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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / June 2004FERAL CAT ADVICE?
we took in a feral cat that was at the time about 2/3 of a yr old and we've had her for about 6 months. she adorable and very loving but only with me and only on her terms. she's very freindly towards me but will only be an amicable cat when she wants which is usually late at night. My son would also like to be able to handle her, or at least enjoy her company but she always runs away from him as well, not exactly in fear but more like a safety issue. My question is; will she ever warm up to us? what do i do to get her to warm up to us? she's sooo lovable and all we want to do is smother her with love and attention. Does anyone know how to handle this situation? Any advice would be most appreciated. Regards, Sigrid > we took in a feral cat that was at the time about 2/3 of a yr old and we've > had her for about 6 months. she adorable and very loving but only with me [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Regards, > Sigrid he needs to act like she is not there for a long while until she becomes curious about him. He should just sit on the floor with a book when she is in the room and behave quietly and ignore her. I bet she will eventually come around. Have him sit in the room, if possible, when she is with you or when she is eating. She will then associate him with something positive (you or the food). It is a slow process with ferals. In time, she should warm up to him. This may take years, though.... Gail > we took in a feral cat that was at the time about 2/3 of a yr old and we've > had her for about 6 months. she adorable and very loving but only with me [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Regards, > Sigrid >we took in a feral cat that was at the time about 2/3 of a yr old and we've >had her for about 6 months. she adorable and very loving but only with me [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Regards, >Sigrid First thing I would say is not to try and force her to be friendly!!! I took in a stray when she was 4 years old and pregnant and she is now 7 or 8 years old.. She is still a one person cat (Me) and only when she wants to be. Any time I try to pick her up or approach her too fast or she hears a loud noise she is gone. She used to set on my lap until I had to treat her for ear mites and now she will not even do that!!! And that was almost 7 months ago. http://www.cornerstonecc.com/ http://www.alphaassociation.org/ http://members.aol.com/larrystark/ http://larryestark.topcities.com/ ... My son would > also like to be able to handle her, or at least enjoy her company but she > always runs away from him as well, not exactly in fear but more like a > safety issue. ...> Any advice would be most appreciated. > Regards, > Sigrid How old is your son? Why is it a safety issue? Annie > My question is; will she ever warm up to us? what do i do to get her to > warm up to us? she's sooo lovable and all we want to do is smother her with > love and attention. Yes, it is likely that she will warm up to you in time, especially since she already has to some degree. But she has to take the initiative. It's not going to work with you guys smothering her and forcing a retreat :> From the cat's point of view, it IS a safety issue. She may have decided that YOU are a nice person, but she has absolutely no reason to transfer that assumption to your son. Making assumptions like that can be fatal to a feral cat. And he may well have confirmed some of her suspicions by approaching her in a way she may not have been able to understand. The best thing to do with a suspicious cat is just to let them watch you. Do things that are calm, move slowly, make soothing noises. Do the same things so the cat starts to recognize them (read, fold laundry, whatever is a good bonding time with the cat). Talk to it and tell it about your day. Cats can tell when you're talking to them. If the cat approaches, give it soft touch above it's eyes or along the side of it's whiskers and then stop. The cat will retreat, but it will see that you touched it nicely and nothing bad happened. Leave the cat wanting more of him, not less. Have him put out some catnip for the cat or put down it's food sometimes so the cat sees him doing nice things for cats. And be patient! The cat is just taking care of herself. There is probably a little geyser of affection in there just waiting to be unleashed. She just has to do it on her own schedule. Tracy <twrl2001@yahoo.com> quoth: >Yes, it is likely that she will warm up to you in time, especially >since she already has to some degree. But she has to take the >initiative. It's not going to work with you guys smothering her and >forcing a retreat :> >From the cat's point of view, it IS a safety issue. She may have >decided that YOU are a nice person, but she has absolutely no reason >to transfer that assumption to your son. Making assumptions like that >can be fatal to a feral cat. And he may well have confirmed some of >her suspicions by approaching her in a way she may not have been able >to understand. >The best thing to do with a suspicious cat is just to let them watch >you. Do things that are calm, move slowly, make soothing noises. Do [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >cat or put down it's food sometimes so the cat sees him doing nice >things for cats. >And be patient! The cat is just taking care of herself. There is >probably a little geyser of affection in there just waiting to be >unleashed. She just has to do it on her own schedule. Excellent post. Very good advice. Priscilla  Signature"Come to Planet Earth! Watch people with brains not use them! Several shows daily! Free admittance!" Keera Ann Fox in alt.support.menopause > Tracy <twrl2001@yahoo.com> quoth: > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Priscilla I agree. I thought I could offer some help as well. I'm in the process of gentling 4 young ferals that entered my home all at once recently. (Long story) 2 words: Cat Treats. They're absolutely insane for Pounce treats. Every cat I've ever owned has been. We actually had a similar situation with one of ours, he got under my feet and I stepped on him. After that he wouldn't have anything to do with me, but liked my S/O. Poor thing couldn't know it was an accident... :-( Anyway, have your son offer Pounce or something comparable every so often. Very soon the cat will take it from his fingers, probably sooner than later. At that time, while she eats, he should be able to touch her back gently with one finger, or perhaps the end of her tail. She'll move away, but come back for more food. Don't be pushy, just take it slow. Soon he should be able to stroke her back while she eats, and she'll learn to appreciate the petting on it's own. This worked in just a couple of days on 3 out of my 4. The 4th one (not the one I stepped on) is just taking longer because the others steal the food or just get in the way, since they're now "petting junkies." (Along with the three I already have.) Oh, I've also found that touching on the paws and tail gets much less of a fearful reaction than the face or back, at least with my four. Then you just kind of work up the body from there. :-) (This may take a while) And once you get to where you can rub the "sweet spot" on the back at the base of the tail, that's it, they're yours. :-D Best of Luck, Robyn SignatureTo avoid grizzlies, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game advises hikers to wear noisy little bells on clothes and carry pepper spray. Also watch for signs of activity: Black bear scat is smaller and contains berries; grizzly scat has little bells in it and smells like pepper. In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.health+behav", "Robyn" <nutfish@bellsouth.SPAMSUCKSnet> artfully composed this message within <news:zbmAc.47241$Kd5.44808@bignews4.bellsouth.net> on 17 Jun 2004: > Anyway, have your son offer Pounce or something comparable > every so > often. Very soon the cat will take it from his fingers, probably > sooner than later. I agree with this based on my experience with a single truly feral cat in my lifetime, my Bonnie. Though she's a sucker for Wysong's Cat Treats; no other will do. No human food, either. > Oh, I've also found that touching on the paws and tail gets > much less [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the "sweet spot" on the back at the base of the tail, that's it, > they're yours. :-D For Bonnie, it was being pet with my feet. Her first moves toward touching me on her own accord were toward my feet. She'd get close enough to me where she'd reach out and put a paw on one of my feet. I didn't move, and then eventually when she was in love with my feet (this took a LONG time), I pet her with one. lol It got to where she wouldn't let me reach toward her with my hand, but she'd come running and plop down at my feet and either lay on them or just rest a paw on one. She had to be touching them. The first time she jumped up on the couch and then started to act like she wanted to sit on my lap I was thrilled. At this point, she'd already let me pet her with my hand. It is a long slow process but very worth it to see a wild animal come around and become affectionate and a great companion. Good luck with your new household, Robyn! And good luck to Sigrid! Oh, and Sigrid, the thing I've noticed with Bonnie and interacting with people other than me is that if they totally ignore her, she eventually will get curious enough to stare at them for a long time, then go up and try to sniff, but not too close. And it has to be quiet, the person can't make sudden movements and above all, they have to ignore her completely. When kitty allows them to move and still stays close by without hiding, it is a slow process to finally using something like a feather toy and wave it around sort of mindlessly like you don't know you're doing it. lol Kitty will get curious enough to start watching it, then eventually play! SignatureCheryl circa Thu, 17 Jun 2004 20:05:29 -0500, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Cheryl (jlhshadow@nospamhotmail.com) said, > Good luck with your new household, Robyn! And good luck to Sigrid! > Oh, and Sigrid, the thing I've noticed with Bonnie and interacting [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > quiet, the person can't make sudden movements and above all, they > have to ignore her completely. Whoops, should have read the whole thread before throwing in. :-) Laura SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde <snip> > For Bonnie, it was being pet with my feet. Her first moves toward > touching me on her own accord were toward my feet. She'd get close [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > my hand. It is a long slow process but very worth it to see a wild > animal come around and become affectionate and a great companion. That's so interesting! Another "feet" cat. My Toffee, she's not feral but she was found as a stray, also loves feet. I suspect she had been abused. She used to run if we made a motion with our hands toward her, but she would still sit with us and everything. Eventually, she started coming up to our feet and nuzzling them. She especially loves bare feet. She will come running from across the room if she spots your bare foot. She lets us pet her with our hands now, too, but she still prefers feet. > Good luck with your new household, Robyn! And good luck to Sigrid! > Oh, and Sigrid, the thing I've noticed with Bonnie and interacting [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > mindlessly like you don't know you're doing it. lol Kitty will get > curious enough to start watching it, then eventually play! My semi-feral Antonio will come up on the bed and the couch when I am under a blanket. He prefers me to be laying down. He will actually lay on me and purr up a storm. I lay very still and enjoy it. The only times he's really let me pet him are on the bed. That's the safe place. Signature-Kelly kelly at farringtons dot net Check out www.snittens.com circa Fri, 18 Jun 2004 16:11:10 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, KellyH (Kelly@whatever.com) said, > That's so interesting! Another "feet" cat. My Toffee, she's not feral but > she was found as a stray, also loves feet. I suspect she had been abused. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > running from across the room if she spots your bare foot. She lets us pet > her with our hands now, too, but she still prefers feet. Camille is *obsessed* with feet. She does all of the above, but with the added "bonus" of licking my feet like crazy. Hands, too, but she just LOVES feet. And I've had her since she was a fetus, so I know she wasn't abused. :-D However, Mamacat, Camille's mother (obviously) was a cat who would just show up at my door and saunter in, pop out some kittens and then rip out a screen to escape and get knocked up again (this was before I found out that you can get a nursing cat spayed; I had always thought you had to wait until the kittens were weaned because I thought it would kill milk production). Anyway, Mamacat was completely skittish with anybody but me, and she really behaved like a feral rather than a stray with anybody else. I think that Camille inherited her chickens**t personality from Mamacat. Laura SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.health+behav", "KellyH" <Kelly@whatever.com> artfully composed this message within <news:yuEAc.134148$Ly.63371@attbi_s01> on 18 Jun 2004: > That's so interesting! Another "feet" cat. I started wondering if the preference was because feet are down closer to their level, and Bonnie used to slink across the floor, along baseboards, and pretty much anywhere she thought she could blend in. That's probably how she survived out there for 5 months or so; dead of winter, too, when I think she was born. It was May when I trapped her last year. My Toffee, she's > not feral but she was found as a stray, also loves feet. I > suspect she had been abused. She used to run if we made a motion [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > lets us pet her with our hands now, too, but she still prefers > feet. That *does* sound like Bonnie, but I doubt she (Bonnie) was ever abused. I think she had just never gotten close to people. Wild one she was. I'm glad Toffee is getting more trusting! :) SignatureCheryl > That *does* sound like Bonnie, but I doubt she (Bonnie) was ever > abused. I think she had just never gotten close to people. Wild one > she was. I'm glad Toffee is getting more trusting! :) I always assumed because Toffee was afraid of hands she may have been abused, but maybe she was just shy. She was found living in a tire in the dead of winter, but was in pretty good shape, so she hadn't been out too long. Maybe she did have a home, but they didn't pay any attention to her. Signature-Kelly kelly at farringtons dot net Check out www.snittens.com circa Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:55:04 -0500, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Cheryl (jlhshadow@nospamhotmail.com) said, > I started wondering if the preference was because feet are down > closer to their level, and Bonnie used to slink across the floor, > along baseboards, and pretty much anywhere she thought she could > blend in. I know that Camille is *much* less of a chickensh*t when I'm seated than when I'm standing. She just fears anything tall and moving, as I've said. I think it's kinda natural, all things considered. Laura SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde circa 17 Jun 2004 10:40:12 -0700, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Tracy (twrl2001@yahoo.com) said, > The best thing to do with a suspicious cat is just to let them watch > you. And pretend that you don't know they're there. Don't even look at them. Laura SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde |
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