Princess Cleo

[catlady76paws]

I call her princess, cause she is.

In December I got a call from the same farmer where the 5 ferals came from saying he had 2 more kittens. I caved and went to pick them up but not before consulting with the rescue about TNR.
I was allowed to offer it to him. I did, also offered to help catch the adult cats but alas I heard nothing back from the man .

Enter the 2 kittens.
Jules and Cleo

About 2 months old and feisty! Cleo mauled me on instant....

Jules is doing great

A bit insecure still but he curls around my legs, meows for attention and food.

Cleo....not so much

She'll purr, expose her belly(tail tucked between the legs) and will accept sitting in my lap when I feed her wet food but last night I had to extract her from under a cupboard.

She's back in her socializing pen but I'm just wondering how to 'tame' this feisty little girl. She's about 4 months now. I don't mind timid but she's still very scared of us, sometimes still hisses in defence.
Any more tips?

 

[StefanZ]

Accepts she playing sessions with you? Dabird, red laser light? If she doesnt like you stroking her fur, use a wooden spoon. Wooden because it feels soft and warm, and spoon because its nicely curved and smooth.

Your trick of letting her sit in your lap while she eats is good.

 

[catlady76paws]

She accepts me stroking her, even a little chin scratch but then she'll lie on her back and attacks my hand(rough playful?). I don't let her but she nicked me quite a few times.
She's not to into toys, tussling other youngsters or her brother is da best
Maybe I need to bring out the tin of toys and see what she will like

 

[catlady76paws]

Little miss Cleo mauled my husband He was hoovering her room and peeked at her in her hammock..he now has 4 puncture marks on his face

I had a proper playsession with her and managed to entice her with feather on a stick. She can be very sweet when I'm in there but as soon as she's out, feral mode and she really doesn't like other people. Keeping hopes up, she's still very young.

 

[catlady76paws]

About a week ago I evicted the kittenhome. Cleo and Jules had been spayed and Cleo's progress had come to a halt. Plus I wanted my living room back after a year
Without it Cleo made some more progress. Yesterday she was even standing up against my leg waiting for her bit of meat from the fork. This afternoon she hit an all time low when she decided to grab my finger with her teeth and she sunk down
I don't know what happened but she went a bit feral on me. This evening she was debating wether to join the pile of cats on my lap, then decided to lie down at the end of the couch. She'll come close to me, then I move and she's off. We can walk past her without her running off and sometimes she will back away.

She's 6 months now and her progress has been so slow compared to the other six semi ferals, even her brother joins in in the cuddle time. Bit of despair here, I don't understand why she can't trust us

 

[Sarthur2]

Try not to despair! It can take some cats a year or more. From my perspective progress is being made! And some cats never become lap cats. Hang in there!

 

[catlady76paws]

Thanks. I won't give up on her. I took her in so I'll love her just the same. It can be so disheartening sometimes, especially after a bite like she did today

I do have little 'therapy sessions' where I just sit down near her and the other kittens(and sometimes an adult) will come and join me and I'll stroke them and cuddle them. The purring is deafening and you see her little mind working, she becomes uncertain of what to believe and most times she'll join the purring and allow me to stroke her but won't come out of hiding.

I hope she'll lie close to me one day.

 

[catlady76paws]

Cleo is getting closer, still so scared but she arches her back and I can stroke her at diner time. Plus she sits closer on the couch.

Looks quite relaxed like this

 

[Sarthur2]

She looks so young!

 

[catlady76paws]

Both her and her brother are a fraction of the other cats, so small and thin. Not skinny but wiry.
Jules has got a bit of bulldog stance going. I'll see if I have that on picture.

I scared Cleo yesterday evening. The others dug their claws in my fingers as I was trying to give them little bits of meat off a fork and I had to reprimand. They know better than to grab my hands. The others came back, behaving like proper dinner guests but Cleo had vanished into the room

 

[catlady76paws]

See, a very wide stance. Don't mind the tooth, he gets it caught on his lip