I was just talking yesterday with a friend of mine who has a formerly feral outdoor kitty. She said it took over a year for him to come around, but now, while still not totally trusting of people, he's much friendlier. I've heard that if cats are not socialized by the age of 9 weeks, they will typically retain some of their feral tendencies. I've always been confused by Misty. We adopted her when she was approximately that age and she was totally wild. It took her ten years to get to the point where she would even be in the same room with me comfortably. And she was in the house, with three other housecats all the time! I have no clue what her thinking was. She has only recently, like within the past few weeks, gotten to the point where she will get on the bed with me and rest her paws on my legs. Still no lap, but she's edging ever closer. She will be 14 next month, and has been with me since she was a baby.
Cats! Bah.
I need to learn to ID chickadees, because I'm sure we have those, too. I now have ten bird feeders, so needless to say, my backyard is busy!
"Momma Cat" was totally skittish; I couldn't get near her. However, she had her "safe space"; if she was on Dad's bed, she'd purr and let you pet and skritch her, etc.! It was an amazing transformation and it was echoed in another feral cat we adopted, named Butterscotch (yeah, she was white with orange patches). Also totally skittish but in this case, the "safe space" was the couch and my brother's bed. Same deal. Perhaps you just need to find Misty's safe space. :-)
Black-capped chickadees are small (slightly smaller than titmice) birds with a black top of the head. Their distinctive call is how they got their name; it sounds like, "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee." I'm sure Google Images has a zillion pictures of them.
I miss having the feeders in the back yard but I don't miss the work of refilling them in the winter!
She is finally out and about the whole house. She had a bed that my mother had gotten them for Christmas years ago, where she spent most of her time, so I guess that was her safe space. Now, it appears to be under the nightstand in my bedroom, although she is really enjoying the new cat tree, too. She has slowly been coming around for years, but it's only recently that she seems to understand I won't hurt her. I had company recently, and she very begrudgingly let one of my guests pet her. That was a first.
I meant to tell you, a stray dog adopted us when I was a kid, probably 12 or so, I guess. She was a little white terrier mix with black and orange spots, sort of like a calico version of a dog. Within short order, she gave birth to five puppies. So, we started calling her Momma Puppy. I tried to actually give names to the kids, but my mother actually called one of them "Momma Puppy's Puppy." Wow. Original!
Cats! Bah.
I need to learn to ID chickadees, because I'm sure we have those, too. I now have ten bird feeders, so needless to say, my backyard is busy!
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Black-capped chickadees are small (slightly smaller than titmice) birds with a black top of the head. Their distinctive call is how they got their name; it sounds like, "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee." I'm sure Google Images has a zillion pictures of them.
I miss having the feeders in the back yard but I don't miss the work of refilling them in the winter!
Reply
I meant to tell you, a stray dog adopted us when I was a kid, probably 12 or so, I guess. She was a little white terrier mix with black and orange spots, sort of like a calico version of a dog. Within short order, she gave birth to five puppies. So, we started calling her Momma Puppy. I tried to actually give names to the kids, but my mother actually called one of them "Momma Puppy's Puppy." Wow. Original!
Reply
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