Crafty-Shape2743 t1_ixzcbi3 wrote on November 27, 2022 at 4:01 PM

I adopted a feral who had kittens way too young. She was with her kittens at the rescuers home until they were fully weaned and then some. When we got her, she spent 3 months in the basement, only coming out at night to eat.

When she did decide to live upstairs, she chose my daughters room and spent most of her time there.

She was skittish with me for the first year. It took 3 years for her to warm to my husband. It was 4 years before opening a door or drawer near her wouldn’t flip her out. She didn’t like to be held, she didn’t like to sit on laps.

We had another sweet, goofball cat that she never fully trusted but they would sleep together sometimes. After he died, after about 7 years of her living with us, which made her 8, she slowly started changing. She likes to be held now, she likes sitting on laps, and at night, she will snuggle with us.

I second checking with a vet, but sometimes a cat just needs space and time to adjust.

feralraindrop t1_iy18r3k wrote on November 27, 2022 at 11:48 PM

We have had a feral cat since he was a kitten. He was born in our wood pile. He and his brother are the only two we ever saw. Their mom brought them onto our deck to live in a cat house I built them. Eight years later the mom has passed away and one of the boys is completely domesticated and the other lives in our house, sits with us but won't let us touch him. I don't think the Op's cat is unhappy, just not ready to be domesticated. I think the worst thing you can do is take it back to the shelter. Just more trauma.