# Need help with kitty confidence



## PasoFino (Oct 9, 2006)

It has been a week and a half since I trapped Tribble. Holding and petting progressed very quickly and Tribble will lay on me or hubby and purr for hours. 

My problem is that she is not confident away from us or away from her "home base" the dog kennel. We have started leaving the door to the kennel open in the evenings when we are home. She will check things out a little and then find a nice little hidey hole tucked away somewhere. If she is out in the open and sees one of us, she will hide. If she is already hidden and we approach her, she will stay still and let us pick her up. She will not come when called. I have sat and tried to coax her over to me and she won't budge.

What can I do to help bring her out and get her to start coming to us?


----------



## rosalie (Oct 9, 2003)

Sounds like Tribble is taming very well, all that you said is normal, her enviroment is completly new to her so she'll stick to whatever brings her confort (you, her hideyhole, etc)
I'm teaching (HA)/training my fosters to come when called by repeating over and over their names, same tone of voice and offering a treat; first I put out a paper plate with baby food they love and call their name. They don't come because I called but because there's a goodie to eat. When they finished licking I let them go, then repeat. 
In my experience baby food (chicken, veal, ham, turkey) is the best treat but it could be anything Tribbles prefers..pls let us know how it goes.
I've 3 feral teens in 3 levels of taming so I'm learning too!


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Since Tribble is not afraid of you, are you going to keep her as a house cat? If so, I would keep her inside at all times. Otherwise, she will want to go out and bolt for the door when someone opens it. Of course, she should have a nice hiding place in the house also.


----------



## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

A week and a half isn't very long in feral time, so if she's come that far in that amount of time, she's doing great! If she's already comfortable enough in your presence to lay on you, you've won a lot of the battle already.

How do you feed her? I helped my ferals along in the beginning by sitting near the food whenever I fed them, so they would have to come over to me if they wanted to eat. It works best with wet food because it smells good from a distance (if you're a cat :lol. 

Some cats are just shy forever, even non-ferals. I bet she will get steadily braver with time and patience, though.


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I think Tribble was handled a good bit. Ferals don't usually come around that fast. Of course, she's young, so progress would be faster. I hope she'll continue to come along. I agree with the canned food. It attracts most cats.


----------



## PasoFino (Oct 9, 2006)

Jeanie said:


> I think Tribble was handled a good bit. Ferals don't usually come around that fast. Of course, she's young, so progress would be faster. I hope she'll continue to come along. I agree with the canned food. It attracts most cats.



That is one thing that I finally figured out. I talked with Nanny (feral colony caretaker) She said that she had not handled any of the kittens but she did pet the mother while she was eating. I guess the mother's lack of fear rubbed off on the kittens. It also helped that she was lethargic from being a bit under the weather. Her energy level is slowly returning to what I would deem "normal" for a cat her age.

She and I are the only people that have had contact with the colony - everyone else in the family could care less. We are in a rural area so I guess you could call these guys "country kitties."

On the feeding thing - I have been giving her free choice natural balance to maybe I should put a small amount in for her today and then try the canned food when I get home? I have already tried tuna and she was not interested.


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Smart kitty; we know tuna isn't really good for them, but most cats love it! My cats did not have any symptoms of indigestion when I changed them to canned food. I don't think you'll have problems. You'll find a flavor she can't resist!


----------



## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

A friend who does stray rescue says that they use seafood-flavored Fancy Feast when they need a strong-smelling food. 

From my own experience, Cod, Sole & Shrimp Feast is definitely the stinkiest. But Ocean Whitefish and Tuna Feast is my cats' favorite.


----------

