The Feral Who Did Not Play

So, this is our foster-feral. We gave her a couple of toys, and she wasn't quite sure what to do with them. We left her in our bathroom last night, and this is what we found in the morning! She made her own toy!

Awww but she looks so innocent!

I wake up to that on a daily basis......and it seems I end up cleaning it up a few times a day......to bad I cant seem to teach them to use it the way its meant to

Uh... is that toilet paper?

Hey, it spins and spins ... what fun! Wheeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

having Cats taught me a trick put the TP roll on so that it hangs the opposite way, towards the wall. The cats can't string it down like that when it's hung up like that. Well i mean they can but it's much harder for them.

It instantly stopped mine from doing it.

his face is like "uh-oh... Busted!"

Wow, she's looking great, not too feral at all! Nice work The semi-ferals take forever to learn how to play. You wiggle a feather in front of their nose and they stare at it like it's going to eat them. You roll a ball at them, and they watch it until it bounces off them then look at you like "what did you do that for??".

That's hilarious! Been there, done that, bought more TP! She looks just like our Shadow too! All sweet & innocent! Yeah right! Anywho, I just witnessed one of our feral cats playing hockey with a plastic bottle cap on the porch last night. That's generally an unusual sight. Even Squirt who wasn't real feral when he adopted us didn't play with cat toys. It's just recently that if you tease him with the feather boa he'll go after it but hasn't clue one what to do with a rubber ball or squeaky mouse. He does however know what to do with a real mouse!

Originally Posted by sarahp

Wow, she's looking great, not too feral at all! Nice work

The semi-ferals take forever to learn how to play. You wiggle a feather in front of their nose and they stare at it like it's going to eat them. You roll a ball at them, and they watch it until it bounces off them then look at you like "what did you do that for??".

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I got lucky with this one... she's never hissed. She just cried and cried and *flinched anytime either of us made the slightest move. She still hides when we first come into the room, but she seems to enjoy being pet. I'm sure her siblings will be more difficult. I'd like to get them as soon as possible, we're just waiting on our trap.

oh how cute!

Her markings are so beautiful! Don't you just love catching them cold, busted!

Oh look at her sweet little face!!! She didn't do that!. the paper fairies came through the night

The cuter the face, the greater the crime

She looks great.

Aww... she's such a cute wee thing!
It makes me sad that the ferals don't know how to play with toys.

Originally Posted by pushylady

Aww... she's such a cute wee thing!
It makes me sad that the ferals don't know how to play with toys.

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She learned about the ball! But she still doesn't know about fake mousies... maybe she just doesn't care for the fake mousies? She's getting used to indoor life surprisingly quick!

It took Elsa a long time to learn how to play - and she still doesn't do it a lot. Your kitty is so cute in the bathroom with the TP!

Originally Posted by Going Nova

So, this is our foster-feral. We gave her a couple of toys, and she wasn't quite sure what to do with them. We left her in our bathroom last night, and this is what we found in the morning! She made her own toy!

Click to expand...

It looks like she knows how to play now!

Originally Posted by Katch4

Awww but she looks so innocent!

I wake up to that on a daily basis......and it seems I end up cleaning it up a few times a day......to bad I cant seem to teach them to use it the way its meant to

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Hello from a fellow Saskatchewanite!

She is so cute!

My cat Holly (not feral) loves TP too

That is so cute, and funny. Angel used to do that, but she don't seem interested in the paper anymore. Now she just scatters tooth brushes.

Ferals are kinda funny like that. They've been taught by their mothers not to play because it attracts attention of predators, so they really truly don't have any idea how to play. I know that Mary Anne (the feral queen as far as I'm concerned!) suggests with the kitten to bring in things that they know, like dried leaves or twigs.

Ophelia had no idea how to play when we got her, and she was only ~6 weeks old. She learned from watching Trent (they were kittens together). She doesn't play a lot, but when she does...look out! Even Annie, who was friendly but found in the forest, didn't know what to do with a ball or a feather toy. She figured it out pretty quick and hasn't stopped playing since.

She's a little dolly! I see she's figured out the innocent look, even if she hasn't figured out toys yet!