Sunday, July 27, 2008

Kitten Update

Angie, as seen above, still likes to spend most of her time at the back of her box. She still hisses quite a bit when I pet her, but I've been fortunate to not be bit or scratched yet (yes, I'm knocking on wood right now). I've read some material online about how to domesticate feral kittens; most of the techniques don't work well with her, so I've decided to fall back to a regular routine of visiting her and petting her in few minute chunks. Much longer than that and she really starts to get irritated.

I'm having more success with Frances, though you might not be able to tell from this picture. She was preparing to dart away in this shot. I'm able to pick her up and hold her in my lap with moderate success. She isn't too keen on the idea of being handled when I'm not holding her, but she usually settles down and almost goes to sleep while I'm holding and petting her. I'm hoping she'll rub off on her sister, but so far it seems to be the other way around.

I knew this was going to be a lengthy process going into it, so I'm not really discouraged. It probably would be a LOT easier if I already had a domesticated cat from which they could learn. I may pursue this idea if I can procure a good example cat.

3 comments:

Rich said...

I think Christine has a cat you can have.

Kim said...

I've got a great lap cat for you! But be careful what you wish for. Jack gets comfortable, and then you wish he just get OFF you and let you work.

christine said...

I have a great example cat! You want to borrow (have) him?

I also have a puppy. He LOVES cats. That would be a good way to train the kittens to be dogs.