How-To Get a Cat to "Like You"

Cats have an, often misplaced, reputation for being unfriendly. However, if you find that there's still a bit of a rift between you and your kitty, there are some steps you can take to close that divide. Besides all of the routine care and keeping of having a pet, cats appreciate it when you put in the extra mile. Here's six strategies you can use to become the best of buds with your cat.

• Let your cat be in the driver's seat!

Cats are much like humans in the fact that they need to warm up to a social situation. The first time you hang out with someone doesn't mean you're automatically best friends. Cats have complex social behaviors and their personalities need to be respected. Focus on something besides the cat to start so that they can take their time exploring the space or even just debating whether or not they want to greet you at the moment. Often, when the cat initiates contact with a person the activity lasts longer as opposed to when you approach the cat. Hence, your cat just happens to love your friend who's allergic.

• Get down to their level.

This doesn't mean you have to physically get down on the ground in order to interact with your pet. This means that you should be aware of the way that cats are used to interacting with each other and follow suit to make them more comfortable. Cats will greet each other nose to nose. So to simulate that interaction, gently offer your cat the tip of your finger a few inches from their nose so that they can decide if they want to smell you. When doing this it helps to be on the floor with your other hand in your lap. Making your posture softer means that you are not as "scary." Your cat will probably just take a quick sniff and walk away. That's great! If your finger gets a cheek rub then that's a super successful greeting.

• Give them some scritches!

Cats are extremely sensitive to touch so it's important to be mindful about how you pet them. Dogs like scritches and rubs all over, but cats like a more fine-tuned approach. Gently petting and scratching the forehead, cheeks, and chin, or their peri-oral area, will likely elicit positive responses. Positive responses are behaviors like purring, slow blinking, and kneading their paws. My cats also LOVE when I scratch their back right before their tail starts. Remember that every attempt to pet your kitty should be introduced with a hand extension as an invitation to smell.

Be wary of petting an unfamiliar cats belly. Trust me.

• Give them ample space

Don't get discouraged if your attempts at bonding are met with some negative responses. Hissing, biting and swatting are more obvious signs of displeasure, but it's also important to pay attention to more subtle hints. Flattening their ears, looking at your hand without moving, and swishing their tail back and forth are signals that it's time for a break. A lot of owners don't realize that those are signs to back off and can escalate the situation to hissing or swatting. 

You can't force a friendship so remember that your cat will be ready for more interaction at a later time. They just need space to readjust and refresh. When the cat sees that you can respect their space, it builds some trust between the two of you that requires complete passivity on your part. Free brownie points for you!

• Play is paramount!

Many people underestimate the amount of play time that cats need as they have the reputation for being quite aloof. Laser pointers are your best friend in this case. Having a toy that puts some space between your cat and you will give your kitty necessary exercise and forms positive associations between time spent at play and you! Wand toys are the next step in this process as you actually hold the toy. Slowly inching closer to each other while still leaving enough space for both of your comfort levels is essential.

Your cat will need toys that they can play with without having you control them. Providing scratching posts and more stationary toys like this one placed in common areas will allow the cat to let their guard down and play around you. 

You'll need patience and a strong will, but taking these steps will get you closer to a reality of loving companionship between you and kitty. Best of luck!

How-To Trap Humanely

Feral cats need to be trapped humanely in order to sterilize, treat and release them back into their community to live healthy, long lives. However, the logistics and mechanics of actually trapping a wary feral cat can be a bit sticky for a beginner. Not to worry, there are some solid steps you can take to safely trap a feline neighbor without too much stress on you or the kitty. 

STEP 1: Choosing the right trap

The best trap to use for a trap-wary cat is the reliable drop trap. Since the mechanism for trapping the cat is manual, patience will be a requirement. However, it does give you the choice of which cat you trap since other traps just capture whichever cat strolls in. Alley Cat Allies have created a list of some efficient options for especially hard to trap cats. They also have information on other kinds of traps, such as box traps. 

STEP 2: Customization

Camouflaging the trap is a great way to make the cats more comfortable around it. Covering the trap with a natural material like burlap with leaves or small branches placed around the top, sides, and on the floor inside the trap will lessen the trap's "unknown" factor for the cats. Be sure that none of your additions interfere with the trap closing.

STEP 3: Acclimation and incentive

Cats will naturally be more fearful of something strange and new in their surroundings. To make sure that the introduction of the trap doesn't disrupt their behavior patterns, acclimating them to the traps will be essential. This can be a bit of a waiting game. Placing unset traps in secure locations with plenty of food in it and leading to it can be a sure-fire way to get any kitty used to the trap and begin positive association.

Incentive comes by way of food. Food that is especially smelly will work best. Canned tuna, baby food (that doesn't contain onions), catnip and other foods like that work super well. Create a trail of food to the trap and place a heaping amount of it in the back of the cage itself. Some people withhold food from the cats usual eating spot for up to 48 hours. Do NOT withhold food for more than 48 hours as it's simply not healthy for the cats. Also never withhold water!

STEP 4: Choosing the right location

Cats will feel more comfortable to explore a new object if it is in an area that they feel safe. These areas are usually out of sight for humans. Placing a trap in a more secure place, like an alley or behind a line of bushes will increase your chances of a successful catch. 

If you're trying to nab an especially trap-wary cat, then there are a few tricks to lure them in. Trap-wary cats will usually circle around the trap to see if there's another way to retrieve the food inside. One way to confuse a cat trying to sneak a treat out of reach is to place two traps side by side with their entrances facing opposite directions. This way, the cat will circle around one trap, see that there's an alternate entrance and may walk right into the next trap.

STEP 5: Take a break!

Cats are much smarter than people give them credit for. If a cat will not go into the trap after repeated attempts or they set off the trap accidentally, they won't be willing to go anywhere near that trap for a bit. Take a break of a week or two so that both you and the cat will be fresh again. This, again, means you need to have a lot of patience. The trap-wary cat needs to be reconditioned to think of the trap as a safe object. 

You can do this! Have some patience and a lot of tuna and you will succeed. 

Flea Baths: A Step by Step Guide

As promised in the Basics for Fostering Ferals article, here is a detailed how-to for how to give your foster kitties the most effective, least stressful flea bath possible. Flea baths are a must for any kitten coming in from outside as fleas love to make a meal of them. From start to finish, here's exactly how to de-flea your fosters:

1.) Gather your materials.

You're going to want to set up your bathing station at a sink rather than a bathtub. This is much less stressful for the kitten as being even partially submerged in water is a one way ticket to getting scratched or bit. As for shampoo, blue Dawn dish soap is the way to go. Not only is it cheap, but it's gentle and very effective. You'll also need a feline specific flea comb. Linked here is the comb that I use for my fosters. It's easy to use and gets all the little nasties out of short haired or long haired kittens. Grab some cotton balls for cleaning up the kitten's face.

A cup of warm water with a bit of Dawn in it should be ready to go next to your sink so that any fleas you pull off can get dunked into the water to kill them immediately. Towels and long sleeves are a must as well. You can use gloves if you feel that they would make you more comfortable.

2.) Calm your kitten.

Working a calmed kitten into a bath is much easier than working with a stressed, hissing kitten. This might take a while so be patient. Wrapping them in a towel will help with this. Stroking the kitten with the flea comb without going too deep into their fur will acclimate them to the sensation which will serve you well once the combing starts.

3.) Start combing!

Pass the flea comb through the kitten's fur starting at the top of their head and working your way down over their back and stomach all the way to their tail. You'll see some little black dots on the comb as your brush through. This is flea dirt which is basically flea feces. If you come across a live flea in your comb then immediately dunk the comb into the Dawn and water solution to drown the flea so it doesn't have a chance to jump off onto another kitten.

4.) Time to start the bath…

Most importantly, NEVER submerge any kitten in water. Only use running water to bathe a kitten instead of standing water. As well, NEVER get soap near your kitten's eyes or in their ears. Before any water gets onto the kitten, create a ring of Dawn around the kittens neck as a barrier. If you start cleaning the back first, the fleas will run up to the head and ears of the kitten making it way more difficult to remove them. Using warm water, lather the ring of soap around the neck really well. Then, using more soap, work your way down the kitten's back, stomach, legs, and tail. Make sure to get in every nook and cranny! Those fleas are persistent.

Using a damp cotton ball with some Dawn on it, carefully clean the kitten's face and chin. You might notice that as water is running off your kitty that the water might be a bit red. This is the flea dirt washing off. Since fleas subsist off of blood, it's only natural that their feces will also be red. Once your kitten is lathered up and cleaned thoroughly, make sure to rinse all of the soap off of them.

5.) Warm your kitten up!

Since the little guys have a hard time regulating their own body temperature, it's essential that you warm them up as quickly as possible. Wrap the kitty in a nice, warm towel and gently dry them. Make sure that they're thoroughly dried and then you can pass through their fur again with the flea comb. Lastly, and arguably the most important step, shower them with treats! Baths are never a fun experience for any cat so treats and kisses are super important.

Flea baths don't have to be a traumatic experience for you or the cat. Taking these precautions and following these steps will benefit the health and happiness of your fosters.  

Basics for Fostering Ferals

So you want to start fostering that litter of kittens in your backyard? Great! Fostering feral kittens takes thoughtfulness and some patience, but it is easier than you might think. There are a few basics that you need to have in place before taking any outdoor kitties into your home. Here, we'll talk about necessary prep, actually trapping the kittens, and socializing practices.

Where to keep the kitties? Luckily, fostering kittens can be done in basically any style of home. All you need is a warm small, closed off area that the cats can call theirs for the time being, for example, a bathroom. "Warm" is an important word here, as kittens have a harder time regulating their body temperatures. All they need in that space is a litter box or two, a readily available supply and wet and dry kitten food, and some blankets and toys. Of course, it's extremely important to keep their area clean and dry as they mature and can be adopted out. Having high places they can climb to will make them feels safer as well. Feral kittens will usually make themselves known to you around four to six weeks old, but it's vital that they stay with their mother until they are at least eight weeks. Mom's milk provides important nutrients that encourage proper growth and development until the kitten's immune system can support itself.

How do you get the kitties inside? The best time to trap kittens is from eight to ten weeks, when they have developed enough to leave their mother while still be young enough to be trained. Kittens can be super tricky to catch especially if they won't let you hold them, which is often the case. Baited traps are the best option for safe handling and transporting. Larger traps won't seem as scary to cats as smaller traps do, boosting your chances of catching them. As well, using smelly bait like tuna or jarred baby food is more enticing. Placing the traps in a more secluded space helps as the cats feel safer away from human eyes. Even with the trap as a safeguard, be sure to use gloves when first handling feral kittens and don't underestimate how quick or liquid-like they can be.

Some concerns that potential foster parents have when preparing their home for new feline residents are mostly hygienic in nature. This is for good reason, especially if there are other pets in the house. A lot of nasty things like to latch onto kittens in their first few weeks, but the good news is that they can be squeaky clean with just a bit of TLC. The number one nasty that clings to kittens is the flea. Fleas are smart and they are a pain. Upon bringing the kittens into your home, they should be given a flea bath and administered flea and tick preventative medication immediately. The process of bathing kittens for fleas is a very specific process which will be covered in a later post to give it the time it requires.

Some feral kittens can be a bit aggressive as that's what they've been taught by their mother as a survival skill. The critical socialization period for kittens is from two to seven weeks. So before you bring them into your home, it's so important to make them aware of your presence and that you are not a threat. Wet food and treats help a lot with that. The process of training feral kittens can span from a few weeks to two months. After they've been brought inside, the kittens will need an adjustment period before they should begin to be socialized. After about two days, try leaving on the TV or radio so they can get used to human voices. Be down on their level when engaging in play with them with toys, not your hands. If they exhibit friendly behavior, don't be afraid to reward them with treats or pets! Be sure to remember that they are still outdoor animals, so use gloves or protective clothing while you are still gaining their trust. Remember that you are in charge and can scruff an aggressive kitten to gain control. To scruff a kitten safely, use your whole hand to grasp the kitten by the back of the neck or by the back without pinching, pull the cat up and support the hind legs.

Fostering feral kittens is a labor of love and requires a special touch. Remember that these are only the basics of taking kittens into your home and more detailed information is to come. Patience is key and the knowledge that they'll be placed into a loving home where they can thrive is motivation enough. Below is a beautiful tabby boy, Sunny, who I recently fostered and adopted out to a neighbor!