What if I become one of the people that they hate? Terrified of breaking cats' trust. Family of fera

[cat-nap]

Hello all! 

The good news first  

The spaying and neutering appointments/ steps there have been set up! This is all thanks to you! I am getting a trapping lesson from Fixnation on 11/20th, renting extra traps the same day, and a spay/neuter appointment is coming up afterwards. I'm so glad of all the encouragement I received here from you wonderful people (MomofMaxwell and Ginny - special thanks to you for sticking by me during all my anxiety and uncertainty!)

The bad news second: 

It's been a long time since my last update. I've just returned from a business trip to quite a few changes. Aside from having a busier schedule these past few weeks, it was hard for me to update because my future landlord contacted me with a new amendment recently: no indoor cats allowed; 1 indoor dog permissible. Originally I was to pay the pet deposit, but apparently they had trouble renovating another property's air vents because of cat hair and no longer allow cats. I'm looking at other places, but my work/moving in with my significant other/ our budget has placed some constraints on how soon I can find another place.  

I wanted to come back with good news after all the help and goodwill you've given me - at the very least with an update that I found some prospective good homes. That hasn't happened yet, but I'm still searching. I'm thinking about starting a social media profile for the cats - maybe an Instagram and Facebook to spread the word. If anyone has recommendations for finding good homes through private adoption, that would be amazing. I've also contacted no-kill shelters as a last resort. Thinking about the kitten's socialization progress makes me sadder - I brought them so far along this road with no good home for them at the end of it. I feel incredibly guilty. Today Sable climbed into my lap for the first time, and I thought, "At the end of the day, I'm considering something I never hoped to do - taking an animal companion to the shelter because of convenience."  

I'm sorry to end on such a downer. I'll be writing more tonight / tomorrow for a more comprehensive update. 

 

[cat-nap]

Originally I was going to try to get some work done or go to bed, but in the end I just kept thinking about this.  I'm currently writing in the shed and they're playing rambunctious tag games. I figure that I should share some good news about the cats' socialization in the meantime :> It makes me feel like I must find a good home for them because they've come so far. I've rewarded all their growing attachment to humans and prevented them from further developing their survival skills for the feral world, so I can't leave them hanging now. 

Socialization Progress:  

It's winter now, and they've gotten increasingly sluggish and less interested in play. Let's face it, it's cold! In come their fluffy winter coats. I lined their dog houses with old clothes and blankets, and have inserted the roof at an angle so that it leaves a large enough crack for them to hop through. We're in Southern CA, so with no snow, little rain and temperatures in the 50s- 60s F, I'm hoping that the blankets will be enough to keep them warm. (Haha, I know - with those temperatures, what do we lucky ducks know about the cold?)  Sable and Osric have been sneezing occasionally, so I'm thinking of getting some cat beds and lining those. Maybe add some cardboard to their dog houses? Suggestions for improvements welcome! 

Naps- 

Because of colder weather, the cats are very interested in napping nowadays! I'm glad that they're comfortable with sleeping close by me. They often ditch their toys and fall asleep 1-5 feet away, curled into balls. Osric sleeps especially close to my feet, which means that she makes hooty ears whenever I shift around. I always feel bad when I leave because I wake them and they follow me to the house's back door, where they eventually settle in for sometime instead of in their warmer houses.

Cat Tag Games- 

Along with the naps, I'm now privy to their private playtime. If I'm next to a bush, they'll be playing inside the bush with 1 to 2 feet between us. I remember those days when I'd see them play from a window inside my house, over 100 feet away, illuminated only by the motion-sensor lights in my parents' backyard. I had been struck by the contrast between their relaxed play behavior and the guarded stance they took towards people. Hopefully humans will be another bush to them one day! 

Indoors-

They also enjoy exploring my parents' house ( I let them in when my parents' are away and clean up any traces of cat afterwards). I wanted to try to get them used to the indoors, but I'm surprised to see how well they've taken to it. A couple days ago, they bolted into the house as usual, and to my shock, Leda shut the door behind them. They seemed at ease and didn't mind being shut in without an escape for 5 minutes (the time when I opened the back door up again). 

Body Language- 

Tails up in the air, running in a trot and not a crouched position.

Strangers- 

Leda and Osric came to greet my friends the other day. Leda, the girl who used to speed away from human interaction, came over when I called her name. Up they popped from their hiding places and they cautiously approached within 10 feet. Though ready to bolt, they stayed the whole time while my friends spoke to them. 

Feeding- 

Sable, Osric and Chauncey take food from my hand now, although Chauncey is still more hesitant and will use her claws to get me to drop the food when she's afraid. Her swipes are very light and the scratches are mild - more with the aim of getting me to drop food than to harm. I'm thinking of purchasing a pair of gardening gloves so that she might feel more comfortable with the hand feedings without me dropping the food (and rewarding the scratching behavior).

Walking / Following People - 

Sable has taken to keeping pace with me when I walk. If I walk in the yard, he'll usually be walking next to me.

One rainy day, I went into the shed to grab supplies I needed. Sable heard me coming and wriggled out of his shelter to follow me. He got soaked. I figured he found me to get out of the cold and wet, so I propped open the shed door and made him a nest for shelter. Instead, he followed me from the shed back to the house, once again trekking in the rain. Once at the back door, he laid down to sleep, continuing to get wet while I tried to coax him to a drier location.

Chauncey, Osric and Sable followed me to the driveway where my mom and I were washing our cars. While my car was being washed, they hid beneath my mom's car, but soon discovered that their shelter was unreliable. When my car was done, I tried to entice the cats out before my mom began spraying her car, but she reasoned that they should get used to the water and began hosing her car down. I saw Chauncey and Osric bolt. Unbeknownst to me, Sable was still underneath the car. He stayed for nearly the whole car wash, gradually getting soaked underneath my mom's car while he waited for me to finish up.

Toys- 

Leda, previously the only cat to shy away from toys, now plays enthusiastically with them under the cover of the night. She still steals toys, but is beginning to play when I'm holding them. She's more vicious than Sable with their poor toy prey. It's always the quiet ones. God help the toys, I have never seen a quicker de-feathering.

The most enthusiastic toy-player though, turned to be Chauncey, who is much more gentle with those unlucky chew toys. She enjoys stretching her whole mouth around as much toy as possible, but she does not pluck. The toys are intact upon extraction. As the clumsiest kitten of the litter, her adventurous nature also means many tumbles while trying to catch moving toys (or trying to steal into the kibble stash).  

Calling-  

Leda seems to recognize the phrase, "It's okay, Leda!" When I say it, she stops running away and trots back towards me.

Meowing- 

Of course, I now recognize this for what it is. Not a greeting, but a cry for food from Sable. He meows especially loudly if a sibling has snatched up food that he wants to monopolize.

 

[cat-nap]

Hello! 

I just want to share the good news that all the kittens (now teen cats) have been spayed and neutered! This is the 2nd day. They are recovering well and feeling a little emotionally vulnerable/fearful, but they still knock on my door for food. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

Thanks for all your support here! I couldn't have done it without all your excellent advice for how to handle the trapping and aftercare. 

 

[ginny]

 
Hello! 

I just want to share the good news that all the kittens (now teen cats) have been spayed and neutered! This is the 2nd day. They are recovering well and feeling a little emotionally vulnerable/fearful, but they still knock on my door for food. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

Thanks for all your support here! I couldn't have done it without all your excellent advice for how to handle the trapping and aftercare. 

Good to hear!  Sounds like things are copacetic!  Take care.