Giving lost and stray cats a loving home
Socializing Tiger the Feral Cat
by Lee Miller
A feral cat is a domestic cat that was born to a cat without a home with human contact. They are usually very fearful of humans.
On being an Animal Whisper
Yes, I understand what cats and dogs are saying and thinking. This is a psychic connection between me and animals. When an animal wants or needs something I know the need and what the animal wants or wants to happen.
Some have called me a cat and dog whisper because of my ability to know what animals want and I also have the talent of letting them know what we as humans need from them. Both abilities take time to form a connection with the animal as animals do not expect us to be communicating with them in a psychic manner even though they use this method to communicate with us and other animals. They just aren't used to us actually paying attention to what they communicate to us.
I have found that people who have had pets for many years understand the information that I am now presenting to you. This skill of communicating with your pets is a skill that I have learned to teach people no matter what their current ability is to communicate with animals. In fact when a person is finally able to understand what their pet is saying to them it is a wonderful feeling to have this ability to communicate with their pet.
I will soon have a book and a cd available if you would like to be one of the first people to be informed about the availability just drop me a note. I will put you on the first notice list and you will also be given a special bonus if you do make a purchase.
Why do we take in feral cats
This is mostly answered by the fact that they seem to come to us. The second answer is because we can. The main answer is that we feel that they deserve a good home and who better to give a loving cat a loving home that Charlene and me.
I hope that I can help you understand cats and yourself enough that you will be one who says to yourself - who would give them a better home that I will!
When a new cat comes into our life we do ask ourselves can we take in another cat. We have to consider how a new cat will change the dynamics of living with the cats that we have. Will our cats be able to accept a new cat into the family. For those of you who have multiple cats you already understand about cat's and the dynamics of introducing a new cat into the family. It's a delicate balance. Attempting to introduce a new cat into the family who has been a feral cat some if not all of it's life is truly a work of socializing a family of cats.
Pretty Girl the lost cat
The last cat that we took in was Pretty Girl. Pretty Girl came to us last year at New Years. Actually she had been outside our house for about three weeks before we took her in. We had been leaving food outside for her. Then came a huge snowstorm that dropped eight inches and then just a few days later we got another eight inches of snow and then another eight inches of snow. We could not get Pretty Girl to come to us and we were seeing her get less and less strong so we decided to use our 'safe capture trap'. We got her on New Years eve of 2007. She was not a 'true' feral cat as she was friendly right from the start. About the third day Charlene said to her your a pretty girl and Pretty Girl started prancing and dancing all around Charlene. We had discovered her name.
Putting out 'found cat notices'
I took a photo of Pretty Girl and put it onto a flyer describing Pretty Girl and put these photos up at each mail box cluster along the main highway to our house. Some people called and thought it looked like their cat but when they came to see her it wasn't their cat. I couldn't convince them to go ahead and take her. Then about a week after putting up the flyers we got a call from someone who said that it was their cat. This was on a Tuesday and they could not get by to pick up Pretty Girl until their day off which was Saturday. The woman said that she didn't get home from work until 7pm which was after dark and we live on a dirt road that requires an all wheel drive vehicle when it is snowing as much as it had been. The woman was very pleased that her cat had some cat friends to spend the time with. Saturday came and went and she never came and got Pretty Girl. I believe that this is an example of a person being too busy trying to make a living and not having time for a pet.
The Problem with Pretty Girl...
She was very freaked out being on her own. The woman said that she had gone missing in mid October and we took her in two and a half months later. Her fur was matted and she was very thin. Charlene had to cut much of the fur away from the neck area as it was one huge mat of tangled fur. The other thing was that Pretty Girl was having a difficult time being accepted by the other cats because she is very shy and was not used to establishing a place in the pack. She did not want to fight back when being pushed around and this put her into a place that is difficult for a cat to be in as they each need to establish a territory in the home.
Being the new cat in the house
Pretty Girl has been with us for a year now and is just beginning to discover the need to establish that she has a place in the group of cats. This has been a long road for her. This is much like having a timid child who does not know how to protect it's self from the bullies. It is a process that with constant attention the child does not have to become mean to fit in. The same with being the new cat in the house how to fit in and have a place in the family. Pretty Girl does best when we seek her out and give her loving's. She loves being held and petted but she doesn't want the other cats trying to get close when she is being loved. Pretty girl would do best in a home where she is the only cat or at most there are only two cats. She is adjusting well to having a few more that that though. We are fortunate that in our family we have more time for our animals than some people do.
Making time for your pets
We make time for our pets first thing in the morning and they know when we are ready for them. It really comes down to not being too busy to acknowledge that they are there. In the morning I often like to write. Have you ever tried to write with the keyboard on your knees a cat on your lap and then have one wanting on your chest. This is a typical morning for me. I just work around their needs. Little Kitty will usually be the first to show up and she gets my lap. Now Little Kitty is miss bossy and want's to rule the rest of the cats, but she has learned that this is not allowed when on my lap. Soon Pepper will be trying to climb above Little Kitty onto my chest and will have her paws and head over my right shoulder. Of course, both cats want to be petted constantly during this time. As a writer what am I to do? Well of course the choice is natural for me, it's pet the kitties time. Now if Pepper leaves for any reason Big Boy is waiting to get his loving's. Well sometimes Big Boy doesn't want to wait and will start maneuvering for his favorite spot which is on my left side on the chair along my left leg facing out. And Big Boy is our one very special super loving kitty that deserves and gets loving anytime he comes for it.
Big Boy is our feral cat that took six months of being in our home to even get a first petting of, you can read his story of learning to overcome fear at this link. Big Boys story. When we want our cats to come home or come inside Big Boy will come running to us when he hears his name called. It's amazing to have a cat that will come every time he is called.
Making the decision to enjoy life
If you are living with one or more pets are you willing to make time for them when they want your loving? The rewards are tremendous in your receiving love from your animals. If you want to go ahead and carry on with your work you will be to poorer from this decision. Life is a series of decisions, so in the case of your pets needing and wanting your love can you take a moment or two out of your busy life and share some loving time with your pets? I hope you are enjoying each and every moment of your life and sometimes this means taking the time to enjoy each and every moment of your life. It's a decision that's all. Learn to make the decisions that will reward you for making the right decision
Tiger is our fourth feral cat
Tiger is the fourth feral cat that we have had come to our home and we would capture them and get them socialized to live in our home with Charlene and myself along with a varying number of other cats. I would say that we usually have six cats at any one time. What a wonderful life for us to provide homes for so many quirky, loving cats who become a part of our family.
We got Tiger before Thanksgiving and we are still trying to remember the exact day if we can.
We cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving and gave him some warm turkey he didn't eat it during the day but he ate it all that night.
How to socialize a feral cat
I will be recreating the time line of socializing Tiger the feral cat so I can let others know that it is something that can be easily done if you have the time and a loving nature yourself.
Tiger becomes a lap cat today
Monday February 9, 2009 Day 75 ?
This is the first day that Tiger came to me while I'm in my recliner chair and when I wiggly my fingers and call his name. Tiger, tiger, kitty kitty pretty tiger, Tiger, tiger, kitty kitty pretty tiger come to me Tiger, come to me Tiger. He looked at me like he knew what I wanted and I had the feeling that Tiger had been watching when our other cats would come over to my chair and jump up on me to get their Super Loving Session.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I put Tiger in his area on the couch where he gets his loving's. It's been quite awhile now since he first learned to jump up here when I pat the couch and then get his loving's.
I opened the door to the big room so that the other cats can come in and visit with all of us while Tiger is out. I put Tiger on the couch in his loving area and as the other cats come in I would pet Tigers head and keep him calm. Tiger stayed perfectly calm and did not attempt to get in the crouching tense attack position, he just calmly laid there and watched the cats as they came into the room and did their thing. Big Boy immediately wanted to jump on my lap so I guided him to the side of me away from Tiger. Big Boy then moved toward Tiger and they sniffed each other from a distance of about 10 inches, both stayed calm and good. All of the cats were in the room for about an hour.
All were out except Pepper who was sleeping on the top of the bookshelf. So I closed the door and let Tiger do what he wanted and I started reading. Everything went well for about 30 minutes and then I heard Pepper hissing, she was on the railing and hissing at Tiger who seemed to be stalking her. Charlene yelled and Tiger ran behind the couch, but wasn't as afraid as in the past. We let Pepper out of the room and Tiger got to enjoy the room all to himself with us.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Today Tiger started being very loving as soon as I let him out of his cage. I could tell that he seems to have more energy than on any day in the past. He was all around my feet and legs as I walked. Right off after his good morning petting's he started running around the room and having fun. He then started playing with his balls. He ended up playing with the small plastic ball that rattles as it rolls. This is his favorite ball right now. He played with it for at least 20 minutes
Friday, February 13, 2009
Follow our intuition is my motto and my way of life. Tiger has the big room all to himself all day when we are away, at bedtime we put Tiger into his cage. Today when I came home I had the intuition that I should open the door between the big room and the rest of our house and let the cats socialize. We talked about not interfering if there was a small squabble. Pepper is like one of my sisters was when I was growing up. I would tease my sisters and Julia would run through the house screaming that Lee is bothering her. I would always get in trouble for whatever it was that Julia would say I was doing. If another cat tries to play with Pepper she will run screeching through the house like she has mortally been attacked.
All fears were unfounded today. Because Tiger went through out the house and of course Pepper went screening under the bed. Tiger was great. It looked like he was stalking the other cats, but later Tiger was laying in the middle of the big room floor and Bibbs came up to Tiger and got nose to nose and they sniffed each other for quite a few seconds. Bibbs then went over to get a drink of water and Tiger got into a crouching position and ran towards Bibbs and came to a stop sitting tall just a few inches from Bibbs, it was the big tease move.
Tiger is now going throughout the house and doing who knows what but everything seems to be going great. Following my intuition really paid off today. I will be able to let tiger freely roam throughout the house with the other cats. I will wait for another week or so before I let Tiger go outside during the day like the other cats do.
I am really pleased because like with all of the other feral cats that I have trained and socialized the end progress of socialization goes very fast. I just don't want to rush letting Tiger go outside. Patience is a key quality of socializing feral cats.
Monday, February 16, 2009
We were gone from 9 am to about 4 pm. When we got home we let the cats come in the front door of the big room where Tiger spends his days and they would get a snack and then want into the other part of the house. The cats for the most part still don't trust Tiger and want to get on in to the safety of the other part of the house. Although they love being in the big room as that is where we spend most of our free time and they like to be around us when they aren't taking a nap.
I have learned to get our cats into the main part of the house at the end of the day while keeping Tiger in the Big Room. This is so that the other cats can get used to being inside with each other and let the dynamics of this play out and everyone calms down from a day outside having fun. After about thirty minutes I will then open the door between the Big Room and the rest of the house. This allows the cats and Tiger to naturally move through out the house and meet upon each other when they are ready.
Today Tiger didn't explore much of the house and meet with the other cats. Before opening the door I had gotten Tiger to come to me and be up on the couch by me while I gave him a super loving session where he got petting's and loving words for quite awhile. Tiger spend most of the evening in the Big Room only going up to the other part of the house for a short walk around then returning to the Big Room.
How to communicate with your pets
I will write an article on how to communicate with your pets so that others can enjoy the ability to listen and understand what your pets have to say to you. If you would like to be notified when this article is written just email me.
Training Big Boy the feral cat
Big Boy is a feral cat that I worked with before Tiger. You can read his story by clicking here... Big Boy the feral cat.
Big Boy is an amazing and loving cat. I think you will enjoy his story.
Lee Miller
I laugh therefore, I am...
I am available for speaking engagements on this and other subjects.
I also hold classes. What are your needs?
lee@zenbuzz.com
Page created January 15, 2009
Page updated March 29, 2009
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