Dear Faith,

I volunteer for a shelter near my home, primarily by fostering kittens and cats in need of home care. I currently have two “wild ones” — kittens who were rescued from a dumpster by an observant truck driver. With no history on the kittens and judging by their hissing behavior, we are guessing that they had no human contact before being rescued. They were weaned when they were found and I’ve had them about two weeks. How can I help them to develop trust in humans so they can be adoptable?

~ Surrogate mom

Dear Surrogate,

You’ll need to set the kittens up in their own cozy, protected space and then provide them with a trusted routine and the ability to make choices. All animals, even humans, need to feel that they have choices in their actions and surroundings. Next, I recommend doing the following three times a day:

→ Enter the kittens’ room and sit down. Position your body sideways to them and avoid staring at them directly, so they don’t feel threatened.

→ Speaking softly, offer each kitten a treat, such as a dab of baby food on the end of a spoon or wand. (Make sure the baby food doesn’t contain onion or garlic.) Bring the baby food in and out of the room with you. You want the kittens to associate your presence with positive things, so don’t leave the food in the room.

→ As the kittens relax in your presence, which could take a week or two, you can move closer to them when presenting the baby food. Start offering the baby food on the tip of your finger.

The purpose of these steps is to instill enough trust and confidence in the kittens that they will eventually approach you to get their treats. When they do, if their body language isn’t stiff and wary, reach out sideways (not from above, which they could perceive as threatening) and softly touch them while they are partaking of the baby food.

If the kittens are really shy, move your hand very slowly and use the back of your hand to gently pet their sides. Proceed at the kittens’ pace, letting them decide when they’ve had enough contact. Your eventual goal is to get them to enjoy being petted and perhaps even love sitting in your lap.