45 minutes of pure bliss...

First of all, let me preface this post by saying that I am extremely happy to report that upon coming home from work, Ferris has actually greeted me at the front door the last two days in a row with meows and a request to be scritched!

He even requested the night before last that I scoop out the litter box! It went like this:

Ferris: "Meeeeeooooow?"
Me: "What, Ferris?"
Ferris: "Meeeeeeeeeeeeooooooow!"
Me: "Oh, you want me to scoop out your litter box now? Yup, it's about that time of day, and it IS my job."
Ferris: (sharply) "Meow!" (runs on ahead of me, leading me - for the very first time rather than running from me - into the kitchen, where the box is)
Me: "Yes, Master!" (giggling)

I scooped, then he jumped right in to do his business - I guess he'd been waiting patiently!

Then last night, Ferris decided to jump up on my bed for some scritches, but this time, instead of jumping off after just a few minutes, he curled up against my side, and STAYED THERE FOR 45 WHOLE MINUTES!!!

He let me pet him, he closed his eyes in bliss, he let me actually COMB HIM!!! Oh my gosh, I'm so beside myself - this was a HUGE step for him!

I did notice the other day, as I was having just such a "cuddle" session with Ginger, that Ferris had jumped up on the bed and was watching intently as I caressed Ginger, kissing her on the head and making her purr with pleasure as I groomed her and petted her.

I think he's decided he wants in on that action!

What was quite amusing to me at the same time was that this took place during what is normally Ginger's time with me. She jumped on my bed once, stopped short when she saw him in "her spot," and jumped off in disgust.

Then again, about 30 minutes later, she came back, jumped up, saw him there and gave me an "Awww, MOM!" look, and jumped off the bed again! Poor little girl, usurped by her nemesis, LOL!

I'm so thrilled - my little semi-feral is making SUCH progress, all on his own!!!

Good deal Betsy! I know you are sooo happy. Much happier than Ginger is right now, I bet.... But she'll get used to sharing!

That is great, it is so rewarding when a shy cat makes friends

That is awesome news! Ferris is finally coming around! Pretty soon it will be a battle for who gets cuddles first!

How old is Ferris now? and how old was he when you got him?
The summer before last I caught a couple of feral kittens, tamed and homed them.
The little siamese mix looked like a rat when I found him and was so grateful just to get a full belly he tamed quickly

The orange one was slightly older, at least 12 weeks and wanted nothing to do with me. He took a lot longer to become completely tame with only occasional skittish behavior.
This was from a couple weeks before they were homed
about 3 months after I caught them.

Betsy, that is absolutely fantastic news. I'm glad to hear your boy is starting to trust you From my own experiences with Abby, you may have a few setbacks where he will withdraw, but for me lately, she seems to be rebounding much faster from them. I know you aren't able to clip his claws yet, but as an example, Abby used to hold a grudge for well over a day after a clipping. Now we have it down to an hour or so. Baby steps is what it is all about, and you are definitely going in the right direction

Originally Posted by strange_wings

How old is Ferris now? and how old was he when you got him?

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His story is this: Born in the woods to a feral momcat, captured (not by me) at approx 8 weeks old, kept in a cage in a foster home with his siblings for about 5 weeks, then I brought him home after seeing his picture on Petfinder. You can find more on our story if you keyword search on "Ferris." I think he's the only TCS kitty with that name.

Based on his teeth, the vet estimated his birthday to be approx May 31st, and therefore he is now 7 months old as of this week. I have had him for exactly 4 months as of New Years Eve.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

This was from a couple weeks before they were homed
about 3 months after I caught them.

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Awww! I'm so glad that you were there for them!

Ferris is such a cute little boy.
I'm so happy he's coming around.

Awww, that's great about Ferris. Every step forward is so rewarding!

Originally Posted by GingersMom

I have had him for exactly 4 months as of New Years Eve.

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Oh he's doing great for his age then He seems to be figuring out how to make you do what he wants, once that happens they realize they own you and most of the fear disappears I'm sure he's learned a lot from your other kitty as well, having another older cat to look up to really helps feral kittens adjust. Of course in the end the real secret is treats

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Oh he's doing great for his age then

He seems to be figuring out how to make you do what he wants, once that happens they realize they own you and most of the fear disappears

I'm sure he's learned a lot from your other kitty as well, having another older cat to look up to really helps feral kittens adjust. Of course in the end the real secret is treats

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Thank you, I'm glad that you think so. Welcome to TCS, by the way!

As far as treats go, my vets have told me to not give them treats on a daily basis. They, however, don't live with my kitties. To cut down on the "bad" treats, I mix the crunchies with Nutro dry food, so half of what they think are treats are just cat food. Shhhh, don't tell my kits....

Even though my house kitties get wet food daily they still think it's a treat Tomas even coos, mews, and purrs over it while I'm opening the can.

That's fantastic news. You are doing such a great thing with and for ferris.

Yay for both you and Ferris! He's getting lovings and you love giving them! That's win-win all around

Ginger will come around. It took Chynna a while to get used to the idea of sharing me with another kitty. They now have their own spots on the bed where they can spend time cuddling with me. Frequently I find myself with a kitty on either side of me and me having to pet 2 kitties at once which I don't mind at all

Yup, we've definitley reached a new level. Ferris has stopped running from me except when startled accidently, and he's letting me approach him to tickle him alongside his cheek and scritch behind his ears.

He is more vocal with me, and this morning he and Ginger jumped into their "catch treats" positions in the living room, and Ferris announced that I should toss treats. It went like this:

Ferris: "Meeeeeoooow!"
Me: "What, Ferris?"
Ferris: (tosses his head over his left shoulder, in indication of Ginger standing just above him on the cat condo, also waiting for me to toss some treats.) "Meow!"
Me: (laughing) "Okay, I'll toss you guys a couple of treats, are you ready?"
Ferris: (backs up and looks at me expectantly.)

And then they were indulged with some of the Temptations that were a part of their Secret Santa package. I think we're all very happy that I am finally learning how to please both of my masters.

Edit: I'm seriously thinking that I have a male alpha, LOL!