Jennifer Van de Kieft, Luke, Lily, Josh, Maya & Oscar
Lily & Jen
My family did not set out to have 5 cats, but we are very bad at fostering.
Luke and Lily are not siblings but were paired together at 5 weeks old. Luke was found dodging traffic on the Triborough Bridge by a rescuer who stopped her car and rescued him. Lily was found in a Brooklyn backyard with 4 of her siblings who were paired, leaving Lily. Veterinarians estimated their birthday as being the same day, March 23, 2016. Luke and Lily have a very strong bond as if they were siblings. They have groomed each other daily since they first arrived over 6 years ago. Luke is a brown tabby and is super sweet and affectionate. He loves to play. We have a special game where he makes eye contact with me, and I have to slowly hide my eyes behind something like hide ‘n seek, but just with eye contact. As soon as my eyes disappear, he meows and comes running toward me. Lily is a long-hair tortoiseshell and is so beautiful and soft. Lily is the fiercest hunter. Whenever there is a spider or bug in the apartment, the rest of the cats will chase it and hover over it, but it’s Lily who will step in, kill it and then eat it.
Maya and Jen
Josh and Maya are 4-year-old siblings who we were initially fostering but then decided to adopt. We’ve had them since they were 3 months old. Josh is a brown tabby, and it’s hard for most people to tell Josh apart from Luke in appearance. Josh is skinnier with a kink at the tip of his tail. Josh is also way sillier. Sometimes I feel like Josh is my shadow. He’s waiting for me to wake up in the morning, will follow me into the bathroom, and is right there as I’m getting my coffee, grabbing my arm with his paw and licking my hand. Then, he’ll sit on my lap while I’m catching up on email. Josh is very smart and energetic. I often say he’s my problem child as he needs more enrichment than the other cats.
Maya is a black female cat. She loves my son above all others and will snuggle with him at every opportunity. She will purr and purr in his arms. It’s so sweet. I suspect that the foster before us had burritoed them to socialize them which is something behaviorists do not recommend doing as it can have long-term negative effects. I’ve seen this first hand with Maya and Josh. Maya has a hard time trusting me. I have to actively work with her on a regular basis to regain her trust. If she sees me holding a towel or blanket, she will run away and not come near me again for hours. Josh doesn’t like being touched on his head which is something most cats like. I think that’s the result of the burrito method where they hold cats in a towel and pet them on their head hoping to socialize them. This is called flooding, where you cannot get away from what you are afraid of. Often cats will freeze which is mistaken for enjoyment. It’s similar to being put into a room filled with spiders if you’re fearful of spiders. Will that help you with your fear of spiders or make it much worse?
Maya, Lily, Jen, and Josh
Four cats were definitely enough to keep us busy, but then a rescuer from Brooklyn Animal Action had trapped a feral kitten, 4 to 5 months old, and asked me to socialize him. At that time, I was a relatively new feline behavior consultant and was excited to have this project to help this kitten become adoptable. The rescuer set him up in a cage in our living room on a table which we partially covered with a sheet. Looking back, I don’t recommend this setup, particularly in a busy home. A quiet place is a better spot for a scared kitten. My son named him Oscar after the character in the Office. Oscar soon became my good friend because he loved kibble so much that he would eat it from my hand. I didn’t know at the time, but there’s a very good method to socialize feral kittens and cats called Fearful to Friendly. It puts the cat in control, which is a powerful reinforcer. It’s a force-free method and is much better than the burrito. Luckily, Oscar was socialized through food, his favorite thing, and playtime. He’s still the most cautious of our cats, but he’s got a big personality.
Oscar is 4 years old now. He doesn’t meow so much as he squeaks which is so adorable. Most cats meow at people, not other cats, but Oscar is the exception. He meows at Josh regularly. From the moment Oscar saw Josh from his cage in our living room, there was a special connection. He would meow at Josh from the cage, then look at me nervously like he didn’t want me to see that. To this day, he still meows at Josh to get his attention.
Having 5 cats has taught me that they are very much individuals. They all participate in species-specific behaviors such as pretend hunting, climbing to high spots, and sleeping in tight spaces, but they all have their individual quirks that set them apart from the others. We love them so much.
Jennifer Van de Kieft is a Certified Feline Behavior Consultant residing in Brooklyn, NY. She is the owner of Cat Advocate, LLC. Jennifer helps cat guardians with behavior issues including house soiling, aggression, food insecurity, fear, anxiety, destructive behaviors, and compulsions. Working virtually, she reaches cats in homes across the United States and beyond. Her website is www.cat-advocate.com