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- Nov 16, 2015
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I enjoy the challenge of trying to gain the trust of the ferals that come to my house, and I've noticed a pattern that I wonder if others have noticed too.
I've only worked with ferals for the past year, so maybe this is common knowledge that I've rediscovered on my own--but hissing, while clearly an unmistakable warning that requires being taken seriously, can sometimes also be a sign of progress.
We talk about "stepping outside our comfort zone", as if there's a circle around us. With feral/scared cats, it's sort of the opposite. Oh sure, there's a circle around us alright, but it's "The Circle of Certain Death" in their minds.
Once I get them beyond running off at the sight of me, they stay comfortably and silently way outside of this invisible circle while they wait for me to feed them.
I know it's said that it's not typical for a feral to meow at you, and I agree that they never do in the beginning. But it appears that the stronger the association becomes between you and "Turkey & Giblets" or "Savory Salmon" wet food in their minds, the rule bends.
In my observation, the stronger the association and the more their anticipation grows, the closer to the perimeter of the death circle they will wait. This progression can take weeks or months. Once they get to where they are waiting at the very boundary of the death circle, they will begin to meow at me, not boldly per se, like an indoor cat would, but almost tentatively, somewhat in anticipation for sure, but perhaps also due to feeling a little conflicted between wanting to come closer to me (aka "the food source"…I don't kid myself that they view me any other other way) but not daring to cross that invisible line.
Every cat has a different personality, and the more nervous ones are content to stay meowing at the perimeter, sometimes allowing it shrink, but very slowly over time.
However, if a cat has a bold enough personality and builds up enough courage to one day step nervously INSIDE The Circle of Certain Death, they start hissing at me. I can't see the perimeter of the circle, and it varies for each cat, but it's clear to me when they cross it because often they start hissing.
That's when I know I'm really starting to make some progress with them. It's like they're saying, "You know, even though it makes me really nervous, I'm willing to come inside the circle, but you better not mess with me!"
And of course, I don't mess with them. I just do the same thing I normally do to reassure them with non-threatening body language, soft tones and slow eye blinks while I go about my business as normal. After a week or so, once they realize that The Circle Of Certain Death has not consumed them and is actually a pretty good place to be, the hissing subsides and much more rapid progress seems to happen after that.
It's even happened inside the house with a feral I was rehabbing--to his own credit, he pushed his own boundaries of what he'd been comfortable with after hiding in the carrier for a week whenever I was in the room. Although he had dry food available, he wanted the wet food that he had grown accustomed to, and woke me up with meowing, sitting next to his wet food dish. I had to blink my eyes a few times as I woke to believe it, but when I lifted my head, he hissed at me, but stayed where he was. If I hadn't already seen this pattern and recognized it for what it was, it would have been creepy in a Cujo kinda way...
It seems that, outside or inside, hissing can in some cases be a sign that they've taken that next uncertain step of trust. Just curious if others have noticed this phenomenon.
I've only worked with ferals for the past year, so maybe this is common knowledge that I've rediscovered on my own--but hissing, while clearly an unmistakable warning that requires being taken seriously, can sometimes also be a sign of progress.
We talk about "stepping outside our comfort zone", as if there's a circle around us. With feral/scared cats, it's sort of the opposite. Oh sure, there's a circle around us alright, but it's "The Circle of Certain Death" in their minds.
Once I get them beyond running off at the sight of me, they stay comfortably and silently way outside of this invisible circle while they wait for me to feed them.
I know it's said that it's not typical for a feral to meow at you, and I agree that they never do in the beginning. But it appears that the stronger the association becomes between you and "Turkey & Giblets" or "Savory Salmon" wet food in their minds, the rule bends.
In my observation, the stronger the association and the more their anticipation grows, the closer to the perimeter of the death circle they will wait. This progression can take weeks or months. Once they get to where they are waiting at the very boundary of the death circle, they will begin to meow at me, not boldly per se, like an indoor cat would, but almost tentatively, somewhat in anticipation for sure, but perhaps also due to feeling a little conflicted between wanting to come closer to me (aka "the food source"…I don't kid myself that they view me any other other way) but not daring to cross that invisible line.
Every cat has a different personality, and the more nervous ones are content to stay meowing at the perimeter, sometimes allowing it shrink, but very slowly over time.
However, if a cat has a bold enough personality and builds up enough courage to one day step nervously INSIDE The Circle of Certain Death, they start hissing at me. I can't see the perimeter of the circle, and it varies for each cat, but it's clear to me when they cross it because often they start hissing.
That's when I know I'm really starting to make some progress with them. It's like they're saying, "You know, even though it makes me really nervous, I'm willing to come inside the circle, but you better not mess with me!"
And of course, I don't mess with them. I just do the same thing I normally do to reassure them with non-threatening body language, soft tones and slow eye blinks while I go about my business as normal. After a week or so, once they realize that The Circle Of Certain Death has not consumed them and is actually a pretty good place to be, the hissing subsides and much more rapid progress seems to happen after that.
It's even happened inside the house with a feral I was rehabbing--to his own credit, he pushed his own boundaries of what he'd been comfortable with after hiding in the carrier for a week whenever I was in the room. Although he had dry food available, he wanted the wet food that he had grown accustomed to, and woke me up with meowing, sitting next to his wet food dish. I had to blink my eyes a few times as I woke to believe it, but when I lifted my head, he hissed at me, but stayed where he was. If I hadn't already seen this pattern and recognized it for what it was, it would have been creepy in a Cujo kinda way...
It seems that, outside or inside, hissing can in some cases be a sign that they've taken that next uncertain step of trust. Just curious if others have noticed this phenomenon.
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