Foster Cat Journal: Day 7, Day 8 Who Do We Appreciate?

We appreciate toothbrushes for helping socialize feral kittens!

A week has passed. Little Candy is doing very well. I must say the big key was using the toothbrush on her, instead of that giant hairbrush. I notice that kittens are easily frightened by large objects and pretty much everything is bigger than they are, so keeping that in mind is important.

When I sacrificed my only good wooden spoon and taped the toothbrush to it, that was the breakthrough. Candy reacted VERY well to being brushed, even though she hissed as I did it. She'd quickly forget to hiss a few moments later because she felt so good being touched. I also used the toothbrush as a toy and I rubbed the bristles against the newspaper or paper plates so she'd come up to me when she heard the sound.

Well, hello Candy. I see you're SITTING ON MY LAP NOW!

I'm not sure how wise this is, but I just started petting Candy even though she was still hissing. She showed me no aggression and has not bitten or scratched me once (knock wood). I believe her instinctual fear reaction is hissing, but I'm not taking it personally. I just pick her up, pet her, rub her belly. She purrs very quickly and seems relaxed and excited to be out of the crate during our training time. I can even pick her up and she doesn't fuss much.

Candy explores her cat carrier.

Last night I let Candy roam around half of the foster room. She ran, hopped like a bunny, chased toys, sniffed and sniffed everything she could. She also hissed at me, which gave me pause, but moments later, instead of hiding, which is what I feared, she came over and I was able to put her back into her crate-for which she hissed and walked off calmly, then began to cry because she was bored or lonely or both.

I don't know why the obvious is so foreign to me, but I just realized that fostering is full of feeling bad. Not just saying good bye to your ward or worrying about their health, but geez, I feel bad locking Candy up in the cage now. She's had a tough week. Her confidence is growing and she's becoming friendlier every day. I know she's not very stimulated where she is right now, but I have to do what's best for her and gives her the most chance at success. She still needs to see me as her friend and letting her run loose right now is not going to help that.

It IS wonderful, though, to see her running around the room. A little free spirit, with no fear and just simple joy in her heart. I know she will be a good companion now. Just another week or so and she should be in great shape.

All hail the mighty toothbrush!