It is still difficult to get a good picture of him, because he has that feral side.
Our task is to shrink that side as much as possible.
heart power
It is working; for the last several days, Mithy has climbed into my lap for a cuddle. It is not that he is a stranger to my lap, because we had him 24 hours when the tiny kitten got over his fear and climbed into my lap. But, until recently, he did not stay there for long.
Now, he climbs aboard and then settles for a real cuddle session. Yes, it took a long time. But that is how feral progress can happen; an inch at a time.
He always lets us pick him up, he will trill and talk, and he often comes when called; even if it is only as far as the doorframe. Caution will always be a part of his nature.
As I explain in Gracie’s babies, domestic cats can come from such a mix of genetic traits that the same litter can have kittens of all Cat Types. His ferality might have exaggerated a shy side which was already there. In opposition to that would be the overwhelming Beta-ness that is typical of Maine Coon Cats.
He had a social side we could reach; and what is more; he wanted us to reach it.
brain power
The new behavior we are seeing now is due to the continued development of his brain. Around this same stage of development, our super-friendly Tristan began pulling back from strangers.
When our kitten enters adolescence their brain power expands. This super-charges their imagination, so they can perform the planning and ambush maneuvers which is the core of their hunting strategies. This also means they can think ahead.
For Tristan, he could imagine what if these people aren’t my friends? And become more cautious. For Mithy, it was realizing they haven’t been mean to me yet, and he became more trusting.
Maturation is how it works on kittens, and calming down is how it works for grown cats. Everyone thinks better when they are able to relax and not be distracted by all their alarms going off. Mithrandir, we were told, was the littermate who most took after his mother; who refused to be handled, but was comfortable with shelter staff taming her kittens.
The feral behaviors he picked up from her are so indelible that he will likely never be the cuddly pudding Reverend Jim is. Even though Reverend Jim was in danger of his life from neglect; and Mithrandir, with his mighty hunting mother, never missed a meal.
Reverend Jim didn’t associate his ordeal with humans. Ironically, due to all the time he spent in the shelter, he has developed fearful responses to hearing dogs barking, even though this isn’t connected to his trauma. And even though Mithrandir has had nothing but good experiences with people, he is still fearful.
It’s not that he has “feral genes.” Every one of those fearful ferals out there started as a domestic cat. This is learned behavior, but usually so early it was imprinted very deeply. Caution around humans is part of Mithrandir’s survival instincts now. No one is able to think about those.
multi-cat power
Mithy has now spent a long time with our other cats, who are always modeling happy human interaction. That is a helpful element in Mithy’s taming process. When everyone else is on the bed, Mithy feels more comfortable hanging out there. It only took a few months for him to stake out a spot at my feet during sleep times.
This might be why he likes to climb into my lap while I am on the bed. Strangers have been seen in the living room, but only family in the bedroom. When I am parked on the couch, he does not approach.
But when I am on the bed, he will muscle RJ aside, trample on my writing device if I am not quick enough, and charge into the center of my arms. He makes it quite clear he is ready for this interesting interaction he’s been observing from his favorite bedroom perch.
He tucks himself into my lap and ducks his head into my palm as he has seen RJ do. I coo over him and give him long, slow, strokes, from his head to his hindquarters. This is a soothing move, not an over-exciting one. Like RJ, he will happily soak up affection until he is “full.” He will abruptly signal satiety by climbing down from my lap and going off on an important kitten mission.
I am so pleased Mithy has reached this milestone as the halfway point of his maturation journey. (Big cats like Mithy take a long time to fully grow up.) Affection on demand is always a welcome concept to see in our cats. For Mithy to display this much demand warms my heart.
And my lap.
Find out more about fixing Mithy’s feral side.
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