Can feral cats be domesticated

I’ve heard people say feral cats can’t be domesticated, that feral cats can’t be good pets. But from my experience, that depends on the cat’s personality. Each cat has a unique personality, just like people.

So, the jury’s out. Can stray cat become domesticated? Can a feral cat become a house cat?

Showing affection If ‘domesticated’ means being able to love their humans and show love, the answer is yes. Feral felines can be domesticated this way. I took an adult stray cat, Amiga, off the street. She was born and raised on the streets. And she’s a lap cat. She jumps on my lap and won’t get off. If she had her way, she’d stay on my lap all day long. So it’s possible for a feral cat who’d never had human contact before, who’d never been inside a house before, to be affectionate.

In fact, all animals love their owners. Even wild animals can show love. I know woman who’d taken a wounded bat that was hit by a car to her house, and she’s keeping it as a pet.

Bad patients Feral cats tend to be more suspicious than house cats, and some of them have a sixth sense, so they know when you’re going to force a pill down their throat or put them in a cage to take to the vet. If being domesticated means the cat will let you take them to the vet without attacking you, then many feral cats can’t be domesticated. Then again, many house cats will attack you and the vet under these circumstances. Except feral cats tend to be more aggressive.

Friendly to strangers Most feral cats aren’t friendly to strangers, and they won’t let a stranger get near them, much less touch them. But that doesn’t mean a feral cat can’t be domesticated! My Amiga was like this at first. It took her a while to warm up to me, and more importantly, to trust me.

Personality Every cat has a different personality. One of my cats, Princessa, also a feral taken off the street as a grown cat, won’t let me pet her even though I had her for a long time, but then there are friendly feral cats out there who let strangers pet them. It’s not that feral cats can’t be domesticated. It’s that every cat has their own personality. However, I suspect that if Princessa was raised by humans as a kitten, she wouldn’t be so suspicious today. This is one feral cat that can’t be domesticated.

One of my four cats, Chocolate Paws, doesn’t live in the house. He just shows up to eat. He’s an example of a feral cat that won’t be domesticated. I shot a video of him, but he was camera-shy. Here it is.

Cats love sleeping in cats’ beds, especially in cold winter nights. I love watching mine sleep in their beds. It calms them and make them sleepy. Here’s a large, warm, and cozy bed that gives your cat privacy. Click to view.