Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 8

I caught my elusive little female last night!

Recommended Cat Books 2

This is one of the "best in show" on my library shelf cat books I have, although my HarperCollins EyeWitness Handbook edition is now out of print. No matter, the Smithsonian edition is available. Although it's not specifically about feral cats, it does provide information about cat history, behaviour, body and face shapes, fur colours and types, coat patterns, which is useful even when identifying non-pedigree cats.

Chronicles of the Xmas Kitties – Journal Entry 7

The tortie and white continues to elude me. She knows what I'm up to! She is now more confident and strolling about. She navigates in wide circles around me AND ... she is very smart. This morning she ducked out of the drain and then scooted into an exposed drain pipe, protruding out of hilly terrain near one of the sheds. I quickly seized a cat cage, crept quietly over to the drain pipe, took off my t-shirt (I did have a camisole underneath folks!) and then straddled the drain pipe so I was poised right over the entry/exit point, ready to scoop her up in my t-shirt once she emerged (please take my descriptions at face value; there is no hidden symbolism in them). Nothing! When I looked up, she was sitting watching me across the way. She had obviously made her way to the other end of the pipe. Damn!

On another note, I stroked the first black kitten for a few moments while it was eating. It didn't hiss or run away. As a reference point, when you first move towards stroking the kitten, do so from the back rather than from the front near the head. That way it won't be perceived as an act of aggression.

Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 6

I caught the third kitten – the little black one with the coppery sheen – about an hour ago. I am happy. One more to go. I had to make huge adjustments in my tactics. The kittens are too switched on at night: they are wary and they know all my tricks. I nearly caught the black one last night but miscalculated and it leapt out of the cage before a I had a chance to shut the door. So today I decided to go there in the middle of the afternoon when they are all lounging about and having their cat naps.

I saw the black kitten sleeping in a small fenced off grassy area. Its mother and three other adults were resting under a silo. I had my noisy dogs and my noisy sheep with me, which I quickly locked into an empty shed. I thought by now the kitten would have leapt away and hid like its tortie and white sister but it was in such a deep sleep state that it was twitching in its dreams. I thought to myself, It can't possibly be this easy but I'll try anyhow. I quietly picked up the cage and approached. I am not the lightest of people but I do have a "cat like tread" to quote one of the lyrics from Gilbert and Sullivans' Pirates of Penzance. I set the cage down right beside it, thinking that at any time it would wake up and dart away. It didn't. It just lay there and slept – the little cutie. I even got worried and checked to see if it was breathing. Yes, its little chest was moving up and down ever so slightly.

I then gently leaned down and picked it up without incident and just placed it into the cage before it had a chance to register anything. The kitty was very quiet and still half asleep I think because I didn't hear a sound or feel it move at all, as I walked back to the cat's safe room (the old gym). When I got there I just deposited the cage on the floor, opened it up and stood back. The kitten tentatively walked out and then  scooted into the furthermost corner. I wanted its sibling to see it so I left them some food in a dish to lure them out. I sat there watching them for a few minutes and left. I am about to go back after I finish this blog post. And yes, I have let my dogs and sheep out of the shed.

These feral kittens are the cleverest I've ever come across and, because of that, the socialisation process is painstakingly slow. I fully expect to have it play out for another week or more, although the other two are coming along day by day. I still have one more to catch and I have no doubt she'll be extra cautious when I'm in her vicinity. 

This is extremely stressful for me (as well as the cats). The final denouement to the story that is being played out here is that I will need to find people willing to adopt them in pairs and who are willing to accept kittens slightly older than the usual 6 to 8 weeks. Feral kittens and cats do better in pairs, and these ones are growing rapidly, now that they're not competing for food from their elders. They are looking very clean; their coats are shiny; they are playful with each other; they are intelligent; and they are graceful. Now we need to let them trust and bond with people and other animals, and let them set forth in the world with loving human companions to look after them. That is my greatest wish for them.

 

Thank You Readers

My blog stats have been going up of late and I have you to thank for it. Traffic is coming from all over the world. The Top 7 countries (in order) are: USA, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Phillipines and India. I really appreciate you stopping by.

Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 5

I'm hugely busy at the moment and am working 12 hour days in my office so this is a quick update post on the progress of the Xmas kittens (I promise you lots of pics soon).

• They are doing well but progress is slow – it's two steps forward and one step back, as I am introducing myself to them each time I go into the old home gym room where they are currently living. It takes about ten minutes for them to come out. I am walking around on all fours like a cat to keep close to the ground so as not to intimidate them, and am getting quite filthy from the concrete and old carpet in the process. Never mind ... it's all for the greater good.
• They did not eat for the first 24+ or so hours until I introduced my "Big Brother" buffer cat Samson into the mix. They came out to communicate with him and followed his lead at the eating bowl. Now they are comfortable doing it by themselves in front of me.
• Out of the two of them, the black one is the lead cat. However, I am happy to say that the other white one with rust patches is beginning to relax. I think he's a he, because I caught sight of his genitals underneath the tail the other day. I won't be able to confirm this until I have him on my lap and can check it out more closely.
• The key times to get them to come out of hiding are in the morning between 6 and 10 and in the afternoon/evening after 4pm. This is important information and is consistent with all other cats I've socialised.
• They are interacting with me via the ping pong ball game I talked about in previous post and via the side-sweeping leaf.
• They are exceptionally alert and intelligent – they have figured out that the corridor in the folded over mattress in the fold up bed is an excellent place to navigate for fun or to hide in.
• They have delicate triangular pixie features and long dainty limbs. The black one has a little white diamond at its throat and its belly has a big white patch on it. He/she has two little white claws on its back paws.
• Good signs – they are eating from their bowl, playing in the cat tunnel and prowling around the perimeter of the room while I am there. I am able to sit within about two feet of some of their activities.
• More good signs – their body language is revealing that they are progressively relaxing. I They clean themselves in front of me, their eyes often look dreamy, and they have dropped onto their sides on the floor near to where I am sitting.
• They have had a growth spurt since they have been eating more and are now slightly longer than their two siblings I still have to catch from the drain.
• The two in the drain are extraordinarily smart. I nearly caught the black one on two occasions but he/she darted away. I am having to adapt the original plan because they are onto me. I have changed the position of where I sit and am making it more difficult for them to predict what I am going to do. They are being more cautious, but I have to be smarter. I am feeling the time constraint of catching them and getting them into the gym with the other two. I need them all to remember each other so they don't get territorial.
• More when I surface again.

Feral Family Pics 1

My lovely Saffron (or Saffy for short). He's a domesticated feral. I caught him and his brother Snow when they were about six weeks old. The conversion process from wild to socialised took about three days – Saffron followed his brother's lead. After that Saffron became the more extroverted of the two, although occasionally he has bouts of shyness. He is one of those cats who makes friends with all other cats and dogs. He has an exceptionally peaceful temperament and is not in the least territorial – he can hang out with the wild cats on the hill one minutes and and then an hour later be snuggled into your lap while you are watching television or onto your bed at night. He can also be a bit of a wanderer – he likes going for a walk around the farm with me and the dogs and my hand-raised 18 month sheep in the morning. I absolutely ADORE this photo. I took it around Christmas. This pic should convince anybody of the magnificence and potential of ex feral cats!

Xmas Kitten Pics

These are the other pics I took of the remaining two Xmas kitties that I still have to catch. Their body language tells us they in alert mode because I am nearby.

Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 4

I tried last night to catch the remaining two kittens but was unsuccessful. I intuitively felt it from the start. They remained under the safety of the grate and didn't venture out while I was by their side.

In the meantime, it has been 36 hours since I caught the two others and I was beginning to worry because of a failure to explore and possibly a failure to thrive. I couldn't find them when I did the initial sweep of the room on my first visit back. For a few moments I thought they had escaped, but then I knew that was close to impossible unless they were strong enough to push their way through a barricaded mesh door. It turned out they were both hiding under the treadmill – in the dim light I had not seen the black kitten in the shadows and it had been obscuring the little white patchy one. I checked in every two hours or so for the entire day but they still hadn't moved. They also hadn't used the kitty litter tray or eaten any of the food I had left by their side. 

Last night I gave them a whole bunch of boiled chicken, which I expected to be gone this morning – it had barely been touched. It has been very hot so I was wondering whether they kittens had become dehydrated and were okay. I realised I needed to prod the issue slightly so I brought in reinforcements in the form of my ex-feral tabby cat Samson, who is coming onto ten months old.

Samson is one of the sweetest cats I have ever known. He sidles up to the rest of the cat coterie and the dogs with a big heartfelt purr. I have never seen him aggressive or territorial so I gave him the moniker of "Big Brother" or the "Transitioning Cat'. I have never used this technique before and just made it up on the spot, but I figured if the kittens could see me interacting with another cat, then they would relax and be more likely to trust me. It turns out I was right. I hasten to add that if you are going to use a "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" cat then make sure you do not assign the role to any hissers and spitters who just want to protect their turf. 

Samson played his part beautifully and helped me transition the two little ones to the next level. In fact, he was an absolute champion! The first thing he did was go and eat out of their cat bowl and then sniff them through the underside of the treadmill. I then added another element to the mix by lifting up the back of the treadmill in order to send them running to another hiding place (ie. getting them out of their comfort zone). The little white one scooted behind the half open gym door, and the other to the opposite side of the room behind some boxes. The white one started to cry pitifully after a few moments because she/he (I haven't found out the sex yet because I haven't been able to look under their tails) was alone. The little black one responded and ran to be with its sibling. 

I then sat down on the floor in their sightline and began playing with Samson – firstly with a ping pong ball and then with a long plastic plant leaf. I swept it side to side and Samson pounced and rolled over. The kittens were fascinated. Occasionally Samson would get up and sidle up to the kittens and then he'd be back in full play again. I realised after a few minutes that the black kitten was the lead or dominant one in the relationship between siblings. If I could get the black one to respond then the other would follow, so I started sweeping the plastic plastic plant leaf in front of them. Their little eyes darted side to side in sync with the movement and the little black one ventured out with its eyes focused on the leaf. He/she then went to the mesh door and peered outside, prodding the flyscreen with its paw to test the barrier. Three of our other cats (all ex-ferals) were on the other side – Savannah hissed, Sasha stared and Sihri tried to get in.

After a few minutes our dogs Belle and Jake turned up and sat right outside the door looking in with excitement and with their tongues hanging out and their ears up straight. The little black one instantly went into survival mode – its hair stood up on the nape of its neck and its tail ballooning to twice its normal size and it hissed at the dogs. I could see the dogs looked threatening in stature merely because they were large and filled the gap, although in reality they were excited and fascinated to see these two new cats and wouldn't have harmed them. But they were a bit of a nuisance. In the end I had to place a mobile phone call to one of my family members who called the dogs away so I could continue undisturbed with out breaking the momentum of what was happening.

Samson's presence relaxed the cats. They began exploring the room with me sitting in the middle of the floor. The black one was the front runner – modeling on Samson's behaviour and climbing up on the window sill to look outside, climbing down and through some boxes I had set up for them to create another hiding space, and then using the kitty litter tray which I thought was absolutely fantastic.

I then set up a fresh bowl of canned cat food on the floor. Samson ate a little (they may think of him as the food tester!) and then the black one came and started eating too. The little white one soon followed and before long the bowl had been licked clean. They then started cleaning themselves and I breathed a sigh of relief – it was going to be okay. They had taken the first step.

Slowly but surely I need to gain their trust. It will be interesting to see how long this takes.

In the meantime, if there are any loving people living in the Sydney district or surrounds who ADORE cats, RESPECT their complexities and who are interested in adopting these cats in the next couple of weeks once the socialisation process has been completed, please contact me by email: julie@blackmermaid.com.

Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 3

Giant break through two evenings ago – I was able to stroke two of the kittens while they were feeding (the white and rust one) as well as one of the black kittens. The third one (another blackie) started to take chicken out of my fingers. They are still pretty jumpy – I needed to approach them with legato rather than staccato movements (ie. be slow and fluid rather than jerky). This makes all the difference because one sharp accented move will get them darting into the drain. The fourth kitten (the tortie and white) will not emerge from the drain while I am sitting right next to it. In order for it to actually get some food in its belly, I need to drop pieces of boiled chicken or chunks of canned cat food through the grate. She (I am assuming she is a she because tortoise shells invariably are) scoops up the pieces from below. However, this morning she must have been on the outside when I approached because I saw her streaking across the way into an external protruding drainage pipe where she waited it out until I had left.

Tonight something happened. It was extremely hot and humid today – sweltering in fact. Did my usual rounds this evening and ended up near the drain. Left some food for mum, the three males who are courting her and the four kittens. Finished my chores and returned armed with my secret weapon – two additional cans of cat food.

I abandoned the plan to try to lure Sweetie away – the furthest she'll go is around the corner. However, the positive development that could work in my favour was that the kittens were getting a little bit more comfortable with me and a little more bolder and cocky. 

It happened quicker than I expected. While mum and the fellas were distracted, the white and rust kitten walked into the cat cage to the container of food placed inside. I waited a moment, let all the guilt quickly run through my mind and then I closed the door. The little one was startled into inaction. He/she backed into a corner and didn't meow for help. I just stood up, grabbed the cat cage in one hand and walked away without looking back. I knew the other three kittens have witnessed this event and I wondered if they would ever fall for the 'container in the cat cage' trick again (I'm sounding a bit like Maxwell Smart here).

I walked quietly to the gym which is about 200 metres away. I opened the door, put the cage on the floor and stood back. The little one didn't move for about two minutes, and then when I turned my back, it darted to the wall, looking about for a place to hide. I quickly left and returned to the drain – I was determined to catch at least one more because feral kittens invariably prosper better in twos.

At the drain, the mature cats were going about their business – they hadn't registered that one of the little ones had gone. Sweetie had to contend with her suitors and she was not in a pleasant mood and wanted nothing to do with them. I quickly settled down again and put more food in a trail leading up to the container in the cat cage. The little black one came out but the other two hung back. 

It ate the food on the trail and couldn't quite decide whether it was going into the cage. I made up its mind and swooped in quickly to push it inside. As I closed the door it clattered around on the interior causing Sweetie and the other cats to sit up to attention and crane their heads towards the sound. I threw them some more food to break their concentration and while they were eating I left.

At the gym, I set the cage down again. This time the little black one scooted out and headed straight for the fly screen door which looks onto the outside world. One of our other domestic cats was on the other side looking in with curiousity. The little black one started meowing and then she heard a corresponding call from her sibling. She instantly turned around and headed in the direction from where it came. The black kitten crawled over an obstacle and into the hidey space where the other was hiding. This is important because it will make them feel less alone in their ordeal and they will provide comfort for each other.

There is lots of water and food at the feeding station inside. The kitty litter tray is full. Tonight after they get over the initial trauma of being removed from their mother, they will explore the room.

Tomorrow I will return and starting crooning to them and cajoling to them to begin accepting me. Tomorrow I also have to return to the drain and start again.

It's cool right now. A breeze has sprung up. I've got two dogs at my feet in my studio as I am writing this and two cats in the studio bedroom. There are two frightened kittens in my home gym but everything is right with the world just at this moment – give it some time and they will be fine. 

Now all I need to do is catch their two siblings and then find them a loving home.

[NOTE: I have lots of pics but for some reason blogger is not allowing me to upload them. Be patient and you will soon get to meet these cat characters.]

Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 2

Well I tried for the last three nights ... and the master plan came close to working but then failed at the last moment! Hence the need for patience when trapping feral kittens.

The first night everything happened as it should, except for some unanticipated events that also invariably come up as plot-points in movies or in books to spin the action around – you mustn't forget that I'm a writer and observe life through storyteller's eyes in a slightly different way to normal people. I fed all the animals and then left just a little bit of food for Sweetie and her kittens before walking off. I needed Sweetie to be hungry so I could lure her away with the promise of more food in another location. As it turned out, when I returned to the drain where the kittens were hiding, Sweetie had already disappeared to hunt down another meal (probably at the major feeding station). I was quite excited at this turn of events and sat down next to the drain and dropped food into the containers. What I had not taken into account was that two of my domestic cats turned up to see what was happening. Also, the kittens were more wary and fearful when their mother wasn't around so they kept to the drain and refused to congregate around the food container. Two of them darted out occasionally to grab a piece of cooked chicken but then carried it back into the drain. The other two didn't come out at all.

About ten minutes later Sweetie came tearing aggressively around the corner again, and ran to the drain to check that her babies were there. Once the kittens saw and heard her, they relaxed. She then ate some of their food and then circled behind me to clean herself. Some of the other grown ferals joined her, as if it were a communal meeting place and they all sat around in a semi circle behind my back. Two of the kittens came out and began eating. I  left a little trail of food scraps leading up to the cat cage and then – wonder of wonders – one of the little black ones walked into the cage to help him or herself (I haven't checked out their sex yet) from the feeding tray inside. I gently closed the door ... and then began to have second thoughts. 

I didn't want to take a single kitten away to a strange place. I didn't want to do it in front of its mother or the other elders. I didn't want to traumatise them anymore than they would be already and so – what did I do? – just at the moment where it discovered it was shut in and was starting to panic – I opened the cage door!

Yes ... I'm an idiot! Guilt got me in the end and I left the kittens with their mother that night.

On the second night, events unfolded slightly differently. That night I was going to lure Sweetie into the major feeding station and then lock the window and door so she couldn't go back to her kittens. This time, she didn't budge from their side and just ate the little bit of food I had left for them. When I returned she still hadn't left them. To compound matters, several of the other male cats joined the club. Sweetie must have been on heat because one of the males kept following her and sniffing her backside. She had no time for shenanigans and just kept growling at him and swiping him with her paw. 

I ended up sitting next to the drain for about an hour. I just offloaded all the food. Sweetie came back and gradually the kittens clambered out. This time I made the decision that if the opportunity came, then I had to harden my heart and take any that may have climbed inside the cat cage. The little creme and rust one (see photo) approached but then took a side path.

However, this morning there was a breakthrough. I loaded up the dish and then walked away for a few minutes. When I returned, all four kittens and Sweetie were eating. Two of the kittens went into the drain but the two black ones remained at the dish. One had its back and hind quarters to me so I slowly put out my hand and began stroking down its spine with the expectation that it would immediately shirk at my touch and run away. It didn't. It remained in place for about two to three minutes. Its coat was quite lovely. The sunlight exposes a beautiful copper colour rippling through the black hair. When it suddenly looked up and comprehended that it was I  – a human that was touching it – it suddenly ran back inside the drain. But a moment later he/she was out. 

I also reached out and touched the other little black one and made a physical connection for about five seconds. This is great progress and I will continue along this path. If my original plan doesn't work, I will obviously need to adapt it so that I start the socialisation at this point and then when Sweetie starts to be more comfortable roaming away from them, I may be able to catch the little cuties. Will keep you updated.

Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 1

I know Christmas has long gone and we're over the wine, food, presents and carols, but the story I'm about to tell you started for me on Christmas Eve.

I had been cooking up big all day and during the evening I scooted away to take care of my dog and cat feeding chores. I live on a farm so everything is spread out. I walked to an outside room, located about 50 metres away from the house, which I use for meal preparation and as a feeding station for several of our cats, including the more bolder ferals who consider themselves part of the main coterie and hang around the tool shed and garage, but are still shy of being touched. Boots (a male we caught and desexed) is one, and Sweetie (a wise and street-smart older fertile female who we have NOT been able to catch – see photo) is the other. 

As I walked through the doorway I noticed Sweetie sitting in a long plastic tray under the window. Beside her was a lovely little white kitten with rust colour patches on its body. It took one look at me and then darted away in fright over the window sill onto the ground and then hid in a protruding drain pipe. 

I was equally startled because the last thing I expected to see on the farm at this time was a new kitten, as I monitored the females (and their bellies) closely and had not noticed that Sweetie was pregnant. Then again, she had recently been away for extended periods ...

The first thought in my head was "Oh no! The rest of the family are going to kill me!" They are patient with my feral socialisation activities but it seems as though the cats had been breeding more last year than any other year, even though the number of un-desexed females had not grown. I began speculating that perhaps the kitten didn't belong to Sweetie. Perhaps it was a stray and she had adopted it. Or maybe it was Sweetie's and I had missed the signs entirely!

The kitten stayed in the drain pipe and when I inspected it I noticed a little black one hiding in the interior. "Double oh no!" They backed down the pipe and disappeared into the shadows.

I let them be, and later on, returned to walk around the farm and look for their hiding place. I visited all the places Sweetie had traditionally had her litters but came up empty. She is notoriously inventive when it comes to hiding her babies, and exceptionally protective of them too. I have watched her divert the dogs and other male cats away from her nest and, if absent for an extended period, she would look around in all directions to make sure no animal or human was watching and then slink back via an obstacle course to make sure she wasn't being followed.

I found the litter on Christmas morning by accident. I came around the corner of a shed and spotted Sweetie on the concrete slab below a silo ... beside her were one, two three, four kittens who fled into a covered drain. Two blacks, one white and rust, and one pixie headed tortie and white. I left a little bit of food for them and returned that evening.

Sweetie had gone to the main feeding station so I had a few moments to observe them alone. They had obviously been taught to flee and hide while their mother wasn't around. They hid in two pipes inside and occasionally I could see little ears and eyes, noses and whiskers protruding to see if the threat (me) was still in their domain. A few minutes later I heard a gentle sound that was a mixture of a meow and a chirrup – mum's call to her babies. They all perked up and listened and then after I had backed away, poked their heads out to look for Sweetie who had returned from the feeding station with a large piece of cooked chicken in her mouth. She looked like a miniature version of a lioness. It was the same behaviour I had seen from the big cats in various nature documentaries. She dropped the meal down beside their hiding place and two of them emerged and ate ravenously – the two black ones, which I have since found out to be the boldest of the siblings.

I found out later from our next door neighbour that Sweetie had used his old caravan at the back of his chicken shed as their birthing place. When she had started weaning them, she obviously moved them to the drain area closer to the food source, yet still out of sight of our two dogs (who by the way are fascinated with cats and will not harm them).

The kittens are about seven weeks old now. I did not strategise or do anything about catching them until the new year, but I have laid the foundations slowly during the last few weeks. This case is different to the others because of the following reasons:

(1) For the first four weeks the kittens were not exposed to human contact in any shape or form from near or afar;

(2) They are located in an inhospitable area that is easy for them to hide in but exceptionally difficult for me to access;

(3) Psychologically they are more alert and smarter than any others I have encountered;

(4) Sweetie, their mum, rarely leaves their side.

The socialisation process will be tricky here. I have set the scene over the last few weeks by locking up the dogs when I am close by, and by sitting near the kittens while they eat and then gradually decreasing the distance from about 20 feet away to two feet away. I have also set a cat trap in a sheltered area close by with absolutely no success. I think the older cats trip it deliberately because the door is shut in the mornings when I return and none of the bait is taken. However, I have set out a cat cage with an open door near the drain so that they get used to it and relax. I want them to think it's just another non-threatening part of the environment. Over the last few days I have left a plate of food inside and have returned to find the contents gone. 

I have now set up a cat safe room in our outside gym. All the things are set – hidey places, warm spots, a feeding station, a toilet station, two full water bowls and a number of toys.

Wish me luck! Tonight I have to try and get Sweetie out of the way and then return to the drain to set down some food for them in the cat cage. If they are extra hungry they will go inside and all I have to do is close the door, which is the way I caught Boston (one of my other cats).

Fingers crossed. 

In the movies, if characters announce their plans to other characters (and thus the audience) something will inevitably happen to thwart the plan, so I am taking a big risk outlining my strategy in this blog journal entry. 

Wish me luck!

(By the way, I have been trying all day to upload pics of all these cats for you, but Blogger will not let me. I will try again tomorrow.)

 

Feral Cat Cull Devastates Macquarie Island

Still offline – my Mac is in the shop and I am currently using my next door neighbour's computer to get you this breaking news, but came across this article today on the effects of killing off the feral cat population on Macquarie Island (located in the Southern Ocean between Australia and the Antarctic). Rabbit numbers have exploded since the last cat was killed in 2000 and the environmental impact has been enormous on the vegetation, as well as the penguin population. You can read all about it on the Iinet website.

How to Socialise a Feral Kitten – Part V

Opening Frontiers – Expanding Your Feral Kitten's Home Territory
Your cat or kitten will signal to you when it wants to move beyond the borders of its safe room, so take your cues from your cat. These signals will include the following behaviour – sitting or scratching at the door, trying to escape around or through your legs when you enter or exit the room, and gazing longingly out of windows to the outside world.

Cats are notoriously curious and intelligent and they need stimulation, so giving them access to the rest of your house will answer those psychological needs and also define their home territory with you. When you feel it is time to let them out, be sure to keep other animals in your household (especially dogs) out of the way (I will cover the subject of introducing your feral kittens/cats to dogs and other animals in a later blog post.)

Rather than picking them up, I recommend you open the door about halfway and then sit down a few feet away. Then – if they haven't followed you already – begin calling to them to coax them out. At this stage what should happen in principle is that they will ease their heads around the doors and look in all directions to assess the situation and then come out to you or start exploring. Just keep talking to them gently and let them find their own way. Keep the door to their safe room open, so if they should feel scared at any time they can just rush back in and hide.

You can explore the territory with them by crawling on the floor beside them and encouraging them and also by opening other doors into other rooms or closets so they can go inside to get a sense of the terrain. They will probably also sniff their way around or perhaps even expand their territory in circles. They will walk tentatively but that's because they are guarded and unsure. They may also scout out other hiding places in the hall or nearby rooms first before checking out the rest of the space.

If you have a large house, it may be a bit confronting for them in the first instance. The trick is to open up the territory section by section until they feel safe and comfortable in each one. Allow one or two days in each territory and then repeat the process, extending the boundary each time. Also, keep to you routine and put their food down in the safe room in the same place as you have before. Later on when they have the full run of the place you can change it if you wish.

Blogspot in Stasis

Sincere apologies for the lack of blogging recently, but my computer has gone into repair for a malfunctioning ethernet port – this basically means I cannot connect to the internet and receive or send any emails or do any blogging. I am using my mother's computer for this blog post. I have lots of new material and pics and am looking forward to returning next week.

The Art of the Slow Blink

In a previous post I mentioned the importance of avoiding staring into a feral cats' eyes as they will usually perceive this as threatening behaviour. I mastered a technique this morning, which seemed to have worked well with the little Xmas kitties I have just found on our property. 

I am just getting them used to me. I leave food for them in the morning and sit about ten feet away. I caught a shy one staring at me – checking me out to see if it was safe for him/her to come out of hiding and to eat. I wanted to keep looking at it but didn't want to go into a full stare so I responded in two ways:

(1) I gazed at it for about two to three seconds and then turned my head away for a few seconds then repeated the process.

(2) I mastered the art of the slow blink. I noticed the kitten would blink slowly approximately every five seconds, so I started mimicking his/her behaviour. I would let my eyelids close slowly as if I were in the act of falling asleep. Then I would slowly open them. The kitten continued to watch me and then fell into sync with me. Its body language changed so that it became sleepy and dreamy and relaxed. After a while it joined its more braver siblings at the food tray, rather than running away as it had previously done.

I'd be interested in how this works for y'all.

2009 Beginnings

Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2009 will be great for you. 

My blogging activities over the last few weeks have been sporadic I know – I put it down to heavy work deadlines, weariness, the frantic Xmas and Boxing Day cooking schedule, overseas visitors staying with us en masse, and of course the varied activities of my 20+ feline friends. A quick wrap up for the end of 2008 revealed several things in regard to the feral cats living on my farm:

(1) The four newly born kittens I covered in a previous post disappeared. I am presuming they died because I found no trace of them. How this happened, I can only speculate. Either predators or a natural death. It is always sad when animals die, let alone those who haven't had a chance to even live.

(2) I have a young feral cat (he's about seven months old) living in my studio. He comes in at night and goes outside in the morning. His name is Boston. That's his photo. I caught him two months ago. He is the oldest kitten I have socialised and I will devote more blog space to writing up a case study on him (as well as the other kittens I have socialised) so you can get an understanding of the inherent process with slight adjustments and variations according to the age, temperament and position of each kitten in the cat hierarchy.

(3) I have just found four new kittens. This mother cat – Sweetie as she is known – came in under the radar. I didn't even know she was pregnant again. She is also the mother of Boston and must have got pregnant with them around the time that I caught him. These Xmas kittens are gorgeous and I will be chronicling their journey in a series of blog posts. I have not caught them yet so you will be getting step by step description and action as the story unfolds. This also emphasises the need for me to try and catch Sweetie again so I can get her desexed – she is just too street smart at the moment and avoids the cat traps entirely. Let's hope the kittens will not be as hypervigilent or as intelligent as their mother so I can start the process and rehome them ASAP.