Socializing kitten updates with great news

Last time I posted here, I had a porch filled with 4 feral kittens pulled from my ravine.  I was engaged in socializing them, which went very well indeed.  They were roughly 4 months old when I brought them in, I got them fixed, and they were all homed in early August.  Two of my little boys went together to the same woman; one went off by himself with a family that includes a very little girl; one I adopted myself.  *sigh*  And kitten makes 6.

The little boys all did so well when they were here.  They learned to trust people and enjoy our company.  They learned to play, to enjoy tuna snacks, to even sit on laps and get petted.  I miss them all terribly, but know they're in better places than a screened-in front porch.  Yay, kittens!

We still have 3 ferals to care for outside.  One of the boys, Brighton, has suddenly decided that he wants to be PETTED!  Food is good, but ear scritches are better.  He wants his ears rubbed, and while we're at it, some rubbing around his throat, along his ribs, and even above his tail.  So dedicated is he that he will throw his entire body weight into the hands of the person who's petting him, even half climbing into my lap if I stop.

He's such a doll of a kitty.  I would love to bring him inside, but 6 cats is enough, thank you.  We'll be building cold weather shelters for all three ferals, and with regular food, he'll be fine.  But still - what a sweetie.

Are we the cat whisperers, or what?

Oh, well done..

I just love stories like this..

Yes, well done.  You rock!

hroswitha said:

Are we the cat whisperers, or what?

Click to expand...

Yeah, it seems so!  

Congrats!  

Our feral boy, Brighton, is so absolute in his insistence that he receive attention that he waits outside for me or my husband for long stretches of time.  He's gotten a little aggressive in his demands - batting at my hand, nipping at my knuckles - so I've introduced him to a wand toy.  It has a mouse at the end of the rope that squeaks just like real prey.  Brighton is used to hunting real mousies, and was confused about this at first.  He would pick up the tail in his teeth, then try to run off with the toy.  Didn't work.  Eventually, though, he learned to jump up for it, bat at it, pull it down, and gnaw at the toy with happy expressions.

I've been wanting to introduce him to toys for awhile.  In cooler weather, we sometimes see him play with his sister, Esther.  They'll hide around trees then jump out, pounce, and run madly around the area.  They look so happy.

Since I can now touch Brighton, I'm going to invest in some Frontline to keep his flea population at a minimum.  He's due for a worming as well, so I'll get that done.  Right now, his coat is really rough and dry, so I'm adding water to his wet food and will try to get him to eat an egg.  He's also filthy - it's hot here, and I think they roll in dirt to keep cool.  

Can I just say, though, that he is a gorgeous little boy?  He's mostly orange, but has a small cone of white that just covers his nose and white paws.  His eyes are extraordinary - he and Esther both have blue green eyes, very delicately colored.  All his sons we removed from the ravine have deep chocolate brown eyes - very cute - but Brighton is just so pretty.