- Joined
- Apr 19, 2016
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- 21
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Hi!
So, I was trying to spay and neuter out surprise community cats (we had no idea they existed until we started seeing pawprints in the snow and had one give birth next to our front door). The one that we've managed to catch and neuter was extraordinarily tame, and we judged to be about seven months old. Because of how docile he was (he let up pet and hold him, but was still scared of humans), we decided to try and socialize him and rehome him instead.
It has been 2 months since we've been working with him and I've been reading as much information as I could on the subject of socializing feral cats (I've socialized very young kittens, but never one over the age of a few weeks old), and I think we've been doing an alright job. The thing is that he seems not to be going through any of the steps that other fetal cat socializers have been experiencing.
The situation that stands is this. I've put a small radio in the room he is in and leave it on so that he has the constant sound of human voices. I've blocked places that he can hide where we can't get to him but left areas where he can still hide (he has his own medium-sized soft carrier dog crate with his food, water, and some blankets as well as a comforter that I use to have on my bed that he likes to hide in). I also give him treats whenever I come in, leave, and when I'm in the room with him. I talk to him and lay on the ground for several hours whenever I can and hold him for about an hour every day. I've also started bringing him upstairs with me and hold him or let him just sit next to me (when he wants to) while I watch TV or am on the computer.
He's eaten from my hand before and will let us pet him in his carrier (then he'll lash out sometimes and try to swat at us). He's also tried to 'test' bite by putting out hand or finger in his mouth and slow bite (he never draws blood, just watches for our reaction. It's kinda funny actually). Sometimes he will curl up against me and just lay next to me on the couch, and he will move to make our hands pet him on the head. We can also pick him up without him hissing or trying to bite us.
Other times he tries to struggle to get somewhere to hide, and when we bring him back to his room, he'll run into his carrier to hide. He also won't come to us at all, and his tail is still curled up tight against him most of the time.
The problem is that I have no idea if I'm doing it right or if I'm just in a stalemate situation with him. It seems like things are going well, but at the same time, it seems like it's not going anywhere. Any help, insight or advice would be much appreciated as I want him to be happy and socialized. He seems to be better health-wise since we took him into the house (he was skinny when we caught him).
So, I was trying to spay and neuter out surprise community cats (we had no idea they existed until we started seeing pawprints in the snow and had one give birth next to our front door). The one that we've managed to catch and neuter was extraordinarily tame, and we judged to be about seven months old. Because of how docile he was (he let up pet and hold him, but was still scared of humans), we decided to try and socialize him and rehome him instead.
It has been 2 months since we've been working with him and I've been reading as much information as I could on the subject of socializing feral cats (I've socialized very young kittens, but never one over the age of a few weeks old), and I think we've been doing an alright job. The thing is that he seems not to be going through any of the steps that other fetal cat socializers have been experiencing.
The situation that stands is this. I've put a small radio in the room he is in and leave it on so that he has the constant sound of human voices. I've blocked places that he can hide where we can't get to him but left areas where he can still hide (he has his own medium-sized soft carrier dog crate with his food, water, and some blankets as well as a comforter that I use to have on my bed that he likes to hide in). I also give him treats whenever I come in, leave, and when I'm in the room with him. I talk to him and lay on the ground for several hours whenever I can and hold him for about an hour every day. I've also started bringing him upstairs with me and hold him or let him just sit next to me (when he wants to) while I watch TV or am on the computer.
He's eaten from my hand before and will let us pet him in his carrier (then he'll lash out sometimes and try to swat at us). He's also tried to 'test' bite by putting out hand or finger in his mouth and slow bite (he never draws blood, just watches for our reaction. It's kinda funny actually). Sometimes he will curl up against me and just lay next to me on the couch, and he will move to make our hands pet him on the head. We can also pick him up without him hissing or trying to bite us.
Other times he tries to struggle to get somewhere to hide, and when we bring him back to his room, he'll run into his carrier to hide. He also won't come to us at all, and his tail is still curled up tight against him most of the time.
The problem is that I have no idea if I'm doing it right or if I'm just in a stalemate situation with him. It seems like things are going well, but at the same time, it seems like it's not going anywhere. Any help, insight or advice would be much appreciated as I want him to be happy and socialized. He seems to be better health-wise since we took him into the house (he was skinny when we caught him).