Cecil the hybrid wild cat? who wants to live with us

Last weekend we found Cecil dead just outside the house - no obvious injuries. He had been on Fay's lap the day before and seemed to be in good order. It had been a cold period but he was within feet of the house. Dont understand. I am very sad.

Whew! It's done.

The time arrived when Cecil turned up with deep scratches and scabs and bloody wounds under his front forearm and paw. Tried aloe vera which he told me 'hurt' lol. The next day he was in Fays sitting room and that was that. Got the cat box, stuffed him in and went to our vet in Lorca, a 20 km ride to a city, who did him there and then checking his wounds while he was under. We also paid for a 15 day antibiotic and anti inflammatory injection. We decided you can push a thing too far.

He had some water and some cooked chicken on his return and disappeared for two days (worryingly but I rationalised it would take two days for the antibiotics to kick in. Sure enough he turned up in the middle of the night very hungry had a stroke from Fay.Can only say it again - whew!

The dynamics of our family of cats and dogs and humans have changed again. Ginnie one our young cats who generally lived with Fay has had to be put to sleep when she, Ginnie, failed to respond to treatment- antibiotics, vitamin injections, two drainings from her lung. The vet was insistent he wanted to do an autopsy to check his diagnosis which he did promptly. Ginnie had a huge cancerous tumour in her lung. Despite this she had tried to come on her daily walk with us all until 3 or 4 days before she died.
Her death upset all the animals and Cecil seemed to realise the difference and moved in, spending more hours in the house given a chance and mewing regularly at Fay if he wanted her to sit in her comfortable chair so he could sit on her lap. If she didn't this is what happened.

If I pick my moment Cecil comes for a cuddle and is happy to sit on my lap for some considerable time as long as the dogs arent around.

An even bigger event is that the dogs know I would be angry with them if they 'went' for Cecil so if I sit near him the dogs are prepared to sit down and see what happens and Cecil has at last held his ground. I reward the dogs for being good. So slowly he is moving in on us.

Cecil could be trained to use a certain area, say a sandy spot in the corner of the garden, in same the way a domestic cat can be trained to use the litter box.

I have trawled through the site and finally found that wild cats dont bury their faeces. Now this is giving me food for thought. Can they be taught not to do their biz just anywhere - like on the patio? or even in the house.... Should I be encouraging Cecil; am I doing him a disfavour? The next question is given our environment do we TNR? Anybody got an opinion?

Definite progress being made with Cecil - the issue is still with the dogs chasing him but he is beginning to follow Steve around and came near the front door. He sat out last night's rainstorm under the car.

Still has this rather amazing (I am blaming him rather than the foxes) to pooh and not make any attempt to cover as if he is marking. Still would grateful to know if anyone has come across this behaviour with their feral friends.

Hi

I assumed that cats had an innate sense to be careful where they toilet. Ours go to great lengths to hide themselves and cover the results when toiletting.

However after two night time brawls on the patio outside our bedroom window we have found cat dumps on the tiles. Clearly Cecil.

How much is known about wild cats and this behaviour, if anything, please anybody?

We have to live with several foxes as well who mark their territory in this way.

Nice story. Im in the process of becoming friends with a feral cat. My story about him and I is on the cat killer page in one of my comments.

Hi Susie, Yes, just email me the photos and I'll add them to the page. If you have video and a YouTube account provide me with the web address and I'll embed the video.

The tabby cat has banded hair strands. Both wildcats and domestic cats can be tabby cats. The domestic cat comes from the wildcat.

Most if not all wildcats have tabby coats one way or another. Tabby domestic cats are the most common cats, I suspect.

Thanks for that Michael. Would it clear the matter more if I can get hold of some of his fur? As I understand it wildcats' fur is multibanded but a tabby's wouldnt be?
Last night I was permitted to see the most interesting interaction between Freddie the boss here and Cecil. Shame it isnt video but I just kept shooting so it works as continuous film.
(We, humans, dogs and cats, take an evening walk and Cecil has learnt to turn up while we are away) Can I put the photos up somewhere?

Hi Susie, I don't think he is a wildcat hybrid, more like a very good looking feral cat with the usual independence and suspicion that they have of humans!

My bet is that over time things will settle down from both sides. Cecil will become domestic gradually if you persevere. I hope so. He looks superb. He is looks like a mackerel tabby and white feral cat.

The bite is a 'love bite' not intended to harm.

Thanks a lot for sharing. We don't get many from Spain, so this is a nice insight into Spanish life in the country.