[FEL-L] moving cats from one place to another

[Lynn Culver]

There are two large enclosures of equal size and they share a common wall. 

Inside each enclosure are resident cats.

There is a passageway that connects one cage to the next. It is a small slide gate the cats can fit through.

As a keeper wishing to move a cat from one side of the enclosure to the other, you have two choices: 

You can open the gate and get behind the cat and bang some pots and pans to frighten the animal and make it run around inside the enclosure until you have it so frightened and worked up it runs through the gate to get away from you. 

You have succeeded, but your forceful and impatient approach has damaged the trust between you and the cat. 

or

You can stand on the other side of the gate and entice the animal through the small opening by showing him how nice it is on the other side. 

You have to remove any fears the cat may have and give it the motivation and the opportunity to walk through the open gate into the other room. 

That means you have to leave the gate open, sometimes for a long time, and wait for the cat to get over his apprehension and investigate what is over there. Each cat is different.

If the cat decides it is not going to be hurt by entering the other room, usually it will eventually decide to take a chance and experience what the other enclosure has to offer. 

At that point you have accomplished your goal and maintained the trust and relationship between the cat and yourself. 

Whereas if the cat is forced through the opening by an impatient and over-bearing keeper, while it may be in the other enclosure, it will resent the keeper and may not settle in and appreciate its new space.

I think of the declaw issue in this way.  

I hope that those who have successfully maintained cats of any species without removing their claws can share their experiences and knowledge and act as roll models to help encourage new keepers (cats) to cross through the slide gate and experience the other room. 

Its nice in there and many have found it to not be so scary or dangerous as we first assumed it would be.

Lynn
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