I am so glad to come across this post. To answer your question if aynyone has had success domesticating a feral cat the answer is an emphatic yes! 3 years ago while living in a small condo, a feral cat showed up outside our house. She wanted nothing to do with us getting close to her - we couldn't get within 25 feet of her. But we knew she needed to be fed. So we left a bowl of food and water out for her in a location behind our bushes knowing she would feel safer than out in the open. We continued to feed her for many months and winter was closing in. We knew she became dependent on us so we built her a cat house and insulated it for the winter - and tons of blankets. You could tell she was appreciative but still couldn't get within 5 feet of her. She would only go into her house after we were at a safe distance.
Winter came and went and I began spending a lot of time in the driveway and garage detailing cars. I knew this is exactly what we both needed to gain trust. She would sit about 10 feet away and just watch me for hours and realized I wasn't there to hurt her. So that spring I began sitting outside on the steps with her bowl next to me. Slowly she approached the bowl to eat. I sat completely still but I talked to her in a soothing voice. I made no attempt to touch her. This went on for many weeks until finally while eating right next to me, I simply made 'incidental' contact with her - just brushing my arm against her slowly, and then returned my arm to my lap. We were gaining each other's trust....slowly, and that was the key.
As fall approached my wife and I had purchased a house 2 miles away. There was no doubt we were taking her with us - she depended on us for food and shelter, and we were falling for her. We purchased a trap and relocated her to the new property - and she was still an outdoor cat. As soon as we released her, she took off!! We thought we would never see her again and immediately blamed ourselves for relocating her. Should we have left her at the old place and ask the new owners to feed her? Wait, we couldn't - the new owners were not animals lovers at all so relocating her was our only choice.
Two long and sad days laters, I went outside at midnight and called her name - Brandy. Within a minute she came out from the neighbor's bushes!! You can't imagine how overwhelmed we felt - she was back! We of course left her food and a blanket on the front steps. She spent the next week sleeping there - but winter was coming. We wanted to do better for her so each night we slowly moved her food bowl one foot closer to the garage door until one night, the bowl was inside the garage and she was eating!! OK so now we had to get the garage door closed. Could we do it without spooking her? My wife engaged the door opener and the loud noise spooked her but just enough to elicit a sprint into the corner of the garage. The door closed and she was in the garage - safe and sound! We were overjoyed! That night we laid out a blanket and she slept like a princess - as did we knowing she was safe and warm.
The next morning we awoke to a little 'accident' on the garage floor. So I put out a litter box and fresh litter. Unfortunately she continued her little accidents on the floor when it hit me - maybe if I switch the litter out for mulch she might use it. After all that was all she knew. It worked! She was using the litter box!
Slowly I began mixing litter with the mulch and slowly reducing the amount of mulch. Within a week she was using a bonified litter box like a good,little girl! During the day my wife and I left her in the garage while we were at work. Returning home one night we opened the garage door and she ran out to greet us, and bunted on our legs endlessly. We couldn't believe it and slowly bent down with our hands extended. She smelled our hands and then rubbed her faced all over our hands! Could we now pet her we wondered? Slowly I placed my hand on her neck and gently petted her. Not only did she allow me to pet her but when I stopped, she came back for more! She was transformed! She completely trusted us!
That winter I installed a 220v garage heater and bought her a heated cat house. She was a happy little clam! We fed her 3 times a day and after work I would go lay in the garage with her and play with her. She won our hearts over and became the most affectionate cat ever! You could sense the appreciation she had for her newfound life.
She is now my detailing partner and follows me around the car I am working on for hours! I bend down to clean the wheels, she is RiGHT THERE bunting on my hand. She isn't afraid of the polisher or vacuum either. She has complete trust in my wife and I. We also installed an air conditioner in the garage for the summer - and she comes out after work to play each night. She is the love of our life!
So the advice I can offer is to be patient and allow the trust to grow slowly over time. Offer the cat food and shelter as we did and over time a bond will form, and you will feel so blessed!
Let me see if I can find some pics and post them....
BTW we have an indoor cat so we couldn't move Brandy inside but to be honest, she wouldn't be happy inside. She loves her garagenhome and the lawn and garden. She never leaves our property either and responds to commands too! She is simply amazing!
ScottH
