they are ill or injured, they allow us to take them to the vet.

We had one feral that had injured her leg, and she allowed me to pick her up and put her in a carrier to take her to the vet.

When we brought her home, we let her outside, as she had her whole family of ferals out there. She was very fond of our dog, and when he passed away she moved over to the next ranch, and became almost tame for the lady that lives there.

Your kitty may never become friendly, but may always remain feral. Have you had her neutered? If so, and if she has had her shots, you might want to let her be an outside cat. She will probably hang around for the food, and you could provide her with a little dog house is a sheltered area, with a blanket, where she could go in inclement weather.

Good luck.

[Catrancher99]

Of my 9 cats 3 were originally feral from a mother who is semi-tame, Pirate, Squeeker, and their sister from a later litter, Nova. When they first saw me they were terrified and hid under our car, but patience, gentle talk and food won their confidence. Eventually, they took up residence inside the house. Pirate and Squeeker took some time to submit to the hand - but now they own the hand, of course. Nova has been inside for only 2 weeks as of today, and is already enjoying sleeping in my arms. Now these were all kittens of less than a year, so they were adaptable, but I have known a few people who "domesticated" ferals, but those ones almost always trusted only the one human they bonded with. I think this ability to convert from wild to tame is proof that there is a strong and deep sense of love in cat character, as well as the inherent potential for socialization when there is no conflict over food and mating. The nature is there, but it takes nurturing to bring it out. I find this to be remarkable about cats.