- Joined
- Dec 18, 2020
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Hello all,
About three weeks ago, I picked up four kittens from the shelter I foster for. I don't believe they are all from the same litter, but they were about seven weeks old then (about six weeks when they were trapped, now around ten weeks) and were trapped from one of the feral colonies we manage. So far, we have had massive success socializing the two boys, Orion and Aquila. One of the girls, Cassiopeia, is still a bit skittish, but is very friendly when we pet her or pick her up and she purrs very, very loudly. The last kitten however, Andromeda, is absolutely terrified of being touched. She seems to enjoy our company, often purrs in our presence, and even sometimes runs after us when we leave the foster room, but we can't actually touch her without her panicking. I've tried using a "petting wand" (a cat charmer with the felt "ribbon" wrapped and tied around the end to make a soft point, often used at our shelter for shy cats, used to great success with Cassiopeia) and even that frightens her, though she is somewhat intrigued by it. I can tell that under her fearful demeanor is a very sweet kitten who desperately wants to be loved, but she's just too scared to let us handle her right now. Does anyone have any suggestions to help us socialize her?
For those curious, I have attached a photo of the four kittens from when they were still at the shelter.
Left to right:
Aquila, now ragdolls when you hold him while purring up a storm
Andromeda, still too scared to let us touch her
Orion, loves cuddles and laps and ragdolls to a slightly lesser extent than his brother
Cassiopeia, still a bit shy but a very, very sweet little girl who loves pit-pats and cuddles
About three weeks ago, I picked up four kittens from the shelter I foster for. I don't believe they are all from the same litter, but they were about seven weeks old then (about six weeks when they were trapped, now around ten weeks) and were trapped from one of the feral colonies we manage. So far, we have had massive success socializing the two boys, Orion and Aquila. One of the girls, Cassiopeia, is still a bit skittish, but is very friendly when we pet her or pick her up and she purrs very, very loudly. The last kitten however, Andromeda, is absolutely terrified of being touched. She seems to enjoy our company, often purrs in our presence, and even sometimes runs after us when we leave the foster room, but we can't actually touch her without her panicking. I've tried using a "petting wand" (a cat charmer with the felt "ribbon" wrapped and tied around the end to make a soft point, often used at our shelter for shy cats, used to great success with Cassiopeia) and even that frightens her, though she is somewhat intrigued by it. I can tell that under her fearful demeanor is a very sweet kitten who desperately wants to be loved, but she's just too scared to let us handle her right now. Does anyone have any suggestions to help us socialize her?
For those curious, I have attached a photo of the four kittens from when they were still at the shelter.
Left to right:
Aquila, now ragdolls when you hold him while purring up a storm
Andromeda, still too scared to let us touch her
Orion, loves cuddles and laps and ragdolls to a slightly lesser extent than his brother
Cassiopeia, still a bit shy but a very, very sweet little girl who loves pit-pats and cuddles
