I have two semi-feral cats in my yard.
They have settled down well, they have their own comfy house, their set of steel dishes, water and lots of places where to relax.
One is a female, she arrived about three years ago, so I guess she's about 4-5 years old. At first she was very shy and would come out to eat only at dark and when nobody was around. Then she gained some trust to the extent that 2 years ago she took her 4-kitten litter in my yard and let me feed and touch them. After rehoming the kittens, I spayed her. Now she's rather friendly but she doesn't allow me to pet her, unless...
Unless it's food time.
When I go outside with her pouch of wet food, or I take out the dry food pack, she stays at my feet and rubs insistently on my legs, she stands on her two rear legs to reach the garden table where I prepare their dishes and let me scratch her head and she purrs. She's friendly and never aggressive.
Then, as soon as she has her dish ready, she doesn't trust me anymore, I cannot get near her, and when she has finished eating she walks away and I have no chance at all to even stand 3 feet away from her.
What kind of explanation is there for this behavior?
I'm happy like that, I respect her choice, but I just would like to understand why.
The other cat, a very young male, neutered less than a year ago, is much more confident, and he's become so bold that now he jumps inside the house from any open window
They have settled down well, they have their own comfy house, their set of steel dishes, water and lots of places where to relax.
One is a female, she arrived about three years ago, so I guess she's about 4-5 years old. At first she was very shy and would come out to eat only at dark and when nobody was around. Then she gained some trust to the extent that 2 years ago she took her 4-kitten litter in my yard and let me feed and touch them. After rehoming the kittens, I spayed her. Now she's rather friendly but she doesn't allow me to pet her, unless...
Unless it's food time.
When I go outside with her pouch of wet food, or I take out the dry food pack, she stays at my feet and rubs insistently on my legs, she stands on her two rear legs to reach the garden table where I prepare their dishes and let me scratch her head and she purrs. She's friendly and never aggressive.
Then, as soon as she has her dish ready, she doesn't trust me anymore, I cannot get near her, and when she has finished eating she walks away and I have no chance at all to even stand 3 feet away from her.
What kind of explanation is there for this behavior?
I'm happy like that, I respect her choice, but I just would like to understand why.
The other cat, a very young male, neutered less than a year ago, is much more confident, and he's become so bold that now he jumps inside the house from any open window
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