In 1998, our family fostered a pair of feral kittens for the
Neponset Valley Humane Society. One socialized well and was adopted out; the second was a little more fearful of humans and we ended up adopting her ourselves. And then she spent the next 10 years hiding under our bed and earning herself the name SOHO (Scared Of Her Own) Shadow. In recent years, she has been coming out more and more under very controlled circumstances -- like when we are lying flat on our backs in bed -- and demanding to be petted.
The Shadow was our first feral kitten and we learned a lot from her about how to teach feral kittens that (certain) humans can be trusted. To an extent. The three feral kittens we have been socializing this summer are living proof of how much we have learned. They are still skittish around us, but we can stroke them (and they even purr!), pick them up, and even hold them for short periods.
The babies have also been venturing out of the bedroom more and more. One even made it into the garage the other day. Then early this morning, I noticed this tableaux as I was about to head out:
That's Oreo cleaning himself on the futon couch, Moony staring distrustfully from the floor, and Tiberius perched on the arm of the couch right in front of the books. And as a bonus -- that's our Shadow in the cat tree, keeping an eye on me as I snapped this picture.
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