I think Jelly has officially joined the back porch crew. He obviously spent the night in the kitty tube on the deck, because when he heard me on the porch, he was there in an instant, poking his head through the door. :) Goose...its so interesting to see him trying to psych himself into letting me touch him. The way Lady G convinced herself to first allow me to touch her was to pretend it wasnt me (Ill explain). Goose is now doing the same thing. Ive known him for 2 years, Mama and the entire crew have been trying to show him that I wont hurt him, but he continues to be skittish. You can see in his eyes, though, that he really wants to get in on the love-fest that happens on the back porch when I go out. I recognize that from Lady G. What hes doing lately (and she had to do) is to jump into the swirling cats, and rub the other cats while kinda moving closer to me without looking. Finally he comes close enough for me to give a stroke or two. He rubs and head bonks his way back to the edges, and then he turns to look at me. Hes still not sure...did she do that, or did one of the other cats? He really does know the answer, but I confirm with a slow blink and a head tilt. Later, that slow blink and head tilt will be his signal to approach me...that the only time I use that body language is for something nice. After that hell learn my touch signal; the one that means I want to scratch him and nothing more. Feral cats dont like surprises. They want to learn how to read you. Be consistent. Watch how they interact with each other, and copy some of their moves. Head bonks are reserved for those they love/family, which is why I say to go for the tail touch first...the tail wrapping is for friends.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 10:37:55 +0000