Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 18

Good news, readers. My masterplan worked and I caught Sorrento last week. 

I went into the rumpus room to feed the cats and deposited some food into the open cat cage, which I had placed on the ping pong table some weeks ago. This was her particular feeding station and the objective was to make her feel comfortable around the cage so she thought it was a harmless object. Feral cats are notoriously clever in recognising when somebody wants to catch them and usually avoid confined spaces such as cat traps and cages unless they're starving.

I just had a feeling this was going to be the day so I kept watch on her out of the corner of my eye while I did other things such as clean out the kitty litter. Sure enough she calmly walked inside the cage and I just quickly and quietly moved across the room to shut the door on her. She was completely taken by surprise. I covered the sides of the cage with a towel and then carried her to the car and strapped her into the seat beside me.

I had to take my dog into the vet at the same time to get some stitches and it took me about ten minutes to drive there. This was the first time I actually heard Sorrento meow. She had a quiet scared meow and I just talked gently to her, reassuring her that it would be all right. And indeed it was. I got her chipped, vaccinated, desexed and put on post-operative pain medication.

That night I picked her and my dog up. When I returned home, I walked into the rumpus room and slowly opened the cage door and stood back. She tottered out – still wobbly from the anaesthesia – and then she ran and hid behind some filing cabinets. I left her some food and checked again on her about two hours later. She was doing okay.

For the next few days she avoided me and gave me the evil eye if I came near her. After that she started to relax.

Yesterday I decided she was ready for the big wide world again so I let the door open to the rumpus room. It was a beautiful warm day and about ten of the farm cats were lounging in and around the base of the stairs in about a 10 metre radius. The dogs were there too. We watched Sorrento tentatively come out onto the landing and look around – sniffing the air and the area. Then she slowly came down the stairs and looked around. I let her continue in this way for about 15 minutes – the dogs' eyes and some of the other cats and mine upon her. I knew the rumpus room was her safe-place so I kept the door open, although I was conscious of the fact that I didn't want Lulu (our little blind cat) trying to get out. I slowly moved towards Sorrento to see what she would do and as predicted she turned around and ran back into the rumpus room.

A couple of hours later I repeated the same process and then again a few hours after that. Each time she expanded her territory and interacted with great excitement with some of our other cats she had not met yet. Desexed males are usually the kindest and most patient with new cats – in this case, Boston, Saffron and Snow – and of course, Sorrento's best friend Samson. I don't have a current photo of Sorrento unfortunately as the camera I usually use is on holidays with my parents – the one you're looking at is about three months old. But I can tell you she's a pretty girl.

Today I let her out again. This time there were no cats in sight and I was standing some distance away watching her. And then she called me with her meow – wanting me there to reassure her so I came to her side and she stopped meowing and came down the stairs. I then brought Aspen and Mambo (her brothers) to her side so she could relax even more. Sorrento began rolling around on the gravel, exposing her belly and being completely in the moment. I've never seen her eyes as soft as they were in those moments. Even though I haven't stroked her as yet, there seemed to be a real communication breakthrough today that really touched me. 

Tomorrow I'll leave her out for longer and let her explore the area and make some new friends.

Chronicles of the Xmas Kittens – Journal Entry 17

It's been three months since I last posted on the Xmas kittens. At that stage I was putting up flyers all over the local area for people who might have wanted to adopt our four young cats. I didn't get many enquiries – I put it down to the the state of the economy (people are less inclined to take on animals when there is a sense of impending doom and they have to watch their money carefully) and the fact that the cats were a little older than the normal kittens being put up for adoption (although the pet shop at our local mall had similar aged cats up for sale). The people who did enquire were very nice but were cat beginners and as such probably wouldn't have understood the behavioural complexities that could accompany ex-feral cats. In the end all four cats stayed and I now have about 22 cats on the farm.

Once the decision was made to keep them, I named them. The red and white male is Aspen, the black female is Lulu, the black male is Mambo, and the tortie is Sorrento. (In the near future I'll do another post on naming cats).

A couple of months ago I moved them out of the gym and into the rumpus room which is larger, has a lot more light and is warmer in the winter. Three of the cats have since become lap-cats – they are purrers and cuddlers and exceptionally curious. The two males are now allowed outdoors and they follow me around as if I were the Pied Piper of cats. They must have an explorer gene to them because they are the boldest cats I have ever seen. Ordinarily, when I begin reintroducing feral cats to the outdoors again I take them to a small fenced off territory where they can enjoy the lawn and climbing up a big fig tree and jump up on an elevated platform full of pot plants. They slowly explore the area in ever increasing circles. It usually takes about three to five days before they climb through or over the barriers into the wider area. Well, Aspen and Mambo didn't hesitate. They checked out the area and were through the gaps in the fence within about 20 minutes – making friends with the other cats, eyeing off our two dogs, strolling happily onto the verandah of the house, and following me into my office. Aspen (pictured) has even gone on a morning walk to the dam with the dogs and my sheep.Quite extraordinary.

I also had three of the four desexed. Aspen and Mambo sailed through but Lulu wasn't so lucky. When she woke up from the operation, she was blind. This is one of the reasons I haven't written for so long on this blog – I was extremely upset and pretty much maintained a vigil by her side for the first two weeks. As you can imagine, she was extremely traumatised. I'll do a separate blog post on Lulu and how I'm dealing with a blind cat. Needless to say I have not let her out of doors. 

In the meantime, Sorrento is the final cat to get desexed. She's content in the rumpus room but looks through the window to the farm sprawled out below her and I know she'd like to venture out. Feral cats are predominantly outdoor cats and I'm sure she'd like to get back to the land so to speak. I dare not let her out until she's desexed and has recuperated because I don't know whether I'll be able to catch her again and because we have a huge sexed-up stray male tabby roaming around who jumps on any females he sees. I declare outright and out loud – THERE WILL BE NO MORE KITTENS HERE ON THE FARM! THE BREEDING LINES ARE (NEARLY) CLOSED!

More pics to come in the next couple of days.

Socializing Feral Kittens Videos

"Not to plug but Gerber Chicken and Gravy No. 2 is the crack cocaine for kittens!"

Great line from a great set of videos. 

The Urban Cat League in the USA has put together a series of three educational videos that will help you socialize feral kittens. Some of the tactics employed are slightly different to what I've used in the past (I would never have thought to have used baby food, for example), however, it's always good to add new strategies to your repertoire. The over-riding lesson in here is that you need to be flexible in the way you work with individual kittens and cats, as they all have different responses and pathways to socialization. The vet in the series is a real hero!

The Seven Stages of Stroking a Feral Cat

From my observations there are seven stages to petting and stroking a feral cat or kitten that you must pass through in order to take them from wild to domesticated. It's important to go through this process in order so you can build trust between you. 

Progress – measured over time – will depend on the cat's age, confidence, personality, dominance and status, and whether they were raised as a single kitten or in a litter by their mother and whether you're socialising one or more cats. As you go through these stages and you find the cat or kitten reacting positively then praise them in a high pitch voice with a "good girl/boy" or by using their name. 

The seven phases to stroking a feral cat and building rapport are:

1. "Soft" Nape to Tail Tip Touch – this needs to be a light finger or palm brush from the nape of the neck, down the spine and to the tip of the cat's tail. The pressure is soft – you should only be able to feel their coat at this stage. Be aware of how you approach the cat. Keep yourself low on the floor and come in from the side or back rather than front on and over the top, as the cat will perceive your hand as a threatening implement and may even swat it. The first time you attempt to stroke a feral cat is best done when they're off guard. They need to be comfortable enough with you to be within two feet of your vicinity and relaxed enough so their attention is focused away from you – the best times are when they're eating or playing and concentrating on food or a toy. The first few times you touch them, expect them to either move or run away, or, to shrink from your touch so that their bodies lower onto the ground and they crawl or wriggle away. They may also hiss, but don't be dissuaded – this is quite a normal reaction and will lose its intensity as time goes by until it completely disappears. You'll need to be patient and persistent in your efforts until they feel comfortable and you feel ready to process to (2). Please note that the slinking to the floor behaviour may continue through the other stages but will eventually stop when they trust you. Also note that you may find yourself taking two steps forward on one morning and then one step back the following morning. Don't be concerned – they will gradually learn to relax. 

2. "Firm" Nape to Tail Tip Stroke – Once the cats/kittens are comfortable with the soft touch you can increase the pressure on their hair and skin to the point of actually feeling the bumpy spinal disks and their tail bones. This is more of a massaging move. Cats in general like this stroking as it quite pleasurable for them. Domesticated cats usually respond with a purr; if your feral cat begins purring at this stage then you've made excellent progress. Positive body language to look out for in response to this move is the cat walking high with a tall head and tail or twisting around to meet your hand again so you can continue patting it, or rubbing its head and flank against your hand or body.

 

3. Top of the Head Tickle – Top of the head action is perceived in general to be a threatening move, and feral cats/kittens may take a little while to grow out of this response. However, it's all in the approach. Again, don't stand or hover over the cat. Get down on the floor with them. Avoid bringing your hand in from up high; rather, bring it in from the side in a natural or organic way incorporating stage (2). Just tickle the cat briefly on the forehead for no longer than three seconds with a firm stroke. 

4. Under Chin Tickle – This is one of the most effective cat touches and will invariably raise a purr. All cats love having their chin tickled and stroked. Keep your fingers loose and scratch gently and firmly in the throat area until their head raises to meet the action. Their eyes will invariably soften and close as well.

5. Play Roll-over – Part of the socialisation process is to play with your cat and get him/her to engage in mock hunting behaviour. You can do this by dragging twine attached to a trinket across the floor or over furniture, or using my latest favourite toy – getting a strip of firm material such as flannellette and tying a knot at the other end. A relaxed and happy cat will start to tussle with the toy and do roll overs while you are tugging on one end and he/she is tugging on the other. They will expose their belly while grappling with their mock prey. You can give their belly a rub but expect to be play-bitten or play-scratched as the kitten rolls over. This is not an out-and-out aggressive response but one in which their claws maybe sheathed or unsheathed in practice hunt behaviour. The older the cat the harder the claws. It's important to note that if the cat is truly attacking you then your hands will be torn quite badly. The play responses are usually light scratches that I put down to over-enthusiasm and are a small price to pay. The scratches will heal pretty quickly. If the cat gets too rowdy then tap him/her on the nose and caution them. I have only come across this once in a lifetime of owning cats and it came from a neighbour's domesticated Siamese who had a tolerance of about two minutes for petting and then signalled her displeasure after that with a bout of side-to-side tail lashing. If her human companions didn't heed her body language then they would get a bite or scratch that would draw blood.

6. Lap Cuddle – Once the feral cat/kitten is comfortable and has bonded with you they will often climb on your lap. Alternatively, you can test it by gently lifting them up in a soft hold and depositing them in your lap. Give them a chin tickle but keep your hands loose so they don't feel constrained or trapped. They will often jump straight off, but don't take this personally. It may take a few attempts before they're comfortable to sit on your lap for a prolonged period and to get a good cuddle. If this is happening, then your feral cat is now indeed domesticated. Once the kitten feels completely safe in your lap and in your hold, then you can also pick him/her up into an upturned baby position and give their belly a soft tickle.

7. Spontaneous Flop and Roll Over – When the kittens or cats greet you by flopping over on their side and exposing their throat and belly then they signalling their trust and regard for you. Always give them a compliment and a pat or tickle in response so they can continue feeling safe and loved.

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.

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.

How to Socialise a Feral Kitten - Part IV

The Feral Kitten Socialisation Process – The First Two Weeks

The time to start establishing physical (touch) contact is when your kittens have begun to relax in their new home. They know when their food is coming, they know every nook and cranny of their room intimately, and they start to become curious about you. One clue as to their being relaxed is that they are cleaning themselves comfortably in front of you. Another sign is their body language – they may keep you at a safe distance but they walk around, rather than slink close to the ground or make a mad dash to their closest hiding place. 

You need to be subtle rather than overt or aggressive when you want to make your way into a feral kitten's heart. You do so by engaging in play behaviour. You can walk around the room with a long piece of string trailing from your hand or pocket. The string should be tied to a small object that catches their eye as it moves. They will become transfixed by the movement to the point of either sitting and watching it or actually stalking and pouncing on the object. 

My favourite tool, as described in the previous post, is to use a ping pong ball. I just sit on the floor and roll it side to side until it catches their attention. Their ears will invariably perk up and their eyes will grow wide. Sometimes they forget themselves and walk up closer to you to investigate. That is the perfect time to engage with them by batting the ball towards them. Aim to roll it between their paws. They may jump back slightly but usually they will test the ball with their paws. If all is clear from their standard and perspective, they will start batting the ball themselves and chase it around the room.

Socialising a feral cat or kitten is an act of expansion. By that I mean that you start off small and then build step by step so their physical play territory expands, and by virtue of that, the physical boundaries between you and the cats diminishes. You can actually start a game where you bat it to the kitten and the kitten bats it back to you. You will need to be the leader in the game and keep returning it to the kitten so that you are both participants in the same game with each other. It is not uncommon for the kitten to become so engrossed with the ball game that he/she will indiscriminately run towards you and even sidle up to you in order to get the ball and ultimately forget that he/she had previously perceived you as a threat. If that's happening, then count it as a major step in what I call your "conquest by kindness" technique, although "conquest" may be too loaded a word. Let's just say strategic in that you are working with cat psychology.

The other thing you can do is to leave various size boxes around the room, or alternatively, canvas shopping bags or the old fashion shopping paper bag. Cats love exploring these objects, and will often climb inside and make themselves at home. This will perpetuate the notion in their world that this is an environment in which they can interact yet still feel safe.

The best way to make that first physical contact with a cat is while they are eating. Once you have established the daily routine and they begin to anticipate all the elements, begin to progressively sit closer to their feeding station every day at meal times. Once you reach the stage where you are sitting alongside them and they are comfortable with your presence and continue to eat without being hyper vigilant or running away, then slowly extend your hand towards the kitten or cat. You may need to do this in increments – at first the kitten may run or hide, or maybe it will shift position or maybe it will stay there. Depending on how the kitten reacts, never try to force a touch on them. The best time to do this is when they are still hungry and fully engaged in chowing down their food. When you reach a point where you can stroke them, just do one move. Touch them gently on the back of the neck and run your hand down its spine and through to the tip of the tail. If the kitten/cat doesn't resist or shirk, continue in the same way. After a while he/she will start purring, and begin associating you with comfort and pleasure. 

How to Socialise a Feral Kitten - Part III [UPDATES ADDED]

The Feral Kitten Socialisation Process – The First Three Days

Once you have your kitten or cat in the cage or trap, take it to the room you have prepared as its new home. The kitten may be meowing pitifully or yowling in rapid succession (fear responses) at this point. Place the cage on the floor, sit back, talk to it in a gentle cajoling voice and then slowly open the cage or trap door. The kitten will usually frantically run out and then plunge into the first hiding space it can find where it will stay for several hours. This is the fight or flight survival mechanism at work – in this case it is flight and hide. If you have more than one kitten they will usually hide together. If you have the option of socialising multiple kittens then take it, as they will find solace and comfort in each other.

At this stage I suggest you leave the room and come back every hour or two for about five to ten minutes and just sit down and talk to your cat. What you are doing is getting your kitten used to humans, and specifically – you. Do NOT attempt to pick up or touch the cat at this stage, as you will get badly scratched and it will traumatise the kitten more. It is always my policy to create the trust between you and the cat so that it comes to you willingly.

How long does it take to socialise a feral kitten? That will depend on its age, its temperament and whether you have had the opportunity to do any pre-socialisation prior to capturing it. It has taken me as little as one day and as long as three weeks for kittens aged between six and eight weeks old. The older the cat gets the more difficult it can be because you will be attempting to reverse some pretty serious feral conditioning where you are perceived as a dangerous threat. And in some cases with some people – rightly so – after all, how can you blame the cat for wanting to survive...

The method I use for socialising a cat is based on developing a routine so the cat knows what to expect within a 24-hour period and therefore begin to relax. Your job will be to answer the cats needs based on the following sequence:

(1) Providing safety and security

(2) Providing food and water

(3) Arousing curiousity and play

(4) Contact by touch.

The cat's first instinct, as previously mentioned, is to hide away from danger. It will need to feel a sense of safety and security before it begins to relax and venture out. If it is absolutely starving then hunger will drive it from of its hiding spot sooner, but at this stage it will usually wait until you have gone from the space before it comes out. Most of the feral kittens I have taken through this socialisation process have come from my family farm where I live. I have always fed the feral cats so I know that they have not been starving when I have taken them away from their mother/s. The exception was with Sihri and Sasha (mentioned previously in other posts) who were thrust upon me by a neighbour who had in turn had them thrust upon her by a stranger. These cats were completely traumatised – their eyes reflected their terror and they hissed and spat if I approached them. I had no idea when they had had their last meal but I set some food in front of them and they virtually dove into the dish, eating greedily and hungrily to the point of forgetting anything else around them. When they had finished they reverted to their previous fear position and then backed into a narrow gap behind a cabinet and hid there for many hours. It may be a good idea to put some newspapers around these hiding spots. Although cats are notoriously clean and most of the time know how to use litter trays to go to the toilet, they may be so terrified at this stage that they will not want to come out. The newspapers give them an alternative.

Set up the feeding routine in the morning and evening, with small midday meals if they kittens are quite young. Don't give them too much, as they can gobble up everything and get little bulging tummies that look as if they are about to burst. For the first day or two, leave the room or retreat to a distant corner once you have set up the meal so they can eat by themselves. After that, sit down a few feet away from the feeding station and let them get used to you being there when they eat (this also lays down the foundations for future contact by touch). 

What they will do when you are not in the room is to explore. They will be active in the morning till about ten and then sleep for several hours until late afternoon. They will become active again in the evening and especially at night. In the first instance, they will explore the room with the specific purpose of scouting for and establishing lots of alternative hiding places for themselves so they have lots of options. These may be behind a shelf or cabinet, under the bed, behind a basket, in a dark corner and/or in some very obscure places you wouldn't even think to look. Feral cats are in fact quite ingenious. 

While all this is happening, give the kittens their space and again do not force yourself on them. The most important attribute you can demonstrate at this stage in the socialisation process is patience. 

Once the kittens know where all the safe spots are and once they know that they will be fed with regularity, they will start to relax further and this is the prime time for them to get to know you more. Don't use stand-over tactics. Sit down when you are in their space – a towering person is perceived as a threat and you want to get as close to their level as possible. Sometimes I recline casually on my side and mimic a relaxed cat. 

Avoid staring directly into their eyes, as this can also be seen as a challenge and threat. If you are to look at them directly in the face then soften your eyes, blink occasionally and glance away at times as if you are occupied with other business.

You can also start off by communicating with them. Use a high voice that matches their meow pitch. Also use "sss" sounds like "pusssssss" or "ssssweetie". Talk to them while they eat; if you have named them, use their names (naming will be discussed in more detail in a later blog post); and just talk to them in general as you would a child. Cats respond to communication and after a while they will stay on the floor, albeit at a safe distance from you, rather than scampering away.

You can also appeal to their curiousity and sense of play. The best tool you can use is a ping pong ball. I always have a stash of them in the cat room and I was also very grateful to have accumulated a big bag of pink balls when I went to see the musical theatre version of Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the beginning of the year (a net full of balls drops on the audience from aloft in a pivotal scene – if you have seen the film or the stage musical then you'll know where I mean!).

Roll the ping pong ball around the floor – backwards and forwards, side to side – but retrieve it. The kittens will begin to watch this moving ball with fascination. Their playful and predatory hunting selves will start to emerge and they will become hypnotised and on the edge of excitement by the movement of the ball. Later on in the socialisation process, you will start to play with them and you will be swatting and batting the balls to each other with great glee.

If you see that things are falling into place quickly then don't wait for the predetermined time, just accelerate the process until you are ready to touch and make contact, which I will cover in Part IV of this series.

How to Socialise a Feral Kitten – Table of Blog Contents

This is the first in a series of blog posts/articles on the process of socialising feral cats that will appear over the following weeks. The subheadings I will be posting under include:

Preparing Your Room or Space for Feral Kittens

Catching your Feral Kittens

The Feral Kitten Socialisation Process

Healthcare for Feral Kittens

Finding a Good Home for Your Feral Kittens

Desexing and Microchipping Your Socialised Feral Kittens

Keep reading for updates.