Mitsy’s Blogs

Socialisation: done!

After all of Mitsy’s kittens had been adopted, we focused on the socialisation process. Depending on the outcome, the decision would be made to keep Mitsy as our second indoor cat, or work with the rescue people to find her a new home elsewhere.

As we write May of the year 2022, we now know that Mitsy will continue living with us! There are many days we look at each other and express our gratitude for this little loving snuggle bug joining our family. All in all the whole thing took no more than 6 months. The only give-away that she was a feral/stray is that she hides from any strangers entering the house. She is still afraid of humans, but no longer of us! You can use the side menu (at the bottom of the page when using a small mobile device) to read the posts about socialisation and about how it all started, in the nursery posts.

Mitsy’s socialisation milestones

2021

7 November: I manage to film a sweet cuddle session with Mitsy, while she is getting ready to nap on the window bench. She really enjoys cuddles around feeding and napping time

28 October: Mitsy spayed, all kittens away

18 September: No more nightly crating, the room is open

13 September: Nicky lifts Mitsy up for the first time. It is done before she can protest.

13 September: Introducing the vacuum-cleaner. Mitsy stands on guard for the kittens but no aggression.

8 September: First vet visit: Mitsy is hard to handle, but she does get her vaccinations. When she comes back to the room, she shoots out of the carier with a loud hiss, but calms down immediately when she recognises the room. No repercussions towards us. Yey!

31 August: Mitsy asks for a pet and gives us a head-butt!

26 August: Mitsy sits in the window to watch the great outdoors; the whole family is now out in the room during the day and there is no sign of aggression in Mitsy.

21 August: Mitsy steps out of the crate into the new room for the first time; the kittens remain in the crate. She stays on ground level but clearly enjoys this time-off from nursing

17 August: Manage to lure Mitsy into a big carrier to move her upstairs; 2 kittens go in with her, the other 4 are easily picked up and placed in their own smaller carrier.

12 August: Petted Mitsy on her back-end. She was aware, did not welcome it and also did not react defensively

3 August: Mitsy responds to play for the very first time. We play for over 15 minutes and it fills me with joy!

30 July: Mitsy accepts a treat from my hand!

25 July: Mitsy accepts a treat from my extendible spoon!

24 July: Mitsy tolerates more and more interaction and a second crate, called ‘The Ensuite’, is added without any complications. More space means more serenity for all.

19 July: Softly singing to Mitsy calms her down… 🙂

11 July: Mitsy gets more and more annoyed when we replace the litter box. We need to find a solution to prevent open aggression

8 July: The kitttens are born – 6 healthy kittens, all very different in size (on appr. day 66th of pregnancy)

5 July: Mitsy successfully trapped at the end of her second pregnancy of 2021 – the nursery and socialisation adventure starts

19 April – Nicky stays outside in the yard when Mitsy comes for food

appr. 3 May: Suspected birth of March litter (we never see the kittens, nor do we know where Mitsy’s shelter is)

16 March: First trapping efforts fail

8 March: First time Mitsy comes begging for food in our backyard