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#1
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Paranoid feral female
A feral female cat has been here for three years and four months.
Still not touchable, but light years better than the first hour or two of window gymnastics after being trapped inside. When she knows some delicious food is on the way, she is able to let loose a tiny little meow or two. I recently added another carpeted and upholstered eight-foot 1x4 in a different location, to give them another route up to their Skyway. It has been there for almost one week. She hangs around the area at the base of that new climbing post when playing with Kitty, but she is unable to climb up the thing. Probably within two weeks from now she will be able to climb it (their main perch/platform is right at the top of the new climbing post). Any change in her environment requires much time to adjustment. The male cat Kitty climbed up the thing within minutes after it was put into position. I think she knows what it is for, but like so many other things she is just unable to act. Very similar to a person being unable to move when he (or she) is frightened. They might want or need to do something, but they just cannot do it. Must be a form of hell in that little mind of hers. -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210@N04/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210 N04/ |
#2
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Paranoid feral female
"John Doe" wrote in message b.com... A feral female cat has been here for three years and four months. Still not touchable, but light years better than the first hour or two of window gymnastics after being trapped inside. When she knows some delicious food is on the way, she is able to let loose a tiny little meow or two. I recently added another carpeted and upholstered eight-foot 1x4 in a different location, to give them another route up to their Skyway. It has been there for almost one week. She hangs around the area at the base of that new climbing post when playing with Kitty, but she is unable to climb up the thing. Probably within two weeks from now she will be able to climb it (their main perch/platform is right at the top of the new climbing post). Any change in her environment requires much time to adjustment. The male cat Kitty climbed up the thing within minutes after it was put into position. I think she knows what it is for, but like so many other things she is just unable to act. Very similar to a person being unable to move when he (or she) is frightened. They might want or need to do something, but they just cannot do it. Must be a form of hell in that little mind of hers. Not necessarily. Hell is when you experience something that is against what you have always known. When all you know is paranoia, fear and fight or flight, that is the norm. With cats as it is with people it really is true that nobody actually suffers from mental illness. They usually enjoy every minute of it. Hell is what you make it, as is reality and normality. A feral cat is what nature meant it to be and really. It is pure, complete and perfect in the evolutionary sense. The only hell they know is the comfort we try to give them. What is a soft bed when the tradeoff is it has no freedom to roam at will and stalk and kill its next meal? What is the point of a long and comfortable life when nature has programmed you to live and act in the moment? What is a bowl of food, however tasty, when nature designed you to kill for what you need to survive? It would be like being given the most powerful jet fighter aircraft and being told you could sit in it but never fly it. What a paradox, eh? Nobody has ever explained how or why some cats decided long ago that the comforts to be had with humans is superior in their view to the freedom of the wild. That is the conundrum that killed my little girl cat. She simply could not leave the wild behind even when her very life was at stake. Paul |
#3
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Paranoid feral female
On Thu, 4 Nov 2010 05:25:48 -0700, "Paul M. Cook"
wrote: "John Doe" wrote in message eb.com... A feral female cat has been here for three years and four months. Still not touchable, but light years better than the first hour or two of window gymnastics after being trapped inside. When she knows some delicious food is on the way, she is able to let loose a tiny little meow or two. I recently added another carpeted and upholstered eight-foot 1x4 in a different location, to give them another route up to their Skyway. It has been there for almost one week. She hangs around the area at the base of that new climbing post when playing with Kitty, but she is unable to climb up the thing. Probably within two weeks from now she will be able to climb it (their main perch/platform is right at the top of the new climbing post). Any change in her environment requires much time to adjustment. The male cat Kitty climbed up the thing within minutes after it was put into position. I think she knows what it is for, but like so many other things she is just unable to act. Very similar to a person being unable to move when he (or she) is frightened. They might want or need to do something, but they just cannot do it. Must be a form of hell in that little mind of hers. Not necessarily. Hell is when you experience something that is against what you have always known. When all you know is paranoia, fear and fight or flight, that is the norm. With cats as it is with people it really is true that nobody actually suffers from mental illness. They usually enjoy every minute of it. Hell is what you make it, as is reality and normality. A feral cat is what nature meant it to be and really. It is pure, complete and perfect in the evolutionary sense. The only hell they know is the comfort we try to give them. What is a soft bed when the tradeoff is it has no freedom to roam at will and stalk and kill its next meal? What is the point of a long and comfortable life when nature has programmed you to live and act in the moment? What is a bowl of food, however tasty, when nature designed you to kill for what you need to survive? It would be like being given the most powerful jet fighter aircraft and being told you could sit in it but never fly it. What a paradox, eh? Nobody has ever explained how or why some cats decided long ago that the comforts to be had with humans is superior in their view to the freedom of the wild. That is the conundrum that killed my little girl cat. She simply could not leave the wild behind even when her very life was at stake. Paul True to an extent, but kittens that are socialized before 8 weeks of age often make excellent pets. Socialization after that can lead to a cat that will trust the one human doing the socialization but no one else. Cats that are not socialized by that time or are just truly feral will never be comforable inside and probably should be left outside. I just did TNR on eight outdoor cats in my neighborhood. Three are very friendly and are likely adoptable. In fact, one probably has a home with one of my neighbors and I just might take in another. Three are ok around people and you can even pet them while they eat but will never really be comfortable inside. The other two are so feral that they hid in the back of the trap and hissed whenever I came near, even to feed them and clean the trap. We've set up styrofoam homes for the winter for the outdoor cats, they get fed, and actually have a damn good life. If any of them gets injured or looks sick we'll try to trap them and get them vet care. Healthy outdoor cats do not really get diseases or fleas. Three of the cats had diarrhea while in the traps and I had them tested for ova and parasites and all were clean so it was likely just stress. A woman who helped me with the TNR (she's a pro) has eight kittens in her bathroom. I'm going over on Saturday to help her with socializing them, so that they are comfortable around people and can be adopted. Besides, who could turn down a chance to play with eight kittens? |
#4
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Paranoid feral female
"dgk" wrote
else. Cats that are not socialized by that time or are just truly feral will never be comforable inside and probably should be left outside. Interesting POV but not one I have experienced with my current or past ferals. |
#5
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Paranoid feral female
"cshenk" wrote in message ... "dgk" wrote else. Cats that are not socialized by that time or are just truly feral will never be comforable inside and probably should be left outside. Interesting POV but not one I have experienced with my current or past ferals. All you need to tame a feral cat, male or female, is food. If you feed it regularly, it will eventually come inside your house, and live with you. You can speed up the process by trapping it inside your house, but if that is impractical, then you don't have to do it....It will just take a bit more time. Feral cats, in most places, spend a great percentage of their time trying to find enough food to keep from starving to death. And, like all cats, they know a good thing when they find it. |
#6
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Paranoid feral female
On Fri, 5 Nov 2010 15:31:02 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote: "cshenk" wrote in message m... "dgk" wrote else. Cats that are not socialized by that time or are just truly feral will never be comforable inside and probably should be left outside. Interesting POV but not one I have experienced with my current or past ferals. All you need to tame a feral cat, male or female, is food. If you feed it regularly, it will eventually come inside your house, and live with you. You can speed up the process by trapping it inside your house, but if that is impractical, then you don't have to do it....It will just take a bit more time. Feral cats, in most places, spend a great percentage of their time trying to find enough food to keep from starving to death. And, like all cats, they know a good thing when they find it. That's certainly true. Scooter joined us within the last year and still has OUT priviliges - he runs out when I open the door to feed the outside cats and stays out for a few minutes then comes back in. He's no dope. On a nice day he might wander off and I have to leave for work so he comes in when I get home, but those times are getting rare. The socializing of the kittens did not go too well. Debbie has them in a tiny bathroom (maybe 5 feet by 6 feet! including a tub) and they all cowered in or behind the two carriers. I could pet them but they wouldn't come out to play. They're already five or six months old. Most of the local adoption agencies will only take cats that are socialized. I have no idea what Debby will do with them but she is almost assuredly a "crazy cat lady". She already has five cats in a two room apartment and the seven kittens in the bathroom. She had eight but one died a while back. I'll go over to try to play with them again in a few days and hopefully it will go a bit better. |
#7
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Paranoid feral female
On Fri, 5 Nov 2010 17:02:42 -0400, "cshenk" wrote:
"dgk" wrote else. Cats that are not socialized by that time or are just truly feral will never be comforable inside and probably should be left outside. Interesting POV but not one I have experienced with my current or past ferals. They're all different of course. Four of the young cats that were in the TNR were from the same litter, hanging out in a neighbor's backyard. Two of those were touchable and two were the true ferals. They haven't been treated any differently, just getting fed by the neighbors and essentially being on their own. There was a litter of four in front of my house and we started socializing them (much to their feral mother's horror) within two weeks. We'd pick them up and hold them almost daily. One ended up getting run over by a car but the other three all have homes now. I doubt that would be the case if no one had made sure that they knew that people could be trusted. |
#8
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Paranoid feral female
"Paul M. Cook" pmcook gte.net wrote:
"John Doe" jdoe usenetlove.invalid wrote A feral female cat has been here for three years and four months. Still not touchable, but light years better than the first hour or two of window gymnastics after being trapped inside. When she knows some delicious food is on the way, she is able to let loose a tiny little meow or two. I recently added another carpeted and upholstered eight-foot 1x4 in a different location, to give them another route up to their Skyway. It has been there for almost one week. She hangs around the area at the base of that new climbing post when playing with Kitty, but she is unable to climb up the thing. Probably within two weeks from now she will be able to climb it (their main perch/platform is right at the top of the new climbing post). Any change in her environment requires much time to adjustment. The male cat Kitty climbed up the thing within minutes after it was put into position. I think she knows what it is for, but like so many other things she is just unable to act. Very similar to a person being unable to move when he (or she) is frightened. They might want or need to do something, but they just cannot do it. Must be a form of hell in that little mind of hers. Not necessarily. Hell is when you experience something that is against what you have always known. When all you know is paranoia, fear and fight or flight, that is the norm. With cats as it is with people it really is true that nobody actually suffers from mental illness. Says who? A wacky Libertarian? They usually enjoy every minute of it. Cruel bull****. There is a difference between coping and enjoying. An animal that is suffering from serious mental illness is coping with the situation. Hell is what you make it, Or maybe what you make it. as is reality and normality. A feral cat is what nature meant it to be and really. Mine is not just feral, she is/was totally terrified of human beings (and anything she is not familiar with). It is pure, complete and perfect in the evolutionary sense. The only hell they know is the comfort we try to give them. Or maybe you just suck at it. My "pure, complete, and perfect" feral female was so hungry that she came into my house for food, even though she was in fact literally terrified while doing so. What is a soft bed when the tradeoff is it has no freedom to roam at will and stalk and kill its next meal? Whatever cats prefer in your ****ed up fantasies, obviously mine preferred FancyFeast. What is the point of a long and comfortable life Not sure about the long part, but I know for a fact that the comfortable part is very nice. Nobody has ever explained how or why some cats decided long ago that the comforts to be had with humans is superior in their view to the freedom of the wild. More wordy babbling... Cats are not in a natural environment when they are outside in the city. I enjoy street skating because I understand what is going on around me. Cats are unable to comprehend or cope in the same environment. Many urban cats have short miserable lives. That is the conundrum that killed my little girl cat. She simply could not leave the wild behind even when her very life was at stake. In other words, you ****ed up and you are blaming it on the cat, pretending like it knew better. That is the way of people who act like a cat is very smart, it gives the person justification to screw up. And they can use the cats alleged intelligence as an excuse to abuse it when it messes up, as if the cat should have known better. Knowing its limitations will help you prepare and better take responsibility for its welfare. My cats get the best of both worlds. They get the comfort and safety of the great indoors, lots of exercise thanks to their Skyway, and as much outside stimulation as possible (the outside sounds, a view, and the smells when possible). And if you avoid bullying them, and respect the fact that they are captive and could otherwise run from you, they might even choose to stick around when they have an opportunity to flee. -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210@N04/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210 N04/ Paul Path: news.astraweb.com!border1.newsrouter.astraweb.com! feed.news.qwest.net!mpls-nntp-07.inet.qwest.net!newsfeed.kamp.net!newsfeed0.kamp .net!news.musoftware.de!wum.musoftware.de!weretis. net!feeder4.news.weretis.net!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Paul M. Cook" pmcook gte.net Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats.health+behav Subject: Paranoid feral female Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2010 05:25:48 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 48 Message-ID: iau8og$ul5$1 news.eternal-september.org References: 4cd21885$0$1771$c3e8da3$9f400e27 news.astraweb.com Injection-Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2010 12:25:52 +0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: mx03.eternal-september.org; posting-host="dgxPtGAjDfxOVNhQ/TyPXA"; logging-data="31397"; mail-complaints-to="abuse eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19HaaTS1WwlXSG6ekwxQhHb" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5994 X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original X-Antivirus-Status: Clean X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5931 X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 101103-2, 11/03/2010), Outbound message Cancel-Lock: sha1:seZVMhiPU1iNKiVtOYybXg3+JiY= X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal |
#9
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Paranoid feral female
dgk dgk somewhere.com wrote:
True to an extent, but kittens that are socialized before 8 weeks of age often make excellent pets. Socialization after that can lead to a cat that will trust the one human doing the socialization but no one else. Cats that are not socialized by that time or are just truly feral will never be comforable inside and probably should be left outside. If mine is a hard-core feral female like that, they definitely do not make good pets. I am sure that mine is more comfortable than it was outside, but that might depend on the reality of outside in this case. I suspect that mine was raised with no human contact and then had bad experiences with people. We've set up styrofoam homes for the winter Sounds great. If possible, you might consider putting a piece of Astroturf inside. It probably would not be too cool, and it definitely would be comfortable and easy to keep clean. It would help prevent tearing up the bottom of the Styrofoam, but you could accomplish that with many other things. Good luck. -- Thanks to the replies. |
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