Coconut (feral kitten) update

So I'm 3.5 weeks into socializing Coconut. We've revised our idea of her age upward, so she was close to 4 months when we got her off the street. The reason for the revision...she is in heat. No wonder she was interested in the other cats...though they are all fixed and don't quite know what to make of her. At least she isn't yowling - just trilling and doing the "present butt" to Chaser, the one male cat we allow to visit her (the others hiss at her).  She has a spay appointment scheduled for March 8.

Coconut is still in the large dog cage, but we are constructing an "annex" that will double her floor space. She is accepting pets, but cringes when we first reach toward her (slowly, hand lightly curled, below her eye level). She does like the chin scratches and the sides of her face rubbed. She's even purred...though it may have been comfort purring. She relaxes some while she's being petted.

The negatives are that she still moves away from us when we first come to the cage (even if we are bringing food). And she cringes initially with petting. But she "recovers" much more quickly from the touch, and we always mix play, petting, and food/tuna so she gets lots of positive interaction.

Knowing that she is older than we thought, it doesn't surprise me that she is taking longer to come around. We are still making progress. Now we have to get her used to the idea of being moved/picked up. We are trying the "hand under the belly, lift a tiny bit, and put her down" approach. We'd love to be able to take her into the bathroom for play. Hopefully in a week she'll be ready for that. We'd put her into a carrier to move her...so no chance of an escape. I think she'd love more room to run around.

I just wanted to give you all an update.

You're making great progress!! Keep up the good work! 

Her behavior is normal. You're still building trust but you're definitely moving along in the right direction.

You are doing great!!  Good thing she is getting spayed next week!  That will help her to feel better too.

Keep working.  Progress may be slow, but it's slow and steady that wins the race!! 

I look forward to more updates.

Update 2:  It's been an interesting morning :-)  We built an extension to the cage out of the square wire panels you can make shelves out of. We used plastic "chicken wire" for the roof. Everything was zip-tied, but there were places she could worm her way out of if she put her mind to it. Since she had shown no inclination to climb in the cage or try to escape, we thought it was OK.  I let her out into the area this morning, and she was really enjoying the extra space. We discussed the idea of putting her in the bedroom this weekend, since she really seemed to need the extra space.

Well, I came out to check on her and found her on the TOP of the roof netting. Sigh. I managed to get her into a carrier, and she is now loose in the bedroom. I'm sure she's under the bed now (there was no easy way to block it off). But she is confident, so I'm sure she will be back out and about soon. She'll get more exposure to humans, especially at night when we are hopefully less scary.

The next challenge will be getting her to come to me of her own free will. But play and yummy food should work with time.

Any additional advice?

kalynnda13 said:

 
Update 2:  It's been an interesting morning :-)  We built an extension to the cage out of the square wire panels you can make shelves out of. We used plastic "chicken wire" for the roof. Everything was zip-tied, but there were places she could worm her way out of if she put her mind to it. Since she had shown no inclination to climb in the cage or try to escape, we thought it was OK.  I let her out into the area this morning, and she was really enjoying the extra space. We discussed the idea of putting her in the bedroom this weekend, since she really seemed to need the extra space.

Well, I came out to check on her and found her on the TOP of the roof netting. Sigh. I managed to get her into a carrier, and she is now loose in the bedroom. I'm sure she's under the bed now (there was no easy way to block it off). But she is confident, so I'm sure she will be back out and about soon. She'll get more exposure to humans, especially at night when we are hopefully less scary.

The next challenge will be getting her to come to me of her own free will. But play and yummy food should work with time.

Any additional advice?

Click to expand...

They are SO smart, aren't they? Sometimes I wish mine could talk, but on the other hand, I'm glad they can't because I think they'd make me look like a blithering idiot. 

You're doing a great job. You're being consistent with her and that's so important. Have you tried reading to her?? That gets her used to your voice. I used to read to Henry when he was in his safe room. He was never feral but he was in a shelter for 8 years with almost no socialization. He was terrified for a long time and spent a lot of time in hiding. I bought some baby books at a thrift store and I read them to him as if he were a toddler. i'd read some then show him the pictures and say, "OK. here's this one and she's doing that". Henry is SUPER smart. You can see it in his eyes. He kept looking at me during those times like he wanted to ask me, "ARE YOU INSANE? I'm a CAT".   I think he liked it too though. The more time you spend with her the better. 

She will come to you when she's ready. The fact that she  is accepting pets is great. She's also letting you touch her belly and that is fantastic!! 

Just keep doing what you're doing. There is a wonderful friendship in the making here!!   

UPDATE: Things are going well!  Coconut was out and playing last night. She retreats under the bed or other hiding spaces when the door is opened, but comes back out quickly. She is SO happy to have more space. I had her running around chasing a string toy, across the floor, up on the bed, rinse, repeat. I still didn't manage to tucker her out completely.

She was fine during the night - it was the other cats who kept me from sleeping too much. "I want to come in." "I want to go out." I expect it will get better as they get used to the closed door. There was some minor hissing from some of the cats, but Coco is smart and backs off. I know she settled on the bed next to me a few times, when one of the other cats was up there.

I am very proud of how well and how quickly she adjusted to her change of location.

She is just so darn cute :-)  I look forward to the day I can cuddle her. I suspect it isn't too many days away.  The picture below is Coco about a week after we trapped her. She's still small. I suspect she won't be a big cat.

Well, it's been frustrating the last few weeks. Coconut has loved having room to run around and play...but she has made no progress in allowing us to touch her or even approach her.

She is in getting spayed today. Since she was starting to go into heat again...it was definitely time. When she comes home, we'll put her back into the cage. It doesn't have the room for her to run, but it also will not let her avoid us. We will get serious about the "tough love" aspect of taming. She will only get food if we are there. We will start with a hand nearby or on the plate (whatever she will tolerate and still eat) and then work toward touching her while she eats.

Once we can touch her without her cringing, and when her spay incision has healed enough, we'll put a harness on her. We want to work toward giving her time in the bathroom or bedroom to run around, but we also need to be able to corral her.  Timing of that will depend on how quickly she moves to accepting us as more than providers of food and play.

We are considering that she may need to be released. We are thinking another month is reasonable to try taming her. But we are also accepting of our limitations and energy, and her attitude. At the very least, she will not ever have kittens and will have a reliable food and shelter source in our yard. We don't want to release her, and we'll do what we can to finish taming her, but it will ultimately be up to her.

Thanks for your advice and support. Yesterday was very emotional, when we had to face the reality that she wasn't making progress. I'm more hopeful today.

I have limited time right now - and I sense alot of frustration (as we almost all get with almost all socialization situations!). Only one comment based on very limited info - - - I'd hesitate to work with a harness in such a short period of time. Particularly with a cat that seems to be slow to come around ---AND with a cat that has just gotten a spay incision. All combined seem to be asking for failure it seems to me. We have a "former feral" that we've had inside now for almost 2 years, and she's as gentle as can be, yet she and a leash/harness are mortal enemies. They definitely call upon some "prey/predator" thing in her that just will never work.

THat said, I certainly understand that there is a limit - for both cat and human. One month post spay isn't horribly long - many of us here have worked for months with cats to get them just to the point of "toleration" - - but at least they were safe and comfortable and happy. Happy with being petted, or on a lap....in other words...on "our terms"  not necessarily...but happy as cats. But every now and then it doesn't work to keep them in. @Norachan  has many on her property and safe but not indoors. 

But if you want more suggestions and encouragement on how to take it slowly with the hopes of keeping Coconut indoors, keep coming back here. Good luck!

I agree with @kittychick a harness is not a good thing right now.  I hope that you can keep working with her.  It really can take a very long time.  When I brought a feral inside, it was a good 2 years before things were smooth.  Now we are approaching 3 years and there are still some issues.  But he is safe and inside.  He is a sweet soul, but will always be skittish and afraid of so many things.  Yet so much better than living outside.

Thanks, all. I was pretty frustrated when I wrote this. 

Coconut is spayed and back in the cage. The vet thinks she's 6-9 months old...so she was 4-7 months old when we trapped her. I'm going with 6 months as a number. This explains why taming has gone slowly. She's actually made a lot of progress in the 2 months we've had her. She is so TINY that I originally thought she was 10-12 weeks old when we trapped her.

We had Coco in a large dog cage for about a month. In that time, we had gotten to the point where we could pet her, though she wasn't happy about it initially. She'd cringe, but once we were scratching/stroking her head and sides of her face, she'd relax. She even purred a few times. We ended up moving her into a bedroom a little sooner than we planned. Once in the bedroom, she blossomed into a kitten...but also would not let us touch her. We did everything right (keep on her level, move slowly, curved hand, etc.)...but if a hand or non-toy object moved to within a few feet of her, she'd move away. If she was in the kitty tree and we got within a few feet, she'd leave. That went on for about 3 weeks with no real improvement...thus the frustration. I was also not getting enough sleep, because the other cats were doing the "I want in" and "I want out" several times a night.

Good news is that I petted Coco this morning for about a minute this morning. She didn't cringe the way she had before, though she would have preferred I didn't touch her. The cage is far from ideal, but we need to be able to work with her.  I'm more encouraged now, given her reactions.

I would NOT put the harness on until her spay incision is healed. The harness would be in a few weeks, and only so we could take her for "outings" to rooms where she could run around and play.

I'm really hoping that getting her hormones reduced (she was in/out of heat for the last month) will help. I feel bad because she has lost the space to run around...but I keep in mind that she will have the whole house, once she doesn't run away from us. She doesn't have to be completely "tame", but we need to be able to touch her and handle her a bit first.

Thanks again for your advice and support.

Thart sounds like GREAT progress!!!!! I know it feels slow - - - - and I completely get the frustration. I've felt it myself plenty of times - - - and I know how ard it is when it gets to te point of almost unbearably frustrating/painful/upsetting/worried.....you name it....and I definitely sympathized with you when you mentioned the lack of sleep part of it too! That just makes things even worse on every level. So I totally understand and have been there. It's tough.

But it sounds like in Coconut's case - - while it's slow going - - - it IS going the right way (even if it is sometimes two steos forward three steps back). I can almost guarantee that the spaying will help - - - - - heat is SO hard on them - - - and since you have other kitties makes things even tougher in the house in general, as I"m sure you know

I guess as far as the harness - - - it sounds like you're a very concerned, smart, experience cat person who'd never put something around an incision (you never know on a forum who knows what unless you're familiar with the poster - -  which is why I wanted to point it out gently previously - people don't always think of things even if they seem obvious to others). And if you've had great luck with harneses - it's one thing - - - I've had horrible luck with them - - (with the exception of 1 kitty)  - - my entire life. My main worry that was that while you might see it as a tool to give Coconut more freedom in the house - - - I worry that it would stress her out just getting her in it/out of it. But you know her and I don't  - -  so that's just my personal experience

I'm SO Happy you're making progress with her -- - - keep us posted!!!!

March 21 update...

Coconut has recovered from her spay. She is interested in play again. I can pet her and she tolerates it...even somewhat starts to like it.

We think we have come up with a way to give her more freedom while also allowing me to get enough sleep. We're going to move her cage into my bedroom and put it on the floor. I've already put the bed on the floor (no hiding underneath), and I'll work to plug more of the "kitten hiding spots". The idea is that she would have the freedom of the bedroom during the day and evening, and then be in the cage at night. That way I can have the door open and the other cats will be happier. I'm sure I'll be woken up...Coco playing by herself or with another cat through the bars...but I won't have to get up to open the bedroom door!

We'll feed her in the cage only, which will hopefully make it easier to get her in at night. During the day and evening, we'll spend time with her and give her lots of play.  While she didn't want us to touch her, she was getting more comfortable with us.

Part of the problem has been finding a way to let her "tame" at her own pace, while not having major negative impacts on ourselves or the other cats. I'm really hopeful that this approach will be the "sweet spot" for all of us.

We did have the good news that Coconut is negative for the nasties (FeLV and FIV). Plus I came to the realization that she has been with us less time than I thought - 6.5 weeks, when I had been thinking 8-9.  So we HAVE made a lot of progress in that time. 

For what it's worth, we ran into an "animal communicator" and had a reading done. I take it all with a grain of salt, but she said a few things that got us thinking from Coconut's point of view. We are committed to making sure we are calm and centered when we interact with Coco. If we get frustrated, we will go away for a bit. She is scared...us being frustrated only makes her more scared. We are telling her what we are doing and why. She may not understand it, but it helps us be clear with ourselves about what we are doing.

Thanks again for the advice and support. It has helped me get through the low points. We love her and are committed to having her become part of our family.

I am so glad things are looking up once again.  Your plan sounds like a good one. 

Yea for no cat diseases as well and super yea on her being spayed!!

I have used an animal communicator many times.  I had lots of success with one that really helped me when I brought a 3 year old feral male inside. 

Keep us updated!

I think your plan sounds like a good one too - -  one suggestion - you might cover the cage with a sheet or large towel (not completely covered - but about 2/3 of it). I always do that with ferals (we socialize starting in an enormous dog crate) until they're comfortable out and about in "their" room. It's very It's very soothing for kitties - and that way she has an end of the dog crate to retreat to if another kitty comes to poke and play through the bars. May not work - but it might be worth trying!

kalynnda13 said:

March 21 update...
Coconut has recovered from her spay. She is interested in play again. I can pet her and she tolerates it...even somewhat starts to like it.

We think we have come up with a way to give her more freedom while also allowing me to get enough sleep. We're going to move her cage into my bedroom and put it on the floor. I've already put the bed on the floor (no hiding underneath), and I'll work to plug more of the "kitten hiding spots". The idea is that she would have the freedom of the bedroom during the day and evening, and then be in the cage at night. That way I can have the door open and the other cats will be happier. I'm sure I'll be woken up...Coco playing by herself or with another cat through the bars...but I won't have to get up to open the bedroom door!

We'll feed her in the cage only, which will hopefully make it easier to get her in at night. During the day and evening, we'll spend time with her and give her lots of play.  While she didn't want us to touch her, she was getting more comfortable with us.

Part of the problem has been finding a way to let her "tame" at her own pace, while not having major negative impacts on ourselves or the other cats. I'm really hopeful that this approach will be the "sweet spot" for all of us.

We did have the good news that Coconut is negative for the nasties (FeLV and FIV). Plus I came to the realization that she has been with us less time than I thought - 6.5 weeks, when I had been thinking 8-9.  So we HAVE made a lot of progress in that time. 

For what it's worth, we ran into an "animal communicator" and had a reading done. I take it all with a grain of salt, but she said a few things that got us thinking from Coconut's point of view. We are committed to making sure we are calm and centered when we interact with Coco.

 

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I adopted a semi feral kitten. At firsthe couldn't be handled unless you scruffed him with s towel underneath to avoid getting scratched, which is what the foster family did. He didn't like that much but it was the best they could do.

I started getting him familiar with our scent by feeding him with my fingers. Food is a good motivator and at first I thought he might chew my fingers off but he learned to be gentle.

We kept him in a dog crate which we hope ed so he. Would investigate his surroundings. We also gave him play toys like a stuffed mouse hangingby a syring over the door. He spent much time jumping at it.

He now has another mouse which he learned to fetch.I hapoe end to notice something on my foot one day and realized he'd brought me the mouse so I three it and he leapt through the air yo get it. I keep noticing him getting more and more social.

. He also likes to play now sevrral months later. But during that time my arms resembled a pin cushionm. Yet what surprised me mist is that while I slept he crept up laied stretched out next to me and I felt his chin then his jaw lay against my cheek to rest.

Progress!!!! 

Letting Coconut back out into the bedroom was the best idea. She was SO happy to get out of the cage, she ran around for quite awhile. That was Tuesday AM. We did get her into the cage Tuesday night. She wasn't happy, but settled down. Wednesday, we actually got to touch her!  Carol (my spouse) approached her in the cat condo, and she didn't run. Carol got to pet her for at least 30 seconds. With me, I got to pet her a few strokes when she stopped in between playing. She is starting to hesitate before running off, which is very good! 

Last night, I left her out and kept the door closed. There was a time when I was petting one of my other cats, who was purring loudly. Coconut started purring as well. I reached over (in the dark) and scratched her head for about 10 seconds, before she moved.

I don't know if it was getting spayed, getting released from the cage, how we've been approaching her (trying to stay centered), or just time...but I'm so glad things are moving in a positive directions.

She is so darn cute. We are enjoying watching her play. I look forward to the day we can pet her and she enjoys it. I don't think that time is too far away.

This is such good news!!!!  It sounds like little Coconut is on her way!!!  Thanks so much for continuing to update. 

Coconut is DEFINITLEY on her way towards being a fun, happy companion! Good for you guys!

That's great news. I'd keep doing what you're doing letting her out while supervised and putting heer back in when not.thinking ah

I'm thinking that shell associate getting out and feeding as good things and then grow to look forward to more contact. Given time.

April 4 Update - good news!

In the time since her spay, Coconut has started allowing us to pet her. It has to be when she is sleepy, but she doesn't move away or cringe.  After a week of that, we decided to let her have the run of the main floor. The decision was mostly because I needed sleep (getting up every 1-2 hours to let a cat in or out got to be too much...and several were the 'bang on door' types so they couldn't be ignored).  However, she's been doing great. She retreats to the bedroom if she gets scared. She's been slowly exploring the area. The other cats are fine with her, since they've already met her. Even better...we can still pet her when she's sleepy.

I woke up in the middle of the night...and she was sleeping up against my legs :-)

So, we have more work to do, but I know she is happy. We are enjoying seeing her being a kitten...something she would not have been able to do if she was outside. In fact, she'd be pregnant right now. We are so glad she's inside.

Also good news for her Mom...I hadn't seen her for awhile and I was afraid she was nursing another litter. Well, she showed up at the feeding station with an ear tip and a side spay (our local low cost clinic does side spays)!  Someone else had caught her and took care of her.  I'm so glad she won't have to be a Mom again.