Pets / Animals : Can you train a feline?

[Angela22]

Particularly one that is semi-feral?

There's these two cats in my neighborhood(named them Panther and Tiger) that have grown attached to me, because I gave them some food and water while they were resting on my neighbors porch, and now every time they see me, they start purring, meowing, trilling and begin to (try to) follow me.

I can't say I want to full on adopt these cats, because I've never owned a pet, so am somewhat clueless, but I am a bit concerned for them, thinking maybe they need to be taken in for shots, at least.

Anyhow, I was wondering if I did decide to take them on as pets, is it possible to train them? They don't seem too unfamiliar with people.

The interactions I've have with Panther(he's all black) haven't all been that pleasant. It's not because he's hostile or anything, but he's very anxious. If he thinks I have food in my hands, he's all jumpy, and it might not be so bad if he didn't have those claws! I couldn't de-claw him even if I had the proper tools because with him being feral, I hear he needs them to defend against other cats(or dogs or so on) that might attack him. He's very loving when I pet him, but he insists on keeping his claws out when he wants to play, and sometimes he tries to bite me to show affection, and I wondered if you could train a cat not to do that. He's not punctured the skin, by the way, but no matter how many times I jerk my hands away from those sharp fangs, he seems to still think it's okay.

Tiger(who's striped), on the other hand, is the docile one. He follows Panther everywhere, and he rarely has his claws out, and is much more timid though just as loving(I think he might have been abused, since he scurries if he sees me raise my arm). However, his being so submissive to Panther sometimes means he has his food taken, so could I train Panther to stop taking his bros food like that? And how could I get Tiger to be less afraid, if that's possible?

Understand though, he's not fully submissive, because he's bopped Panther for eating his find before, with Panther walking it off like he didn't care.

Sorry for all these questions; I'm just curious about these adorable little creatures. I know cats are usually very independent, even if they aren't feral, so I do wonder.

 

[Babasola]

Particularly one that is semi-feral?

There's these two cats in my neighborhood(named them Panther and Tiger) that have grown attached to me, because I gave them some food and water while they were resting on my neighbors porch, and now every time they see me, they start purring, meowing, trilling and begin to (try to) follow me.

I can't say I want to full on adopt these cats, because I've never owned a pet, so am somewhat clueless, but I am a bit concerned for them, thinking maybe they need to be taken in for shots, at least.

Anyhow, I was wondering if I did decide to take them on as pets, is it possible to train them? They don't seem too unfamiliar with people.

The interactions I've have with Panther(he's all black) haven't all been that pleasant. It's not because he's hostile or anything, but he's very anxious. If he thinks I have food in my hands, he's all jumpy, and it might not be so bad if he didn't have those claws! I couldn't de-claw him even if I had the proper tools because with him being feral, I hear he needs them to defend against other cats(or dogs or so on) that might attack him. He's very loving when I pet him, but he insists on keeping his claws out when he wants to play, and sometimes he tries to bite me to show affection, and I wondered if you could train a cat not to do that. He's not punctured the skin, by the way, but no matter how many times I jerk my hands away from those sharp fangs, he seems to still think it's okay.

Tiger(who's striped), on the other hand, is the docile one. He follows Panther everywhere, and he rarely has his claws out, and is much more timid though just as loving(I think he might have been abused, since he scurries if he sees me raise my arm). However, his being so submissive to Panther sometimes means he has his food taken, so could I train Panther to stop taking his bros food like that? And how could I get Tiger to be less afraid, if that's possible?

Understand though, he's not fully submissive, because he's bopped Panther for eating his find before, with Panther walking it off like he didn't care.

Sorry for all these questions; I'm just curious about these adorable little creatures. I know cats are usually very independent, even if they aren't feral, so I do wonder.

Yes. You can. Set up a visit to your local vet and let them follow you home. Once you get them home feed them in separate places. You might want to get them a flee collars and shampoo.

I've taken in at least two stray cats home and successfully trained them. Cats respond to routine and reward. They have a keen innate sense for good people Give them a loving home.

 

[lce]

Feral cats are not the same as strays. Strays have once been owned by a human and understand that a human is not a predator. Ferals are cats that have "never" been owned by a human and are deemed as wild. Ferals cannot be domesticated, whereas strays can.

If the cats is "biting" to show affection (during playing and rubbing), this tends to display a kitten characteristic that follows the notion that this cat has been a stray since a kitten, like our cat. Our cat (13 years old now) licks us like a dog (I hate it) and bites showing affection. But then I found her wandering on the south side of Chicago when she was a month old in the winter. As long as you give the cat(s) a routine (food, water & shelter), you've got a pal for life.

 

[Angela22]

Yes. You can. Set up a visit to your local vet and let them follow you home. Once you get them home feed them in separate places. You might want to get them a flee collars and shampoo.

I've taken in at least two stray cats home and successfully trained them. Cats respond to routine and reward. They have a keen innate sense for good people Give them a loving home.

So, will it be easy giving them a bath? I've managed to get Panther to stop eating Tiger's food, and they've already had shots(I didn't at first notice they had they're ears clipped which indicates they've been checked out and let back onto the streets).

I call them semi-feral, by the way, because though they take to people when they're kind, they've clearly never had a real home in any one place, and there are a bunch of ferals that live in my area. I saw a blue eyed cat the other day trying to join their little pack. lol

 

[Angela22]

Feral cats are not the same as strays. Strays have once been owned by a human and understand that a human is not a predator. Ferals are cats that have "never" been owned by a human and are deemed as wild. Ferals cannot be domesticated, whereas strays can.

If the cats is "biting" to show affection (during playing and rubbing), this tends to display a kitten characteristic that follows the notion that this cat has been a stray since a kitten, like our cat. Our cat (13 years old now) licks us like a dog (I hate it) and bites showing affection. But then I found her wandering on the south side of Chicago when she was a month old in the winter. As long as you give the cat(s) a routine (food, water & shelter), you've got a pal for life.

How hard do they bite down, though? Should I wear something protective for this? I always yank my hand from his mouth when he tries to do this because his teeth look soooooo sharp.