Sorry in advance for the long post.
Two weeks ago I helped trap 3 young semi-feral cats, about 5-6 months old. They were living in an alleyway next to a flat complex and being fed by kind people, so they've had positive interactions with humans, but they'd never allowed the people to come near them and would just run off.
Unfortunately, I couldn't bring them to my home (for various reasons), so they're now at the shelter where I volunteer. They've got their own little room where I visit them every day for an hour or two. It's not ideal, I know, and it doesn't help that it's always noisy with dogs barking and people working and shouting.
They come out of hiding to play and chat with the neighbouring cats across the hall through the gate, but if anyone goes in, they hide in their igloos. With a bit of bribery (wet food), I've gotten them to allow me to give head rubs. I can see they're not as terrified as they were at first, and they mostly tolerate the touch, even if they obviously don't enjoy it. They also will absolutely not come out of their safe spaces. I give them the wet food on a spoon and try to very slowly draw them out, but any further than the doorway of the igloo and they just back off and huddle at the back again.
One of them, Tabby (girl), isn't motivated by the food at all. When I reach out to touch her she cringes and turns her face away, like she's in freeze mode. I can stroke her, but I feel like I'm just stressing her out and I'm not making progress.
GG (Good Girl) is the most food motivated and the most tolerant of my touch. Today she even closed her eyes and looked like she was falling asleep while I was petting her. Her pupils are still huge every time my hand moves, and the one time she got "caught" out of her hidey hole, she just trembled and refused to touch the food, no matter how long I waited or how still I lay.
Last one, Boyo, tends to hide behind his sisters in the igloos. He was a little growly and hissy at first, and he still flinches away when I first try touch him while he's eating, but then he accepts the touch. He even fell asleep behind GG while I was petting them yesterday.
I've never worked with feral cats before, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I've read articles and watched videos, but everything is either geared for bringing a feral into your house, or keeping them in a cage in your home where they can see you all the time. I feel like I'm stuck in a limbo of "okay, so they let me touch them, now what?"
1. Do you think I'm making progress? What signs should I look for to know if I'm succeeding?
2. Should I continue what I'm doing? Do they just need time? Should I do more? Something different?
If you've read my whole post, thank you for making it so far XD Any advice or encouragement is greatly appreciated.
Two weeks ago I helped trap 3 young semi-feral cats, about 5-6 months old. They were living in an alleyway next to a flat complex and being fed by kind people, so they've had positive interactions with humans, but they'd never allowed the people to come near them and would just run off.
Unfortunately, I couldn't bring them to my home (for various reasons), so they're now at the shelter where I volunteer. They've got their own little room where I visit them every day for an hour or two. It's not ideal, I know, and it doesn't help that it's always noisy with dogs barking and people working and shouting.
They come out of hiding to play and chat with the neighbouring cats across the hall through the gate, but if anyone goes in, they hide in their igloos. With a bit of bribery (wet food), I've gotten them to allow me to give head rubs. I can see they're not as terrified as they were at first, and they mostly tolerate the touch, even if they obviously don't enjoy it. They also will absolutely not come out of their safe spaces. I give them the wet food on a spoon and try to very slowly draw them out, but any further than the doorway of the igloo and they just back off and huddle at the back again.
One of them, Tabby (girl), isn't motivated by the food at all. When I reach out to touch her she cringes and turns her face away, like she's in freeze mode. I can stroke her, but I feel like I'm just stressing her out and I'm not making progress.
GG (Good Girl) is the most food motivated and the most tolerant of my touch. Today she even closed her eyes and looked like she was falling asleep while I was petting her. Her pupils are still huge every time my hand moves, and the one time she got "caught" out of her hidey hole, she just trembled and refused to touch the food, no matter how long I waited or how still I lay.
Last one, Boyo, tends to hide behind his sisters in the igloos. He was a little growly and hissy at first, and he still flinches away when I first try touch him while he's eating, but then he accepts the touch. He even fell asleep behind GG while I was petting them yesterday.
I've never worked with feral cats before, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I've read articles and watched videos, but everything is either geared for bringing a feral into your house, or keeping them in a cage in your home where they can see you all the time. I feel like I'm stuck in a limbo of "okay, so they let me touch them, now what?"
1. Do you think I'm making progress? What signs should I look for to know if I'm succeeding?
2. Should I continue what I'm doing? Do they just need time? Should I do more? Something different?
If you've read my whole post, thank you for making it so far XD Any advice or encouragement is greatly appreciated.
What is your goal with these cats? Is there a reason you haven't simply neutered and returned them to their alleyway home? Especially considering there were people feeding them. I'm really surprised that a shelter has the resources -- food, time, and a room of their own! -- to dedicate to young cats like these. It's wonderful that they do, and great that you're willing to take on a project like this.
).
But there's nobody willing to have them on their property in that capacity so it's a moot point.