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Post by binnylou on Dec 16, 2022 1:21:21 GMT -5
Is Little Kitty on your lap yet, gianna?
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Post by gianna on Dec 18, 2022 10:54:03 GMT -5
Is Little Kitty on your lap yet, gianna? Not yet... though there is progress. Little Lou C. is very un-trusting of hands. He gets unlimited food twice/day (dawn and dusk) so he gets hungry and associates me with the good things (food). We've progressed from lear-ily sniffing food at the end of a knife, to just this morning licking food from my fingertips. I have been keeping my hand very close to him when he eats, and he will sniff my fingers, but when I get too close and touch the ends of the fur on his head, he backs away. But immediately comes back. It's a process. He is a very sweet cat and while he initially hissed, he has not once growled nor swiped at me with his paws, nor tired to bite. I'm currently helping a friend pack and move, and will be getting a 'new' sturdy cat carrier in case I ever want to take the cat to the vet before bringing him into the house. But that is not that close yet.
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Post by breezygardener on Dec 18, 2022 13:43:53 GMT -5
You are SUCH a VERY kind soul to be doing this.
I have a serious soft spot for feral cats after trapping our "Ming the Merciless" Siamese kitten from the local dump where he was born. The dump had a male Siamese cat dumped there quite a few years ago, & over the years he fathered quite a few litters, & since obviously he mated with some of his daughters, several were born with Siamese coloring. We managed to trap one (a very interesting story in itself that I chronicled in "The Kitty Diaries") & he now rules the roost.
But it did take some acclimating. After a thorough checkup by our vet, he spent about a month in an extra-large dog crate (with mini-litter box, food bowls, etc.) until he was no longer frightened of us reaching in & touching him. Then he spent the next couple of months in the bedroom where the crate was situated, getting used to the dogs & other cats before finally having access to the rest of the house.
He's now a total lovey-dovey.
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Post by gardendmpls on Dec 18, 2022 14:05:24 GMT -5
I remember that. A beautiful little kitty. Looked like the real, "old fashioned" siamese with the round face, not the narrow one.
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Post by breezygardener on Dec 18, 2022 15:28:37 GMT -5
Looked like the real, "old fashioned" Siamese with the round face, not the narrow one. Yes!!! He's definitely what they call an "apple-head" Siamese, which to me at least are much more attractive than the purebred wedge-heads.
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Post by gianna on Dec 28, 2022 11:06:15 GMT -5
He's definitely what they call an "apple-head" Siamese, which to me at least are much more attractive than the purebred wedge-heads. I so prefer cats that look like cats, lol. Not only the wedge heads, but also Persians with mashed-in faces. No thanks, but, to each his own.
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Post by gianna on Dec 28, 2022 11:14:30 GMT -5
But it did take some acclimating. After a thorough checkup by our vet, he spent about a month in an extra-large dog crate (with mini-litter box, food bowls, etc.) until he was no longer frightened of us reaching in & touching him. Then he spent the next couple of months in the bedroom where the crate was situated, getting used to the dogs & other cats before finally having access to the rest of the house. I'm thinking/hoping this will be little kitties future, if he survives the coyotes that long. He already comes into the back bedroom briefly when I'm getting his food. And that room would be easy to keep shut with him in there. But that is still along way away. He will now allow me to pet him a stroke or two here and there, while he's eating. But he really does not like it. I don't force the issue when the weather is not good (cooler and rain) because eating well is more importnat than my petting him. When it's raining, he has taken advantage of one of the dry places I set up. Unfortunately it's where I also plug and unplug the sump-pump for rain water regulation, and my doing that disturbs him. Will build another away from the outlets later today.
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Post by gardendmpls on Dec 28, 2022 12:27:52 GMT -5
He will now allow me to pet him a stroke or two here and there, while he's eating. But he really does not like it. Took my last feral several years to allow petting, and only years later, at the end of last winter, did she finally become a lap cat. Unfortunately she was poisoned along with a lot of other neighborhood animals this past summer.
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Post by gianna on Jan 2, 2023 18:55:25 GMT -5
He is now allowing me to pet him - while he is over a bowl of canned food. Otherwise he is still shy. But that will come. If it were essential, I could now easily grasp him by the neck scruff, which he would hate. But he is so gentle - still not a paw swipe or growl. Just the initial mandatory hissing.
I think it's getting close to taking him to a vet and moving him into the back bedroom for a transition after he's been checked out. The three house cats are interested in him through the glass, but not too aggressively. But in the same room? Who knows. They are cats...
It's been raining here, but he is remaining dry, mostly. Right now he is curled up in a wire basket on a bench with a bit of fabric just outside my window under the wide eaves. Very light rain now. But when it's been heavier, I've seen him in one of the rain shelters I've set up. If necessary, he could go on the front porch which always stays dry.
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Post by breezygardener on Jan 2, 2023 22:51:04 GMT -5
You are SO patient & kind with this kitty!!! Major kudos to you for caring.
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Post by gianna on Jan 3, 2023 11:53:00 GMT -5
You are SO patient & kind with this kitty!!! Major kudos to you for caring. Thank you. There really was no other choice. He was not making it on his own, and the only other option was to trap him and take him to animal control. This morning, when I was about to feed him at the sliding door, he wandered into the back bedroom further than usual, and I closed the door behind him to see what would happen... He was alarmed and gave the pathetic kitty 'going to the vet in the car' sounds. He was not interested in fresh canned food, and after a minute or two, I let him out. He did not like it, but it is do-able, and he would get used to living inside. Once outside, he came back to eat very quickly. This bedroom is actually more of a room to keep gardening stuff, and other miscellany, apparently including stray cats. I do need to create some better kitty hiding places in there. If I had an animal crate, I'd use that. There is already a litter box in the room. Hope he knows how to use one. I think his outside time is limited.
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Post by breezygardener on Jan 3, 2023 12:12:48 GMT -5
There is already a litter box in the room. Hope he knows how to use one. It's amazing how they do know to use the litter box. "Ming the Merciless" dump kitty used it right away.
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Post by gianna on Jan 6, 2023 19:45:41 GMT -5
I'm more convinced that at one time he did live in a house, so I'm sure he'll know how to use the litter box.
One of my concerns with bringing in this stray has been fleas. Does he have them after living outside? He doesn't scratch that much. My 3 indoor kitties have never had fleas...
This evening, when Little Kitty was distracted over his wet food, after petting him a little bit, I went over his neck/scruff and a little of his back with a small flea comb. Surprisingly he did not mind. I did find one live flea and a small bit of flea debris. Not too bad. So tomorrow over morning wet food, he'll get his first back of the neck flea treatment. He does allow me to grab the scruff of his neck (not lift) without a problem when he eats, so I hope it goes well.
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Post by gianna on Jan 9, 2023 10:51:51 GMT -5
Is Little Kitty on your lap yet, gianna? Still not yet, but he is now in the house. After getting 1.5 inches of rain since midnight, he arrived at the backdoor for breakfast. He was hungry, damp and unhappy. I'd been trying to feed him just inside the backdoor for a couple of days, and today he came in further. And much to his chagrin, I closed the door behind him. I had managed to flea treat him a couple of days ago, so that's good. Not sure how I'll get him to a vet. Guess he'll just live in that back room till I can. AT first he yowled, but then has been quiet. I'll leave him alone in the back bedroom (garden supply room) for the most part, but visit now and then. I want to put a comfy chair in there so I can be in there so he'll get used to the situation. I'll be able to tell if he uses the litter box. He has food and water and places to hide and sleep. And he'll be dry and warmer. edit: I checked about an hour later, and he had eaten every morsel of food, both wet and kibble. And was in deep hiding. Good time for a nap. Still raining hard here - rate more than an inch/hour.
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Post by gianna on Jan 11, 2023 12:44:02 GMT -5
Little Kitty is surviving his indoor incarceration. He eats well, is using the litter box, but is still on the shy side. Not a surprise at all. When I come into the room, if he is 'out', he does not hide, unless I get too close. I've been able to pet him over wet food, but not as much as before. This is only his 3rd day in 'the big house', and each day is a little better. I made him a new bed this morning, complete with a dash of a little dry catnip.
Even if he eventually returns outside, at least he will have spent the rainy days inside. That's not the plan however.
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