Blanca.. the ex-feral cat
by Tom
(Nashville, TN)
Blanca and Calene the Shih-tzu sharing a moment
After moving to my new, rustic home in the country, I soon noticed several long hair cats, all either solid black or solid white, living in the woods. They seemed mostly nocturnal, and would dart across the dirt road leading to my house and disappear into the brush.
One day I looked out my window and saw one of the white cats prowling nervously in my yard. She looked thin. I opened the door to offer her some food, but of course she dashed into the woods. Later that afternoon I noticed her again, creeping up to the dish of food I had left out for her. This began a process of leaving the food closer and closer to the porch, then letting her see me in the door, and finally actually coaxing her to the bowl while I stood on the porch.
To make this long story short.. eventually she actually let me touch her and much later to even pick her up though she was not comfortable with it. After she mysteriously disappeared for several days I discovered that she had a litter of 5 kittens in a den under a wood pile. I visited the kittens every day until they got used to having me handle them. As soon as they were weaned I took their mother, Blanca, to the vet and had her spayed. The kittens were all successfully adopted out.
Five years later, Blanca is an almost ideal house cat. She interacts a bit cautiously with humans, but loves to stay in the house, has adjusted to living with dogs, and sleeps almost every night lying on my chest. She still has quirks like not liking her back stroked, though she loves having her head scratched. She balks when picked up but never scratches or bites. She prefers to use the bathroom outside, and still hunts avidly.
We have become very fond of her and she seems at times, even protective of my family. I am surprised that people think feral cats cannot be tamed to become reasonably good pets. We would not trade her for anything.
Tom
