My cat is three yrs old now and is a full blown ferral, he has just started
sitting on the sofa near me {but not too near}He'll lay across me for 15
minutes or so in bed as long as there is no bare skin,and Purr and kneed but
then its away to the bottom of the bed.he will now let me cuddle him which I
do often,
but not for too long at time, but will not let anyone else pick him up
he'll
rub up to my two small Grand-Daughters but not my Grand-Sons, they are
too lively for him to trust although they love him. If any car stops outside
my window he knows instantlyif they are coming to our unit if its my family,
he'll come in from the veranda and sit in the hall, in my bedroom doorway,
if its strangers, e.g. workmen, he bolts in like a rocket, into my b-room
and under the bed, and there he remains till they've gone. I just let him be
himself, I did once hear that it takes three generations for the ferral to
finally become socialised.dont know if thats true or not. Jean.P.





Shana Cooke wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I'm trying to find out information on how to teach a semi-feral cat to
like being picked up (or at least tolerate it).

I adopted a semi-feral from the humane society about seven months ago
(she is now 13 mo old), and in this time she has stopped hiding, and
usually comes up to me at night for pets - sitting beside me on the
sofa, purring her heart out. Occasionally she will step over me to get
to a better seat, or sit on me if I am lying down covered by a
blanket. She never sits on my lap if the blanket is not there, though.
More importantly, she hates being picked up and will hide for a few
hours when an attempt is made. She also disliked being petted if she
is not in one of her designated "safe" spots - aka, the sofa, the
kitty tree, or the bed. If I try to pet her while she walks around on
the floor, or when she is on the windowsill, she hides from me for an
hour.

I am trying to get her to adjust by putting my arms around her when
she's allowing pets, and sometimes adjusting her so she's closer to my
lap, but it's slow progress. I'd really like some advice on how to get
her to be pick-up-able, as I'd like to take her to the vet for an
annual checkup in a month or two and I'd really like for the pick-up
not to be a traumatic chasing around the house and swoop into a box
experience. I also worry about putting her back into the box once we
are at the vet.

She likes treats, but won't come forward for them, I've tried
sardines, I've tried turkey and chicken meat, she waits until I give
up and put it down in a dish before she comes out of the hiding spot.

Thanks,

Shana