What Friendly Cats Can Teach Former Ferals

[MindyStClairesMom]

Mindy St. Claire is making good progress in her socialization, though it is very slow and I still can't handle her & she's INCREDIBLY suspicious of crates (which is a concern for any vet visits and when we move (I'm in an apartment now & I won't live here her whole life). We have recently acquired a very sweet, gregarious TNR cat (who didn't get returned, obvs) and he is happy to march into my lap and purr. They are quite fond of one another and he has been very good for improving MSC's confidence overall. When he is friendly and lets me give him scritches, she watches all of this with interest and I was thinking that she might follow suit some day. Ican imagine that some ferals learn to trust people by watching cats who do, but do some cats NOT get friendlier when they have good examples close to hand? Is "doesn't matter if they have a good cat teacher" one of the possibilities?

 

[maggie101]

Mindy St. Claire is making good progress in her socialization, though it is very slow and I still can't handle her & she's INCREDIBLY suspicious of crates (which is a concern for any vet visits and when we move (I'm in an apartment now & I won't live here her whole life). We have recently acquired a very sweet, gregarious TNR cat (who didn't get returned, obvs) and he is happy to march into my lap and purr. They are quite fond of one another and he has been very good for improving MSC's confidence overall. When he is friendly and lets me give him scritches, she watches all of this with interest and I was thinking that she might follow suit some day. Ican imagine that some ferals learn to trust people by watching cats who do, but do some cats NOT get friendlier when they have good examples close to hand? Is "doesn't matter if they have a good cat teacher" one of the possibilities?

Not sure what your asking but my cat Peaches ,9 yrs old, has never liked to be picked up since she was 5 weeks old. She does not get along with my cat Maggie but does with Coco. Maggie tries to play when she wants to be left alone. Coco sleeps above me then gets on me knees her paws and purrs then Peaches comes over and grooms her and rub each other. When I play on my tablet a video of cats meowing Peaches comes over and tries to get the kittens on my tabblet. She is now 9. Nothing has changed

 

[Sean35]

My situation isn't quite like your's, but a neighbor's indoor/outdoor cat started following my wife and I on our walks (she escorts us from driveway to driveway, like one of those vehicles that blocks intersections for a funeral procession), and I thought I'd use the opportunity to play with this cat and feed it up close while my feral Stalker watched in the distance. Unfortunately all it did was lead Stalker to attack that cat whenever I wasn't outside.

 

[maggie101]

maggie has never liked coco. She will stare at her,run,and hiss. At first Maggie would bite her now they tolerate each other. Chasing only happens when I'm not around. Coco has taken over her territory including me. She has never hissed or growled in 6 yrs. It would help if she would

 

[MindyStClairesMom]

I guess what I am saying is that they love each other very much. These are clips of how they play with each other: here, here, and here. He is sweet with people and she is terrified of people. I wonder if she will learn to trust people by watching him behave in a trusting way . . . or if I should be prepared to be disappointed because cats don't work that way (?)

 

[koolimy]

I guess what I am saying is that they love each other very much. These are clips of how they play with each other: here, here, and here. He is sweet with people and she is terrified of people. I wonder if she will learn to trust people by watching him behave in a trusting way . . . or if I should be prepared to be disappointed because cats don't work that way (?)

I think it's kinda both... I think cats observe other cats and their interactions with humans to get an idea if the human is safe or not. My feral cat observed my stray cat's demeanor towards me and my family and I think it helped a lot in getting her to be more friendly. Nonetheless, she is still quite jumpy and doesn't allow many forms of touching so it's not made her into a house cat.

I do think your other cat will help Mindy St. Claire in socializing with you, but temper your expectations, by a lot LOL.

 

[MindyStClairesMom]

I think we have had a BIG breakthrough this morning -- and it helps answer my own question. MSC (the skittish one) keeps rubbing on the boy, Zach Pizazz, and chirping, like she is asking HIM to pet her. SO when I was petting HIM, she went in for a cat-pet, and I was doing the petting. She figured this out soon enough & tried to act flinchy, but she loved it -- I sustained SEVERAL voluntary pets with her this morning! MY FIRST! SO excited! (Now, the reason I am still home from work today is I am trying to launder out the pee from my down comforter that was surely hers, so we aren't always making LINEAR progress, but I will TAKE IT!

 

[CatladyJan]

Mindy St. Claire is making good progress in her socialization, though it is very slow and I still can't handle her & she's INCREDIBLY suspicious of crates (which is a concern for any vet visits and when we move (I'm in an apartment now & I won't live here her whole life). We have recently acquired a very sweet, gregarious TNR cat (who didn't get returned, obvs) and he is happy to march into my lap and purr. They are quite fond of one another and he has been very good for improving MSC's confidence overall. When he is friendly and lets me give him scritches, she watches all of this with interest and I was thinking that she might follow suit some day. Ican imagine that some ferals learn to trust people by watching cats who do, but do some cats NOT get friendlier when they have good examples close to hand? Is "doesn't matter if they have a good cat teacher" one of the possibilities?

With the all of the feral cats I've socialized, learning from tame cats how to behave has been a plus.

 

[fionasmom]

Jackson Galaxy, in one of his shows, had a family with a cat who had various anxiety issues who adopted the most chill cat in the world to be her friend. He became her conduit to the world and had a big effect on her personality. JG seemed to indicate that this kind of relationship was a possibility. They were not ferals, but indoor only cats.

 

[MindyStClairesMom]

We have pets and PURRS! FIRST TIME since she's been trapped almost 3 months ago!

 

[SweetLittleKitty]

I guess what I am saying is that they love each other very much. These are clips of how they play with each other: here, here, and here. He is sweet with people and she is terrified of people. I wonder if she will learn to trust people by watching him behave in a trusting way . . . or if I should be prepared to be disappointed because cats don't work that way (?)

I think cats do work that way, sometimes, but sometimes not. Give us an update! How are things working out? I rescued my domestic cat Bibbs six or so years ago from the wild, and he is now a diplomat cat (yes, that is a thing) bridging the gap between the ferals who don't completely trust me, and me.

 

[moxiewild]

Mindy St. Claire is making good progress in her socialization, though it is very slow and I still can't handle her & she's INCREDIBLY suspicious of crates (which is a concern for any vet visits and when we move (I'm in an apartment now & I won't live here her whole life). We have recently acquired a very sweet, gregarious TNR cat (who didn't get returned, obvs) and he is happy to march into my lap and purr. They are quite fond of one another and he has been very good for improving MSC's confidence overall. When he is friendly and lets me give him scritches, she watches all of this with interest and I was thinking that she might follow suit some day. Ican imagine that some ferals learn to trust people by watching cats who do, but do some cats NOT get friendlier when they have good examples close to hand? Is "doesn't matter if they have a good cat teacher" one of the possibilities?

This is very much a thing!

We have several resident “socislization cats” who are particularly cat-friendly, who we use to help us socialize feral cats and kittens.

It works especially well with kittens, but it works with adults too!

 

[MindyStClairesMom]

This is very much a thing!

I am absolutely sure that we are as far as we are because of the "social bridging" of Zach Pizazz!

 

[MindyStClairesMom]

Give us an update! How are things working out?

Update! They are GREAT!

"Diplomat Cat"! Love it!

 

[SweetLittleKitty]

Update! They are GREAT!
View attachment 404479
"Diplomat Cat"! Love it!

Yeah, Diplomat cat is really a thing! He was rescued from the wild as a tiny kitten, so he bridges the gap between ferals and domestic life. One of the father cats might be helpful bringing needy cats to food and shelter here, I think.