I'm gobsmacked. This beautiful, seven-month old kitten practically tamed himself.

[femmedem]

First, the backstory: In early June, I caught three littermates and brought them to Friends of Feral Felines to be socialized, immunized and adopted. After several months, one of the boys was neutered and returned to me as untameable. I figured he could join my little colony of community cats, but he became friendlier and friendlier, and one day he followed me inside. Now he's a lovebug who likes to knead the covers while he licks my hand.

But I wasn't able to catch the fourth littermate--a gorgeous Siamese/tabby mix--until this past Saturday. I dropped him off to be neutered and picked him up yesterday morning. I wasn't sure if I should release him outside or isolate him in the bathroom and try to tame him. I ended up isolating him because I figured that although the odds of taming a 7-month-old feral cat were slim, it would be my only chance. After two hours of sitting with him quietly, I was able to pet him. When he started to purr, I almost cried.

Less than 24 hours later, here he is.

Now I've got to come up with a name.

(His stray mom is spayed now and has a potential adopter.)

[lark]

1. Aww, what a sweetie!

He's lucky you found him!

[femmedem]

3. I don't know who is luckier, him or me.

I never thought this story would have such a happy ending.

[cannabis_flower]

38. Maybe you should name him

Lucky

[HeartsCanHope]

57. Looks so much like my Osiris, Osie for short!

Sounds like your baby will an absolute love bug like my Osie. Good luck to you both. Take care.
Edited to add : Osie's mom was Siamese, and his dad was an orange tabby. The coloring is almost identical!

[2naSalit]

2. What good fortune!

He looks like his name might be "Nelson" but that's just a first impression.

[femmedem]

6. I could see him as a Nelson.

He was the shyest kitten in the litter, so I never would have predicted he'd take to humans this quickly. It must have helped that I fed him for months without doing anything scary and that he saw other cats trust me.

[2naSalit]

10. He looks...

Very intelligent and beautiful.

[SheltieLover]

4. He is gorgeous!

And you must be a cat whisperer.

Great job!

[femmedem]

7. I've decided taming ferals is my superpower.

[AltairIV]

5. He is beautiful.

Cats often sense who it is safe to place their trust in. Your patience, and obvious loving nature is a true gift! I look forward to future updates.

[femmedem]

9. Thanks for your kind words!

I'm sure this won't be the last photo I share of him.

[riversedge]

8. I love his coloring.

[femmedem]

11. I had never seen a cat with his coloring before!

His mom was a tabby, and I think his father must have been an orange/Siamese mix that I've seen a few times.

[catchnrelease]

40. His coloring

I've always heard this color referred to as Lynxpoint Siamese. Definitely a mix of Siamese and tabby. I've had a couple like this over the years, it's one of my favorite patterns. Congrats on your success in taming down this guy!

[3catwoman3]

42. I agree about the lynx point pattern.

And that silvery gray would be blue point coloring in standard Siamese designation.

[niyad]

12. What a gorgeous little boy, and what wonderful news. Give him a day

or two and he will tell you his name.

[femmedem]

14. I think you're right about the name.

Although it took us forever to name one of our cats: we just called her gray girl for months, until we realized that gray girl translates to Gigi.

[femmedem]

13. Here's what he looked like a few months ago--a beautiful apparition in our yard.

[niyad]

15. Gandalf the Grey?

[femmedem]

16. Oh! Nice! n/t

[niyad]

17. Dal (doll) for short?

[Walleye]

18. What a beautiful little kitty. I read a book about the domestication of cats

The conclusion was that they sort of domesticated themselves

[femmedem]

19. I believe it, based on this guy and his brother!

I'd love to know the book's title.

[Walleye]

22. Can't remember the title, but it was hard to read and very technical. Still, the conclusion was clear.

[femmedem]

23. Thanks for sharing the conclusion and steerig me away from the book.

It doesn't sound like an enjoyable read.

[Bayard]

20. What a handsome little boy!

What about Chance as a name, since you took a chance on saving him?

[femmedem]

26. What a great name for him!

I'll have to run that by Mr. Femmedem!

[EverHopeful]

31. We had a cat named Chance

He was a foster we'd found a home for and his new Dad named him Chance because he was taking a chance on him.

Unfortunately (or as I saw it, fortunately for us) his new Dad's Mom got very ill and he needed to travel out west often to look after her so Chance came back to us. I was glad his Mom eventually recovered but more glad that Chance ended up with us as his furever home.

[femmedem]

37. Sometimes foster fails are the best successes!

[littlemissmartypants]

21. He's So Beautiful!! ❤️😸

[femmedem]

28. Yeah, breathtakingly so, inside and out.

His brother is a tuxedo cat with an unusual white streak along one flank, like a slender bolt of lightning.

[Prairie_Seagull]

24. Admittedly it does not take much these days.

That is not to say that your story 'isn't much' but stories like this give me hope that our kind is not completely fucked.

If you don't mine me saying, Well done femmedem.



PS, I am much more of a K9 dude.

[femmedem]

27. I love dogs, too.

I grew up in a house full of Basset Hounds and Brittany Spaniels. But dogs would have been tougher for us to care for in our small urban house, at least until I retired. By then, we'd taken in some neighborhood stray cats and weren't sure how everyone would get along.

And I'm really glad this story could give you some hope.

[k55f5r]

25. He looks just like Cisco,

A kitten that the neighbor left behind when she moved as she couldn't catch him to take a long.
We caught him and kept him.
He was a great cat and excellent mouser.
🎶Cisco cat was a friend of mine 🎶

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

33. Aww dang it

Knee-jerk filk reaction. (Filk = science fiction / fantasy folk music.)

?si=Ajhq_pGxMBx5tqBT

[k55f5r]

34. Not bad

Most filk is cringe -worthy but this was pretty good.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

43. Havent heard the right filk

Leslie Fish and Heather Alexander come to mind.

[k55f5r]

48. I loves me some Heather Alexander.

I never liked bagpipes much until I heard her.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

52. Did you know?

Heather was transgender? He now tours as Alexander James Adams after he turned into a lovely baritone.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_James_Adams

[TommieMommy]

29. What a gorgeous little boy, so very precious 💙💙

[3catwoman3]

30. "Purrcival" to honor the quick appearance of his purr.

The right name will come to you.

I look forward to many more photos and reports about him.

[femmedem]

35. Ooooh. Mr. Femmedem and I both appreciate a good pun.

[lastlib]

41. I was thinking "Purrseus"...... n/t

[femmedem]

49. I love it! n/t

[lastlib]

59. Have you named him yet?

Maybe his DU fans should start a name sweepstakes?

[femmedem]

60. No name yet. His personality is still emerging.

I don't know if it's because I moved him from the bathroom to the bedroom or because he's completely healed from being neutered, but he's become much more playful but less affectionate. He never tires of interactive toys like the feather wand, but he hasn't purred or let me pet him since that first day. We're still making progress--if I stretch my hand out towards him, he stretches his paw out to touch me--but he jumps if I touch his head or back.

He's still a miracle boy, though. It's incredible that he sleeps on the bed and will jump all over me if I've got the feather wand, considering how old he is and how little interaction he's had with humans. I believe that if I put the time in, he'll end up a love bug like his brother.

[Capt. America]

32. He is so beautiful!

Hence, you could call him Beau(x).

[femmedem]

36. Oh wow, another great name.

The fosterer named his brother Boo, so they would be Boo and Beau.

[uppityperson]

39. He's beautiful, my love bug is also a lynx point

Purrrrrr

[alittlelark]

44. Silver - I had a feral named Silver that became domesticated

Your baby looks very similar - I think Silver is a good name……

[femmedem]

45. A good name indeed!

Was your Silver an adult when he became domesticated?

We have a little drama here this afternoon: I let He Who Has Yet To Be Named out of the bathroom too early, and my oldest boy chased him into the bedroom, where he is currently hiding. My oldest accepted Boo so easily that I didn't anticipate this.

[alittlelark]

46. He was about a year old in a feral colony I TnRed back in CA

After I got him fixed and in the spare bathroom he stopped hiding and hissing. They were generally only in there for a few days - I kept him a week+ in the bathroom and he started coming to me. He was an amazingly smart and maternal male.

[femmedem]

47. Wow!

That's an amazing turnaround for a year-old, truly feral cat.

[alittlelark]

53. My guess is he was a runaway behaving as a true feral

He almost certainly had even around people at a younger time. Males that are intact often ‘go wild’ about 5-7 months old.

[Duppers]

50. He looks exactly like our "Silver"!!

He was the smartest Kitty we ever had.

[femmedem]

51. Two DUers with lynx point Siamese cats named Silver!

The odds of that must be as small as the odds of this guy becoming so loving, so quickly, after his feral beginnings.

[Duppers]

55. They're special kitties in every way!

https://www.thesprucepets.com/lynx-point-siamese-cat-breed-profile-5324970

[femmedem]

56. That's him exactly!

He loves, loves, loves his feather wand toy.

[CousinIT]

54. Awww. Beautiful baby!

You both are so lucky!

[RandomNumbers]

58. What a sweetie! Thank you for saving him.

He looks like a Myst to me. (Nothing to do with the old game, just that "Misty" would be for a female , and that coat makes me think of mist rolling off a lake in the morning. )

You have lots of great suggestions for names here. I'm sure you'll pick the purrfect one!