Socialising a semi-feral kitten. He is on my lap at last!
Here is a straightforward video (made on an iPhone 4s) showing Gabriel on my lap and letting me stroke him. He purrs. He is still nervous of being touched. He’ll forget I can be trusted and flinch sometimes if my hand is even slowly brought towards him to stroke him but, that said, this is progress…
He is becoming socialised to me. That does not mean he is socialised to anyone and everyone. It should be that way but it won’t. I have a feeling Gabriel will end up very trusting of me and totally relaxed around me but not with other people or perhaps with a small number of people.
He might well end up as one of those cats who run for cover when the door bell rings or someone else comes to the home.
His appearance has changed bit. He is more adult – unsurprisingly 😉 . He’s growing up physically and mentally.
Soon after I videotaped this, he ran for cover when the postman came. He saw the postman through the window and heard him. The sound of outside activity spooks him.
This video indicates a step in the right direction but he has a way to go.
This is a bit of info about Gabriel’s history:
I can tell you about where he came from – a old lady’s garden who called three weeks prior to us actually starting to trap them. Despite asking for help she wouldn’t answer calls or messages. I suspect she wanted to keep them for a while but it meant that they were three weeks older when we got them. Their [stray cat] mum was a black 8 month old or so kitten (the rescue organisation)