Hi there!

I am a cat lover who is also a dog lover. Well, generally speaking I love all animals. Right now though, my pet ownership is somewhat tentative. I have three half grown and semi-feral kittens I am fostering. They are part of a "tribe" of cats that showed up here one day last August, and these three seem to be sticking around. Of course I immediately began feeding them and learning about how to work with this. They are healthy and gorgeous! Their names are Silver Scout, Mr Big, and Starbeam. I will post pictures too, if that's wanted.......

Welcome to the forum, Kyla Houbolt.

Yes, photos are always wanted when you introduce your pets.

Are those three "semi-feral" cats living inside your home?
OR,
Do you only let them stick around outside?

I am interested in how they behave.

Photos are definitely wanted!
Unofficial "rules" of the introduction section is to have some photos of your pets ready.

Welcome!

LOL! And thanks for the welcome. The photo in my profile is Mr Big, one of the three kittehs. I want them to come in the house but so far they are still skittish and seem to prefer staying outside, well, DO prefer. There is one, the one I call Silver Scout, who seems to actually function as the scout for this little tribe, and she is the bravest. She will come on the porch and let me know things, like, we are here and ready to eat! She has come inside the door a couple of times and looked around, then scooted back out.

Most of the pictures I have of them I have had to take through the window so they are not the best quality.

---

Let me see if I can post a picture (I'm not seeing how to do it here.)

Use the following codes to post photos.

[img]direct image url[/img]

Oh thanks! Okay, let me try one here:

---

Here's another - as I said, I have to take these through the window so the quality is not great. Also, LOL, usually by the time I grab the camera they've moved out of the "perfect shot" position.

---

I decided when I started caring for this crew that I was not going to worry about any potential damage to the garden, by the way. As a gardener, that's a major issue but honestly, I care more about the cats than I do about the garden so it was a pretty easy choice to make.

Of course, they arrived toward the end of the season last year so I may feel a bit different come spring. But I'll deal with that when the time comes.

Come on, you have to do better than that.
Some closer up photos please.
A photo they have dinner please.
A photo you play with them please.

If they always come for food, and you want them to come inside, the best course of action is to put the food at the doorstep. After they get used to it, then move the food right inside your door. After a while, move the food further inside. They will have to come inside for food if they want a free meal. They can't possibility all be that shy. If one comes in and have a chew, the rest will eventually come in too.

I did try that, at the door. There are problems with that however, which involve the set up of the porch and its openness to the rest of the property here and the fact that it is not a place I can leave food out. There are dogs that live here for one thing. The cats are only slowly becoming used to human attention. I am sure they have been chased and maybe worse, elsewhere. I tried playing with them at one point and only scared them off! It is delicate.

Also, sadly, right now I am unable to upload new pictures so everything I have is a few months old. Long story.

Here's one of my favorite pictures from when they first showed up:

I like your favorite photo. It is a good one. Beautiful cat. Thanks for sharing.

Why would people chase these cats? Any cats get near or even get into my home without invitation still get a warm welcome from me. There is no reason to be mean.

Keep up the good work. Thanks for taking care of these cats.

Aw, thanks!

People chase stray cats, kick them, do all sorts of mean things to them. These cats were, I believe, actually dumped off here by someone who didn't want them around. I came to that conclusion because they did all show up at once, one day.

That cat in the picture is named Silver Scout. She's the bravest of the crew. And she is indeed a beauty.