Hi Nicole,

I just emailed you about your outside girl. I've been in your position ... many times. Unfortunately, I know of no way to tell a timid stray from a true feral until you can get her into your home and start working with her. I can tell you, though, that it is possible to convert even a fully feral cat into a happy, domestic couch-lounger if you're willing and able to invest the time, patience, and love into her.

If I were you (and I have been), I would go ahead and trap her, bring her inside, and see who she really is.

I wish you the best,

Laurie

I would just trap her, take her directly to the vet's to have her checked out, and bring her in. If there are other cats in the house she gets along with, she'll adjust.

All About Animals/Kitty Fixers has a trap bank if you need one and are in the greater Detroit area, or could probably get you set up with a rescue near you if not.

Two of our five/eight (three fosters) were maybe-ferals. The older of the two we trapped when she was about a year old and pregnant, and while it took about a month, she's a lap cat now- and she was the kitten of a stray, not a house cat.

The other was this little tiny puffball who ate two cans of canned food in under 5 minutes the first time we saw her. We thought she was 12 weeks old, but she was more like 20, and her growth was stunted (or she's just tiny- she's smaller than our 5 month old fosters). She sleeps snuggled up to us, and is on the arm of the couch next to me, but does not like to be petted in general. Even if we have to point where we want to go so we don't freak her out, it's better than being outside in our weather.

If she really is feral and you're putting her back outside, it's kind of cruel to fix her this time of year. It takes months for the hair on the belly to grow back. But about the warm house- she has a warm house she's not using, so she's probably not that cold.

I'd trap her , take her to the vet for spaying and bring her home. I'd isolate her in a room till she healed and then gradually give her access to the others. I wouldn't force myself on her, but gradually she'll come around. I had two feral, really feral, sisters and they lived in my house for ten years. I could never pick one up but she sat on my lap every single night. The other was fine..wild at first and I couldn't catch her. Then she was hit by a car and was after that gentle and sweet.

Oh my gosh thank you so much for your responses. I feel better about trapping her now. I always had the impression that once a cat is "feral" they can never be domesticated and also will be miserable and scared living with humans. This gives me hope. I am going to get a trap this week. Thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to respond to my post! :)
Nicole

We have a feral cat we feed, Baby. Turned up pregnant on my porch, I started feeding her and later captured her & spayed her. Your cat may be feral, it may be stray. If you've been feeding her & talking to her, she'll recover from being trapped. Canned mackerel is the best for trapping cats, they can't resist the stuff. Also, be prepared for her to be totally wigged out in the trap, they have no escape and are really fearful in it. It's a natural reaction & she'll forget it later.

Please get her to a vet before you bring her inside, she may expose your indoor cats to feleuk, FIP, and other illnesses. I tried a long time ago to bring Baby inside, but our older cat got sick & for the sake of the inside cats, I didn't bring her in again.
Having a neutered cat outside can help keep the population of feral cats down in your area. We have a kennel heater in Baby's house for the cold weather, she uses it all winter.
If you do bring her in, she'll probably connect w/your cats then eventually warm to you. You may or may not get to handle her.

And I also worry about Baby on cold or rainy nights. Good luck & thanks for looking out for her.

Here is a link that might be useful: feral cat info

I have 2 ferals living in my office at work. They are getting less fearful.

Yep, get the trap and see what happens once she's inside.

One of my cats (adopted from shelter) was living with a bunch of ferals - when they trapped the cats they noticed one was friendly, whereas the true ferals were hissing and spitting. I think what happens to some when they get lost is they revert a semi-wild state - they've only been domesticated a few thousand years so that instinctive self-preservation thing hasn't been totally bred out of them yet.