My Feral Mom - am I doing ok

I had posted before about the "feral" mom I am taking care of. I use the " " because she was found with a collar and shortly after being found had kittens. I am fostering her. Kittens are grown and adopted. Now I need to work with her.

I have gotten her to eat by me or in a kennel. She is now playing with glitter balls and does not always run and hide when I come in to visit - which is several times daily. I always bring her a treat so she associates good things with me.

this morning as she was cleaning herself by me, I was drumming my fingers on the floor. She put her paw out and touched me. How do I continue with the process so I can eventually pet her?

Pattie

First off, thank you for taking on this challenge.  She sounds like she's coming along OK.  Remember, though, that she may not be a lap cat, so any step she takes toward being comfortable with humans is a biggie.

I would suggest that you don't play with her with your hands.  Drumming your fingers attracted her attention but if she "attacked," it wouldn't be pretty.  Try wand toys or string toys.  If she sits closely to you, offer your fist - it will look like a cat asking for a head bump and once she allows touch, you can scratch her head or behind her ears.

ok, guess I was lucky on that one. I will try the fist. Never thought of that. Thanks

Pattie

Pdrdld said:

ok, guess I was lucky on that one. I will try the fist. Never thought of that. Thanks

Pattie

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It took me awhile to learn that lesson and I have the scars to prove it! . Keep up the good work - it shouldn't take too long.

The fist works! When you offer it make sure you have your fist a little lower than her head, so she has to duck her head down slightly to rub against it. An out-stretched hand coming down to pet her looks like a paw with the claws extended so she won't like that.

Once you've got her distracted with a wand toy you can use the other hand to pet her. I've found that with the more skittish cats it's better if they can't see your hand coming. If she's facing away from you, use your free hand to gently stroke her back near the base of her tail. When she is comfortable with that you can gradually start petting her further up her back towards her neck and head.

Feral cats, even the semi-feral ones, take a lot of slow and patient work but they are well worth all the effort. Thank you for taking care of this girl.