Tuesday, July 20, 2010

VERY TOUCHING

TIMMY AND BAILEY ARE GOOD FRIENDS
I had hoped my three feral kitties would be trusting lap cats by now, but I realize that will probably never happen. The two girls, Annie and Gracie, still run from me sometimes. Timmy, on the other hand, greets me at the cat room door and when I present my hand to him, he sniffs, then sometimes licks it. He has, on occasion, stood still while I petted him and I am thankful for that much progress. I keep hoping his sisters are watching when that happens.
In all my years of working with cats and kittens, I've never had such tough customers as these three. Even as a young child, I was often able to tame my grandma's barn cats in a weekend. I feel as if I've lost my touch - if I ever actually had one. Annie, Gracie, and Timmy are not babies anymore. They've grown into beautiful young cats and I long to pick them up and hold them, but they won't allow that. I can't (won't) release them back into the neighborhood. I don't wish to give my cruel neighbor any perceived excuses to begin poisoning animals again. So the three siblings will stay with me. They get along very well with the other cats. It's people they're not able to trust. I've made some progress by touching Timmy and Bailey has been a bit like an ambassador for all the cats and for me. Timmy loves Bailey and follows him wherever he goes. When I pet Bailey, Timmy stays close by, watching.
I'll continue to work with all three feral kitties, as I have these past months, but I'm willing to accept them on their own terms. They simply cannot trust anyone at this point in time. Maybe they will never fully trust me, but I'm not about to give up on them.

6 comments:

Cat Nap Inn Primitives said...

they are so precious...love that photo..whether they let you touch them or not..they are loved and that is a wonderful thing for these kittys..and I hope that one day they will let you pick them up and cuddle them...:) Timmy is off to a great start.:)

Anne-Lise at Rag, Tag, Bobtail said...

I'm sure they feel your love and maybe in time they will agree to cuddles.

Cat Haven Craft House said...

Kady, you have such a soft heart. Thanks for giving these adorable kitties a safe home. I'm sure with time they will come to welcome your touch.

Unknown said...

I thank you for taking care of those three regardless of their not letting you near them. I've heard it takes humans 14 days to change a habit so maybe it just takes kitties a wee bit longer LOL When you think about it - they aren't any different than humans - some of us are friendly and some aren't depending upon what's happened in our lives. But hugs to you for caring about them!

honeycreekprims said...

We have strays come often--last year a whole family of them and there are always some more brave than others and such a challenge to try to get others to trust you. We have one who came up and was never shy--has stayed for 2 years now and is so loving. The others came and went for awhile, but have stopped coming now.

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