Taming feral cats

[bmccasland]

Always love a happy ending. Yayyy!! for the orange kitty. I'm really happy for both of you!! Sounds like a real loverboy!!

HooRay for a happy ending! May the kitties live long and happy lives. And not drive you too crazy.

[jessmarimba]

We learned three important things today!

1) After peeing all over a paper bag I gave him to hide in, he has used the litter box all day. (He must've been really waiting on that bag though, b/c I can't believe he could hold that much liquid. So he was obviously trying not to go someplace "bad")

2) He learned how to sit in a lap and make biscuits

3) He learned how fun it is to sit someplace high and knock everything off (therefore, this must be an instinctive trait)

[indysteel]

Jess, how are you stray cats doing? Did they heal from the surgery? How is the newest addition to your indoor cats doing? Any further leads on where the Siamese came from?

I hope you're all doing well!

[jessmarimba]

Orange critter is doing well! He seems incapable of learning how to move on wood floors...it's so funny to watch him try to stop and completely spin out.

I've seen Mama cat twice, and she is a little more scared of me but seems otherwise fine.

Orange guy's sister learned to meow at the vet and now asks for food. I think she's forgotten the whole ordeal.

And the Siamese has returned for the last two days, but he's still on the heavier side and still won't eat the food I set out, so I'm pretty sure he either has someone else feeding him or has an indoor home somewhere.

I need to start working on a shelter for them soon. It's getting chilly here at night.

[indysteel]

We now have two shelters: One we fabricated out of a Rubbermaid container and a styrofoam cooler, with a hole cut out for access. It sits on our front porch. Our adult male took to it right away. Most nights, you can see that he's burrowed inside. I've placed my hand inside after he's stepped out of it, and it gets quite warm. Granted, it's not overly cold out yet.

This past Friday, we picked up this shelter from a local man who makes them. It has two entrances and an upper "deck" inside where the cats are supposed to sleep. We also picked up some straw and catnip (to attract them). We think the mother cat and her "teenage" son are already using it. We have it on our back deck in a spot that gets a lot of sun. I'm still thinking of what we can do to make it a bit warmer on the coldest of days, e.g., an electric pad or one of those warmers you can throw in the microwave. I sure hope they make it through the winter.

[Biciclista]

We now have two shelters: One we fabricated out of a Rubbermaid container and a styrofoam cooler, with a hole cut out for access. It sits on our front porch. Our adult male took to it right away. Most nights, you can see that he's burrowed inside. I've placed my hand inside after he's stepped out of it, and it gets quite warm. Granted, it's not overly cold out yet.

This past Friday, we picked up this shelter from a local man who makes them. It has two entrances and an upper "deck" inside where the cats are supposed to sleep. We also picked up some straw and catnip (to attract them). We think the mother cat and her "teenage" son are already using it. We have it on our back deck in a spot that gets a lot of sun. I'm still thinking of what we can do to make it a bit warmer on the coldest of days, e.g., an electric pad or one of those warmers you can throw in the microwave. I sure hope they make it through the winter.

you're awesome!! they'll be fine now.

[jessmarimba]

And just a few hours later...orange guy is out again

I have a friend staying with me and she says that when she got up the back door was open. One of my cats got tired of outside and was on my bed when I got home, one was still sitting calmly in the back yard, but the orange guy is on the rampage. He hasn't been allowed to play in the wild for weeks so he's taking advantage of it.

I guess I could just leave him there but after all these vet bills...

I hope he gets hungry enough to come back in and snuggle...