# Making progress- moving on to touching her



## Haleye97 (Apr 1, 2013)

I have been caring for a cat outside who recently had babies. I'm pretty sure they're under my neighbors porch. I do plan to have her spayed and also to take the kittens in once they are old enough to be separated from their mama. I just started feeding her MAX cat kitten food canned and dry. I give her one 3oz can every night and pretty much unlimited dry food. She absolutely loves the canned food- so much that for the first time she put her paws on my lap to get the food and she's licking it off my finger! She's still pretty cautious around me, but she is doing great. Yesterday she allowed me to pet her once or twice, but she did hiss quite a few times. I do tell her no when she does this. I only try when she is distracted by eating because she would jump back if I did it any other time. Today she hissed every time. How do I get her to allow me to pet her?


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Hi there. It's great that you're taking care of her! I'm sure she appreciates it - especially the wet food.  

As tempting as it is to pet her, it's probably best to leave her alone until she gives you a head butt or lets you know in some other way that touching her is ok. The fact that she was willing to come up to you for the wet food doesn't necessarily mean that she's willing to let her guard down - it just means she really likes wet food.  Some kitties just don't really like being petted either. 

If you keep trying and she doesn't want you to pet her, it'll take a lot longer for her to really feel comfortable with you. 

Maybe in the meantime you could just take pictures of her and post them here so we can see.


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## Saly (Jun 3, 2012)

It takes alot of patience and alot of time!! I sat for months before being able to touch my feral, I let her come to me on her own time, then it was petting with only one finger!!!, that went on for about another month, now I can pet her when I sit with her. I really had to hold myself back from trying to pet her too soon, she let me know when she was ready! She is ine the house now and doing well, still cautious, but doing very good.
Sally


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

I agree that it takes a lot of patience and time to completely gain her trust. My feral took about 4-6 months before she would even rub against my leg, and only then was I allowed a slight tail pet, but she would freak out if she saw the hand moving towards her. A year later, I can pet her, scratch her chin, she will lay next to me as I sit in a chair, but it took a very long time to get to this point. And she still has moments where she will sort of freak out and back away. Also, if she gets mad at me that I am leaving sooner than she would like, she will swat at my leg...not meanly, but gently, but she has gotten my pants leg on occasion, so I try to always have long pants on when I am near her. You do not want to get scratched or worse by a feral cat. I actually can pet her now while she eats and she actually likes that....I sort of watch her back while she eats and she knows it. There was a time when another cat would come up and try to steal her food, so I always sit out with her while she eats her food to make sure she actually gets to eat it. Patience. There is nothing you can do to rush it. From the sounds of it, it won't take as long as it took with my girl. She used to hiss at me in the beginning too. Be very, very careful. If you move too quickly, you will lose her trust AND you could get hurt. Hopefully you can get her spayed quickly so she does not end up pregnant again. Thanks for taking care of her


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

She was definitely someone cat at one time. She is hissing because you are pushing her limits a little too fast. She needs to be gently nudge. She is just telling you to slow down a bit. She wants to trust you and showed you that by putting her foot on your lap.

Have you watched the videos on socializing kittens and read kitty boot camp. Im sure you can glean tips to bring these guys around fairly quickly. Good job your doing!

http://www.catforum.com/forum/56-feral-cats/125860-taming-caring-feral-kittens-cats.html

Keep us posted!


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