Joyce - A Cat Who Likes To Keep Distant

The cats in our closed retirement shelter range from a highly-socialized Brandon to a very shy and skittish Joyce – with most being somewhere in between.

Joyce -- a petite long-haired gray-black tabby with white toes -- was part of the show-and-tell feral cat colony on display in the barn at our cat farm. She – along with Emmy another cat in our colony – was rescued by a well-meaning nursing home employee from a colony living on their grounds. She took them to an Ann Arbor veterinary clinic that spayed them and then gave them to us for life care. This was in 2002 when Joyce was about two years old.

She clearly had little human contact as a kitten and – in spite of living comfortably as an indoor cat – still looks at people with intrepidation – maintaining a safe distance at all times. Her close friendships and attention come from other cats -- particularly Larry – a 17 pound long-haired black male. They are virtually inseparable.

It’s important to understand that the term “feral” only defines how a cat responds to people – they can live indoors or outdoors much like pet cats can. How feral a cat is, is determined solely on how much human contact they have as young kittens. Rescuing feral kittens before they turn 8 weeks old is good– if you can give them lots of love and attention while placing them in permanent indoor homes. Rescuing feral cats is generally not encouraged because they are more akin to wildlife than to lap cats. Their best option is to have a daily caregiver providing them with food, water and outdoor dry shelter – and fixing them so they don’t reproduce. Feral cats can live very healthy, fulfilling lives for ten or more years in this manner.

Not understanding this, well-meaning individuals often capture feral adult cats thinking they can “tame them” and then keep them as pets or adopt them to others. As feral as Joyce is – she was lucky to have a happy ending to being “rescued”. This was only because she ended up at a pro-active cat-friendly clinic that had the wherewithal to match her to our budding program. Opportunities like this are few and far between with most rescued adult feral cats being killed on arrival at shelters --- much the same way older companion cats are.