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#1
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Baby is in the house
Just to review, Baby is a small girl cat, around six years old, who
has lived in a box outside my front door since she was born. She's always let me pet her, and I probably would have taken her inside years ago except that she often hangs out with her mother, Jet, and I never wanted Jet to be lonely. Jet is far too feral to ever come inside. But I'm moving very shortly, as is the other major feeder on the block, so Baby would lose her two primary feeders, as well as her home since the new owners are not likely to keep her outdoor house. I was really unsure about whether to add Baby to my three indoor cats though. She seems to enjoy being outside, and I'm only supposed to have two cats in the new house. But two days ago she showed up with her ear messed up and quite a few scratches around it. So I need to take her to the vet anyway. Last night I put on heavy gloves and pulled her into the house, put her in the carrier, and brought her to the spare room where I have a littterbox and some food for her. All last night she was yowlling. When I went in to the room, she rubbed against me and I pet her. I go out, close the door, and the yowling begins. The room overlooks the street and I had to shut the window because she was trying to rip through the screen in order to get out - from a floor too high. That's the current situation when I set off for work today. Baby has made it very clear that she wants out of that room. The other cats have been sniffing her under the door. It looks like Baby is going to rule the roost. I haven't had an Alpha since Espy died, but I think Baby is going to take the spot. My vet can't see her until tomorrow so today I'll probably let her out of the room and she can begin her rule. I've already put together a coller with a tracking device so I can find her if she disappears, but it's getitng harder to do that since I'm packing and there just aren't that many places to hide. So it looks like Baby has finally become an indoor kitty. It will be one more complication for the move. |
#2
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Baby is in the house
On 6/22/2015 6:23 AM, dgk wrote:
Just to review, Baby is a small girl cat, around six years old, who has lived in a box outside my front door since she was born. She's always let me pet her, and I probably would have taken her inside years ago except that she often hangs out with her mother, Jet, and I never wanted Jet to be lonely. Jet is far too feral to ever come inside. But I'm moving very shortly, as is the other major feeder on the block, so Baby would lose her two primary feeders, as well as her home since the new owners are not likely to keep her outdoor house. I was really unsure about whether to add Baby to my three indoor cats though. She seems to enjoy being outside, and I'm only supposed to have two cats in the new house. But two days ago she showed up with her ear messed up and quite a few scratches around it. So I need to take her to the vet anyway. Last night I put on heavy gloves and pulled her into the house, put her in the carrier, and brought her to the spare room where I have a littterbox and some food for her. All last night she was yowlling. When I went in to the room, she rubbed against me and I pet her. I go out, close the door, and the yowling begins. The room overlooks the street and I had to shut the window because she was trying to rip through the screen in order to get out - from a floor too high. That's the current situation when I set off for work today. Baby has made it very clear that she wants out of that room. The other cats have been sniffing her under the door. It looks like Baby is going to rule the roost. I haven't had an Alpha since Espy died, but I think Baby is going to take the spot. My vet can't see her until tomorrow so today I'll probably let her out of the room and she can begin her rule. I've already put together a coller with a tracking device so I can find her if she disappears, but it's getitng harder to do that since I'm packing and there just aren't that many places to hide. So it looks like Baby has finally become an indoor kitty. It will be one more complication for the move. Bless you for going to all that trouble. I understand why you did it, but many people wouldn't have bothered, under the circumstances. Joy |
#3
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Baby is in the house
On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 11:14:44 +0100, Judith Latham
wrote: So it looks like Baby has finally become an indoor kitty. It will be one more complication for the move. Bless you for going to all that trouble. I understand why you did it, but many people wouldn't have bothered, under the circumstances. Joy I agree with Joy. Good Luck. Judith I'm still torn on what is the right thing to do. I put the collar on her with no problem, and let her out when I got home. I was off from workTuesday and Wednesday (today) so she's had the run of the house. Scooter rubbed her face and sniffed her butt. Nipsy was non-commital, more or less ignoring her. Marlo hid under my bed, but it took Marlo months to get used to Scooter so that's simply her way of dealing with it. I took Baby to the vet and she got three shots, steroid, antibiotic, and rabies. She weighs 8.2 lbs. I already know that she is negative for HIV and Leukemia since I had her tested five years ago and it's unlikely to have changed. The vet would have preferred if I could give her the antibiotic orally for a week but I'm not doing that with a cat that I'm trying to make comfortable. I did have them clip her claws and she was pretty good about that. Her ear is looking much better today and is scabbing over. Monday night she yowled so loudly, from 1am right through 6am that I had to put her back in her room and even then I could barely sleep. Last night was better, pretty much yowling from 4am through 6am. The last two days have been hot and humid so I had the A/C on, but today is perfect so I have the window open and so far Baby hasn't been at it. Maybe because I drugged her this morning - catnip mouse. She played with it for quite a while. I'm going away for a week starting Saturday so I'm hopeful that all will be ok by then. Of course, her yowling won't bother anyone. I won't leave the windows open though, I'll just leave the A/C on fan. That;s the current state of affairs. Moving date is July 8th and hopefully we all get to go. |
#4
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Baby is in the house
On 6/24/2015 6:56 AM, dgk wrote:
On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 11:14:44 +0100, Judith Latham wrote: So it looks like Baby has finally become an indoor kitty. It will be one more complication for the move. Bless you for going to all that trouble. I understand why you did it, but many people wouldn't have bothered, under the circumstances. Joy I agree with Joy. Good Luck. Judith I'm still torn on what is the right thing to do. I put the collar on her with no problem, and let her out when I got home. I was off from workTuesday and Wednesday (today) so she's had the run of the house. Scooter rubbed her face and sniffed her butt. Nipsy was non-commital, more or less ignoring her. Marlo hid under my bed, but it took Marlo months to get used to Scooter so that's simply her way of dealing with it. I took Baby to the vet and she got three shots, steroid, antibiotic, and rabies. She weighs 8.2 lbs. I already know that she is negative for HIV and Leukemia since I had her tested five years ago and it's unlikely to have changed. The vet would have preferred if I could give her the antibiotic orally for a week but I'm not doing that with a cat that I'm trying to make comfortable. I did have them clip her claws and she was pretty good about that. Her ear is looking much better today and is scabbing over. Monday night she yowled so loudly, from 1am right through 6am that I had to put her back in her room and even then I could barely sleep. Last night was better, pretty much yowling from 4am through 6am. The last two days have been hot and humid so I had the A/C on, but today is perfect so I have the window open and so far Baby hasn't been at it. Maybe because I drugged her this morning - catnip mouse. She played with it for quite a while. I'm going away for a week starting Saturday so I'm hopeful that all will be ok by then. Of course, her yowling won't bother anyone. I won't leave the windows open though, I'll just leave the A/C on fan. That;s the current state of affairs. Moving date is July 8th and hopefully we all get to go. I assume you have somebody taking care of your cats while you're away? I'm sure you've warned them, or will warn them, that Baby might try to get out. |
#5
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Baby is in the house
On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 10:22:13 -0700, Joy wrote:
On 6/24/2015 6:56 AM, dgk wrote: On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 11:14:44 +0100, Judith Latham wrote: So it looks like Baby has finally become an indoor kitty. It will be one more complication for the move. Bless you for going to all that trouble. I understand why you did it, but many people wouldn't have bothered, under the circumstances. Joy I agree with Joy. Good Luck. Judith I'm still torn on what is the right thing to do. I put the collar on her with no problem, and let her out when I got home. I was off from workTuesday and Wednesday (today) so she's had the run of the house. Scooter rubbed her face and sniffed her butt. Nipsy was non-commital, more or less ignoring her. Marlo hid under my bed, but it took Marlo months to get used to Scooter so that's simply her way of dealing with it. I took Baby to the vet and she got three shots, steroid, antibiotic, and rabies. She weighs 8.2 lbs. I already know that she is negative for HIV and Leukemia since I had her tested five years ago and it's unlikely to have changed. The vet would have preferred if I could give her the antibiotic orally for a week but I'm not doing that with a cat that I'm trying to make comfortable. I did have them clip her claws and she was pretty good about that. Her ear is looking much better today and is scabbing over. Monday night she yowled so loudly, from 1am right through 6am that I had to put her back in her room and even then I could barely sleep. Last night was better, pretty much yowling from 4am through 6am. The last two days have been hot and humid so I had the A/C on, but today is perfect so I have the window open and so far Baby hasn't been at it. Maybe because I drugged her this morning - catnip mouse. She played with it for quite a while. I'm going away for a week starting Saturday so I'm hopeful that all will be ok by then. Of course, her yowling won't bother anyone. I won't leave the windows open though, I'll just leave the A/C on fan. That;s the current state of affairs. Moving date is July 8th and hopefully we all get to go. I assume you have somebody taking care of your cats while you're away? I'm sure you've warned them, or will warn them, that Baby might try to get out. Oh sure, and the front door opens into a little hallway and another door opens friom the hallway into the house, so it's like an airlock. My neighbor deals with my cats and I deal with theirs and we both know to keep them inside. I am uncomfortable about leaving them because Baby's only been in a few days, but last night there was almost no yowling at all. I had the back window open and she even climbed onto the perch while Scooter was on it and both of them were staring out into the night. But I think I'll leave the front window mostly closed since that's where she spent her time. These are rowhouses so they're attached and it isn't easy for cats to get from front to back. Basically, they have to go around the block. So mostly the front cats stay in the front and the back cats stay in the back. The back is much nicer of course, no street and lots of grass and trees. I think Baby will actually be visible to my neighbor. Nipsy and Marlo will disappear, but Scooter will come by to say hello and I think Baby is friendly enough. Of course, she knows the neighbors because they're the ones who also feed her and the other outside (front) cats. I have to go away so I can't really do anything about it except spend the next two evenings giving all of them as much attention as I can. Then, when I come back, I'm home for four days - no more work. Then on the fifth day (July 8th) the moving van comes and packs up the house. I'll leave all the cats in one room with the door closed and a big sign saying to stay out. Once the van is gone, I load them into the rented MiniVan and off we go. That's going to be some yowl-fest. |
#6
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Baby is in the house
On 6/25/2015 8:12 AM, dgk wrote:
On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 10:22:13 -0700, Joy wrote: On 6/24/2015 6:56 AM, dgk wrote: On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 11:14:44 +0100, Judith Latham wrote: So it looks like Baby has finally become an indoor kitty. It will be one more complication for the move. Bless you for going to all that trouble. I understand why you did it, but many people wouldn't have bothered, under the circumstances. Joy I agree with Joy. Good Luck. Judith I'm still torn on what is the right thing to do. I put the collar on her with no problem, and let her out when I got home. I was off from workTuesday and Wednesday (today) so she's had the run of the house. Scooter rubbed her face and sniffed her butt. Nipsy was non-commital, more or less ignoring her. Marlo hid under my bed, but it took Marlo months to get used to Scooter so that's simply her way of dealing with it. I took Baby to the vet and she got three shots, steroid, antibiotic, and rabies. She weighs 8.2 lbs. I already know that she is negative for HIV and Leukemia since I had her tested five years ago and it's unlikely to have changed. The vet would have preferred if I could give her the antibiotic orally for a week but I'm not doing that with a cat that I'm trying to make comfortable. I did have them clip her claws and she was pretty good about that. Her ear is looking much better today and is scabbing over. Monday night she yowled so loudly, from 1am right through 6am that I had to put her back in her room and even then I could barely sleep. Last night was better, pretty much yowling from 4am through 6am. The last two days have been hot and humid so I had the A/C on, but today is perfect so I have the window open and so far Baby hasn't been at it. Maybe because I drugged her this morning - catnip mouse. She played with it for quite a while. I'm going away for a week starting Saturday so I'm hopeful that all will be ok by then. Of course, her yowling won't bother anyone. I won't leave the windows open though, I'll just leave the A/C on fan. That;s the current state of affairs. Moving date is July 8th and hopefully we all get to go. I assume you have somebody taking care of your cats while you're away? I'm sure you've warned them, or will warn them, that Baby might try to get out. Oh sure, and the front door opens into a little hallway and another door opens friom the hallway into the house, so it's like an airlock. My neighbor deals with my cats and I deal with theirs and we both know to keep them inside. I am uncomfortable about leaving them because Baby's only been in a few days, but last night there was almost no yowling at all. I had the back window open and she even climbed onto the perch while Scooter was on it and both of them were staring out into the night. But I think I'll leave the front window mostly closed since that's where she spent her time. These are rowhouses so they're attached and it isn't easy for cats to get from front to back. Basically, they have to go around the block. So mostly the front cats stay in the front and the back cats stay in the back. The back is much nicer of course, no street and lots of grass and trees. I think Baby will actually be visible to my neighbor. Nipsy and Marlo will disappear, but Scooter will come by to say hello and I think Baby is friendly enough. Of course, she knows the neighbors because they're the ones who also feed her and the other outside (front) cats. I have to go away so I can't really do anything about it except spend the next two evenings giving all of them as much attention as I can. Then, when I come back, I'm home for four days - no more work. Then on the fifth day (July 8th) the moving van comes and packs up the house. I'll leave all the cats in one room with the door closed and a big sign saying to stay out. Once the van is gone, I load them into the rented MiniVan and off we go. That's going to be some yowl-fest. Do you have a container of spray-on Feliway, or someplace where you can get some? If so, it could be helpful to spray some in each of their carriers about 20-30 minutes before you start your trip. It can help to calm the nerves for a trip like that day. Are you planning to stay in a motel? If so, it would be good to spray it each morning before you start driving. Or what arrangements do you plan to make for the duration of the trip? It's good to hear that baby and your other cats seem to be adjusting to each other. MaryL |
#7
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Baby is in the house
On 6/25/2015 6:12 AM, dgk wrote:
On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 10:22:13 -0700, Joy wrote: On 6/24/2015 6:56 AM, dgk wrote: On Wed, 24 Jun 2015 11:14:44 +0100, Judith Latham wrote: So it looks like Baby has finally become an indoor kitty. It will be one more complication for the move. Bless you for going to all that trouble. I understand why you did it, but many people wouldn't have bothered, under the circumstances. Joy I agree with Joy. Good Luck. Judith I'm still torn on what is the right thing to do. I put the collar on her with no problem, and let her out when I got home. I was off from workTuesday and Wednesday (today) so she's had the run of the house. Scooter rubbed her face and sniffed her butt. Nipsy was non-commital, more or less ignoring her. Marlo hid under my bed, but it took Marlo months to get used to Scooter so that's simply her way of dealing with it. I took Baby to the vet and she got three shots, steroid, antibiotic, and rabies. She weighs 8.2 lbs. I already know that she is negative for HIV and Leukemia since I had her tested five years ago and it's unlikely to have changed. The vet would have preferred if I could give her the antibiotic orally for a week but I'm not doing that with a cat that I'm trying to make comfortable. I did have them clip her claws and she was pretty good about that. Her ear is looking much better today and is scabbing over. Monday night she yowled so loudly, from 1am right through 6am that I had to put her back in her room and even then I could barely sleep. Last night was better, pretty much yowling from 4am through 6am. The last two days have been hot and humid so I had the A/C on, but today is perfect so I have the window open and so far Baby hasn't been at it. Maybe because I drugged her this morning - catnip mouse. She played with it for quite a while. I'm going away for a week starting Saturday so I'm hopeful that all will be ok by then. Of course, her yowling won't bother anyone. I won't leave the windows open though, I'll just leave the A/C on fan. That;s the current state of affairs. Moving date is July 8th and hopefully we all get to go. I assume you have somebody taking care of your cats while you're away? I'm sure you've warned them, or will warn them, that Baby might try to get out. Oh sure, and the front door opens into a little hallway and another door opens friom the hallway into the house, so it's like an airlock. My neighbor deals with my cats and I deal with theirs and we both know to keep them inside. I am uncomfortable about leaving them because Baby's only been in a few days, but last night there was almost no yowling at all. I had the back window open and she even climbed onto the perch while Scooter was on it and both of them were staring out into the night. But I think I'll leave the front window mostly closed since that's where she spent her time. These are rowhouses so they're attached and it isn't easy for cats to get from front to back. Basically, they have to go around the block. So mostly the front cats stay in the front and the back cats stay in the back. The back is much nicer of course, no street and lots of grass and trees. I think Baby will actually be visible to my neighbor. Nipsy and Marlo will disappear, but Scooter will come by to say hello and I think Baby is friendly enough. Of course, she knows the neighbors because they're the ones who also feed her and the other outside (front) cats. I have to go away so I can't really do anything about it except spend the next two evenings giving all of them as much attention as I can. Then, when I come back, I'm home for four days - no more work. Then on the fifth day (July 8th) the moving van comes and packs up the house. I'll leave all the cats in one room with the door closed and a big sign saying to stay out. Once the van is gone, I load them into the rented MiniVan and off we go. That's going to be some yowl-fest. I hope everything goes as well as possible for the move. It's too bad you have to be away so close to the move, but obviously it can't be helped. Good luck! |
#8
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Baby is in the house
On Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:36:49 -0500, MaryL
wrote: Do you have a container of spray-on Feliway, or someplace where you can get some? If so, it could be helpful to spray some in each of their carriers about 20-30 minutes before you start your trip. It can help to calm the nerves for a trip like that day. Are you planning to stay in a motel? If so, it would be good to spray it each morning before you start driving. Or what arrangements do you plan to make for the duration of the trip? It's good to hear that baby and your other cats seem to be adjusting to each other. MaryL I do have Feliway spray and have been using it in the Cat Introduction Room. I hadn't thought about using it during the move but of course that's a good idea. The plan is to leave as early as possible, stay overnight at a pet-friendly motel at the halfway point, and get to the new house by evening. It's about 10 hours driving for each of the two days. But it really depends on when the movers finish loading the van. They're supposed to arrive between 8 and 10, so hopefully we can get it all packed by noon. If it runs too much later than that, I probably won't be able to reach the halfway point. Either I have to select a motel closer and drive more the second day - not impossible, or I may have to stay in one very empty house overnight and leave early the next morning. I'm leaving an air mattress unpacked just in case. Baby backslid a bit yesterday. I had to go to work and when I got home she was more or less hiding under things. But later she came out. At one point I looked over at the cat perch which overlooks the backyard and realized that Baby was up there with Nipsy and Scooter. Great progress. Then there was the disaster of the blind kitten, but that will be another thread. |
#9
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Baby is in the house
On 6/26/2015 7:45 AM, dgk wrote:
On Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:36:49 -0500, MaryL wrote: Do you have a container of spray-on Feliway, or someplace where you can get some? If so, it could be helpful to spray some in each of their carriers about 20-30 minutes before you start your trip. It can help to calm the nerves for a trip like that day. Are you planning to stay in a motel? If so, it would be good to spray it each morning before you start driving. Or what arrangements do you plan to make for the duration of the trip? It's good to hear that baby and your other cats seem to be adjusting to each other. MaryL I do have Feliway spray and have been using it in the Cat Introduction Room. I hadn't thought about using it during the move but of course that's a good idea. The plan is to leave as early as possible, stay overnight at a pet-friendly motel at the halfway point, and get to the new house by evening. It's about 10 hours driving for each of the two days. But it really depends on when the movers finish loading the van. They're supposed to arrive between 8 and 10, so hopefully we can get it all packed by noon. If it runs too much later than that, I probably won't be able to reach the halfway point. Either I have to select a motel closer and drive more the second day - not impossible, or I may have to stay in one very empty house overnight and leave early the next morning. I'm leaving an air mattress unpacked just in case. Baby backslid a bit yesterday. I had to go to work and when I got home she was more or less hiding under things. But later she came out. At one point I looked over at the cat perch which overlooks the backyard and realized that Baby was up there with Nipsy and Scooter. Great progress. Then there was the disaster of the blind kitten, but that will be another thread. You have a great deal of work ahead of you, but you have done a lot of preparation for it. I wish you the best of luck, and I hope everything goes well. My wonderful Duffy is blind, so I'm interested to read about the blind kitten. MaryL |
#10
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Baby is in the house
On 6/26/2015 5:45 AM, dgk wrote:
On Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:36:49 -0500, MaryL wrote: Do you have a container of spray-on Feliway, or someplace where you can get some? If so, it could be helpful to spray some in each of their carriers about 20-30 minutes before you start your trip. It can help to calm the nerves for a trip like that day. Are you planning to stay in a motel? If so, it would be good to spray it each morning before you start driving. Or what arrangements do you plan to make for the duration of the trip? It's good to hear that baby and your other cats seem to be adjusting to each other. MaryL I do have Feliway spray and have been using it in the Cat Introduction Room. I hadn't thought about using it during the move but of course that's a good idea. The plan is to leave as early as possible, stay overnight at a pet-friendly motel at the halfway point, and get to the new house by evening. It's about 10 hours driving for each of the two days. But it really depends on when the movers finish loading the van. They're supposed to arrive between 8 and 10, so hopefully we can get it all packed by noon. If it runs too much later than that, I probably won't be able to reach the halfway point. Either I have to select a motel closer and drive more the second day - not impossible, or I may have to stay in one very empty house overnight and leave early the next morning. I'm leaving an air mattress unpacked just in case. Baby backslid a bit yesterday. I had to go to work and when I got home she was more or less hiding under things. But later she came out. At one point I looked over at the cat perch which overlooks the backyard and realized that Baby was up there with Nipsy and Scooter. Great progress. Then there was the disaster of the blind kitten, but that will be another thread. Baby may backslide quite a bit for a while after the move, but it will take them all time to adjust. Using Feliway at the new house, and putting out favorite things of theirs as soon as possible should help. I hope the movers finish quickly so you can follow your original plan. |
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