Feisty Feral? - we don't think so!

Some of the saddest cases we have to deal with are the cats who have missed human contact at an early age and become feral.

Feral is a term that is often misused, it simply means "domestic gone wild" but people often imply that a domesticated but aggressive cat is feral. This is not the case. Feral cats are hardly ever aggressive, they are simply shy and will avoid most human contact as much as possible. A domestic cat with aggressive tendencies may however strike out.

The picture shows Brucie, a young male cat who turned up in the garden of one of our volunteers. She was unable to find any owners, and we suspect that he may have been born on a farm or in a garden and not had any (or much) human contact when he was a kitten. In the picture Brucie is meowing, not hissing!

We hope you will find the information about feral cats useful and interesting. Remember they are just as much a cat as are the little fluffy cute ball of fluff who sleeps on your toes and kisses your nose. They just didn't get as easy a start in life.

The Nature of the Feral cat: Cats are not genetically feral. They are not wild-cats, they are domestic cats gone wild. Cats normally become feral if they miss out on essential early handling, and if they are not extensively handled by the age of about 8 weeks they can remain feral cats for life. It is possible for a tame cat to have kittens which become feral and for a feral cat to have kittens which become tame. It is as easy for a litter of kittens to become feral when born in a house and ignored, as it is for them to become feral when born totally away from human contact.

Behaviour of a feral cat: The first thing a feral cat will try and do when approached is to flee. The instinct is to run, not attack. A feral cat will only attack if it is cornered and can see no way of escape. Once a way of escape becomes clear, the attack will cease and the cat will flee. The only exception to this is a mother cat who may attack to protect her tiny kittens if she feels that they are threatened.

Offering a home to a feral cat: At Haworth Cat Rescue we normally rehome cats in pairs, as they have less of a tendency to wander if they are situated with a cat of their acquaintance. As circumstances dictate, however, we may also home singly or in groups of three. The first thing that the new owner must do is to ensure that there is an enclosed room on the farm/stables/factory where the cat(s) can spend the first few days. The room must be escape-proof and cleared of any poison put down to discourage vermin (the cat will take care of the vermin!). The cat should be fed twice a day at roughly the same times each day, and a litter tray, water and bed (straw would be fine) should be provided. It also helps if there is a place where the cat can hide (again a couple of bales of straw are fine). After a few days, the door should be left slightly ajar, or a window open, but always allowing the cat easy access and exit. It is best if this is done at a quiet time of day, or even at night, so that unexpected noises do not scare the cat. Food should be put out for the cat when the door is first opened. The cat should not be approached initially, especially when it is first allowed out, as its instinct is to flee, and it may unintentionally get lost. Try not to "eyeball" the cat as cats see this as a threat and will probably flee. In time, the cat should become used to the routine and will expect food at the same time each day. Even if the cat is a prolific hunter, food should always be offered, and water should be available.

The cat should eventually totally ignore humans unless it is approached, but in some cases it may take an interest in the activities of humans and allow itself to be stroked or rubbed. Some cats will become totally tame, but this is the exception.

If you have a stables or a farm and you feel that you could offer a home to a feral cat, or a pair of feral cats, please contact us. They will pay for their keep by keeping your rodent population down, and they will lead a happy and contented life if they have shelter and food.

I'm NOT in love!

Cindy is a delightful little cat who came to us as an unwanted pet a couple of weeks ago. The person bringing her wasn't too sure of her age, nor whether she had been spayed or not. We estimate her age to be around a year.

At the weekend we noticed that Cindy (who up to then had been rather aggressive, due to the stress of being in our centre), had suddenly become very friendly.

Some of the younger and less experienced volunteers felt that it was due to her starting to settle, but the "old hands" had a feeling that other factors were at work. Sure enough as the weekend progressed, Cindy began rolling and shouting. Her vocal range went from low deep throaty miaows to high pitched ear-splitting shrieks, all accompanied by trills and carrols! Yes, Cindy had come into season.

It is very obvious when cats come into season - their behaviour changes quite dramatically, they display what can only be described as provocative behaviour and their vocal range changes too.

The cats spend a lot of time with their stomachs lowered, often with their tail up in the air or moved to one side, they roll a lot and often rub their faces against furniture etc. Another indicator is the number of unknown cats - toms - who often appear as if by magic and hang around looking hopeful. Quite often they will fight each other too.

Female cats - or queens - can come into season as early as 5 months, but a great number of vets still won't neuter until the cat is aged 6 months plus. So it is possible that the cat could be mated before the age of 6 months, even when owned by the most responsible owner. Owners of female cats should therefore make sure that they are aware of the indicators of a cat coming into season, and take precautions to keep her indoors for the duration. Owners of tom cats should also be encouraged to neuter their cats, and although again many vets won't perform this operation before the cat reaches six months, tom cats usually don't reach maturity until they are a little big older.

Most of the pregnant females who come into our care are aged less than a year, and this is very young for them to carry a litter. They are still only babies themselves, barely out of kittenhood, and their bodies still aren't fully grown.

And as for the title of this blog entry, there is no even love involved. Mating is a hormone-driven behaviour, and is painful for the female cat too. Please be aware of the signs of calling and take steps to protect your cat if you can't have her spayed before six months.

Tia's tale

Tia came to us towards the end of last year. Her previous owners were unable to keep her as they were moving house and she could not go with them. Tia came in with another cat, Maria, who we believe was either her sister or her long term companion.

It was obvious from the start that Tia was more than usually nervous. Despite the fact that she had lived all her life in a family, Tia was absolutely petrified of everyone and everything. She was so frightened that she spent the first month with us hiding behind her bed.
Eventually we removed the bed and put lots of blankets on her shelf, and Tia began to be a little less nervous.

Just after Christmas we rehomed Maria, as we felt that Tia might make better progress if she didn't have Maria to hide behind, and we moved Tia to a different pen in our cattery, one where there was slightly more activity and where she could see what was going on but still have some security. We were delighted when we put her bed back to see that Tia slept in it, not behind it!

Tia has now been on her own for just over a month and is gradually coming out of her shell. She takes an interest in what goes on around her and sometimes even miaows when it is meal times.

She will sometimes rub her nose along gentle fingers or hands, but she doesn't duck her head for strokes and she won't purr. She only seems to feel safe when she is in her bed on her shelf, if anyone goes into her pen whilst she is on the floor or out of her bed, she panics.

Tia is gradually learning that she can trust people, but she will never be a confident cat. We don't know what caused her to be so frightened and so traumatised. Her behaviour is odd in that she doesn't flinch, she just maintains a frozen immobility. We hope that with time and patience, Tia will become more used to people and that a caring, patient and understanding person will soon offer her a home.

Finding my Feet

Hello, my name's Buster and this is my story.

I came to Haworth Cat Rescue at the end of last year after I had been living in someone's garden for a year. They couldn't keep me as they had a budgie who flew around the house and they though (quite rightly) that I'd probably catch and eat him, so they asked Haworth Cat Rescue to take me.

I can't remember if I had an owner when I was little, but I'm not frightened of people, so I probably did. But because I wasn't neutered my hormones kicked in and I went off looking for girl cats. In fact I fathered quite a few kittens and if you look earlier in this blog you will see some of my babies with their mum, Marnie (all now safely rehomed by Haworth Cat Rescue).

Anyway, when I came to Haworth Cat Rescue I found it very strange to be in a smallish space, just my own bedroom and outside run. There were compensations though, lovely meals twice a day, a heater at night and those wretched earmites that were driving me mad were given a short sharp shock and vamooshed. I was also neutered. I have to say I wasn't sure about this - I thought it might spoil my fun.

When I came to Haworth Cat Rescue I pretty much ignored all the people there. I let them feed me and I tolerated it when they stroked me, but I just wasn't interested in them. I stayed in my bed and ignored them, and in fact they used to wonder if I actually had legs!


Recently though, I've realised that I quite like getting stroked, and if I put my head towards the people they will stroke me a bit more. It's great. I've also discovered that if I rub around their legs they bend down and stroke me and pick me up and give me a cuddle. I love that!

One of them said it was because I had been neutered, and do you know, I think they're right. I no longer feel the need to run around the countryside looking for girl cats, I am quite happy to be cuddled and stroked. I am even trying to find my purr, I'm sure it's in there. It's much more fun being stroked and looking for my purr than it is looking for girl cats in a dark cold world, risking getting run over, getting into fights and picking up horrible diseases.

So, now I'm ready for a home. I didn't really care before because I had other things on my mind, but now I've proved I'm a soft old cat (with legs!!!) I think the least they could do is find me a home!

How the Mite-y are fallen!

Many people are aware of the usual creepy-crawlies that infest our furry friends - fleas, worms, ticks and lice. But there is another common visitor who rarely gets a mention.

Ear mites! These are invisible to the human eye, but cause huge discomfort to the poor cat who has been invaded by them.

Take black and white Buster and tabby George (photos above). When George came into our care recently, we noticed almost straight away that he was scratching at his ears with his back feet. He'd even caused a little bit of bleeding around the edges of one ear. Closer examination showed crusty black deposits around the top of his ear canals, a typical symptom. Buster on the other hand, did not display any scratching symptoms, but every time his head was stroked or touched he shook his head violently, and often fell over or lost his balance as a consequence. Closer examination of his ears showed no signs of the crusty black deposits.

Both cats were taken to our vets at the first opportunity. Examination is quick and diagnosis can take place immediately. Our vet looked into each cat's ears with an auroscope and immediately saw a hive of activity as tens of little tiny mites scurried round the ear canals. The vet checked to make sure there was no infection and to make sure that the ear drum was not perforated, and then dispensed a bottle of drops for each lad.

The drops are to be administered daily for a week which kills off all the adult mites. Then there is the option of a week's break, and then the drops are administered for a second time, again for a week. This second dose kills off all the mites that were still in eggs during the first dosage. In most cases this three week course (a week on, a week off, another week on) will be enough to eradicate the pests, but of course once their courses of treatment are finished, we will keep an eye on George and Buster to make sure that none of the original symptoms recommence. If they do, we will once again ask the vet to check their ears.

Ear mites are easily passed from one cat to another and are a lot more common than people think, but they are easy and relatively cheap to treat. Left unattended the cat will scratch and shake his head in increasing amounts of pain. Years ago whilst collecting some cats from the vets we noticed a gorgeous ginger lad recovering from an operation. The vets told us that he had all but scratched his ears off due to the mites, and had had to have them re-stitched back on. The poor lad. All for a bottle of drops!

Tubby or not Tubby

Just before Christmas we were asked to take four cats who had belonged to someone who had died. Penny, aged 8, her daughter Tuppence and sons Lucky and Joey all aged 6, came into our shelter care of a friend of their deceased owner.

All four cats were rather on the large size, with Penny being the fattest by far.

The person who brought them in apologised for their size, and made the comment that someone had thrown something sticky at Penny as she had "things" on her back that were stuck to her fur.

Upon closer examination of Penny, the "things" turned out to be matted fur which had clumped and tufted causing tangles. There were two or three larger clumps and a few smaller ones, all located in the region of her spine.

We were able to cut them off quite easily, although it did leave her with a couple of patches of thin fur.

The tangles weren't caused by something being thrown at Penny. They were caused because she is so fat she cannot turn herself properly to groom her back, and as the loose fur fell away when she moulted, it remained entwined with growing fur and gradually became knotted.

We see probably half a dozen cats each year with this this problem. The majority we can cut off, some have to be "razored" off by our vets and a minority have to undergo a general anaesthetic so that the vet can completely shave the cat.

It is so unnecessary. The cat shouldn't have been allowed to get so fat in the first place but at the first sign of a knot it should have been groomed.

Obesity in cats can cause other problems. The excess weight can put strain on their joints leading to less mobility and that in turn can result in them becoming fatter. In addition to mobility problems, excess weight can cause problems with the cat's organs, including of course the heart.

If a cat does become overweight, it is important to take proper advice with regard to reducing the cat's weight. Just cutting down the amount of food you give may not be the best step forward, as it may result in liver failure as the cat's metabolic rate changes due to fasting or eating a lower amount of food. Please take veterinary advice if your cat is overweight. You can read more about obesity in cats here.


Treat your cat from time to time if you must, but make it a treat that is designed for cats, or which suits the cat, rather than something that is designed for humans. And if you treat the cat to a luxury catfood meal, give it in lieu of his or her regular meal, not in addition!

We're sure Penny's owner wanted her to have treats and gave her far too much food out of kindness, but poor Penny will have to watch what she eats for a long time now, until she reduces to an acceptable size.

Don't kill your cat with kindness.

Season's Greetings

Hello to all our friends.

Just a quick line to wish our readers the all best for 2008. Our hopes that this will be a great year for you and yours and for all the furry purries out there.

We also wanted to share one of our Christmas cards with you. It said "Minerva has settled in well with my mum. They love each other; it has made so much difference to mum's life, she has a focus - Minerva - and Minerva loves her. Two elderly ladies together." You can read about Minerva here

Happy New Year to you all.