Shy Lucille

I am fostering a feral cat named Lucille. My time is limited with her. Initially, it was thought that she was pregnant but she is not, so she is to be spayed and re-released. I feel badly for her because there is a nice cat in there and she's had a rough life already. The other cat we have from that location has responded to clicker training and is very food motivated. Lucille likes her treats but won't eat them fast enough to clicker train her. I have her until the other cat gives birth and then my time is up. I could really use some suggestions.

If the plans are to release her, I wouldn't socialize her too much.  It will make her less wary of humans and may lead to trouble if someone comes along with bad intentions.

Is there a person who will consistently feed her at the spot where she'll be re-released?  If not, can you make arrangements for her to be released at a place with a feeder?  Her life will be so much easier if she has a dependable food source.  She will have to be confined at the new place for up to four weeks so she can learn to accept it as "home".

If the plan is to adopt her out, then by all means, get her to be comfortable with humans.

In any case, thank you for helping her.  Life on the streets is tough enough.  It always helps to have friends.

If I can get her to come out of her shell a bit there is potential for her to find a home and it buys me the time it will take to get her there. If I can't accomplish this, then she will be spayed and re-released. Yes, there is food, water and shelter where she will go, and the situation has improved because twenty-two cats in total have been removed. Males were neutered. Pregnant females are now raising their families in foster homes and will be spayed when the kittens have weaned. Those who are friendly (many of them) will move on to permanent homes. Those who are too feral will be returned. The other cat I have from this location, Buffy, is steadily improving. She's going to have kittens any day now and I will have her for a number of weeks yet. She is more curious and seems to be naturally out-going.

i think it just takes some time to get to trust you.

have you ever seen the facebook page taming gracie's feral cat care?

she took in many ferals-she has a plan-she doesnt keep them in a taming cage-she keeps the cat in an unused bedroom and feeds them in there. some cats took days some weeks. but she has all kinds of pointers to help=the biggest-no eye contact. ever.

she uses hand signals to show the cats where she is going. she talks to them. keeps her body sideways. feeds them. plays with them. 

many of the ferals are now lap cats but it took months for some. most of the ones she has now were part of an original group of cats that are now all fixed but she still fixes new arrivals. she had 50 cats at one time in one home. hers. now its 30 and she still seeking homes for them. 

I just love her tails of how she got them to be easy loving kitties. maybe there is something on there to help and she always answers questions so you can message her. 

I have been following her since feb 2014 when she got Wannya to come inside-he is mommas baby. momma is still outside=she doesnt want to come in.

taming gracie has a back porch set up for the outside kitties-kitty door included but they cant come inside the house. the indoor kitties are not allowed out unless its with the cat door shut on the porch. love following her stories.

Unfortunately, I don't have weeks or months in Lucille's case. I don't expect her to make great big leaps; I'm just looking for that little bit of give, you know? She's not really food-motivated so a lot of what I've tried has failed. I don't make eye contact. I talk to her. I always go into her cage with something good - food, water, treats, etc...She's a tough nut to crack.

Hi Chromium blues,

We have a gorgeous girl Ferrel cat too and often take steps forward and then back so please don't give up. It'll be worth it in the end. 2 things I've found have helped are 1) one of those feather sticks that Jackson galaxy used in my car from hell for about 10-15 mins each night and 2) tasty broths! Recently I've tried to give her the broth and then try to touch her head while she eats... At first she hates it and pulls away but then loves it so much after about 3-4 minutes of pulling away that she realises it's worth the risk. It was fabulous when I got to stroke her for the first time we still haven't mastered a lot of things but I've learnt to get delighted with the little wins! Good luck!