Looks like I Have Another Cat

Well, the blood has stopped spurting - I think - so perhaps I can type a
little bit before the wounds start oozing again.

The last thing I needed was a fifth cat. I had gone over to the vet's
office to arrange for some needed work on Emma, and there was a picture
of a pretty dark calico cat that needed a home. I've always liked
calicos, and it is just a few days short of two years since Calico had
to be put down. She was a tough challenge; it took one year before I
could touch her and fourteen years until I could pick her up, although
she was otherwise a wonderfully affectionate cat. Then she died three
months later.

This was apparently a wild calico who had some kittens, and they were
all trapped and taken to a shelter. I think it was Burbank or Glendale,
California, both about sixty miles away. The kittens got homes, but
this girl, very shy, attracted no interest and was scheduled to be put
down. A one-day-a-week employee of my vet found out about her, and took
her to a no-kill shelter in a nearby community, where she also works,
and there was no adoption interest if I understand things correctly. So
she took the cat to my vet's office for a couple weeks. I had not had
any reason to go in, so I wasn't aware of her.

Thus she ended up being fostered in this employee's home. I was told
she was very shy, but once she warmed up to people she was quite
affectionate and purred a lot. The receptionist claimed the same thing.
We finally were able to communicate after a few days, and the cat was
brought to me (along with a $45 bottle of wine - maybe she knew
something!) two days ago.

She has spent two days hiding under very low furniture - she's so small
that she can fit where nobody else can remotely squeeze in, to
Giovanni's chagrin. Yesterday I was able to grab her and had her in my
lap for about 10 minutes. I actually got her to purr for a while, and
she wasn't struggling at all before I let her amble off. So I was
really hopeful that this wouldn't be a long struggle.

Last night and today was mostly spent underneath the headboard of my
bed. She was calm enough to finally eat two bowls of food, and I know
she was walking around during the night.

This afternoon I thought I could make another attempt to give her some
affection, and it went pretty bad; I got rather badly mauled by a very
upset kitty. This is going to be a real challenge. She's now cowering
under the bed in another bedroom.

I think, in my brief looks at her, that she's a really pretty girl. I
hope it doesn't take a year before she accepts me.

We can't even begin to come up with a name until we can get a good look
at her.

Art

On 7/27/2013 7:21 PM, Art Shapiro wrote:

This afternoon I thought I could make another attempt to give her some
affection, and it went pretty bad; I got rather badly mauled by a very
upset kitty. This is going to be a real challenge. She's now cowering
under the bed in another bedroom.

I think, in my brief looks at her, that she's a really pretty girl. I
hope it doesn't take a year before she accepts me.

We can't even begin to come up with a name until we can get a good look
at her.

Good luck Art. I really hope it works out for you guys. I also am
taking in a 5th cat tomorrow. Your story is scaring me. LOL

A challenging cat can become a very rewarding experience. She has
baggage and you get to help her through it. Best wishes!

--
CAPSLOCK–Preventing Login Since 1980.

On Sat, 27 Jul 2013 16:21:56 -0700, Art Shapiro wrote:

Well, the blood has stopped spurting - I think - so perhaps I can type a
little bit before the wounds start oozing again.

The last thing I needed was a fifth cat. I had gone over to the vet's
office to arrange for some needed work on Emma, and there was a picture
of a pretty dark calico cat that needed a home. I've always liked
calicos, and it is just a few days short of two years since Calico had
to be put down. She was a tough challenge; it took one year before I
could touch her and fourteen years until I could pick her up, although
she was otherwise a wonderfully affectionate cat. Then she died three
months later.

This was apparently a wild calico who had some kittens, and they were
all trapped and taken to a shelter. I think it was Burbank or Glendale,
California, both about sixty miles away. The kittens got homes, but
this girl, very shy, attracted no interest and was scheduled to be put
down. A one-day-a-week employee of my vet found out about her, and took
her to a no-kill shelter in a nearby community, where she also works,
and there was no adoption interest if I understand things correctly. So
she took the cat to my vet's office for a couple weeks. I had not had
any reason to go in, so I wasn't aware of her.

Thus she ended up being fostered in this employee's home. I was told
she was very shy, but once she warmed up to people she was quite
affectionate and purred a lot. The receptionist claimed the same thing.
We finally were able to communicate after a few days, and the cat was
brought to me (along with a $45 bottle of wine - maybe she knew
something!) two days ago.

She has spent two days hiding under very low furniture - she's so small
that she can fit where nobody else can remotely squeeze in, to
Giovanni's chagrin. Yesterday I was able to grab her and had her in my
lap for about 10 minutes. I actually got her to purr for a while, and
she wasn't struggling at all before I let her amble off. So I was
really hopeful that this wouldn't be a long struggle.

Last night and today was mostly spent underneath the headboard of my
bed. She was calm enough to finally eat two bowls of food, and I know
she was walking around during the night.

This afternoon I thought I could make another attempt to give her some
affection, and it went pretty bad; I got rather badly mauled by a very
upset kitty. This is going to be a real challenge. She's now cowering
under the bed in another bedroom.

I think, in my brief looks at her, that she's a really pretty girl. I
hope it doesn't take a year before she accepts me.

We can't even begin to come up with a name until we can get a good look
at her.

Art


Dear Art" Jave you forgotten how to "court" a girl? You don't grab, you
fseduce gently. I do think you may win her over slowly and I hope it
doesn't take to long. Remember -- gentle. Best wishes. MLB

"Art Shapiro" wrote in message
...
Well, the blood has stopped spurting - I think - so perhaps I can type a
little bit before the wounds start oozing again.

The last thing I needed was a fifth cat. I had gone over to the vet's
office to arrange for some needed work on Emma, and there was a picture of
a pretty dark calico cat that needed a home. I've always liked calicos,
and it is just a few days short of two years since Calico had to be put
down. She was a tough challenge; it took one year before I could touch
her and fourteen years until I could pick her up, although she was
otherwise a wonderfully affectionate cat. Then she died three months
later.

This was apparently a wild calico who had some kittens, and they were all
trapped and taken to a shelter. I think it was Burbank or Glendale,
California, both about sixty miles away. The kittens got homes, but this
girl, very shy, attracted no interest and was scheduled to be put down. A
one-day-a-week employee of my vet found out about her, and took her to a
no-kill shelter in a nearby community, where she also works, and there was
no adoption interest if I understand things correctly. So she took the
cat to my vet's office for a couple weeks. I had not had any reason to go
in, so I wasn't aware of her.

Thus she ended up being fostered in this employee's home. I was told she
was very shy, but once she warmed up to people she was quite affectionate
and purred a lot. The receptionist claimed the same thing. We finally
were able to communicate after a few days, and the cat was brought to me
(along with a $45 bottle of wine - maybe she knew something!) two days
ago.

She has spent two days hiding under very low furniture - she's so small
that she can fit where nobody else can remotely squeeze in, to Giovanni's
chagrin. Yesterday I was able to grab her and had her in my lap for about
10 minutes. I actually got her to purr for a while, and she wasn't
struggling at all before I let her amble off. So I was really hopeful
that this wouldn't be a long struggle.

Last night and today was mostly spent underneath the headboard of my bed.
She was calm enough to finally eat two bowls of food, and I know she was
walking around during the night.

This afternoon I thought I could make another attempt to give her some
affection, and it went pretty bad; I got rather badly mauled by a very
upset kitty. This is going to be a real challenge. She's now cowering
under the bed in another bedroom.

I think, in my brief looks at her, that she's a really pretty girl. I
hope it doesn't take a year before she accepts me.

We can't even begin to come up with a name until we can get a good look at
her.

Art


I'm always pleased to hear when someone is prepared to give a shy and maybe
difficult kitty a home and stick with them. Most people want friendly
outgoing cats and the shy ones get dismissed out of hand most of the time.
Boyfie was very very shy when he arrived as a lost boy and it took me
several months to get him to enter the house and years before he was
confident with me but he has never scratched or bitten me, even when I
snatched him up for the snip.
I would definitely choose a shy cat to adopt over a confident one as I think
they need a home so much more as they've less chance of appealing to
potential adopters.

A shame you got mauled, though, maybe a little bit too much too soon for
her? Hope you soon heal.
Lots of luck with your new girl, calicos are very pretty.

Tweed

MLB wrote:

On Sat, 27 Jul 2013 16:21:56 -0700, Art Shapiro wrote:

Well, the blood has stopped spurting - I think - so perhaps I can type a
little bit before the wounds start oozing again.

The last thing I needed was a fifth cat. I had gone over to the vet's
office to arrange for some needed work on Emma, and there was a picture
of a pretty dark calico cat that needed a home. I've always liked
calicos, and it is just a few days short of two years since Calico had
to be put down. She was a tough challenge; it took one year before I
could touch her and fourteen years until I could pick her up, although
she was otherwise a wonderfully affectionate cat. Then she died three
months later.

This was apparently a wild calico who had some kittens, and they were
all trapped and taken to a shelter. I think it was Burbank or Glendale,
California, both about sixty miles away. The kittens got homes, but
this girl, very shy, attracted no interest and was scheduled to be put
down. A one-day-a-week employee of my vet found out about her, and took
her to a no-kill shelter in a nearby community, where she also works,
and there was no adoption interest if I understand things correctly. So
she took the cat to my vet's office for a couple weeks. I had not had
any reason to go in, so I wasn't aware of her.

Thus she ended up being fostered in this employee's home. I was told
she was very shy, but once she warmed up to people she was quite
affectionate and purred a lot. The receptionist claimed the same thing.
We finally were able to communicate after a few days, and the cat was
brought to me (along with a $45 bottle of wine - maybe she knew
something!) two days ago.

She has spent two days hiding under very low furniture - she's so small
that she can fit where nobody else can remotely squeeze in, to
Giovanni's chagrin. Yesterday I was able to grab her and had her in my
lap for about 10 minutes. I actually got her to purr for a while, and
she wasn't struggling at all before I let her amble off. So I was
really hopeful that this wouldn't be a long struggle.

Last night and today was mostly spent underneath the headboard of my
bed. She was calm enough to finally eat two bowls of food, and I know
she was walking around during the night.

This afternoon I thought I could make another attempt to give her some
affection, and it went pretty bad; I got rather badly mauled by a very
upset kitty. This is going to be a real challenge. She's now cowering
under the bed in another bedroom.

I think, in my brief looks at her, that she's a really pretty girl. I
hope it doesn't take a year before she accepts me.

We can't even begin to come up with a name until we can get a good look
at her.

Art


Dear Art" Jave you forgotten how to "court" a girl? You don't grab, you
fseduce gently. I do think you may win her over slowly and I hope it
doesn't take to long. Remember -- gentle. Best wishes. MLB

Well put, Marie! I was going to say something similar. Don't grab a
scared cat and try to make her sit on your lap. Just let her do what
she needs to do and allow her to come to you. That really does work
much better. Better for the integrity of your skin, too.

--
Joyce

The sun rose slowly, like a fiery furball coughed up uneasily onto a
sky-blue carpet by a giant unseen cat. -- Michael McGarel

On Sat, 27 Jul 2013 16:21:56 -0700, Art Shapiro
wrote:
She has spent two days hiding under very low furniture - she's so small
that she can fit where nobody else can remotely squeeze in, to
Giovanni's chagrin. Yesterday I was able to grab her and had her in my
lap for about 10 minutes. I actually got her to purr for a while, and
she wasn't struggling at all before I let her amble off. So I was
really hopeful that this wouldn't be a long struggle.

Last night and today was mostly spent underneath the headboard of my
bed. She was calm enough to finally eat two bowls of food, and I know
she was walking around during the night.

This afternoon I thought I could make another attempt to give her some
affection, and it went pretty bad; I got rather badly mauled by a very
upset kitty. This is going to be a real challenge. She's now cowering
under the bed in another bedroom.

This sounds slightly familiar. I think you have a very worthwhile and
ultimately rewarding challenge.

I really believe what they said at the vet, that she's a shy but
affectionate girl. I've only once had a cat acclimate instantly. Most other
times, it's happened gradually over days and weeks.

On Sat, 27 Jul 2013 16:21:56 -0700, Art Shapiro wrote:

Well, the blood has stopped spurting - I think - so perhaps I can type a
little bit before the wounds start oozing again.

The last thing I needed was a fifth cat. I had gone over to the vet's
office to arrange for some needed work on Emma, and there was a picture
of a pretty dark calico cat that needed a home. I've always liked
calicos, and it is just a few days short of two years since Calico had
to be put down. She was a tough challenge; it took one year before I
could touch her and fourteen years until I could pick her up, although
she was otherwise a wonderfully affectionate cat. Then she died three
months later.

This was apparently a wild calico who had some kittens, and they were
all trapped and taken to a shelter. I think it was Burbank or Glendale,
California, both about sixty miles away. The kittens got homes, but
this girl, very shy, attracted no interest and was scheduled to be put
down. A one-day-a-week employee of my vet found out about her, and took
her to a no-kill shelter in a nearby community, where she also works,
and there was no adoption interest if I understand things correctly. So
she took the cat to my vet's office for a couple weeks. I had not had
any reason to go in, so I wasn't aware of her.

Thus she ended up being fostered in this employee's home. I was told
she was very shy, but once she warmed up to people she was quite
affectionate and purred a lot. The receptionist claimed the same thing.
We finally were able to communicate after a few days, and the cat was
brought to me (along with a $45 bottle of wine - maybe she knew
something!) two days ago.

She has spent two days hiding under very low furniture - she's so small
that she can fit where nobody else can remotely squeeze in, to
Giovanni's chagrin. Yesterday I was able to grab her and had her in my
lap for about 10 minutes. I actually got her to purr for a while, and
she wasn't struggling at all before I let her amble off. So I was
really hopeful that this wouldn't be a long struggle.

Last night and today was mostly spent underneath the headboard of my
bed. She was calm enough to finally eat two bowls of food, and I know
she was walking around during the night.

This afternoon I thought I could make another attempt to give her some
affection, and it went pretty bad; I got rather badly mauled by a very
upset kitty. This is going to be a real challenge. She's now cowering
under the bed in another bedroom.

I think, in my brief looks at her, that she's a really pretty girl. I
hope it doesn't take a year before she accepts me.

We can't even begin to come up with a name until we can get a good look
at her.

Art

++++++++++++++++++++\
How are your wounds today? I hope you got medical help because cat deep
scratches are dangerous (from the voice of experience).Best wishes/MLB

++++++++++++++++++++\
How are your wounds today? I hope you got medical help because cat deep
scratches are dangerous (from the voice of experience).

I try to avoid doctors except as a last resort. I think we'll live.

My upper left arm is a bit swollen, but not quite enough to show off at
Muscle Beach in Venice or to audition for the title role in the next
Popeye movie. The other wounds are OK, and the area between the thumb
and forefinger where I got savagely bitten is finally getting a little
better. It's amazing how much one uses that area in daily life; even
such stupid things as twisting a doorknob or cranking my manual coffee
grinder at work were quite painful today.

She spent an absolutely traumatic Sunday and start of Monday cowering
under the sofa or deep under my desk. Today, my housekeeper got down
under the desk and reached over to give her some affection. Within a
few minutes the kitty was loudly purring! After about a half hour my
housekeeper pulled her out, held her for a few minutes, and then sat
down. The cat seemed to enjoy the affection. I took the chair and the
cat, and she stayed with me for about ten minutes without struggling
before deciding to jump down and leave.

She ended up under the desk, and meanwhile my housekeeper ran down to
PetSmart and got some sort of collar that is supposed to calm down cats,
plus a tube of something called GNC Ultra Mega Relax Premium Formula
Gel. She actually got the collar around the cat, loosely, and had the
kitty lick quite a bit of the gel. I just went down there before typing
this, and while she wasn't purring she didn't seem to mind having her
head rubbed.

I took one picture while my housekeeper was holding the cat, and it
isn't very good because the cat isn't looking up at that moment. But at
least you can see, in general, what she looks like. I'll keep this up
for a handful of weeks: http://www.ocrebels.com/VLO.jpg

So maybe we're making some progress.

Art

On 7/30/2013 12:12 AM, Art Shapiro wrote:


She ended up under the desk, and meanwhile my housekeeper ran down to
PetSmart and got some sort of collar that is supposed to calm down cats,
plus a tube of something called GNC Ultra Mega Relax Premium Formula
Gel. She actually got the collar around the cat, loosely, and had the
kitty lick quite a bit of the gel. I just went down there before typing
this, and while she wasn't purring she didn't seem to mind having her
head rubbed.

You must have one absolutely fantastic cat-knowledgable housekeeper!
Kudos to her!

I took one picture while my housekeeper was holding the cat, and it
isn't very good because the cat isn't looking up at that moment. But at
least you can see, in general, what she looks like. I'll keep this up
for a handful of weeks: http://www.ocrebels.com/VLO.jpg

So maybe we're making some progress.

Art

Progress, sure. But unless you spend time with her it seems to me
she'll bond more with your housekeeper.

Jill

On Tue, 30 Jul 2013 00:47:52 -0400, jmcquown wrote:

On 7/30/2013 12:12 AM, Art Shapiro wrote:


She ended up under the desk, and meanwhile my housekeeper ran down to
PetSmart and got some sort of collar that is supposed to calm down
cats,
plus a tube of something called GNC Ultra Mega Relax Premium Formula
Gel. She actually got the collar around the cat, loosely, and had the
kitty lick quite a bit of the gel. I just went down there before
typing this, and while she wasn't purring she didn't seem to mind
having her head rubbed.

You must have one absolutely fantastic cat-knowledgable housekeeper!
Kudos to her!

I took one picture while my housekeeper was holding the cat, and it
isn't very good because the cat isn't looking up at that moment. But
at least you can see, in general, what she looks like. I'll keep this
up for a handful of weeks: http://www.ocrebels.com/VLO.jpg

So maybe we're making some progress.

Art

Progress, sure. But unless you spend time with her it seems to me
she'll bond more with your housekeeper.

Jill


Her coloring and face are beautiful. Watch those scratches especially
the one that is swollen -- does it feel hot? If so, see your doctor
whether you like it or not. (Again: voice of experience). Best
wishes. MLB