- Joined
- Sep 17, 2020
- Messages
- 3,071
- Purraise
- 14,181
Thank you for sharing your experiences with feral cats. You saved many lives who are now living in homes where they can feel warm, safe and loved. Every cat under your care must feel like they won the jackpot. Thank you for going out of your way to understand the swamp kitties and win their trust. To earn a cat's trust is the highest honor. All the best to you and the Clowder!I am well aware of what the opinions are about feral cats. There are some misunderstandings out there. Kittens aren’t the only ferals that can socialize. Let me speak to everyone here about ferals and socializing. Every cat here was feral. They were swamp cats. No humans until people started hunting them and drove them onto my property. At first I could not get near them. It took time and work but as I stayed in the edge of the woods with them, I became a part of the scenery. It was a process. From being still like a tree to placing out food, to even camping out with some, they learned I was not a threat. Feral became semi feral that way. Kittens were usually pretty easy. Some adults were fairly quick to start trusting. I was just a big cat that knew how to hunt and provide food. Lol Some were more suspicious. Flowers and BJ being the most aggressive. I’m not suggesting that every feral will become a lap cat but I do believe that every cat learns. Every cat can trust on some level. Well over a hundred in this last colony became happy as inside only cats. The previous colony , the same thing. That means that every member of both colonies were brought in. Alley is the only cat that does not like to be held but even Alley loves pets. She will never love strangers but she never wants to go back out and she allowed me to pick her up and carry her into the house in my arms without any objections. She is a cats cat. I allow her to be whatever she wants to be. She is affectionate and adores the bed, rare pieces of bacon as a treat and allows me to groom her, apply flea meds and whatever else is needed. I get the stink eye at flea meds. Lol She knows she is safe and loved and returns that. The most aggressive and the last two to be brought in? Two of the most affectionate. Bj will go to anyone who enters the house. Both gave me some dents while outside but never anything but snuggles once they realized they were safe. I think that if I lived outside and struggled to survive, I would be just as cautious as a feral cat. Probably far less trusting and loving. If I was then rescued, I don’t know if I would ever adjust as well as a feral cat does. I have never met a feral cat that did not show relief once they understood that inside was safe and their human loved them. From newborn kitten to an estimated eight years old, all the ferals I have brought in here have had happy lives inside. Feral to semi feral to some level of socialization, they can all be rescued. Yes, some still like outside but in my personal experience, that becomes the exception. The cats understand that outside carries risks. Recently Purry got stung by a Yellowjacket inside the fenced garden. The very first thing he did was to run to me. Safety. Cats are smart. The human big cat will protect and inside doesn’t have yellowjackets. Obviously we can’t protect them all with their own home because too many are out there right now but we can do TNR, feed ferals and get the numbers down. In time ,as shelters and rescuers make progress, may no cat be at risk of climate, predators, hunger, cars or humans. Ferals are just kitties that haven’t had the chance to tame a human. I am now a very well trained human. Lol Every life of any creature is important. The thing we all need to remember is, never give up and let’s hope to give every feral a chance to tame a human. I think some humans need taming more than others but if any creature can do that, it’s a cat! N NY cat man Too bad they can’t choose to spay and neuter some humans.
tarasgirl06 The Egyptians and many other cultures understood the value of cats! If cats raised us, we might all be better humans.
Whenallhellbreakslose You ca bet that Mamanyt1953 Will be taking care of any human that hurts a cat! There is a plan of action in place.
M maggiedemi Many rescue groups put out the information that ferals can’t be socialized. There are several reasons they do this but one is that shelters are overwhelmed by the number of cats being surrendered and the number of ferals reported. There just isn’t enough space or funding to socialize, provide care and/or adopt out all the kitties. They don’t want high euthanasia rates either. Most try to save the kittens and do TNR. We hope that as the number of ferals born drops and laws penalize owners who dump or neglect pets become stronger, there will be a shift in these statements. Education about socializing will help too. That’s why forums like this one are so important. TCS is giving us a chance to educate and assist in the socialization of more ferals. I can tell you that more people are adopting ferals every day. I am seeing new posts here on that subject all the time now. You can help with that too. Let everyone who posts about adopting a feral know how you rescued Maggie and Demi and how much love they have brought into your life. That support will help them to see a great future with a feral.