Community Chat

[susan423]

So a family of cats decided to adopt me last summer. The mother and she had 4 kittens that looked to be about 6 weeks old. Because I have a dog whome is my baby, I did not want any other pets. None the less, there they are. My dog chased them every chance he got. But since they chose me, they knew I had a dog. Anyway, they are now 6 months old and I have come to peace with the fact that they are not leaving and yet.....they STILL won't let me pet them. I feed them outside and while I'm getting their food ready they will occassionally rub against my leg but run if I reach down to pet their head. They will let me get about 6 inches from them. I'll sit and talk to them and they look at me with loving eyes but then turn to fear if I get closer. I have also been hand feeding them scraps of food so they get just close enough to take food from my hand. And yet, the momma cat will now let me pet her. I will sit and stroke their momma. I tell them that if I'm not going to hurt their momma why would I hurt them :-) Do you guys have any ideas on how I can get them to trust me a bit more?

By the way, my dog now tolerates the cats and very seldom chases them anymore (mainly because they no longer run from him :-)