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Fun with feral animals part 2

By muchagecko (Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 04:15:24 PM EST) feral animals (all tags)

We've got a game.

Lunarpaw spends most of her time in my bathroom now.

Lunarpaw

I think she's afraid to go out.

Last weekend we got her a scratching pad (with catnip) to help with her claws. Based on the bite marks in the pad, we think she liked the catnip.

So I picked up a catnip toy for her.

kitty`s best friend

See the little purple thing in her food dish? That's her little buddy. He's in a different spot each time I go into the bathroom.

At least I know she's moving around in there.

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Fun with feral animals part 2 | 14 comments (14 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

It took a few weeks for our newest cat by georgeha (4.00 / 4) #1 Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 05:31:51 PM EST

to leave eleven year old's bedroom, and a few months to be okay with the dog.

Now he cries if his doggy buddy is outside.

Shy kitties. by muchagecko (4.00 / 2) #2 Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 06:33:29 PM EST

If only our kitty was merely shy. She's pretty vicious. Nobody's been able to pet or hold her.

I love these critters that fall in love with animals they're supposed to hate. Post a pic of your cat and dog together, k?

"It means more if you have to earn it, even if it's by doing something as simple as eating a meal." Kellnerin
[ Parent ]

: I don't want to get Hulver in trouble by georgeha (4.00 / 4) #4 Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 07:16:06 PM EST

most of the time they're close enough for a picture, the dog is showing his interspecies love.

[ Parent ]
: Not mine by fencepost (4.00 / 2) #11 Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 08:14:15 PM EST

But appropriate

[ Parent ]

WIPO: Leaving something with your smell on it by Rogerborg (4.00 / 2) #3 Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 07:03:56 PM EST

near the food bowl, such as a T-shirt that you wore to exercise class, may also help the keen-scented cat to associate you with food.

You probably already know this; I'm really just trying to get you to take your shirt off.

-
Metus amatores matrum compescit, non clementia.

: That's a nice story by muchagecko (4.00 / 2) #5 Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 07:22:21 PM EST

you've linked. I'll try storing my dance shirt in the bathroom. Thanks.

"It means more if you have to earn it, even if it's by doing something as simple as eating a meal." Kellnerin
[ Parent ]

ha cute by fleece (4.00 / 2) #6 Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 09:08:21 PM EST

i have a soft spot for people who adore their pets

I don't know if she's a pet. by muchagecko (4.00 / 1) #7 Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 12:10:01 AM EST

Imagine my bathroom is the wild cat exhibit in the zoo. I'm more of a zookeeper.

"It means more if you have to earn it, even if it's by doing something as simple as eating a meal." Kellnerin
[ Parent ]

: in that case by fleece (4.00 / 2) #8 Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:31:30 AM EST

DO NOT FEED THE LIONS

[ Parent ]

PARANOID CAT by spacejack (4.00 / 2) #9 Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 06:29:40 PM EST

HIDES IN PANIC ROOM

: I should have the kids try to record by muchagecko (4.00 / 1) #10 Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 08:07:56 PM EST

the hiss she makes when you get too close to her, which is immediately followed by a whoosh/thump made by her paw with extended claws pounding the ground.
Panic. Yes, panic is this kittie's middle name.

"It means more if you have to earn it, even if it's by doing something as simple as eating a meal." Kellnerin
[ Parent ]

Kitty looks scared to death. by nightflameblue (4.00 / 1) #12 Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 09:51:47 AM EST

Something very, very bad must have happened to her at some point. Even completely wild cats that have never spent time around people don't look that frightened of them until they're given reason to be scared.

As for time? Our second cat spent about a week and a half living under our bed. Only came out at night. But after that he started darting out, down the hall, peeking at us, meowing, then running back under the bed. About a week later he was out sitting on our laps most of the time.

But he never looked that scared of us. He was just confused.

Don't know what you've tried, but you may want to consider laying or sitting somewhere where kitty can see you, but you are obviously not making a move towards her. Work on something out of her reach. Cat's tend to find pens and pencils fascinating when you're writing. Maybe curiosity could help her get past her fear?

I'm not sure about that. by muchagecko (2.00 / 0) #13 Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 11:31:13 AM EST

Her mother was feral also. Cats aren't just naturally friendly. There needs to be some domestic training for that. One online resource compares "handling an angry feral kitten to wrestling with a animated cactus".

"Cats that have never had extensive contact with humans at an early age (unsocialized), seldom can become well-adapted pets. They will almost always view contact with people as frightening, and will avoid it. Cats who have spent their entire lives outdoors can sometimes adapt to indoor life, but it is a very slow, stressful process." - from www.indyferal.org

"It means more if you have to earn it, even if it's by doing something as simple as eating a meal." Kellnerin
[ Parent ]

: How old is she? by nightflameblue (4.00 / 1) #14 Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 11:43:02 AM EST

Also, how unaccustomed to humans is she?
Back in my farming days there were a lot of cats that lived around people that weren't tame in the least. Moving them from that to tame was a fairly easy thing to do given time. Often it was as easy as setting up shop to do something around where they hung out and just ignoring them. Sure, they started with a mild fear of us, but eventually they'd wonder what that metallic do-dad was we were wrenching on and want to come see it enough to not worry about what we were going to do to them.
Gotta say, I rarely saw a kitty look that scared and come around to human interaction though. She looks like she may have had a bad run-in with someone in her past more than just not knowing people.
Hopefully providing food and water will eventually pay off for you. Not sure what to offer beyond that, and the recommendation that in trying to get her to know you, the best thing you can do is pointedly ignore her. Even very tame cats sometimes prefer to pester humans that are ignoring them to being approached. Something about them just makes them want to come to you when you don't necessarily want them.

[ Parent ]

Fun with feral animals part 2 | 14 comments (14 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

-	hiss and spit and claw	100%
-	will tame eventually	0%
-	WIPO	0%


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