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#1
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Happier news - Rocky update (long)
Great story Steve - you have done a neat job of settling Rocky into your
household. Lois "Steve Touchstone" wrote in message ... Well, after the sad Maya update, thought I should post something a little more upbeat. BTW, thanks for all the kind thoughts regarding Maya. I doubt that I'll ever talk to her slave - as she moved out of town - but hope the purrs and prayers got through to her anyway. The ex-feral, mostly white tom cat, who became Rocky, is continuing to make strides into becoming a proper lord of the house. The girls, especially Sammy, have decided it's not such a bad thing. Little Bit no longer runs and hides when he comes inside. She's gotten to the point where she just ignores him, at least until he tries to headbutt her, and even then she just jumps up onto the closest piece furniture and glares. Oh well, maybe in time she'll grow to like him. Sammy thinks it's great to have someone else to play with. (Yes, Rocky has caught on to the idea of play!) In the past Sammy has been deprived, at least in her opinion, having just her Mom and me to play with. After all, Sammy is just a playful 2 year old kitten, and Little Bit and I were not enough to keep her entertained. She's even decided to forgive him for taking her pink blanket with him when he went to TED for neutering. Rocky is coming inside pretty much every night now. He no longer paces in front of the sliding glass door after ten minutes, instead is quite happy to remain inside all evening. This has come about in stages. At first he would come inside and asked to be petted, then be ready to head out again. For awhile he would pace by the door, which then eased into sleeping in front of the door. After a while he just got so that he would venture farther away from the door, as long as he could keep it in sight, but not venturing into the other rooms. Now he's apt to be found anywhere in the apartment on the floor, still not sure about getting up on the furniture. I think Little Bit has him convinced that only girl kitties are allowed on the furniture. Last night he dared to stand on his hind legs with his front legs on the foot of the recliner for some petting when he saw that I was sitting with the girls. Little Bit was not happy and hissed until he got down, but didn't put up a fuss when he came around the side and reached up from there. I suspect that one day soon when Little Bit is not around to object he'll hop on up for his petting. As I said, he is learning the joys of toys. His favorite toy is still the squeaky mouse, but will even play with the previously terrifying trubo scratcher. On ocassion, so still pretty rare, he'll rough house with Sammy. Some other signs that he's coming into proper cat-hood: He's becoming a picky eater - meowmix and friskies bought for stray cats are no longer good enough. He's learned the hoomin doorman trick - stand in front of the door until the hoomin comes to open it, look through the door, turn around and go take a nap. Paper bags and boxes are fun - though he may never venture into the carriers under the table for a nap like Sammy does. He will play with Sammy when she's in a carrier, though - which I consider major stride since he used to run and hide whenever he saw a carrier. No longer hides if I throw something across the room - knows it's just Sammy and I playing fetch. He'll even race Sammy if I throw the squeaky mouse, though hasn't caught on to the idea of bringing it back. Oh well, Sammy only brings back the squeaky mouse about 25% of the time, a bottle cap is best for playing fetch, anything else is pretty much hit or miss. He has sorted out his vocabulary. He used to come up, headbutt you, rub your leg and hiss. Now he meows and purrs like a proper cat. Just as an aside, Sammy has the most proper meow, Little Bit's is a little squeaky, while Rocky is mostly a squeak. It's sort of funny, here's this big burly tom cat, who carries many scars from past fights and life on the streets, who sounds an awful lot like his favorite squeaky mouse with a little "ow" sound on the end of the squeak. He's decided that this side of the building is a safe zone. Instead of running and hiding when he sees a stranger, which he still does elsewhere, he ignores strangers and comes to headbutt his friends. He's actually the most social of the three when we're all outside and someone comes over to talk to me - almost like he's making up for all the petting he missed out on while feral. If I'm around he'll go up to anyone and give them a headbutt - if they pet him, fine, if not, well they're not worth his time, so he comes back to me for petting. Once they pet him he goes up to them whether I'm around or not. We've still got a few things to work on. He hates to be picked up. Doesn't fight or anything, just sort of goes stiff legged like the pictures you see of horses and cows being airlifted. The litterbox is still a foriegn concept. He doesn't show any interest in going anywhere in the apartment, just holds it until he goes out. He'll even go to the door, go out and do his business, and then ask to be let back inside. Just the opposite of Little Bit, who will rush inside to the litterbox, and then ask to go back ouside. Oh well, this has turned into a long enough message, and no matter how much I write as soon as I send it off I'll think of several more things which could have been included. So I'll stop for now and click send... no maybe I should talk about... no enough for now... SEND |
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So good to hear of the improvement!!!
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On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 16:47:15 -0500, Steve Touchstone
wrote: Well, after the sad Maya update, thought I should post something a little more upbeat. BTW, thanks for all the kind thoughts regarding Maya. I doubt that I'll ever talk to her slave - as she moved out of town - but hope the purrs and prayers got through to her anyway. The ex-feral, mostly white tom cat, who became Rocky, is continuing to make strides into becoming a proper lord of the house. The girls, especially Sammy, have decided it's not such a bad thing. Little Bit no longer runs and hides when he comes inside. She's gotten to the point where she just ignores him, at least until he tries to headbutt her, and even then she just jumps up onto the closest piece furniture and glares. Oh well, maybe in time she'll grow to like him. Sammy thinks it's great to have someone else to play with. (Yes, Rocky has caught on to the idea of play!) In the past Sammy has been deprived, at least in her opinion, having just her Mom and me to play with. After all, Sammy is just a playful 2 year old kitten, and Little Bit and I were not enough to keep her entertained. She's even decided to forgive him for taking her pink blanket with him when he went to TED for neutering. Rocky is coming inside pretty much every night now. He no longer paces in front of the sliding glass door after ten minutes, instead is quite happy to remain inside all evening. This has come about in stages. At first he would come inside and asked to be petted, then be ready to head out again. For awhile he would pace by the door, which then eased into sleeping in front of the door. After a while he just got so that he would venture farther away from the door, as long as he could keep it in sight, but not venturing into the other rooms. Now he's apt to be found anywhere in the apartment on the floor, still not sure about getting up on the furniture. I think Little Bit has him convinced that only girl kitties are allowed on the furniture. Last night he dared to stand on his hind legs with his front legs on the foot of the recliner for some petting when he saw that I was sitting with the girls. Little Bit was not happy and hissed until he got down, but didn't put up a fuss when he came around the side and reached up from there. I suspect that one day soon when Little Bit is not around to object he'll hop on up for his petting. As I said, he is learning the joys of toys. His favorite toy is still the squeaky mouse, but will even play with the previously terrifying trubo scratcher. On ocassion, so still pretty rare, he'll rough house with Sammy. Some other signs that he's coming into proper cat-hood: He's becoming a picky eater - meowmix and friskies bought for stray cats are no longer good enough. He's learned the hoomin doorman trick - stand in front of the door until the hoomin comes to open it, look through the door, turn around and go take a nap. Paper bags and boxes are fun - though he may never venture into the carriers under the table for a nap like Sammy does. He will play with Sammy when she's in a carrier, though - which I consider major stride since he used to run and hide whenever he saw a carrier. No longer hides if I throw something across the room - knows it's just Sammy and I playing fetch. He'll even race Sammy if I throw the squeaky mouse, though hasn't caught on to the idea of bringing it back. Oh well, Sammy only brings back the squeaky mouse about 25% of the time, a bottle cap is best for playing fetch, anything else is pretty much hit or miss. He has sorted out his vocabulary. He used to come up, headbutt you, rub your leg and hiss. Now he meows and purrs like a proper cat. Just as an aside, Sammy has the most proper meow, Little Bit's is a little squeaky, while Rocky is mostly a squeak. It's sort of funny, here's this big burly tom cat, who carries many scars from past fights and life on the streets, who sounds an awful lot like his favorite squeaky mouse with a little "ow" sound on the end of the squeak. He's decided that this side of the building is a safe zone. Instead of running and hiding when he sees a stranger, which he still does elsewhere, he ignores strangers and comes to headbutt his friends. He's actually the most social of the three when we're all outside and someone comes over to talk to me - almost like he's making up for all the petting he missed out on while feral. If I'm around he'll go up to anyone and give them a headbutt - if they pet him, fine, if not, well they're not worth his time, so he comes back to me for petting. Once they pet him he goes up to them whether I'm around or not. We've still got a few things to work on. He hates to be picked up. Doesn't fight or anything, just sort of goes stiff legged like the pictures you see of horses and cows being airlifted. The litterbox is still a foriegn concept. He doesn't show any interest in going anywhere in the apartment, just holds it until he goes out. He'll even go to the door, go out and do his business, and then ask to be let back inside. Just the opposite of Little Bit, who will rush inside to the litterbox, and then ask to go back ouside. Oh well, this has turned into a long enough message, and no matter how much I write as soon as I send it off I'll think of several more things which could have been included. So I'll stop for now and click send... no maybe I should talk about... no enough for now... SEND That was fun to read. MLB |
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On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 23:48:27 GMT, John Biltz
wrote: On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 14:47:15 -0700, Steve Touchstone wrote (in message ): Boy, he has really come along. He must have been someone's pet at one time or another. Snip my original post No, it's just seems that way since I've just been writing about him for a relatively short time. Actually, I've been feeding him for about 4 years. so he was pretty well tame before I "officially" adopted him and took him in for neutering. After I first started feeding him it was a good 6 months or more before he'd approach me while I put out the food, and a long time after that before he'd let me pet him. I was pretty much content with the way things were until the possibility came up that I might have to move. That was what finally convinced me to stop procrastinating and make him a part of the family. That's when I first starting letting him inside, although at that time it was more a strategy for catching him so that I could haul him in to TED for checkup and neutering. So his progress is misleading. He has made tremendous strides since I started writing, but when you factor in all the time I wasted by not adopting him years ago the progress hasn't been quick. When I did take him in for neutering he would come up for petting when it was feeding time, but otherwise kept his distance. Now I kick myself when I think that I wasted all that time by not adopting him long ago. I'm sure glad that I didn't follow through on my original plan when I got him neutered to give him to a lady who was looking for a barn cat ;-) Right now he's over throwing the squeaky mouse around. His play with that toy is totally different than my other cats. He lays on his back and throws it in the air, while the girls just play hockey with it and quickly become bored. |
#5
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"Steve Touchstone" wrote snip Rocky becoming lord of the house Oh well, this has turned into a long enough message, and no matter how much I write as soon as I send it off I'll think of several more things which could have been included. So I'll stop for now and click send... no maybe I should talk about... no enough for now... Oh, Steve, that was such a lovely update, I could have read pages and pages. Rocky is really coming around to pet status. Very nice. -- Marina, Frank and Nikki marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi |
#6
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What wonderful progress! I'm so very happy for both of you.
Best wishes, -- Polonca & Soncek "Steve Touchstone" wrote in message ... Well, after the sad Maya update, thought I should post something a little more upbeat. BTW, thanks for all the kind thoughts regarding Maya. I doubt that I'll ever talk to her slave - as she moved out of town - but hope the purrs and prayers got through to her anyway. The ex-feral, mostly white tom cat, who became Rocky, is continuing to make strides into becoming a proper lord of the house. snip |
#7
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In article , Steve Touchstone wrote: The ex-feral, mostly white tom cat, who became Rocky, is continuing to make strides into becoming a proper lord of the house. Great work Steve. Suz Iron Chef Macmoosette Thank Heavens There's Only One =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= =^..^= Chocolate heals all wounds. |
#8
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"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
... Well, after the sad Maya update, thought I should post something a little more upbeat. BTW, thanks for all the kind thoughts regarding Maya. I doubt that I'll ever talk to her slave - as she moved out of town - but hope the purrs and prayers got through to her anyway. The ex-feral, mostly white tom cat, who became Rocky, is continuing to make strides into becoming a proper lord of the house. snip wonderful story Many purrs for Rocky - seems he's found out what catly life is really all about. Yowie |
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