Therapeutic Characteristics of Feral Cats

If introduced to a kitten born in a feral colony to nurture, children who have suffered from abuse might learn compassion, rather than entitlement, and how to develop a more healthy attachment style, despite how their parents exposed them to trauma. After all, most animals are better than some people, right? 

Most survivors of abuse suffer from anxiety and depression. Science has proved that animals alleviate those symptoms. Pulse rates and blood pressure are lowered by a pet's companionship. Those who suffer from PTSD most definitely benefit from a pet's companionship.

For the first 8 years of my childhood, I lived in the small town of Kanopolis, Kansas. The 70s styled single wide trailer home we lived in was surrounded by farms--cows in the fields, across a dirt road, and wheat fields were our kitchen view. Highway 40 could be seen from my grandma's front porch. 

What do you think would come running out of those golden fields during harvest time, when the combines could be heard in the early mornings? MICE! But we had a secret weapon...feral cats. Well, my mom thought we did, but her darling redheaded daughter (me) preoccupied herself with befriending those 10+ kittens born within that colony who had made their home underneath our home. 

What are the characteristics of feral kittens that could be therapeutic? I have first-hand knowledge of those characteristics because I used to tame them as a kid. Or, perhaps they unknowingly tamed me.

Common Characteristics of Feral Cats: 

1. Sometimes people use the word "stray" interchangeably with "feral," but a stray cat is one that has been socialized with people and has lost its indoor home. Feral cats have spent their entire lives outdoors, usually in colonies, with little to no interactions with people. 
2. They are what Jackson Galaxy (a/k.a. "Cat Daddy") would consider "bush dwellers." They tuck their tails and hide from people, but a stray cat will most likely walk with its tail up, just like a typical housecat. 
3.  They are unfamiliar with household sounds and won't react to them the way a stray cat will react. Certain sounds like a can of food being opened or the crumple of a bag of food won't compel a feral cat to react the same way a stray cat will react. 
4. Feral cats will not meow, purr, or make eye contact, but stray cats will usually make eye contact and blink.  

With these characteristics in mind, why would I suggest allowing young children who have been exposed to traumatic events to care for a kitten born from these unfriendly and anti-social cat colonies? 

• Children learn to put another living thing's needs above their own, which not only teaches empathy but also gives them the building blocks of healthy interpersonal dependency 
• Kiddos learn how to be gentle and soft-spoken around felines, which are qualities all human beings should adopt when interacting and socializing with other people. This also helps them to modify and regulate their own behaviors based on the kitten's reactions to their behaviors. 
• Feral kittens can teach children empathy, as they learn through trial and error how to keep a kitten happy and how to share their space. 
• They help teach children boundaries. Cats want affection when they want affection, and if they're not in the mood for pets and snuggles, they will certainly let their humans know.

Many prisons have adopted the unique idea of allowing prisoners to be foster parents to cats, and the results have proven that cats have a huge impact on inmates, just as the inmates have on the cats. Correctional officers have even benefitted from the bonds they have made with community cats. 

If abused children are given the opportunity to bond with feral kittens, perhaps the emotional support they need will prevent them from seeing the inside of a jail cell, preventing the overcrowding of our prison system.