Ferals do a lot of "fighting". My ferals have been fighting constantly since they came to me.
They fought:
* To get to the back of the cage and be the kitten the furthest from me at all times.
* To get away and avoid being picked up and handled.
* To be the first gobble down the food and retreat to a hiding place.
* To overcome their fear.
* To be the one who gets the most of the baby food.
* To see who could get the most toys.
* To overcome their illness.
* To allow themselves to relax enough to start to trust me.
Every single feral kitten that comes into a shelter and successfully goes through the socialization process has to be a fighter. Even though they are still just babies, they fight through illness, fear, malnutrition, a lack of trust, and so many other challenges that many of us humans would find overwhelming.
And as we approach the New Year, I am happy to say that Frankie and Hyde are still fighting. But now, instead of fighting to get away from me, they fight to push each other out of the way so that they can be the one to get the most petting from mom.
I have so much respect for all of the feral kittens I have been lucky enough to foster. They are the epitome of the fighting spirit that is in some many shelter animals and show me time and time again that some things are truly worth fighting for.
Happy New Year Frankie, Hyde, (and Twyla in your forever home),
Love,
Your Fighting "Coach"
Mom
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
And the Walls Come Tumbling Down!
Sometimes you just never know what is going to help you make progress with your feral fosters but you are sure glad when it happens.
Frankie has been stuck on a plateau in her socialization for about two weeks now. She has not regressed, which is good, but she has not moved forward at all. All I could do was keep trying to chip away at the wall she had built up between us and hope that she would one day stop being afraid of me and start wanting my company. The usual tricks of food, baby food, toys, and petting were not working. She was still too frightened and insecure to open up to me. She pretty much would rush to eat her food and then find a corner to hide in until I left the room. She would tolerate me picking her up or touching her but she did not like it at all.
I wanted to give her a place that she could feel like she could "get away" from me without cramming herself into a little dark corner. But I had been forced to throw out all my cat climbing trees earlier in the year due to possible contamination with a mysterious virus that was fatal to two kittens in a litter of five. Thanks to the generosity of people donating their unwanted cat furniture to the shelter rather than tossing it or selling it and because two wonderful staff members remember I needed cat trees, I was able to put both a shorter cat post and a tall climbing tree into my foster room late last week.
At first both Frankie and Hyde were afraid of the trees, but after about a hour and some exploring they were two happy climbing kittens. Then something wonderful happened this weekend. Frankie was able to look at the world from an up high perspective and it helped her find her confidence. She could be away from me with out being cornered in a small dark place.
She stopped bolting right away after eating her food. If I put her on my lap, she did not like it, but once I let go, she just walked a few feet away and calmly sat down rather than freaking out. And today there was even more progress! I went into the room in between feedings to give Hyde some attention and cuddling. She watched for 2-3 minutes from her perch on the smaller cat post yawned and then came down to join us.
For the first time ever, she allowed me to pet her without food to distract her. And when I stopped petting her, she looked at me like she was enjoying it. She watched Hyde come up and hit my hand to get me to pet him again. She was not brave enough to try that, but she did come closer to me.
I did 3-4 short sessions with no food in the room with them today and by the time I turned out the light to put them to bed, she was coming right up to me and even climbing into my lap. She is still very nervous, and not yet ready to head butt my hand to ask for petting, but I can tell by her expression that she likes it and is actively seeking out affection from me.
That stubborn wall had finally came tumbling down and allowed me to see the real Frankie hiding behind all that fear. I now can finally see that someday she will be a good companion to an experienced cat lover who can appreciate her shy, feisty, sweet personality.
So, Frankie, my little girl, it it nice to finally meet you.
Frankie has been stuck on a plateau in her socialization for about two weeks now. She has not regressed, which is good, but she has not moved forward at all. All I could do was keep trying to chip away at the wall she had built up between us and hope that she would one day stop being afraid of me and start wanting my company. The usual tricks of food, baby food, toys, and petting were not working. She was still too frightened and insecure to open up to me. She pretty much would rush to eat her food and then find a corner to hide in until I left the room. She would tolerate me picking her up or touching her but she did not like it at all.
I wanted to give her a place that she could feel like she could "get away" from me without cramming herself into a little dark corner. But I had been forced to throw out all my cat climbing trees earlier in the year due to possible contamination with a mysterious virus that was fatal to two kittens in a litter of five. Thanks to the generosity of people donating their unwanted cat furniture to the shelter rather than tossing it or selling it and because two wonderful staff members remember I needed cat trees, I was able to put both a shorter cat post and a tall climbing tree into my foster room late last week.
At first both Frankie and Hyde were afraid of the trees, but after about a hour and some exploring they were two happy climbing kittens. Then something wonderful happened this weekend. Frankie was able to look at the world from an up high perspective and it helped her find her confidence. She could be away from me with out being cornered in a small dark place.
She stopped bolting right away after eating her food. If I put her on my lap, she did not like it, but once I let go, she just walked a few feet away and calmly sat down rather than freaking out. And today there was even more progress! I went into the room in between feedings to give Hyde some attention and cuddling. She watched for 2-3 minutes from her perch on the smaller cat post yawned and then came down to join us.
For the first time ever, she allowed me to pet her without food to distract her. And when I stopped petting her, she looked at me like she was enjoying it. She watched Hyde come up and hit my hand to get me to pet him again. She was not brave enough to try that, but she did come closer to me.
I did 3-4 short sessions with no food in the room with them today and by the time I turned out the light to put them to bed, she was coming right up to me and even climbing into my lap. She is still very nervous, and not yet ready to head butt my hand to ask for petting, but I can tell by her expression that she likes it and is actively seeking out affection from me.
That stubborn wall had finally came tumbling down and allowed me to see the real Frankie hiding behind all that fear. I now can finally see that someday she will be a good companion to an experienced cat lover who can appreciate her shy, feisty, sweet personality.
So, Frankie, my little girl, it it nice to finally meet you.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Wait...Where Am I?
Twyla has become quite the traveler in the two months since she came into the shelter. She started out with me, then went to another foster home and just this Saturday, she went to the shelter...to go up for adoption!
That's right folks. She is happy, healthy and social enough to go up for adoption. So here she is in her cage at the shelter waiting to meet that special person who will be her forever home.
Most kittens that come out of foster for adoption are adopted in 24-48 hours. Former feral kittens often take a week or more to find the right home. This is because feral kitten often need quiet, adult only homes with experienced cat owners. And those adopters need to be willing to work with a shy kitten because they will regress a bit when they change locations. Our shelter has very good luck in finding people like this for our feral babies but it does sometimes take a little bit.
However, sometimes the stars align and the right home for a former feral kitten shows up right away. I am thrilled to say that is what happened with Twyla. Twyla came into the shelter for adoption Saturday morning. Volunteers were cleaning a cage for her to move into when the foster coordinator and I were talking with another foster mom. She had a friend that expressed an interest in adopting one of her foster kittens, but for a variety of reasons her kitten was not the best match for her friend. So we suggested Twyla.
The foster mom came with me to meet Twyla even before she made it into her cage. She spent some time with her, took some pictures and sent the information to her friend. It was a match! The friend came up to meet Twyla as soon as we opened to the public and I am thrilled to report that Twyla is ADOPTED and already in her forever home!
So it was a great weekend for this Animal House. If Twyla had never been trapped, brought to the shelter and sent into foster, this little sweetie would have likely already gone to the rainbow bridge either from the cold or her illness. Now Twyla will spend her life inside as a well loved member of a family and will likely have a long wonderful life.
Happy endings like this are why I do what I do. So as I say to all my fosters as they go up for adoption - "Bye, Twyla. Good luck in your forever home. Mommy loves you." And that is why this blog is called "Always in our Hearts". Because our fosters may only stay in our homes for a little while, but they are in our hearts forever.
p.s. - Don't worry, this is not the end. Twyla's siblings Hyde and Frankie are still with me and I will be back with updates on their progress soon.
That's right folks. She is happy, healthy and social enough to go up for adoption. So here she is in her cage at the shelter waiting to meet that special person who will be her forever home.
Most kittens that come out of foster for adoption are adopted in 24-48 hours. Former feral kittens often take a week or more to find the right home. This is because feral kitten often need quiet, adult only homes with experienced cat owners. And those adopters need to be willing to work with a shy kitten because they will regress a bit when they change locations. Our shelter has very good luck in finding people like this for our feral babies but it does sometimes take a little bit.
However, sometimes the stars align and the right home for a former feral kitten shows up right away. I am thrilled to say that is what happened with Twyla. Twyla came into the shelter for adoption Saturday morning. Volunteers were cleaning a cage for her to move into when the foster coordinator and I were talking with another foster mom. She had a friend that expressed an interest in adopting one of her foster kittens, but for a variety of reasons her kitten was not the best match for her friend. So we suggested Twyla.
The foster mom came with me to meet Twyla even before she made it into her cage. She spent some time with her, took some pictures and sent the information to her friend. It was a match! The friend came up to meet Twyla as soon as we opened to the public and I am thrilled to report that Twyla is ADOPTED and already in her forever home!
So it was a great weekend for this Animal House. If Twyla had never been trapped, brought to the shelter and sent into foster, this little sweetie would have likely already gone to the rainbow bridge either from the cold or her illness. Now Twyla will spend her life inside as a well loved member of a family and will likely have a long wonderful life.
Happy endings like this are why I do what I do. So as I say to all my fosters as they go up for adoption - "Bye, Twyla. Good luck in your forever home. Mommy loves you." And that is why this blog is called "Always in our Hearts". Because our fosters may only stay in our homes for a little while, but they are in our hearts forever.
p.s. - Don't worry, this is not the end. Twyla's siblings Hyde and Frankie are still with me and I will be back with updates on their progress soon.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Yeah...That's the Spot
We are now in a good spot here in the Animal House. I am happy to report that everyone is improving in both health and socialization.
Twyla is doing very well in her new foster home. Her health has improve quite a bit on her new medication. And she is snuggling with her new foster mom. So things are actually looking good for to go up for adoption once she finishes her medication without needing to come back to me for more socialization. While I will miss not seeing her back with me again, the sooner she can get to a loving forever home, the better. I will let you all know how she does as I get updates from her new foster home.
Frankie and Hyde are also basically recovered from their health issue and we are now actively working on socialization again. They are both loose in the room and learning to be more normal kittens. We are going full force with them only having yummy wet food when I am in the room and it is making a difference.
Frankie is still very nervous about coming near me, but with the benefit of the food she is coming closer and closer to me every day. She comes right out as soon as I come in the room and some where inside her, she does want to be with me. Her new habit is to find a blanket or pillow about 3 feet from where I am sitting and sit there. It allows her to be close to me, but not so close that she is nervous. I can pet her during eating and even a stroke or two after she is done eating. Today I pushed her boundaries even more by making her eat her food while in my lap. She was nervous about this and kept moving away, but allowed me to pick her up and move her back to my lap to eat each time.
Hyde is enjoying petting and will walk right up to me to ask for it as long as I am sitting down. I have found a spot on his chin that he loves having scratched and that was the key to getting him to not just tolerate affection but to actively seek it out. He now meows at me in greeting when I come into the room and follows me to the door when I leave. I can still see that he is nervous and he does get freaked if I move too fast or if a strange sound startles him. But now if he bolts away when startled, he turns around and comes right back to me once he settles down. I can pick him up and hold him for short periods of time. I am working with him to increase the amount of time he is OK with being held and also working to get him to be comfortable with being carried around the room while I am standing.
Why am I working on that? I could just tell an adopter he does not like to be carried, but the reality of shelter life if that he needs to be taken out of his cage and carried to a visiting space in order to meet an adopter so he needs to be safe for non feral experienced volunteers to handle him.
The biggest stride that Hyde has made was actually today. He discovered my lap and realized that it is a nice place to take a rest. Of course I have had him on my lap before. I have forced him to be on my lap, encouraged him to crawl into it to get baby food and tricked him into running across it to chase a toy. But today he crawled up in my lap to get some petting and then sat down. He was very stiff at first but I started petting his favorite spot and he slowly relaxed and realized he was very comfortable. So I spent a few minutes with this little feral guy sprawled in my lap.
As he sat there trying not to fall asleep he looked up at me and made eye contact. And for the first time he looked at me and actually connected with me. Instead of nerves and stress in his eyes, I saw acceptance, affection and a desire to bond with a person.
So I can say, yeah, that's the spot. And what a good spot it is.
Twyla is doing very well in her new foster home. Her health has improve quite a bit on her new medication. And she is snuggling with her new foster mom. So things are actually looking good for to go up for adoption once she finishes her medication without needing to come back to me for more socialization. While I will miss not seeing her back with me again, the sooner she can get to a loving forever home, the better. I will let you all know how she does as I get updates from her new foster home.
Frankie and Hyde are also basically recovered from their health issue and we are now actively working on socialization again. They are both loose in the room and learning to be more normal kittens. We are going full force with them only having yummy wet food when I am in the room and it is making a difference.
Frankie is still very nervous about coming near me, but with the benefit of the food she is coming closer and closer to me every day. She comes right out as soon as I come in the room and some where inside her, she does want to be with me. Her new habit is to find a blanket or pillow about 3 feet from where I am sitting and sit there. It allows her to be close to me, but not so close that she is nervous. I can pet her during eating and even a stroke or two after she is done eating. Today I pushed her boundaries even more by making her eat her food while in my lap. She was nervous about this and kept moving away, but allowed me to pick her up and move her back to my lap to eat each time.
Hyde is enjoying petting and will walk right up to me to ask for it as long as I am sitting down. I have found a spot on his chin that he loves having scratched and that was the key to getting him to not just tolerate affection but to actively seek it out. He now meows at me in greeting when I come into the room and follows me to the door when I leave. I can still see that he is nervous and he does get freaked if I move too fast or if a strange sound startles him. But now if he bolts away when startled, he turns around and comes right back to me once he settles down. I can pick him up and hold him for short periods of time. I am working with him to increase the amount of time he is OK with being held and also working to get him to be comfortable with being carried around the room while I am standing.
Why am I working on that? I could just tell an adopter he does not like to be carried, but the reality of shelter life if that he needs to be taken out of his cage and carried to a visiting space in order to meet an adopter so he needs to be safe for non feral experienced volunteers to handle him.
The biggest stride that Hyde has made was actually today. He discovered my lap and realized that it is a nice place to take a rest. Of course I have had him on my lap before. I have forced him to be on my lap, encouraged him to crawl into it to get baby food and tricked him into running across it to chase a toy. But today he crawled up in my lap to get some petting and then sat down. He was very stiff at first but I started petting his favorite spot and he slowly relaxed and realized he was very comfortable. So I spent a few minutes with this little feral guy sprawled in my lap.
As he sat there trying not to fall asleep he looked up at me and made eye contact. And for the first time he looked at me and actually connected with me. Instead of nerves and stress in his eyes, I saw acceptance, affection and a desire to bond with a person.
So I can say, yeah, that's the spot. And what a good spot it is.
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