Moon's Graden

When you approach the cat, VISUALIZE yourself petting the animal, and
visualize the cat allowing you to do it.  I believe animals communicate
telepathically.  So do some more reliable sources, which I can't name
here because I forgot their names (!), but animals have been medically
diagnosed in this way by some woman who lives in the States.  She has
been able to get dogs to stop biting, cats to stop scratching, just by
visualization.  See if you can receive any message, visually in your
minds eye FROM the cat.  Now, you may be thinking I am a flake by now!
So, like I said, only do this if you are open to it.  

I got my Geena Bird as an 8 week old kitten.  It took me a few years of
doing exactly what I suggested above in order to have her trust me.
She still, to this day, does NOT LIKE being picked up...so, I never
pick her up without her permission, so to speak.  Since she and her
sister are older now, (can't leap as easily as before) and since I have
to feed them on the counter because of the dog (he will eat their food
otherwise) she will let me lift her onto the counter.  That's it!
Never to be cuddled or any other such thing...and she is the MOST
loveable animal, mushing, gushing in bed, cuddling, purring...just
never pick her up!

Hope this helps.

Victoria

Thanks for the help.  I couldn't believe it, but she actually ate from
my hand last night, but then as soon as I was out of food, "Hiss, run
under bed."  Ah well, it's a start.  :)  

-Richard

Victoria

Oh, I disgree about bribing with food!  I use babyfood (sans onion)
offered on a plastic spoon to begin socializing feral cats and kittens.
They hiss, they strike (no harm done; food and spoon go flying), they bite
(no harm done; spoon is plastic, remember).  Then they sniff and
eventually***.  Soon after, they are mine.  Soon to become someone
else's loving companion.  

Touching comes later, and the spoon feeding helps begin that process, too.
Hand is close without coming into contact and bringing only good things
(food, near and dear to a cat).  Cat gets used to smell and proximity of
hand before actual contact is made.  And when the contact comes, it is
more natural.

And it is true, that some cats simply take longer to socialize than
others.  Patience is the key.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats

We are talking apples and oranges here.  Feral cats are not the same
thing as a domestic cat which is in need of physical proof that humans
are not all bad.  You dont have any other choice with feral cats, but
you do when you have a pet who is aloof.

Victoria

I'd just like to toss in that not all cats are going to become social. One
of our cats, Beast, has never gotten to be anything other than anti-social.
She's very decent to my wife and I, but to anyone else, including long time
housemates, she's just not social.

In particular, she takes contact and affection on her terms. She'll jump up
on our laps, but she will not tolerate being picked up or otherwise touched
unless she has initiated it.

She's never been abused and her mother was very similar in temperament.

Lew

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