Need your ideas on how I should handle a rescued barn cat?

I’m on day 9 of integrating a new cat and it’s going great, but, he is older and very mellow.
I’d keep him confined for the first 2 weeks or so with daily walking around the general area of the house and RV, and with a window he can look out of the rest of the time. Is there a divider or sliding door to a bedroom in the RV?

Keep him and the female separated the first few days and let them get used to each others scent.

I tend to put them together fairly quickly, within about 4 days or so and let them work it out. My vet has the same mindset and I respect his opinion.
It has always worked out just fine except for trying to introduce a stray female to my 2 yr. old female last summer. That was not going to be a blend at all.

I’m sure within 10 days or so he will be acclimated enough to go out for brief, supervised excursions, and then, it is unlikely he will run off knowing you and the routine.

Let us know how it goes!

I JUST, tonight, moved my new guys litter box into my garage with my other cats, sooo, it is his first night of going out the kitty door to use the bathroom. I am confident he’ll be just fine. Yay..no more litter box in the bathroom! Mission almost complete.

@Coloma The only place I can confine him in the RV is the bathroom and there’s no window in there. Thats the only place with a door. The RV itself has lots of windows for him to look out once he acclimates. I wouldn’t know how to supervise a feral type cat out doors. He won’t be coming in the house. He’s a barn cat and my 3 yappy dogs will scare him. Katie Kitty, the semi feral cat comes on my porch but not in the house, and has no desire to come in the house.

@Coloma You can see I’m a little scared. I’d hate to lose him. The cats who live in my home are indoor cats. Katie Kitty is an indoor out door cat who has been on the loose in the park, near my house before I rescued her, but this barn cat is new to the area. Any who how, thanks for your tips. Wish me luck! Anything else you or others out there can think of, let me know!

How about getting them tested for disease, getting them shots and spayed (or neutered) and putting them in your house. Yes, the yapping dogs will upset them at first, and they’ll probably hide out for a few days (to the point where you will wonder if they’re even in the house at all, they’ll hide so well) but then little by little you will see them more. If they’re feral, you might not ever get to touch them, but at least they’ll all be under your roof and safe and sound. If after a few months (or weeks if it goes well) you want to let them out you can, and by then, hopefully they will trust you and come back to the house.

I had a feral cat once – I had to trap her to take her to my new apartment, and once there, she never trusted me to touch her or sleep on my bed or anything, but at least I knew she had a nice, warm, safe home and she was taken care of. I had other regular cats, and I only put them together after getting her tested and spayed, and vaccinated.

After we lived in that apartment for about a year and a half, there was a fire, and I knew I would never be able to catch her to take her out, so I opened the windows in case she had to jump out (we lived on the 3rd floor). The apartment was not damaged by the fire, but the entire building was wet from the fire hoses, and when the firemen went into the apartments the next day to get any animals left behind, she saw them coming and jumped out the window, never to be seen again. She was about 10 at the time, and they said they saw her run into the woods. Oh well that was very sad but I consoled myself by thinking that at least I had fed her for all those years at my previous home, and then took her with me to this apartment and she had about a year and a half safe and sound (although a little skittish, she trusted me somewhat. Anybody else who came into the apartment never saw her, that’s how untrusting she was).

Sometimes local cat rescue organizations in your area might have programs through which you can spay/neuter and vaccinate for a very reduced price.

It seems like for you, it might be easier to integrate them into your home than have to deal with them being in the trailer and secluded. Plus, you won’t have to heat the trailer.

@ica I spay and neuter lots of cats so I have no problem with that. I have 3 indoor cats and 3 little dogs in my house and I’m not a collector/hoarder. That’s all I can house comfortably. But, I do have this wonderful trailer on my property that I visit often that Katie our semit feral is indoors in and she’s outdoors on my property. That’s the best I can do and I can’t find someone else to do better. The shelter would euthanize and being a farm cat is isolating and cold! Just want advice on how to acclimate the little male to his new surroundings. Right now he’s a freezing barn cat.

My mother had taken her outdoor cats with her when she moved several miles away to a new location and of the 3 cats only one took off (we think). The funny thing with cats is that they have their own personalities and some are more loyal than others. Some cats, no matter what you do, are wanderers by instinct while some prefer to stay relatively close to their home. For the most part cats are very good at learning their new surroundings very quickly and usually will not try to run from the person/s who they trust that care for them.

Unfortunately there are no gaurentees here but by feeding the cat and showing it some affection should help you here since if the cat doesn’t return it will likely be because of choice, not getting lost. Like I’ve said above cats have their own preferences and breed can be a factor too.

@Paradox25

Well said, and true. My new guy has been here 11 days now. He mastered the cat door on day 5, I moved his litter box to the garage from the bathroom on day 8, no problem, and, he has been going out on his own for breif explorations in the garage and surrounding area since day 7. He just came in for the 3rd time today after his, average, 20–30 minutes outings.

I am pleased with his progress and he seem to prefer being in and with me than out.

Cats are smart, as you said, if they leave, it’s usually on purpose or something bad has happened to them.

The trouble is I’m not in the RV all the time. Do you spend a good deal of time with the cat @Coloma and @Paradox25 how much time did your mother spend with the cats?

@comity

Yes, I have spent a lot of time with him, but, if you spend at least 30 minutes a day and he knows where the food comes from, bring him treats, etc. I am sure he will adjust in a few weeks.

I’d just keep him in for 2 weeks, and then, it’s either going to work out, or, at least you tried. :-)

@Coloma You can tell I’m concerned. The bathroom in the RV is small, but it’s the only place I can keep him separate as it has a door. I’m opening up the closet in there, the shower and covering with blankets, cat tree, cat toys. It’s larger then a cage by far, but no window and he’ll be isolated in there other then my visits. What do you think is the minimum length of time I can keep him in there separated from the other cat before letting him have full freedom in the trailer?

@comity

I’d keep them apart for a few days, then sit with them together for some supervised visits. The female is probably going to be upset at a new cat in her territory, but, if neither are overly aggressive they should be okay within the first 10 days or so.

Introducing the opposite sex is always easier than the same sex. Well…female/female is the hardest, but, if they are both fixed it should be easier.

I sympathize…my female is doing well, but, she is still put off after 11 days. She vacillates between a little playful, curious, then reverts to grouchy again. It just takes a few weeks, at least.

I am sure that being warm and well fed will make the new cat acclimate.

I wish you luck….but, I bet it will work out within a month or so tops. :-)

Please post an update, if you wish, to let us know how things work out.

JCA
The Update Lady

After all this back and forth, I’ve decided not to adopt the cat. I’m afraid, as an outside feral, it will go outside here and run off. It still has food, friends and a barn that it’s familiar with where it is, so I don’t feel too guilty. Cats have been dumped in the park that’s adjacent to my home, and strays have ended up there. I’ve rescued and rehomed 13. I’ll wait till the next opportunity comes along to rescue a cat that hangs around in the park adjacent to my home for a more successful outcome. Thanks for listening and talking to me.

@comity

Sounds like a sound decision, yes, as much as we sometimes want to help it merits a careful evaluation.

My new guy Myles and my female are doing great as far as accepting/tolerating each other, but now, I have diarrhea issues that I am medicating for. Maybe stress related, maybe coccidia, sooo, the usual mixed bag, disinfecting litter boxes, bleaching the garage stairs and landing by the litter boxes, feeding expensive fresh foods, giving probiotics, bathing Myles. It’s ALWAYS something when bringing in a new pet.

One other idea is to continue feeding them all outside, however, you realize that unless you are prepared to get all of them spayed, you will soon have all the area cats in your yard, dining and making kittens!

@jca I have a heart trap them, give them shots, neuter/spay and rehome them. The little cat I have in the trailer and on my property I was unable to find a home for as she’s semi feral and I wanted to find a suitable companion for her. My friends think she has it great!