This is Koneko, which means "kitten" in Japanese. She is my son's cat and was feral before being adopted by our family. It has been quite an adventure for our whole family.
Your Pet's Age
5 months
Your Pet's Breed
Domestic Shorthair
How and when did you get your pet?
Koneko was a feral kitten that was living in a garbage and recycling shed at my son's work. We believe that she was probably a farm cat as we have a number of farms in the area. She was about 3 months when he finally managed to catch her in a trap. This is after about a month of feeding her and trying to coax her out any other way.
She was so scared of us, with those giant kitten eyes. We all got scratched a bit and I was on the receiving end of her brand new sharp teeth, requiring antibiotics. But it was because she was scared to death, not because she was mean.
We took her to the vet as soon as possible, to make sure she didn't have feline leukemia or any other issues. She was relatively healthy but was treated for fleas, ear mites and worms, no big surprise. She will go in to be spayed in another few weeks.
What does your pet like to do for fun?
Koneko has been hiding in my son's room for the past two months. At first she was deep in hiding but she soon decided that under the bed was safe enough. We had a few times where our dog managed to get into the room, scaring her more and setting back the progress.
After a few weeks, we got a baby gate for the door so we can leave it open but the dog cannot get inside. She has taken to exploring the house a little bit, one time coming out and hiding under one of our desks in the living room.
Do you have anything else to share about your pet?
The best age to socialize baby cats is around 8 weeks. After this point, there are diminishing returns. Older cats may never be able to be socialized. At 12 weeks, Koneko is a bit on the old side for being adopted. She may never be a lap cat. But it was better than the alternative. We have all manner of hawks, racoons and coyotes, not to mention a busy highway right next to my son's work.
My son has done a great job of holding her regularly, to get her used to his scent. He catches her with a blanket, keeping her claws and teeth away from him. She will usually put up with it pretty well, although she doesn't have the patience for cuddling as she gets more comfortable. She plays around at night and will often look out his window. She has started to meow from her room, probably because she hears my older cat plaintively ask for food.
As you can see, she is much less scared. She looks downright contented.
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She looks a lot like my first cat, Turkey, who was also feral. She came from a farm and I was the only one she took to for a long time. Since she passed away, we've had several feral cats, many of whom we've tamed, mostly at a young age. We love cats and people used to drop them off here all the time.
What a nice love story.
She is adorable and looks like she may become a "one person" lap cat.
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