I have had my feral cats for 4 days (I am hoping that in due course they will be happy with me and I will adopt and offer a permanent home). Their history, found as kittens living in a rabbit hole, feral mum had died. Think they were around 1 year old. Have spent 2 years in a rescue home apart from 3 months fostering at some point.
They are very very timid. I accept that they are frightened of me and so I am letting them hide for as long as they need. I am concerned that Baffin (the ginger male )who is less timid is easting 2 dinners, whilst his sister Nuuk is missing out. Also I am not sure if they continue to hide all day long at some point I should "chivvy" them along and encourage them out from under the bed.
They are so beautiful, I don't expect that they will ever be lap cats, and I'm happy as long as they are. I have always had cats in my home, but this is all new to me. Need some advice on cat psychology!
Feral cat fostering
Re: Feral cat fostering
Hello Theo, thanks for giving these cats a chance of a happy and safe life. I would let them continue hiding as much as they want, but give them opportunities to learn that you are a safe person to be around.
My two were both very timid when I brought them home (a few months apart), so I created a safe room for them (spare bedroom) and made it comfortable with warm places to hide, food, water, litter and toys, and then spent quite a lot of time with them lying down on the floor quietly talking to them, and maybe slowly putting my hand towards them (below their head height), equally slowly withdrawing it if it worried them, and trying again later.
Then you can try slowly giving them treats by hand - again leaving it near them to start off with, so they can retrieve it later, then putting it nearer to them/right in front of them once they were used to that. That helps them associate our hands with good things. Once they're getting used to that, you could try just gently stroking a cheek, letting them move away if they're not comfortable with it, and trying again another time.
You can then start playing with them with toys on string (I found feathers on the end of a stick work well too), leave cat nip toys around (some are better than others - the Yeoww range is good), so that they can start engaging with you in a more interactive and enjoyable way.
Then just start building on all this as they start to grow in confidence, but there's no telling how long it will take. You can't rush it, let them do it in their own time, but sometimes they suddenly have a "light bulb" moment, like my two did, and realised that I wasn't going to eat them and they are now both very happy and affectionate lap cats. I was lucky with my two, one wasn't completely feral, just traumatised, and the other had had some really good groundwork from his previous fosterer, but it was a learning experience for all of us.
Re the food, try to leave some dried food down all the time, that way the more timid puss will always have something to hand to eat, if the other is bingeing on the main meals you provide.
My two were both very timid when I brought them home (a few months apart), so I created a safe room for them (spare bedroom) and made it comfortable with warm places to hide, food, water, litter and toys, and then spent quite a lot of time with them lying down on the floor quietly talking to them, and maybe slowly putting my hand towards them (below their head height), equally slowly withdrawing it if it worried them, and trying again later.
Then you can try slowly giving them treats by hand - again leaving it near them to start off with, so they can retrieve it later, then putting it nearer to them/right in front of them once they were used to that. That helps them associate our hands with good things. Once they're getting used to that, you could try just gently stroking a cheek, letting them move away if they're not comfortable with it, and trying again another time.
You can then start playing with them with toys on string (I found feathers on the end of a stick work well too), leave cat nip toys around (some are better than others - the Yeoww range is good), so that they can start engaging with you in a more interactive and enjoyable way.
Then just start building on all this as they start to grow in confidence, but there's no telling how long it will take. You can't rush it, let them do it in their own time, but sometimes they suddenly have a "light bulb" moment, like my two did, and realised that I wasn't going to eat them and they are now both very happy and affectionate lap cats. I was lucky with my two, one wasn't completely feral, just traumatised, and the other had had some really good groundwork from his previous fosterer, but it was a learning experience for all of us.
Re the food, try to leave some dried food down all the time, that way the more timid puss will always have something to hand to eat, if the other is bingeing on the main meals you provide.