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- Jan 15, 2020
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Taki was born feral, switched to a house kitty at 2 months old. Taki's always loved the outdoors, so I've been working with them on harness/leash walking. Taki loves it and is usually pretty good about it - when we're out and I pick them up, they usually growl at me a little (they know that usually means going back inside), but they don't seem scared and definitely not aggressive at all.
But last time (we've gone out dozens of times before, and they've seen stray cats before - that's where they came from), Taki saw one of the stray cats in our backyard at the start of our outdoor time. Taki seemed slightly scared, but not enough that I was concerned, especially since the other cat was at a distance and scared of humans. They stared at each other for a short while, then the stray cat left. Taki and I remained in the backyard as we usually do for our outdoor time.
A few minutes into the outdoor time, Taki tried (and suceeded) at eating a feather off the ground, but as they were eating it I crouched down and tried to get them to stop (I do this often with no issue, and I've messed with their face many times before while out on the harness/leash with no problem). As soon as my hand touched Taki's face, Taki freaked out and flipped onto their back, thrashing and scratching every part of me that was in range (even managing my face somehow). This continued for at least a full minute.
I managed to pick Taki up (they were still thrashing, but they're only like 5lbs) and bring them back inside. Damage to myself was minimal - I was wearing long sleeves. But this experience was a little scary and I'm not sure what exactly to do about it. I don't want to stop bringing them outside altogether since they love it so much, but there have been one or two times so far that bringing them out made them a little scratchy (nothing as bad as this though, and as mentioned earlier they are very small so it's easy for me to contain them even when they're scratching like mad) or they've been a little tense from stray encounters (though mostly it has been peaceful and the one or two times Taki seemed scared I simply took them back inside with no issue or aggression) and I don't want to bring them out if it's going to scare them or stress them out.
My main concern is more for Taki's wellbeing and emotional status than for the possibility of myself getting scratched. What should I do? Does this mean I have to stop taking them out? Is there any way to help them feel more secure outdoors, and/or reduce emotional strain from stray meetings?
But last time (we've gone out dozens of times before, and they've seen stray cats before - that's where they came from), Taki saw one of the stray cats in our backyard at the start of our outdoor time. Taki seemed slightly scared, but not enough that I was concerned, especially since the other cat was at a distance and scared of humans. They stared at each other for a short while, then the stray cat left. Taki and I remained in the backyard as we usually do for our outdoor time.
A few minutes into the outdoor time, Taki tried (and suceeded) at eating a feather off the ground, but as they were eating it I crouched down and tried to get them to stop (I do this often with no issue, and I've messed with their face many times before while out on the harness/leash with no problem). As soon as my hand touched Taki's face, Taki freaked out and flipped onto their back, thrashing and scratching every part of me that was in range (even managing my face somehow). This continued for at least a full minute.
I managed to pick Taki up (they were still thrashing, but they're only like 5lbs) and bring them back inside. Damage to myself was minimal - I was wearing long sleeves. But this experience was a little scary and I'm not sure what exactly to do about it. I don't want to stop bringing them outside altogether since they love it so much, but there have been one or two times so far that bringing them out made them a little scratchy (nothing as bad as this though, and as mentioned earlier they are very small so it's easy for me to contain them even when they're scratching like mad) or they've been a little tense from stray encounters (though mostly it has been peaceful and the one or two times Taki seemed scared I simply took them back inside with no issue or aggression) and I don't want to bring them out if it's going to scare them or stress them out.
My main concern is more for Taki's wellbeing and emotional status than for the possibility of myself getting scratched. What should I do? Does this mean I have to stop taking them out? Is there any way to help them feel more secure outdoors, and/or reduce emotional strain from stray meetings?
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