Members Base Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 We (me & g/f) have adopted 2 tabby furballs to occupy the gap behind the sofa and give the furniture that really authentic 'scratched-to-buggery' look, and they are filling the role admirably...! They have come from a rescue centre tho and have been there quite a while as they are very, very timid and not very used to humans so no families would take them. They don't seem scared of us as such, just cautious, but they are beginning to explore and one of them (the younger I think, they are mother & daughter) will let us pet her if she is settled and can't be bothered to run away and hide I think they were picked up living as strays. We know we really just have to be patient and let them get used to us, but do any cat owners here have any advice for putting them at their ease and making them feel at home?? Feel free to hijack the thread with any pics and cat stories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 I love cats and have a weak spot for homeless felines. And cats would be perfect if they didn't make such a damn mess! Wonderful creatures. I tend to like them more than most people (except girls - ), but they can be as filthy as it gets. And they are way too horny. I'm not sure how that old saying ended up revolving around rabbits. I've got a female that is trying to break some record in terms of reproductive ability. I knew Bob Barker was right...or the price was right...something like that... Better post some pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrancedelicBlues Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Bribe them with treats. [my cats like balogna] Wait until they approach and take them from your hand... HINT: start with the tame one; the other one won't want to be left out. Don't be impatient with them, they can sense that ... Speak to them lot, with reassuring tone of voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Charles Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Yeah, treats are good. Also sneak up on them when they're asleep and gently rub em a bit and see if they wake up purring. Catnip should be around, get em stoned and then pet them. I'd get one of those sticks with elastic and a toy too and let them attack that until they're worn out and then pet em a bit. Just takes time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Base Posted February 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Thanks for the responses!! We tried the bribery method (cat treats, bits of bacon & chicken) but they weren't interested, then again they barely ate or drank for their first day but ate most of the food left out last night so will try that again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Originally posted by Base We know we really just have to be patient and let them get used to us, but do any cat owners here have any advice for putting them at their ease and making them feel at home?? Feel free to hijack the thread with any pics and cat stories Cats are really territorial, so they have to get used to their new surroundings. When we moved, the cats literally ran and hid in the closet. We read some advice on the internet from cat experts and talked to several cat owners, and basically they said to keep them inside for the first couple of weeks so they get the idea that this new place is their new home (this is advice more suited for cats that go outside). Furthermore, we were told that during the first 2-3 days, they could just stay in one section of the house, and then to slowly open up the house to them more and more. This seemed to work really well. Have their familiar things (cat bed, toys, that kind of thing) around in one location. Treats, catnip, that kind of thing....bust 'em out. Our cats didn't eat that much the first day or so and started eating after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jackcheez Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Be patient. I have 2 who were abandoned at an early age and lived outside for 2 years before they adopted me. I fed them for 7 months before I was able to pet one of them. Now they both want attention all the time. They like when you talk to them. It helps. I also fed them on a consistent schedule as much as possible for a while. That helped too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Base Posted February 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 The cats protection league (UK charity that rehomes unwanted cats) that we got them from usually recommends keeping them inside for 3-4 weeks, we've been told to keep them in as long as possible because they are so timid and really need settling before being let out. I've had cats when I was younger but never ones that I'm going to have to work so hard to gain their trust before, it'll be worth it tho... Thanks for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Originally posted by Base The cats protection league (UK charity that rehomes unwanted cats) that we got them from usually recommends keeping them inside for 3-4 weeks, we've been told to keep them in as long as possible because they are so timid and really need settling before being let out. Thanks for the advice Great! We were told 2 weeks, and 2 weeks worked, but our cats are definitely not timid. Keeping them for longer is not harmful in any way! I forgot to mention that most cats love being brushed. That could be something good to do, especially as they become more comfortable. These are my girlfriend's cats. But they are really super friendly, and that's because of the way my girlfriend treats them. I know this sounds really obvious, but it really helps so much to treat them with a lot of affection and attention. We let them out during the day and then they come in to eat around 6:00 pm. We lock the pet door after that and they sleep in for the rest of the evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Eventually they WILL pee somewhere. It is important to buy a blacklight and a bottle of 'Natures Miracle', which contains emzymes that break down uric acid before it becomes ammonia. We buy it at Petco, about $11 a quart. Every couple of days, until they are litter trained, turn off the lights and pull out the furniture and look for glowing spots on the floor with the blacklight. Wherever you find any glowing spots, generously soak the spot with the emzyme stuff. This will keep that spot from becoming established as 'The place to go piss' in the minds of your cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Patience. A whole damn lot of patience. My current cat was a rescue. I'd seen him in the neighborhood for a while. He acted scaref of me, which I didn't discourage, since at the time, I already had 5 cats under my care. But one day I went out in the backyard and he was just... lying there. His eyes were open but clearly he was weak... apparently just too tired to run away, which worried me. I put out some water and a half hour later it was mostly gone. In for a penny, in for a pound. I put out some food -- not too much, since he looked like ha hadn't eaten in a while -- and that got sucked down. I set aside a bowl for him and put a little more out in a few hours. Since he was thin, and white, and had one blue eye and one green, I called him "Duke" after Bowie's Thin White Duke. So he was my 'outside cat' for maybe a year and a half. It was quite clear he wanted to come inside but I didn't want to upset my complex cat community. Not long after Dave, one of the two brother cats who'd been born in my living room, passed on, it became clear Duke was having problems eating. I smelled his mouth and thought... oh wow. These teeth are on the way out. We went to the vets and about 4 or 5 hundred dollars later he came home -- with virtually no teeth. So he came inside. Which was rough because my surviving brother cat, George, (my other charges were in a rear appartment where they sat around listening to classical music and eating bon bons all day. (Okay... dry cat food) was about the most alpha male you'd ever find in the snipped population. He chased poor duke up one side and down the other of that house for the better part of a week. Duke took up residence behind my LP stacks. I even fed him there for a while. But, over time, they became good, good pals. (When George passed on, Duke was disconsolate for days. We were all pretty down, actually.) Patience One thing threw me off. Duke, with incredibly long, sheeplike fur (it actually goes into wool-like dreads on his stomach if I don't comb him) seemed to often be on the verge of hurling a furball... he would get down on his front haunches and give out with that familiar coughing sound. At first, used to my cat Dave, who sometimes seemed to upchuck every day or two, I would grab Duke and move him off my persian style rugs onto the hardwood floor. But he basically never chucked. And I realized that my grabbing him seemed to produce worse symptoms and make him fearful. I imagined that maybe he was put out by his old owners because they thought he was going to vomit all over them or maybe they just scared him out the door. Much later, concerned that maybe he had asthma, I had a thorough checkout of him... according to my vet and her radiologist, he has a large growth between his lungs and stomach that is probably cancer. But then he's had these symptoms for the five years I've known him, the diagnosis was almost two years ago... and... well, he's still here, has a good appetite and seems as healthy as ever, coughing/drychucking spells notwithstanding. Every once in a very great while, he really does upchuck, but I know him well enough that I can see it coming and tell the diff. But now, instead of trying to grab him (and I figured I should never grab him around the rib cage as I've often handled my cats in the past) I just let him go. It's seldom very much. It used to be that he was fearful when he vomited but now he'll actually seem to show me where he's chucked, which is a lot nicer than, you know, being surprised by it. Anyhow, he's clearly a very grateful thoughtful cat -- but he's still a cat. And that means I have to discourage him from rubbing his chin on my notebook screen/lid when it's up or my NS10m's on their stands that rise next to the dining room table that serves as a base of operations for me and the cat. (Now I know I should have never told him that cat food comes out of the computer... and, of course, the NS10m's are where his favorite musician [not me] lives... this cat is obsessed with John Coltrane. Sometimes he'll recognize Trane before I will... Obligatory cat pictures: The late Dave & George, aka the Dubba Trubba Bubba Hub Boys: [Dave is in the back. He looks real mean but he was a... pussycat. ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Okay, okay, you want cat pictures? Waylon and Willie, the two cats who reside at Blueberry Buddha... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted February 13, 2006 Members Share Posted February 13, 2006 Great lookin' cats, Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Base Posted February 14, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 14, 2006 Thanks for all of this! Thankfully, they are already litter trained tho Another question, Maisy (the older one, we've named the younger one Milly) has a little discharge from her eye, looks almost like a tear, is this anything to worry about?? I'll call the CPL again later for advice, but thought worth asking here too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Base Posted February 23, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 This is Maisy, Milly is still camera shy... Yeah, she always looks that p!$$ed off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted February 23, 2006 Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 Duke is too cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted February 23, 2006 Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 Originally posted by blue2blue Great lookin' cats, Ken. Wonder how he got those names? No nu-country for them cats! And Maisy is a cutie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tedster Posted February 23, 2006 Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 Originally posted by Base This is Maisy, Milly is still camera shy... Yeah, she always looks that p!$$ed off So, you're Duddits' pet human, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Base Posted February 23, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 Slightly off topic, but thought I'd post it so you can all recognise this piece of human excrements face should you ever see him in the street. Battering his eyeball out of it's socket seems a fair punishment to me Man admits savage beating of dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted February 23, 2006 Members Share Posted February 23, 2006 Let's bring this thread back on-topic, shall we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Base Posted February 24, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2006 That one at the end looks like those freaky web toons...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zooey Posted February 24, 2006 Members Share Posted February 24, 2006 This was my favorite cat, Zooey. I liberated him from the SF SPCA in 1995 and spent 6 great years with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members felix Posted February 24, 2006 Members Share Posted February 24, 2006 My favorite cat was (you guessed it) felix. I found him as a stray kitten wandering near the pool at the apartments where I lived at the time. He was super cool, and liked by a bunch of people who "didn't like cats." Losing him was terrible. We've never had another cat, not sure it would ever be the same. I don't think I've ever met a cat with a personality like his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted February 25, 2006 Members Share Posted February 25, 2006 All three of ours were some variant of stray. The first one we got at a no-kill shelter; they let us take him home right away--instead of enduring the usual 48-hour-wait period-- because while he tried to bite everyone else, the first time I held him, he settled right in and started purring. The second one was born feral around a brewery, where we rescued her from. Half the staff fed her, the other half tried to kill her. The third barged into our lives one Sunday night about 4 a.m., yelling like there was no tomorrow (and for him, there may not have been), in the middle of January, two weeks before we were due to move into the place we live in, currently. That's been a bit over two years, now.Like Felix, he was wandering around the pool area of our old apartment complex. They're all a year apart form each other. The first and third had next to no problems adapting; the middle one, though, is still quite fearful that nearly every move we make is fatal, somehow, despite the fact that she sleeps on the bed with us and oftentimes shows us her belly for rubs, purring all the while. Bipolar, I think. With her, I've found it best to ignore her...not even acknowledge her, really...just fill the feed bowl, change the box, etc. She sits and stares at us, and wonders why we're not talking to her; after a week or so of this, she starts seeking us out, and we have some quality time together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kevorkazito Posted February 26, 2006 Members Share Posted February 26, 2006 Good for you! I myself came into 2 cats via shelters. They both changed my life and dare I say, saved it! No tractors rolling over or anything, I quit smoking because those buggers made me love them so much and I didn't want to be killing them. Now they are getting old and I appreciate them more as their personalities become more apparent. Man, I used to hate cats until I had these guys. Now they are like my kids. One of them loves the sound of my acoustic and gets excited when I play. It's quite weird to experience that. Anywho, over time your cats will acclimatize their surrounding. It could take several weeks or sooner. Recently I've learned that talking to them in a relaxing tone does a lot to comfort them. I guess it's along the lines of the 'whisperer' technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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