I gave Mittens the briefest of pets, this morning

[Siwsan]

She's been coming up so close to me, in the mornings, I thought 'What the heck. Let's see what happens.' She kept heading straight to the food bowl.

I'll try to make that a part of the morning feeding ritual, just so she will HOPEFULLY start to trust me more. She also looks up at me and meows, now. Very soft meow but a communication, none the less.

[PCIntern]

1. I thought this thread was about Romney and

wondered what good thing he had done to warrant your approval. 😄

[JHB]

2. Same

[Siwsan]

6. What a repulsive interpretation!! I mean Mittens the Kitten!!

[JHB]

7. Word association gonna word associate

You've had a reason, a good reason, to make a different association than I have.

I came straight from the home page and had no other context.

At least I had a pleasant surprise that my brief "oh, what now?" moment had no cause to exist.

[Siwsan]

8. I always think of him as Willard

And not just because that's his legal first name.

[Siwsan]

5. To me he will always be Willard

I'd rather not connected him to my beautiful state, in any way, and especially shape or form. (get it - Mitt(en) for Michigan?)

[wnylib]

3. That's great progress! Keep it up for

a week or two and you might be able to pick her up. But have something handy to put her in quickly. Feral cats might let you pet them, but then resist being held.

Even my own cat, who was born indoors from a mother who is a pet, hates being held. She will tolerate it briefly from me, but not from anyone else.

Good luck.

[niyad]

4. awwwwww. That is a great step! What a great bit of news to start my day,

Please send all your furries pets from me.

[Siwsan]

9. I sure will!

Madoc is napping in the 'bread loaf' position on my lap, right now. So incredibly sweet.

[wnylib]

11. I've enjoyed all the kitten photos, but

have fallen in love with Madoc's pics.

[Siwsan]

13. He is turning into a real sweet heart

Madoc was the 2nd smallest of the four and had the saddest little face. No doubt he was so scared. He was prone to nipping and scratching, for a while, but I worked with him and he's SO much better, now and he's one happy little boy.

[Percy]

10. And yet she persists! :)

You go! The kitty's hesitant, but she's trusting you. Very sweet and touching to hear.

[appleannie1]

12. The runt of the litter here is like that.

The other 3 kittens have figured out I am the one that brings the food and have started running to greet me when I enter the large garage. The one hangs back and waits until the 3 have finished eating, then when they get busy playing, she approaches the food bowl if I am no where near it. I am afraid if she doesn't get more trusting I will never be able to find a home for her. I have decided I will get mom spayed and see if she can find her way into my family of 3 indoor cats. Hopefully they will learn to accept her. I don't like to leave any animals out in the cold of winters here, even if they are strays and I feed them. Someone is coming on Mon. or Tues to hopefully take one of the other kittens to a new home.

[Siwsan]

14. I'm going to buy a bale of hay and try to make some sort of shelter

The problem is the back of the house, where the ferals hang out, is north facing so it gets a lot of wind and snow drifting. There's an overhang on the west side that's also protected by some shrubbery so that's where I'll put the shelter.

[twodogsbarking]

16. Check online. People make shelters from

old tires, coolers, and other stuff. Talk or sing to your pet.

[KentuckyWoman]

18. Good outdoor shelter plan

We've used this idea repeatedly with good success. And yes, several bales of hay as a windbreak works great and come spring - garden fodder.

[Siwsan]

19. Perfect! Thanks!

I have a few of those tubs in the basement.

[appleannie1]

20. My son sent me Omaha meats for my birthday

I kept the container it came in and planned on lining a tote with it if the new cat and my indoor cats did not get along.
It prefers living on my deck and not my covered front porch so the flower pot idea for the entrance would help keep rain and snow out.

[abqtommy]

15. Hey people, context is everything! Why would Siwsan be petting Romney?

Besides, Mittens The Kitten has ethics. Romney, not so much.

[Siwsan]

17. There's not enough hand sanitizer in the world to take care of that kind of contamination!

[Ocelot II]

21. I got to pet Mr. Cat a couple of times yesterday, very quickly.

He pulls back, but only a little; he doesn't run away. I think if I keep doing it while hand-feeding him chicken he'll start accepting and maybe even liking it. If I hold out my finger he will sometimes touch it with his nose or his paw, and he meows at me when he sees me. So, as with Mittens, there is progress.

[Siwsan]

22. I'll have to try that.

I think once Mittens settles down, Scooter will, too.

[csziggy]

23. Yes, lots of cats will accept pets when they are hungry

My smallest (but oldest at 3 years old) cat, Maya, will only let me stroke her when she is eating - and that is the only time she purrs for me, too.

She's got this thing where she waits for me to get up, dashes into the library (where I feed her) when I go in for my morning tea. If I go back into the kitchen, she will go to the door of the library, and wait for me to come back in so she will eat her breakfast. She seems happy to be petted while she eats and will purr while I stroke her.

The other two cats, Lucas and Sabra, don't like being disturbed at all while they are eating but will accept pets at other times. Maya will playfully bat at my hands if I try to pet her anytime other than when she is eating.