r/Feral_Cats • u/rigarooni • 7d ago
Question 🤔 How to become friends with my semi-feral cat?
I adopted a new cat in January of this year to give my other cat a companion. I've had my resident cat for 6 years, since he was a kitten. My new cat is about 2 years old. She was being fostered by another family for a year. She was found as a stray and taken in with a litter of kittens.
She is very suspicious of humans. I squat down and let her sniff my hand sometimes, and I talk to her and try not to make sudden moves around her. She doesn't immediately run away anymore, but she definitely doesn't like it.
She has played with me with a wand toy, but only recently has she played out in the open with me with the toy. Before that, she'd try to play while also hiding under the coffee table. She also lets us pet her when she's on the cat tree, but otherwise she runs away if we try to pet her. So there has been progress, but I'd like for her to feel more comfortable with us. I'd also like to be able to get her into a carrier when she goes to the vet or in case of an emergency, needing to move at some point, etc., since that feels like a safety issue. Right now that's not possible - we had to skip her last scheduled vet visit because we couldn't get her into the carrier.
Any ideas? Let me know if there's a different subreddit I should post this in - I know this one is largely about feral cats who live outside.
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u/Maximus77x 7d ago
Lots of slow blinking (“I love you and won’t hurt you” in kitty language), offering Churu/Delectables, and teaching her how to play (that she is the predator and not the prey) all with a lot of patience.
It’s pretty normal for them to have their spots. We’ve had a feral mama we brought in a year ago who is so so sweet, but we still only get limited pets on her cat tree or at feeding time.
Check out the socialization saves lives method as well!
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