In their first week, sleeping together in a heap was how Camden, Beck, Casey and Blue dealt with the stress of having been trapped and taken away from their mother and the only home they ever knew. They relied on each other for comfort and initially retreated to any space where they could hide in the bathroom that became their temporary home.
Life suddenly changed for Camden, Beck, Casey and Blue.
Days prior to their trapping, these four kittens had been happily playing in the back yard of a CATpassionate Village board member's family home. But, the clock was ticking on their ability to be socialized and prepared for adoption into loving, forever caring homes. Mom had to be trapped, spayed and vaccinated.
Human-wary kittens showed promise.
Surprisingly, the human-wary four kittens, were receptive to being handled. Despite a bit of hissing, they never swatted at me and never tried to bite. For those who have worked to socialize a feral cat mom's kittens know this is a huge indicator for their social potential.
Caregiver time and energy, kitten smarts--the right combination.
Immediately, they knew how to use the litter box and had impeccable litter box habits. Never one slip-up.
Camden, the most laid back of the four, emerged as the leader of the pack. He signaled his enjoyment of being stroked with loud purrs. Beck, followed suit, then Casey and Blue.
Lots of time was spent sitting on the tiled bathroom floor, holding them and giving them Delectables on my fingers for them to lick off.
Blossoming personalities became the seeds of love.
As we entered week two it became clear they needed more space, so I gave up my office and turned it over to them. They continued to thrive, their personalities blossomed and our love grew for them. Their progress to being socialized accelerated. The weeks ahead were filled with lots of milestone events.
This is a second in a series of posts about the Tori kittens.
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