On Tue, Mar 07, 2006 at 01:18:27AM -0500, Jim King wrote: > > Taylor sounds quite friendly for a semi-feral cat. Had he originally > had much contact with humans before going wild? How did you entice > him to come in from the cold, so to speak?
Most adopted ex-ferals are socialised as kittens. As long as you get them into regular human contact early enough, they adapt very well. It's best to get them by 6-8 weeks (old enough to leave mother); if they are left in the wild until 12 weeks it can be a difficult job. Like all generalisations, of course, there are exceptions. Lying glued to my side, as I type, is a three-year-old cat who we got (as a foster, to socialise) when he was twelve weeks old. It was almost two years before he would let me stroke him, although on the odd occasion when we insisted it was obvious that he really enjoyed it - he just couldn't summon up the confidence to stand still and be petted if we allowed him an avenue to escape. He's now making up for lost time, and spends most of the day next to me. On the other hand we've also got another foster who we've had since she was less than eight weeks, and I don't think she'll ever socialise. Basically, she just doesn't really like people.
