ferril little stray won't eat?depressed?

[rosebud47522]

HELP.....I have rescued a tiny ferril stray, and adopted out her three kittens. Brought her to vet two months ago, had her fixed, and de wormed, and vaccinated. She is living in my sun room in a great dane cage, she has been tested for hiv and other illnesses.

She is four pounds, under one year, and just stares out the cage, she eats and moves once we move out of the room. otherwise she just listlessly lays there, as if she is playing possum.
She lays in one position for long periods and does not move, not even if I place a spoon ful of food in front of her mouth for ten or twenty minutes.

I have three other kitties that are big mushies, and are kept separate from her.

Please help me, I do not know if she is depressed? I have no knowledge of how to help her.

Please, give any thoughts you might have, as I really want to have her become a part of our home.

[opokki]

If she was a feral than she is probably still a bit uneasy around people. Does she allow you to pet her at all? Im thinking this is such a drastic change for her that it will likely take some time for her to adjust, especially if she is not used to being around people. Maybe one of those Comfort Zone plug-ins with Feliway might help relax her.

[RWDVM]

Dear rosebud:

I am a veterinarian. It is true that ferral cats are ususally uneasy and stanfoff-ish with people, but I wouldn't expect her to go off food as well. The not eating concerns me. While dogs can go several days without eating (as long as they are drinking to remain hydrated), cats can devlop a condition known as hepatic lipidosis (aka, fatty liver syndrome) after just 3-5 days of being anorexic. This causes a snow ball effect of illness where the cat becomes very sick, even if the original cause for the anorexia was minor.

Try purchasing a variety of cat foods to put in front of her to try to stimulate her to eat (include Fancy Feast in one of these "buffets" as cats often find it very tasty). If she refuses to eat, you should have her seen by your vet ASAP.

Best of luck to you. You did a wonderful deed adopting this cat and her kittens. I am from Long Island as well. Please check out my veterinary advice and health management website at http://www.askdvm.com

Roger L. Welton, DVM

[rosebud47522]

Thanks for your reply, I will try some Fancy Feast. She will eat as soon as we leave the room and we watch her through a closed glass french door. She also acts normally once we have left the room totally. She is very shy when we are in the room, and won't eat from a spoon we place near her if we are holding the spoon.

Will she ever socialize with the rest of the cats? I have three cats, 1 male and two females(she is a female also). They all sleep together, eat together and use the same box. They all came as socialized strays over the past ten years, the oldest is 10 the middle one is six and the last is three.

Should I try something to make her feel more secure? Is keeping her in a great dane cage with a litter box, and lambswool tunnel to sleep in ok? For how long?

Her kittens are thriving, all three people love her kittens, very sweet.

Thanks for your help, and expert advice.

[RWDVM]

No problem for the advice. I think it was wise of you to isolate her at first, but I think keeping the cat separate at this point will just prolong her integration into her new enviornment. I am pleased that she does indeed eat when you have left the room. This fact makes it more likely that her problem is more mental than physical.

I thinks its now time tp put away the cage and give her the run of the house with the other cats. Do this at a time when you will have the opportunity to spend most of your time at home (lke the weekend). Keep yourself armed with a spray bottle to effectively break up fights when they occur. The fights will likely go on for some time. Unfortunately, this needs to occur at first. Eventually newly introduced cats will set up a hierarchy, and learn to live together. Sometimes, certain cats never get along, but in most cases will at least learn to tolerate each other.

Best of luck to you.

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Vetrinarian, Webmaster http://www.askdvm.com

[Squawksx3]

Hi rosebud,

Great advice from Roger. I agree its time to introduce them.
Let me tell you what is working for me. We recently took in my father-in-laws cat due to him passing away. Although she is used to people and very loving, she was used to living in the country with no other animals in the household for 5 yrs. I have a zoo in my home, including 2 other cats and 5 dogs at the moment with our foster. I put Sheba in a large dog crate( there is a pic of her and the crate in the "pet pic" section) for the first month, taking her out on occasions to hold and love on her. The crate is in the living room where all the animals can see and interact with her 24/7. In the beginning, she would hiss and growl at them whenever they came near the crate. She eventually accepted the dogs and is fine with them. I gradually opened the crate door when I was there to monitor and let her come out when she wanted. Many times she would just sit inside the crate and watch, the crate has become her safe zone. After a month and a half, I leave the crate there, but the door is open all the time, she comes and goes as she pleases. She is still having a little trouble getting along with my cats and has gone after my 13 yr old female, but no physical fights yet. The water bottle has come in very handy!. My cats just keep their distance for the time being. She still goes in her crate to sleep, eat and use the potty box, but now roams the house and uses the doggie door to go outside and has accepted us as her new family. I was a little worried about our parrots. She's used to roaming the country and is a great hunter, but she doesn't even pay attention to the birds. We still keep a watchful eye just in case. Eventually, I will take the crate out all together when I feel the time is right. It would probably help if she could see you interacting and loving your other cats so that she might understand she is now in a good home and has nothing to worry about. You are an angel for rescuing her and her babies. Best of luck to you and please keep us updated :)

[rosebud47522]

Thanks so much for your input, she is such a sweet tiny cat, that you just really want to help her. I have never lived with a ferril cat, I have had over 20 cats in my life, all very friendly and adorable.

I will open the cage door and slowly start introducing her to the cat family. My other cats are all insiders, and will probably scare her to death due to their curiousity more than their wish to harm her.

Thank you so much for your kind advice, I'll let you know how the fur flies once they all meet.

Happy Holidays, Diana

[rosebud47522]

Thank you so much for your kind and helpful advice. I have named her Tiger Lily, and since she has been out of the cage, she is acting like a normal pussy cat.

My other cats visit in the sun room with her for short periods, my big male actually sleeps on the rug, totally disiniterested in her.

She of course hids behind my ficus tree peering out at him. The others look at her through the glass doors.

She is learning her name, and will COME near when I rattle a dish and she will eat at my feet. Still hisses when I try to touch her, but she is really sweet.

Thank you for helping me open the cage and let her start to develop her new life with us.