Never seen this before - is it a good thing?

[dreamey]

A week ago I obtained a few cats for the purpose of barn cats.... admittedly, none of them seemed feral, but there is one who has seemed like a house cat who hadn't been on her own for long. I've been holding her every day, but all the cats have stayed outside in cages to get use to the area.

Today I decided to bring one of the cats into the house and house her in the bathroom for a bit. She tends to get overly excitable by the other cat she was sharing a cage with and I've already decided to make her either an indoor cat or an indoor/outdoor. This morning something happened between the two and they had a water fight... she was cowering in a corner and he was drenched.

As with almost every cat, when she moved her way out of the carrier, she moved to behind the toilet bowl. this evening she was back in the cat carrier.

I decided to pet her for a bit this evening and see how she responds to being brushed - she's long haired. She wasn't happy being brought out of the shelter of the carrier, but I wasn't worried. I sat on the ground with her facing the carrier, though I held her lightly to keep her from fleeing there. I let her smell the brush (it's new) and she didn't seem interested in the slightest. I started to brush her and suddenly she was wiggling on the ground, scenting everything she could reach while staying within touch of the brush. When I stopped, she would look at me and continue to move against my legs first one side then the other.

I petted her for a few more minutes, all of which time she was purring up a storm.

I did expect her to run back into the shelter of the carrier when i stopped, but she didn't.

When I stood up, she started walking back and forth between my legs. --- I'm sure she was telling me something there, but no idea what.

When I went to leave the bathroom she was sitting in the middle of the floor staring up at me as though wondering what is going on.

so... was her moving back and forth between my legs a good thing or bad? ( she wasn't doing circle 8's around both legs, just going back and forth between them in a tight circle 8).

 

[mrblanche]

That cat isn't a feral; she was somebody's baby, at some time or another.

 

[lorindaleigh]

Aww that's her way of telling you that she loves you already

 

[momofmany]

I bonded with a feral cat one time through a brush. He wouldn't let me pet him, but oh my he loved to be brushed!! I wouldn't normally do this with a feral cat, but he had dreadlocks on his back and I brought out the brush in the hope that I could brush him enough to break them up. When I realized he LOVED the brush, it became my tool to socialize him.

For cats that love to be brushed, it can cause an otherwise scared cat to relax and gain trust in you. I'm of the opinion of do whatever works.

 

[redvelvetone]

I adopted a feral and the first night he was there, he was hanging out in the corner of the bathroom, very timid. I brought out his brush, and he LOVED it (he's also longhaired). We've been buddies ever since.