The power of cooked prawns 😉 . Gabriel was hiding very effectively this morning. It took me 15 minutes to find him and an hour to get him out from under the sideboard using cooked prawns. I blew the scent of the prawns under the sideboard, where he was hiding, to make the meal irresistible and so it proved. Nothing was forced. It was all at his pace.
Once he came out he spent some minutes exploring after he ate and then having had a pee in the litter tray (good boy) he scampered back into his den where he is right now. Gabriel is certainly feral and unsocialized. This will be a long journey but I am prepared.
I want him to explore the home so that he becomes familiar with it and therefore feels more at home and comfortable. I will then have a better chance of interacting with him and touching him, which I guess is where the real job of socialization takes place.
Gabriel is such a cutie. He’s smart too. He is going to have dear old dad eating out of HIS hand when finished.
It sounds like Jasmine when she likes to be a food Thief.
Having had a previously healthy cat die within a week of being prescribed Valium for a tail-chasing behaviour issue, I’m strongly opposed to the use of “mind altering” medication to treat cats.
Bruce: I’ve read that many cat owners have success using Bach Flower Remedies to treat emotional/behavioural problems in cats. You can add several drops to their drinking water or rub it on the top of their head. Another option is a natural food supplement called Zylkene which is said to help them feel calm and relaxed. As with Feliway, natural remedies can take several weeks of continued use before you begin to notice the benefits because they work by gradually building up a sense of well being in the cat. Sadly they don’t work on all cats.