A true domestic cat, i.e. a cat that has been thoroughly socialised and who has lived with their caregiver, cannot become a true feral cat because they cannot lose that initial, early several weeks of socialisation before they are about 7-weeks-of-age. That will remain with them all their lives. The process is immutable.
However, the word ‘feral’ and ‘stray’ or ‘community cat’ are sometimes used interchangeably which blurs the boundaries between them and blurs this discussion 😉. They are different animals though as strays are domestic cats (socialised) without homes while feral cats never had a home and have lived in the urban wild all their lives. They are unsocialised if true feral cats.
It might be useful to briefly recount my own story. I adopted my cat as a seven-week-old feral kitten from a rescue center. I socialised him within about two months but he has never become completely socialised in the same way that a true domestic cat is fully socialised. He behaves entirely like a domestic cat but occasionally his wild character comes to the surface as he can’t contain himself. This does not interfere with the relationship. I still love him and he reciprocates that love.
So, the answer to the question in the title is that a domestic cat cannot become feral. In fairness, the question is slightly misleading. You could ask how long it takes for a domestic cat to become a stray cat if they are ejected from their home and the answer would be immediately. There is no time delay or time limit on a domestic cat becoming a stray cat. The phrase “stray cat” applies to domestic cats who are not living in their home with their caregiver for whatever reason.
However, a domestic cat can become a stray cat. A stray cat is not the same as a feral cat in terms of interacting with people.
Interacting with people – stray cats
The stray cat is a domestic cat without a human caregiver; without a home. They will struggle under these conditions and likely become underweight and unhealthy. They won’t be frightened of people in the same way that a true feral cat is frightened of people. Although they might be frightened to a certain extent because they might be a timid stray cat compared to a confident one.
After all, the character of domestic cats vary tremendously. Some domestic cats will approach strangers while others will run from them. The same applies to stray cats.
Stray cats that have lived the life of a stray cat for some time will probably be in bad physical condition relative to a well-cared for domestic cat unless they’ve been cared for by TNR volunteers or a kindly homeowner.
They may approach a person because they are very keen to become a domestic cat again. They may approach with the intention of being adopted by that person. They may do this despite an anxiety when interacting with strangers. Their desperation to find their home overcoming their anxieties. In this vein, they might purr when the person they’ve approached is kind to them. Their tail may quiver in excitement at the prospect of being adopted. They may be vocal towards that person and exhibit warm body language by rubbing up against them if the person is friendly.
Interacting with people – feral cats
These aspects of stray cat behaviour in interacting with a person are in stark contrast to those of a feral cat. We know that feral cats are frightened of people because they have never been socialised. They will normally avoid people and hide from them. If they are forced to interact with a person, they might be aggressive and probably will be aggressive towards that person. They might lash out in an act of defensive aggression. And they will exhibit negative body language towards that person.
It’s possible to socialise a fully adult feral cat but it takes a lot longer to do this than would be normal when socialising a feral kitten. It might take as long as 18 months and a socialised feral cat will probably retain some wild characteristics which might pop up to the surface from time to time. Nonetheless, they will be domesticated and loving.
TNR
You will find that volunteers who operate TNR programs not infrequently encounter stray cats among their cared-for community of feral cats. The stray cats are friendly and sometimes the volunteers find homes for them.
Becoming more feral
To return to the initial question, if a stray cat lives a life outside of a family home for a long time, they will become less accustomed to interacting with humans and perhaps on occasions will act more like a feral cat for this reason. But they will never lose that early socialisation as it is deeply ingrained in their psyche.
This is in exactly the same way that a feral cat can never be truly and absolutely socialised if they miss that socialisation period in the first seven weeks of their life. That wildness – the opposite side of the coin to domestication – is retained throughout their lives.
Socialisation
A lot has been written about socialising cat so I won’t go into a long description here. This section is simply a quick note for those people who are new to cat caregiving. Socialisation is a process whereby a kitten learns that humans are animals not to be feared. This is achieved by them interacting with friendly people who feed them and play with them.
They look after the kitten and it normally keeps socialised kittens in a permanent state of kittenhood throughout their lives.
Cats can be socialised with any other animal, not only people. You will see cats getting along very well with dogs because the dog has also been socialised to get along with cats. And you’ll see cats getting along nicely with a wide range of animals.
Sometimes it doesn’t need socialisation for a domestic cat to get along with a wild deer. They just get along instinctively. I guess because the domestic cat understands the deer is not an animal to be feared as they are not predators.
