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A new member of our clowder
I've already announced this in RPCC and on Usenet, but those of you who
don't read there won't have heard yet. We have added another kitty to our clowder. When we first moved in to our house in Kansas City we noticed a bunch of cats in the area. We started setting out food for them, and when the weather got cold we built them some insulated shelters. In mid-February of 2019 one of the kitties passed away. We thought that he might have a human caring for him, so we asked around. We learned that the people who lived in the house before us had cats, and when they moved they just tossed them out. Observation and interaction has shown that they discarded at least 6 cats, maybe more. Some of the cats socialized faster than others. The first 2 cats to get comfortable enough to let me pet them were a smallish black longhair that I named Midnight, and a BEAUTIFUL tortie with fur as soft was Cleopatra's used to be, that I named Misty. We got them both into KC Pet Project and both were adopted very quickly. The next pair we worked on were a striped grey tabby and a beautiful buff-colored cat. The grey guy, who Nancy named Sarge for his stripes, didn't and doesn't come along all that often. We took him to the shelter and got him vaccinated and neutered and released him again in our garage. Even though he let us pet him he was still way to wild to be an indoor cat. Beside, Ranger absolutely hates him! When Ranger sees Sarge out on the front porch he goes ape****! Hissing, screaming, swatting at the glass - totally wild. The buff cat, though, was the most timid of the bunch. He initially wouldn't allow us to get closer than 20 or 30 feet. Since we didn't interact with him much I just called him Buff Cat. He did slowly come around, letting us get closed. He finally allowed me to pet him briefly while he was eating, then got comfortable enough that he came up to me demanding petting before he would let me put his food down. When I went back into the house he would try to follow me in. I named him Fred. A couple weeks ago we decided that Fred needed to be an indoor cat, so we took him to the shelter where we volunteer. He got fixed and vaxxed and put in the adoption area, but he really hated being in the adoption kennel. A week ago Nancy and I went and adopted him. He has spent the last week in Nancy's sewing room, letting him decompress and get used to the sounds and smells of the house and the other cats. I expect that in another week or so we'll be able to open up the sewing room and just put a baby gate across the door, to let Fred and the other cats see each other. Fred's photo is at http://www.catfolks.net/FredSitting-29Jan2020.jpg Two of the abandoned cats have passed away. I already mentioned the handsome orange guy we found dead in the garage. When I was raking some leaves from the north side of the house (where I never go unless I'm raking leaves) I found the remains (bone and some fur) of another cat. I don't I ever saw this kitty while it was alive. The last remaining cat I have been calling Lucky. He (or she) us a beautiful solid white cat with a solid black tail. Unfortunately he's even more skittish that Fred was. I've seen him only 3 times - once from across the street as he was running away from our garage, once as he dashed under the garage door when I went out to put down cat food, and once through the window in the front door as he walked across our yard. He didn't appear to be overly skinny, but I worry that being so timid will result in him getting beat up by more alpha cats. |
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A new member of our clowder
On 2/6/2020 9:06 AM, Mahoney,Dan wrote:
I've already announced this in RPCC and on Usenet, but those of you who don't read there won't have heard yet. We have added another kitty to our clowder. When we first moved in to our house in Kansas City we noticed a bunch of cats in the area. We started setting out food for them, and when the weather got cold we built them some insulated shelters. In mid-February of 2019 one of the kitties passed away. We thought that he might have a human caring for him, so we asked around. We learned that the people who lived in the house before us had cats, and when they moved they just tossed them out. Observation and interaction has shown that they discarded at least 6 cats, maybe more. That makes me really angry! Some of the cats socialized faster than others. The first 2 cats to get comfortable enough to let me pet them were a smallish black longhair that I named Midnight, and a BEAUTIFUL tortie with fur as soft was Cleopatra's used to be, that I named Misty. We got them both into KC Pet Project and both were adopted very quickly. Excellent! The next pair we worked on were a striped grey tabby and a beautiful buff-colored cat. The grey guy, who Nancy named Sarge for his stripes, didn't and doesn't come along all that often. We took him to the shelter and got him vaccinated and neutered and released him again in our garage. Even though he let us pet him he was still way to wild to be an indoor cat. Beside, Ranger absolutely hates him! When Ranger sees Sarge out on the front porch he goes ape****! Hissing, screaming, swatting at the glass - totally wild. I've learned here over the years (and from Persia and subsequently Buffy) not all cats get along. Sometimes they have an instinctive "NO! I don't like that cat!" reaction. Buffy was adopted from a house whose owners died. She was constantly bullied by what I was told was a Tonkinese male named Frankie. I saw him. Gorgeous cat! But he wouldn't let her get to her food. She couldn't come out and play. I'm told she pretty much just hid. Sometimes she got on her meowmie's lap. But then her adopted mother died. When I came in to adopt her, the friend had to put Frankie in the sunroom just so I could say hello to Buffy. She was hiding on the chair. Frankie was swatting and trying to get my attention. The caregiver pointed out a mess Frankie had made knocking stuff off the kitchen counter. Frankie didn't like Buffy. Buffy was terrified of Frankie. I can't tell you how relieved Buffy was when she realized, a couple of days later, there wasn't a bully cat in her new home. This is all yours, sweetie. Persia (RB) used to freak out if she even saw another cat on the patio. No way would she have allowed another one into her house. Like Ranger, hissing, spitting, yowling. Persia once crashed through a sliding screen door to get at another cat on the patio back in TN. I installed a baby gate at the slider so she couldn't do that again. The buff cat, though, was the most timid of the bunch. He initially wouldn't allow us to get closer than 20 or 30 feet. Since we didn't interact with him much I just called him Buff Cat. He did slowly come around, letting us get closed. He finally allowed me to pet him briefly while he was eating, then got comfortable enough that he came up to me demanding petting before he would let me put his food down. When I went back into the house he would try to follow me in. I named him Fred. Hi Fred! A couple weeks ago we decided that Fred needed to be an indoor cat, so we took him to the shelter where we volunteer. He got fixed and vaxxed and put in the adoption area, but he really hated being in the adoption kennel. A week ago Nancy and I went and adopted him. He has spent the last week in Nancy's sewing room, letting him decompress and get used to the sounds and smells of the house and the other cats. Best of luck with the introductions. I expect that in another week or so we'll be able to open up the sewing room and just put a baby gate across the door, to let Fred and the other cats see each other. Fred's photo is at http://www.catfolks.net/FredSitting-29Jan2020.jpg Sweet! Two of the abandoned cats have passed away. I already mentioned the handsome orange guy we found dead in the garage. When I was raking some leaves from the north side of the house (where I never go unless I'm raking leaves) I found the remains (bone and some fur) of another cat. I don't I ever saw this kitty while it was alive. I'm sorry. Unfortunately, you can't save them all. The last remaining cat I have been calling Lucky. He (or she) us a beautiful solid white cat with a solid black tail. Unfortunately he's even more skittish that Fred was. I've seen him only 3 times - once from across the street as he was running away from our garage, once as he dashed under the garage door when I went out to put down cat food, and once through the window in the front door as he walked across our yard. He didn't appear to be overly skinny, but I worry that being so timid will result in him getting beat up by more alpha cats. Wow. Well you certainly have taken on the job of caring for the abandoned and ferals in your area! I'm happy to hear you adopted a new one and are taking care with the introductions. Kudos! Jill |
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