Helping a feral cat become family

Helping a feral cat is not something I get to do very often. But when Diane asked me to help Mini, a feral cat, prepare for a trip to the vet to be neutered, I said yes. Diane planned to take Mini to the vet the day after our session.

Prior to her appointment, Diane shared,

(Note: Diane’s account has been edited for clarity and brevity.)

“An un-neutered feral male cat, who has lived totally outside for about four years, fights with other neighborhood cats. Mini (my name for him) probably fathered the five kittens in my backyard. We have an appointment to have him neutered tomorrow.

“He doesn’t trust us 100% but is warming up to us and depends on us for food. We love him.

“Will I be able to get him into the carrier tomorrow evening? Will he panic? Will he run away from us after the surgery?

“I want him to know how much we love him. And although this may be traumatic for him, life should be easier for him after this. I am anxious about the procedure because it may destroy his trust and break our bond. But… I know it’s the best and right thing to do.”

Helping this feral cat feel Diane’s love

From that, I understood how much Diane valued her relationship with Mini. She didn’t want this vet visit to sever their budding relationship.  So, I focused on connecting Mini and Diane at the heart level. My goal was for Mini to know in his heart and body how much Diane loved him.

With my help, Diane shared her heart with Mini. She told him how deeply she cared for him. And that whatever she did was for his wellbeing. Because she wanted a better life for him. Finally, Diane shared that Mini could be a part of her family if he chose.

We did share a bit about the veterinarian visit, but kept our focus on their relationship. Because that was clearly most important to Diane.

Trusting a human

After our session, Diane reported,

“Thank you so much for the breakthrough session this morning 😀 “I realized I have been pushing too hard to resolve all the cat and kitten matters quickly.

“Since Mini never came for breakfast, I cancelled his vet appointment and decided to wait it out to see what would happen.

“He finally showed up at dinnertime after all the kittens were well into their dinner. He waltzed right into the confined laundry space. I closed the screen door, fed him a glorious meal, brushed him and talked to him as he purred and ate.

“We had more connection than we have ever had.

“I told him I understood that he had been reluctant to trust me. I intended to build his trust over time. This was NOT the time to ruin the trust we were building by taking him to the vet.

“I think we were both relieved.

“The trip to the vet will be much easier after a couple of months of trust building and knowing he can have a better life with us. And maybe by then I will even be able to pick him up!

“Today has been one of the most moving days I have experienced—to feel the love pouring out of me. You can’t go wrong when you follow your heart.

A day or so later, Diane shared:

“Last night Mini came to dinner. I enclosed him in the laundry while he was eating, and he didn’t want to leave! I think he was telling me he wanted to go into the rest of the house like the kittens did. This has never happened before!

“We definitely had a breakthrough 😊! “

Sometimes our session goals change

Maybe you and your animals will need to do some pre-work before you can focus on the goal you had in mind for your animal communication session. That’s especially true when asking for changes in behavior.

Diane clearly saw that she needed some pre-work before she could talk about taking her feral cat Mini to the vet. That pre-work was sharing her love so Mini trusted her and maybe even decided to join the family. The discussion about a trip to the vet would come later.

Got cat issues?

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By the way, I’m not an expert on feral cat communities. Learn more about feral cats at the Community Cats Podcast.