Does anyone know any really effective and quick ways of sedating cats? Not involving prescription-only medicine?
Recently I sewed a hem on some garment and must have dropped a threaded needle on the floor. I fed the cats this morning and as usual Crypto neatly hoovered round the dish in case anything had fallen out. She found something and ate it. What she ate was the thread with a needle still attached. I hadn't noticed it at all.
So there is Crypto, trying to swallow the thread, with this needle hanging about an inch below her mouth. Now I'd like her to learn some new tricks, but sword swallowing isn't one of them.
Would she be captured? Would she heck! A small animal with four legs is much swifter to move than a gallumphing human with only two legs. I chased her round and round the house and she hid under this and behind that. So many small places to hide!! I couldn't catch her with a jacket or towel to throw over her, nor with a sort of "cat catcher" lassoo devised for the purpose out of a plastic tube and a dressing gown belt.
Eventually I realised that I don't need to catch her, just get near her mouth. She will hand-feed with the right temptation and I found a little ham and she very warily (after some time) but eagerly sidled up to get the ham. I was afraid it might encourage her to swallow the thread and needle a bit more but happily on the third attempt I was able to feed a little ham and hook my little finger round the thread and pull it out. It was a big needle, on 8" doubled thread!!
My plans had been to visit my mum over Christmas, taking the cats with me in the cat carriers. That means - catching both of them. I have the carriers on display so they will get used to them, with tasty things in them, but this may not work. They are very cautious.
I went to the vet to enquire but all they can let me have without prescription is Feliway.
There are quick-acting sedatives but these are prescription-only - which means catching Crypto to take her to the vet. But the sedative would be so that I can catch her!
No problems with Tuxedo. She walks up to me and over my computer desk and is relatively easy to catch and doesn't fight me any more.
I wish I had been on earlier I would have told you about the Borax Laundry soap.. I had tried all the same things as you for this one area in the dinning room.. It is wall to wall carpeting. and I will eventually have to get it removed and Hard wood floors will go in .. But I found quite by accident .. that the borax not only killed the kitty pee odor but also deterred the peeing activity. Now mind you .. it does wear off so it has to be reapplied but it did last for a whole year. and no more added cat pee to the spot. This also could be because the corner has been thoroughly saturated by boy cat pee,
Any way it may work on your white carpet so that you don't have to get rid of it.
As to sedating the kitty... I don't know of anything... but I do have a suggestion for getting the skitish kitty into the carrier.
Catch cat. hold carrier up on end dump kitty bottom first into carrier and slam door shut.
or easier but involves a lot more time.
get kitty cornered under an end table that is blocked on all sides put open carrier up as only exit from under coffee/end table and gently coax kitty into carrier and slam carrier door shut.
OR a third method.... if your kitty likes boxes get a box and wait for her to get into the box and go from there with either of the two methods for putting kitty in the carrier.
I have used all but the box method and they work.. Both methods have long and funny stories that go with them.. One cat was my Mom's and she did not like me but had to come with me to go to the vet and then get flown to my home. The other is my resident feral cat who has taken a long time to just let me pet him. But he needed to go get snipped.
I will say one thing about sedatives and kitties .. Some kitties will wet them selves when they are on a sedative and it starts to wear off. this makes a big big mess in a carrier.
Borax laundry soap ... tell me more, LT. Is it a block of soap, a powder, or what?
Carpet is in my shed up the garden pending cleaning. It's a nice carpet. Shed is a bit pongy now though. Probably won't do anything with it till Spring - will have to dry the carpet somehow.
Good point about wetting themselves. Another cat I had was so terrified of cars (no reason) that on being caged and transported by car to the vet's, he messed himself and then got it all in his fur. Not a nice clean-up. I will line the cat carriers with newspaper and towels (for comfort) but of course they will also absorb any bodily fluids. That's supposing I can get the cats in them.
Geisha, when I first got them, I had them on Rock Rose and Mimulus (one is for terror, the other for general scaredness) - both components of Rescue Remedy. Might need to try that again.
Twinky, given the difficult history you've had with your cats and how much progress you've made, I wonder if you might want to reconsider taking them to your mom's. Cats, I'm told, are very "place oriented" and can freak out when taken out of their own homes.
Unlike dogs, who always seem ready for a road trip, cats apparently don't like it so much. You've gained so much ground with your kitties, it would be a shame to have them revert to their scaredy-catness. Of course, if you have no alternative but to take them along, then I'm sure they'll do okay. This is just some animal wisdom I got from a friend who's a frequent cat and dog rescuer.
Is there anyone who could feed your cats for you while you're gone and look in on them every day or two? When I travel, I leave my cat extra food in her self-feeder dish, make sure she has plenty of water and a clean litter box, and just have my sister check on her every couple of days.
BTW, I read your tale of the thread-swallowing cat with my heart in my mouth. I've seen x-rays of cats with a needle in their tummies, and they always had to have emergency surgery, lest the needle pierce their intestines. I'm so glad your kitty's adventure had a happy ending!!
Next door neighbors are here over the hols and will look after cats if needed.
At present am feeding them in the carriers. Tuxy has no hesitation and just charges in to eat. Crypto peers in every direction and then enters cautiously. Soon both tails are swishing gently. I think they could both easily be captured.
Undecided about whether to take them. My mum has a cat too, an elderly critter who loves a fondle. Mine might get stressed at being on another cat's territory. Twinkle might beat up my two (which wouldn't do Tuxy any harm at all, make her realize life doesn't revolve around her) but she (Twinkle) might also show them how enjoyable being fondled is. Mum is a bit worried in case Tuxy waters the carpet and says they must be confined to the bathroom (that wouldn't last long!!).
So I have to balance the stress of being caged, traveling and being in a new location with another cat; with the stress of being alone for 4 or 5 days and somebody they don't know very well tending them. Neighbors also have an indoor cat so will probably carry his scent on their clothing. My sofa and dining chairs to pee on!
Sounds a bit "no contest" but you never quite know with these two.
We have two that are from a family of cats living in the woods. They were just like yours when we got them. When we go away for a few days, I put down a really large dish of food. (We only feed them dry.) I don't normally water them from bowls. Instead, I fill a short 5 gallon bucket clear to the top with fresh water. It's the perfect height for them to walk up and drink without stooping down or reaching up. We have two litter boxes but I put down a third if we are away. Then, I make sure there is nothing valuable on tables that they can knock over. (That part takes about 2 seconds.) When we come home, they don't seem to even notice we've been gone. Been doing it that way for almost 12 years.
Twinky, if you need to leave the kitties at home, this is what they'll be doing.
We always leave ours with a person feeding once a day as we have chickens and Sheep that need attention too. they just hide from the feeders and eat when the feeders leave.
when I come home they do one of two things either I am their long lost Mother or I am chopped liver and no one meows a meager hello for one day then back to normal
Well, folks - the girlies stayed home. My next door neighbors checked on them several times a day.
Got back home last night and they eyed me up and avoided me. At least for a while. Taz (neighbor) said they missed me and kept looking around up the stairs for me. Friend visited last night and he said the same. But when I come down the stairs - they run off and hide! They have turned into thieves, in as much as they pull down the Go-Cat box and push it all over the floor till the contents spill out.
It was nice staying with my mum over Christmas. She has "our" cat, who looks very like Crypto but is much older. Twinkle is no less than 13 and could be much older (self-rescue cat, came after being abandoned and never went away). She loves to lie on a lap or, better, on one's chest. She purrs with delight at being touched. I call her a "bendy toy" because you can grap a hold of her and position her on your lap in the way you want her to lie, and then she just gives a sigh and you can feel her body relaxing into the position you have put it in.
Try doing that with the girlies. Ha ha ha. Off like a shot.
What surprises me about my two girlies is that they expect me to watch them eating. I put food down for them and go and do other things. They'll eat if really hungry but otherwise more or less leave the food. They will come and mew at me (if I'm in the house) for fresh stuff and if I put it down they will gobble it down but if I walk out of the room they will leave the fresh food - until I come back in again. Then, they will attack it with enthusiasm. They make like they want to play, but when I play with them they will just return to the food bowl.
Are they just being immature cats , am I a mother subsitute, am I their guardian angel, or is something else going on here?
Tuxy is thin but Crypto seems to be putting on weight (getting fatter).
What surprises me about my two girlies is that they expect me to watch them eating. I put food down for them and go and do other things. They'll eat if really hungry but otherwise more or less leave the food. They will come and mew at me (if I'm in the house) for fresh stuff and if I put it down they will gobble it down but if I walk out of the room they will leave the fresh food - until I come back in again. Then, they will attack it with enthusiasm. They make like they want to play, but when I play with them they will just return to the food bowl.
Are they just being immature cats , am I a mother subsitute, am I their guardian angel, or is something else going on here?
Tuxy is thin but Crypto seems to be putting on weight (getting fatter).
They are such odd creatures.
LOL I have had cats like this well not quite that bad but my Tuffy cat wanted you to walk him to his bowl and pet scratch him for a little bit before he would eat... Now this is okay during the day but takes the joy right out of it at 3 AM
I am SO glad you decided to leave the cats at home when you visited your mom for the holidays. I think you would have undone a lot of your progress if you had taken them! (sorry, I hadn't visited this thread in awhile or I would have said so before)
As for your cats being upset with you when you returned, and giving you the cold shoulder, mine do that, too.
And wanting you to watch them eat... mine do something similar. Every morning each of my girls (I have three) expects me to come downstairs and "do something" to the food and water bowls, even if they are already full. Once that is done they will happily eat, but not before. Then, I'm supposed to spend individual time with each of them. They each have their specific morning spot they go to and expect me to come visit them there. Obviously, they have me well trained!
I also have one cat that will pick up her favorite toy and call for me throughout the house until she finds me and then she'll drop the toy at my feet. However, I've learned this doesn't mean she wants to play, it just means she wants some attention.
You have to give it to them... they do manage to communicate their wants and needs amazingly well.
Well, I'm glad this "Watch me eat, Mom" is a "normal" thing. Yes, even if there is food left in the bowl, I have to add a little more or stir it round a little. Odd.
I had a nice cuddle with Tuxy the other night. I was ignoring her as she wandered across my desk and couch. This made her become very annoying and keep putting herself there. After some hours I seized her and made her lie in my lap. The usual fight, then she settled down, purring with enthusiasm, let me stroke her in places she doesn't usually allow to be touched (under the chin, etc), and eventually curled up and went to sleep, refusing to move! Hah, I thought, a real pet cat. I moved to the couch and lay down with her on my chest, and she loved it. Went to sleep very happily.
All the while Crypto is watching and making her happy praaa-oow? sort of sounds. Coming very close and gazing at me and at Tuxy. I kept putting Tuxy where Crypto could see her, to show C that being fondled isn't such a scary thing. T just turned her back on C.
It was nice while it lasted. We are back to normal today. Wander up and then as a hand is extended to fondle, running off immediately. And whining/mewing for attention.
But Tuxy definitely fights me less than she did. She wriggles to get away but doesn't scratch at me. That's progress.
And Crypto doesn't hide in cupboards any more but will sit watching me from a distance of 4 or 5 feet. That's progress, too.
I will have had these little darlings (?) for a year on Jan 17. You would think that by now they would have realized that I am not going to eat them or whatever it is they are afraid of.
LOL I have had cats like this well not quite that bad but my Tuffy cat wanted you to walk him to his bowl and pet scratch him for a little bit before he would eat... Now this is okay during the day but takes the joy right out of it at 3 AM
Now Leafy, how ever did you get started on hand feeding at 3am? Take some sleeping pills (crush them into Tuffy's food!!!).
Ouch, Tuxy bit me again. Well it was my own fault really. I had captured her and was stroking her in my lap. She wasn't settled and at the first opportunity jumped off. I caught her back leg and we had a serious wrestle, with her tearing up the carpet to try and escape. When I plonked a cushion on her to subdue her, I think that's when she bit me - her last resort.
Yes, it got infected...again, all swollen and fiery. But it seems to have responded (to prayer) and hasn't been such a huge problem as last time, which took 3 weeks of heavy duty antibiotics.
What am I supposed to do with these unhandleable creatures? Yet both are so very very much better than they were when I first got them.
As for Crypto...she allowed me to stroke her once as she passed her body near my leg, this evening.
Ouch, Tuxy bit me again. Well it was my own fault really. I had captured her and was stroking her in my lap. She wasn't settled and at the first opportunity jumped off. I caught her back leg and we had a serious wrestle, with her tearing up the carpet to try and escape. When I plonked a cushion on her to subdue her, I think that's when she bit me - her last resort.
Yes, it got infected...again, all swollen and fiery. But it seems to have responded (to prayer) and hasn't been such a huge problem as last time, which took 3 weeks of heavy duty antibiotics.
What am I supposed to do with these unhandleable creatures? Yet both are so very very much better than they were when I first got them.
As for Crypto...she allowed me to stroke her once as she passed her body near my leg, this evening.
Ouch... I say this knowing that Bongo just scratched me when I picked him up last night.
I think you just have to be persistent and remember ferral cats take a very long long time to tame.
Bongo is feral. You can only pet him when he thinks it is okay. and picking up is another one second or two afair that I keep persisting about because if I ever have to get him to the vet I will need to grab him.
BTW one of my neighbors has a cat who came fully feral. it took them three full yeras to get him to allow them to pet pick up and hold etc. HE is the biggest lovey boy you ever saw now!
My current feline roommate Molly was very skittish when I got her. She'd been in a shelter off and on for a year (between escapes), and I think before that she had been a feral cat. Her tail was broken completely off, leaving about a 2-inch stub (and she's not a manx), so I think she had a pretty rough life before coming to live in the safe lap of luxury with me.
Molly will not be held, and I don't try to force her to let me hold her. She loves to come sit right up against me on the arm of my recliner and be petted and scratched, but the minute I try to get her onto my lap, she flees.
She also enjoys jumping up on my bed for a cuddle or scratch (and chasing the dogs away!)
I think with cats you have to sorta "let them be them." I've had Molly for several years now. Whatever makes her afraid is apparently so ingrained in her that nothing I've been able to do will change that. Who knows, maybe someday she'll just climb willingly into my lap, but if she doesn't, I can still enjoy her company, within her boundaries.
There's an old saying about people owning dogs and cats owning people. I think there's some truth to it!
One of my cats was a stray kitten but very loving and easy to handle when I first took her in. I could pick her up and hold her for as long as I liked with no problems.
However, two years later when I added another cat to the mix I made the mistake of trying to hold cat #1 while introducing them. I thought it would help her stay calm but she freaked out anyway, which caused me to grip her harder to keep her from hurting me or the new cat or herself. By the time I got her set down she was berzerker.
And ever since she has been completely skittish about being held. For about a year she simply wouldn't have it. Finally, she started letting me pick her up for brief periods, and now she'll stay quiet long enough for me to scratch her ears and cheeks a bit (maybe as much as a full minute) but she'll be on the lookout the whole time and the second she sees one of the other cats she wants down NOW.
That one traumatic encounter seemed to put it into her head that being held meant something bad was about to happen and even though it has been eight years since the incident I haven't been able to erase that from her thinking.
Leafy - three years! Maybe then I'm a third of the way through.
Linda - getting a bit that way with Tuxedo. She jumps on a chair near me as if to say, I'm here! Play with me! but when I reach out she often springs away. But then, sometimes, she will just stay and be petted, head rubbed, back stroked. Okay unless I try to pick her up. Crypto loves to sit near me, about 3ft away. But if I move - she's away like a shot, usually.
THW - Yes, one bad incident and that seems to be it. Takes a lot of overcoming.
I think they are settled here. Much less jumpy, both of them, than they used to be. When it gets warmer, I will let them out - will be their first time unless you count Tuxy's adventure on a lead (see above) which was a Refusal from her point of view. I must make them a shelter before I open the door. They may never come back. No idea how they will react to the other cats around here, of which there are more than a few. Tuxy will quickly find that she is not the Boss Cat.
Hey, has anyone else had this experience? They like to use the same litter tray (their choice). Crypto neatly covers her leavings, but Tuxy leaves great extremely stinky piles right there in full view (and smell - gag <_< ). She knows to cover (I hear her scratching nearby) but since about the second month I had her, she won't cover. She will do this whether the litter is completely fresh or whether it has been out for a little while and therefore used.
I've thought this might be her showing her dominance. Believe me, I've thought of leaving my own message for her and not covering, but that seems too disgusting. If there were a zoo nearby I might ask for some lion poo. Any suggestions?
Maybe when they start going outside they'll learn to use soil. Probably in my vege garden...
I agree I think it is a dominance thing with them. I have two taht cover and one tuxy that leaves it out for all to see and smell. and when I had Darin a big white tom he liked to leave it uncovered to prove he wore teh pants in a house full of females.. (He didn't...wear the pants, LOL)
anyway think of it as better than them deciding to pee in a corner or spray which he started to do off and on to let me know he was not happy there were any other kitties in the house thank you very much. Even if they were girl kitties.
Gotta agree, Leafy, a whole lot better than doing it elsewhere or weeing in places that she shouldn't.
Have had to throw one rug away and need to clean its replacement; someone on this thread recommended borax. That's a job for when the weather is consistently warmer, another couple of months or so.
Just lately I am starting to feed them real Go-Cat (not supermarket lookalike) and they like this very much. Eat all they can. Both are considerably larger, no bad thing since they were so skinny and bony before. However this high inflow of food they are now consuming also means high outflow. Yesterday I had 6 or 8 of Tuxy's stinky little statements. I remove it from the litter tray and whadayaknow, seems like she goes straight back and does another.
Gotta agree, Leafy, a whole lot better than doing it elsewhere or weeing in places that she shouldn't.
Have had to throw one rug away and need to clean its replacement; someone on this thread recommended borax. That's a job for when the weather is consistently warmer, another couple of months or so.
Just lately I am starting to feed them real Go-Cat (not supermarket lookalike) and they like this very much. Eat all they can. Both are considerably larger, no bad thing since they were so skinny and bony before. However this high inflow of food they are now consuming also means high outflow. Yesterday I had 6 or 8 of Tuxy's stinky little statements. I remove it from the litter tray and whadayaknow, seems like she goes straight back and does another.
LOL you know you are their complete slave when they think you are their chief chef and commode cleaner.
Recommended Posts
Top Posters In This Topic
21
119
17
24
Popular Days
Jan 19
11
Jan 30
9
Jan 5
7
Jan 28
7
Top Posters In This Topic
pond 21 posts
Twinky 119 posts
geisha779 17 posts
leafytwiglet 24 posts
Popular Days
Jan 19 2009
11 posts
Jan 30 2008
9 posts
Jan 5 2010
7 posts
Jan 28 2008
7 posts
Popular Posts
TheHighWay
Okay, I know this is a long post, but I've had probably half a dozen cats in my life and I've done the same with each of them with good success. Every time I've brought a new cat home, whether it was
Twinky
Well, the girlies are really settling well, with going out. Tuxy loves to be outside but she stays nicely in the garden, and more or less comes when called. If she want to go out she has taken to ye
leafytwiglet
Take her to the vet do not pass go do not collect 200 $ she has a urinary infection. They will give her antibiotics and she will get better (((Hugs)) to you and her poor little poppet.. Regarding t
Posted Images
Twinky
Does anyone know any really effective and quick ways of sedating cats? Not involving prescription-only medicine?
Recently I sewed a hem on some garment and must have dropped a threaded needle on the floor. I fed the cats this morning and as usual Crypto neatly hoovered round the dish in case anything had fallen out. She found something and ate it. What she ate was the thread with a needle still attached. I hadn't noticed it at all.
So there is Crypto, trying to swallow the thread, with this needle hanging about an inch below her mouth. Now I'd like her to learn some new tricks, but sword swallowing isn't one of them.
Would she be captured? Would she heck! A small animal with four legs is much swifter to move than a gallumphing human with only two legs. I chased her round and round the house and she hid under this and behind that. So many small places to hide!! I couldn't catch her with a jacket or towel to throw over her, nor with a sort of "cat catcher" lassoo devised for the purpose out of a plastic tube and a dressing gown belt.
Eventually I realised that I don't need to catch her, just get near her mouth. She will hand-feed with the right temptation and I found a little ham and she very warily (after some time) but eagerly sidled up to get the ham. I was afraid it might encourage her to swallow the thread and needle a bit more but happily on the third attempt I was able to feed a little ham and hook my little finger round the thread and pull it out. It was a big needle, on 8" doubled thread!!
My plans had been to visit my mum over Christmas, taking the cats with me in the cat carriers. That means - catching both of them. I have the carriers on display so they will get used to them, with tasty things in them, but this may not work. They are very cautious.
I went to the vet to enquire but all they can let me have without prescription is Feliway.
There are quick-acting sedatives but these are prescription-only - which means catching Crypto to take her to the vet. But the sedative would be so that I can catch her!
No problems with Tuxedo. She walks up to me and over my computer desk and is relatively easy to catch and doesn't fight me any more.
Does anyone have any suggestions, please?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
geisha779
Twinky,
There is something called "Rescue Remedy" that is supposed to work well. It may be similar to feliway though.
Catnip get's them hyper--but then they crash for a good long time. That might be an option. Get them high on catnip and let them wear themselves out.
FYI --Valerian root is a stimulant for cats---DON't try that!! lol Great to calm us humans down--works differently on our furry friends.
Not much out there that I know of except Rescue Remedy for cats.
I can just see you chasing a cat with a needle hanging from the mouth. Scary yes---comical--if it ends well--yes.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
leafytwiglet
Oh My how did I miss this thread..
I wish I had been on earlier I would have told you about the Borax Laundry soap.. I had tried all the same things as you for this one area in the dinning room.. It is wall to wall carpeting. and I will eventually have to get it removed and Hard wood floors will go in .. But I found quite by accident .. that the borax not only killed the kitty pee odor but also deterred the peeing activity. Now mind you .. it does wear off so it has to be reapplied but it did last for a whole year. and no more added cat pee to the spot. This also could be because the corner has been thoroughly saturated by boy cat pee,
Any way it may work on your white carpet so that you don't have to get rid of it.
As to sedating the kitty... I don't know of anything... but I do have a suggestion for getting the skitish kitty into the carrier.
Catch cat. hold carrier up on end dump kitty bottom first into carrier and slam door shut.
or easier but involves a lot more time.
get kitty cornered under an end table that is blocked on all sides put open carrier up as only exit from under coffee/end table and gently coax kitty into carrier and slam carrier door shut.
OR a third method.... if your kitty likes boxes get a box and wait for her to get into the box and go from there with either of the two methods for putting kitty in the carrier.
I have used all but the box method and they work.. Both methods have long and funny stories that go with them.. One cat was my Mom's and she did not like me but had to come with me to go to the vet and then get flown to my home. The other is my resident feral cat who has taken a long time to just let me pet him. But he needed to go get snipped.
I will say one thing about sedatives and kitties .. Some kitties will wet them selves when they are on a sedative and it starts to wear off. this makes a big big mess in a carrier.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Borax laundry soap ... tell me more, LT. Is it a block of soap, a powder, or what?
Carpet is in my shed up the garden pending cleaning. It's a nice carpet. Shed is a bit pongy now though. Probably won't do anything with it till Spring - will have to dry the carpet somehow.
Good point about wetting themselves. Another cat I had was so terrified of cars (no reason) that on being caged and transported by car to the vet's, he messed himself and then got it all in his fur. Not a nice clean-up. I will line the cat carriers with newspaper and towels (for comfort) but of course they will also absorb any bodily fluids. That's supposing I can get the cats in them.
Geisha, when I first got them, I had them on Rock Rose and Mimulus (one is for terror, the other for general scaredness) - both components of Rescue Remedy. Might need to try that again.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
waysider
20 Mule Team Borax
http://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/index.cfm?page_id=56
Recognize this former pitch man?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Linda Z
Twinky, given the difficult history you've had with your cats and how much progress you've made, I wonder if you might want to reconsider taking them to your mom's. Cats, I'm told, are very "place oriented" and can freak out when taken out of their own homes.
Unlike dogs, who always seem ready for a road trip, cats apparently don't like it so much. You've gained so much ground with your kitties, it would be a shame to have them revert to their scaredy-catness. Of course, if you have no alternative but to take them along, then I'm sure they'll do okay. This is just some animal wisdom I got from a friend who's a frequent cat and dog rescuer.
Is there anyone who could feed your cats for you while you're gone and look in on them every day or two? When I travel, I leave my cat extra food in her self-feeder dish, make sure she has plenty of water and a clean litter box, and just have my sister check on her every couple of days.
BTW, I read your tale of the thread-swallowing cat with my heart in my mouth. I've seen x-rays of cats with a needle in their tummies, and they always had to have emergency surgery, lest the needle pierce their intestines. I'm so glad your kitty's adventure had a happy ending!!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Next door neighbors are here over the hols and will look after cats if needed.
At present am feeding them in the carriers. Tuxy has no hesitation and just charges in to eat. Crypto peers in every direction and then enters cautiously. Soon both tails are swishing gently. I think they could both easily be captured.
Undecided about whether to take them. My mum has a cat too, an elderly critter who loves a fondle. Mine might get stressed at being on another cat's territory. Twinkle might beat up my two (which wouldn't do Tuxy any harm at all, make her realize life doesn't revolve around her) but she (Twinkle) might also show them how enjoyable being fondled is. Mum is a bit worried in case Tuxy waters the carpet and says they must be confined to the bathroom (that wouldn't last long!!).
So I have to balance the stress of being caged, traveling and being in a new location with another cat; with the stress of being alone for 4 or 5 days and somebody they don't know very well tending them. Neighbors also have an indoor cat so will probably carry his scent on their clothing. My sofa and dining chairs to pee on!
Sounds a bit "no contest" but you never quite know with these two.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
waysider
We have two that are from a family of cats living in the woods. They were just like yours when we got them. When we go away for a few days, I put down a really large dish of food. (We only feed them dry.) I don't normally water them from bowls. Instead, I fill a short 5 gallon bucket clear to the top with fresh water. It's the perfect height for them to walk up and drink without stooping down or reaching up. We have two litter boxes but I put down a third if we are away. Then, I make sure there is nothing valuable on tables that they can knock over. (That part takes about 2 seconds.) When we come home, they don't seem to even notice we've been gone. Been doing it that way for almost 12 years.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Linda Z
Twinky, if you need to leave the kitties at home, this is what they'll be doing.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
leafytwiglet
We always leave ours with a person feeding once a day as we have chickens and Sheep that need attention too. they just hide from the feeders and eat when the feeders leave.
when I come home they do one of two things either I am their long lost Mother or I am chopped liver and no one meows a meager hello for one day then back to normal
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Well, folks - the girlies stayed home. My next door neighbors checked on them several times a day.
Got back home last night and they eyed me up and avoided me. At least for a while. Taz (neighbor) said they missed me and kept looking around up the stairs for me. Friend visited last night and he said the same. But when I come down the stairs - they run off and hide! They have turned into thieves, in as much as they pull down the Go-Cat box and push it all over the floor till the contents spill out.
It was nice staying with my mum over Christmas. She has "our" cat, who looks very like Crypto but is much older. Twinkle is no less than 13 and could be much older (self-rescue cat, came after being abandoned and never went away). She loves to lie on a lap or, better, on one's chest. She purrs with delight at being touched. I call her a "bendy toy" because you can grap a hold of her and position her on your lap in the way you want her to lie, and then she just gives a sigh and you can feel her body relaxing into the position you have put it in.
Try doing that with the girlies. Ha ha ha. Off like a shot.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
What surprises me about my two girlies is that they expect me to watch them eating. I put food down for them and go and do other things. They'll eat if really hungry but otherwise more or less leave the food. They will come and mew at me (if I'm in the house) for fresh stuff and if I put it down they will gobble it down but if I walk out of the room they will leave the fresh food - until I come back in again. Then, they will attack it with enthusiasm. They make like they want to play, but when I play with them they will just return to the food bowl.
Are they just being immature cats , am I a mother subsitute, am I their guardian angel, or is something else going on here?
Tuxy is thin but Crypto seems to be putting on weight (getting fatter).
They are such odd creatures.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
leafytwiglet
LOL I have had cats like this well not quite that bad but my Tuffy cat wanted you to walk him to his bowl and pet scratch him for a little bit before he would eat... Now this is okay during the day but takes the joy right out of it at 3 AM
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheHighWay
I am SO glad you decided to leave the cats at home when you visited your mom for the holidays. I think you would have undone a lot of your progress if you had taken them! (sorry, I hadn't visited this thread in awhile or I would have said so before)
As for your cats being upset with you when you returned, and giving you the cold shoulder, mine do that, too.
And wanting you to watch them eat... mine do something similar. Every morning each of my girls (I have three) expects me to come downstairs and "do something" to the food and water bowls, even if they are already full. Once that is done they will happily eat, but not before. Then, I'm supposed to spend individual time with each of them. They each have their specific morning spot they go to and expect me to come visit them there. Obviously, they have me well trained!
I also have one cat that will pick up her favorite toy and call for me throughout the house until she finds me and then she'll drop the toy at my feet. However, I've learned this doesn't mean she wants to play, it just means she wants some attention.
You have to give it to them... they do manage to communicate their wants and needs amazingly well.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Well, I'm glad this "Watch me eat, Mom" is a "normal" thing. Yes, even if there is food left in the bowl, I have to add a little more or stir it round a little. Odd.
I had a nice cuddle with Tuxy the other night. I was ignoring her as she wandered across my desk and couch. This made her become very annoying and keep putting herself there. After some hours I seized her and made her lie in my lap. The usual fight, then she settled down, purring with enthusiasm, let me stroke her in places she doesn't usually allow to be touched (under the chin, etc), and eventually curled up and went to sleep, refusing to move! Hah, I thought, a real pet cat. I moved to the couch and lay down with her on my chest, and she loved it. Went to sleep very happily.
All the while Crypto is watching and making her happy praaa-oow? sort of sounds. Coming very close and gazing at me and at Tuxy. I kept putting Tuxy where Crypto could see her, to show C that being fondled isn't such a scary thing. T just turned her back on C.
It was nice while it lasted. We are back to normal today. Wander up and then as a hand is extended to fondle, running off immediately. And whining/mewing for attention.
But Tuxy definitely fights me less than she did. She wriggles to get away but doesn't scratch at me. That's progress.
And Crypto doesn't hide in cupboards any more but will sit watching me from a distance of 4 or 5 feet. That's progress, too.
I will have had these little darlings (?) for a year on Jan 17. You would think that by now they would have realized that I am not going to eat them or whatever it is they are afraid of.
Now Leafy, how ever did you get started on hand feeding at 3am? Take some sleeping pills (crush them into Tuffy's food!!!).
Walk him to his bowl... ha ha ha
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Ouch, Tuxy bit me again. Well it was my own fault really. I had captured her and was stroking her in my lap. She wasn't settled and at the first opportunity jumped off. I caught her back leg and we had a serious wrestle, with her tearing up the carpet to try and escape. When I plonked a cushion on her to subdue her, I think that's when she bit me - her last resort.
Yes, it got infected...again, all swollen and fiery. But it seems to have responded (to prayer) and hasn't been such a huge problem as last time, which took 3 weeks of heavy duty antibiotics.
What am I supposed to do with these unhandleable creatures? Yet both are so very very much better than they were when I first got them.
As for Crypto...she allowed me to stroke her once as she passed her body near my leg, this evening.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
leafytwiglet
Ouch... I say this knowing that Bongo just scratched me when I picked him up last night.
I think you just have to be persistent and remember ferral cats take a very long long time to tame.
Bongo is feral. You can only pet him when he thinks it is okay. and picking up is another one second or two afair that I keep persisting about because if I ever have to get him to the vet I will need to grab him.
BTW one of my neighbors has a cat who came fully feral. it took them three full yeras to get him to allow them to pet pick up and hold etc. HE is the biggest lovey boy you ever saw now!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Linda Z
My current feline roommate Molly was very skittish when I got her. She'd been in a shelter off and on for a year (between escapes), and I think before that she had been a feral cat. Her tail was broken completely off, leaving about a 2-inch stub (and she's not a manx), so I think she had a pretty rough life before coming to live in the safe lap of luxury with me.
Molly will not be held, and I don't try to force her to let me hold her. She loves to come sit right up against me on the arm of my recliner and be petted and scratched, but the minute I try to get her onto my lap, she flees.
She also enjoys jumping up on my bed for a cuddle or scratch (and chasing the dogs away!)
I think with cats you have to sorta "let them be them." I've had Molly for several years now. Whatever makes her afraid is apparently so ingrained in her that nothing I've been able to do will change that. Who knows, maybe someday she'll just climb willingly into my lap, but if she doesn't, I can still enjoy her company, within her boundaries.
There's an old saying about people owning dogs and cats owning people. I think there's some truth to it!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheHighWay
One of my cats was a stray kitten but very loving and easy to handle when I first took her in. I could pick her up and hold her for as long as I liked with no problems.
However, two years later when I added another cat to the mix I made the mistake of trying to hold cat #1 while introducing them. I thought it would help her stay calm but she freaked out anyway, which caused me to grip her harder to keep her from hurting me or the new cat or herself. By the time I got her set down she was berzerker.
And ever since she has been completely skittish about being held. For about a year she simply wouldn't have it. Finally, she started letting me pick her up for brief periods, and now she'll stay quiet long enough for me to scratch her ears and cheeks a bit (maybe as much as a full minute) but she'll be on the lookout the whole time and the second she sees one of the other cats she wants down NOW.
That one traumatic encounter seemed to put it into her head that being held meant something bad was about to happen and even though it has been eight years since the incident I haven't been able to erase that from her thinking.
Edited by TheHighWayLink to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Leafy - three years! Maybe then I'm a third of the way through.
Linda - getting a bit that way with Tuxedo. She jumps on a chair near me as if to say, I'm here! Play with me! but when I reach out she often springs away. But then, sometimes, she will just stay and be petted, head rubbed, back stroked. Okay unless I try to pick her up. Crypto loves to sit near me, about 3ft away. But if I move - she's away like a shot, usually.
THW - Yes, one bad incident and that seems to be it. Takes a lot of overcoming.
I think they are settled here. Much less jumpy, both of them, than they used to be. When it gets warmer, I will let them out - will be their first time unless you count Tuxy's adventure on a lead (see above) which was a Refusal from her point of view. I must make them a shelter before I open the door. They may never come back. No idea how they will react to the other cats around here, of which there are more than a few. Tuxy will quickly find that she is not the Boss Cat.
Hey, has anyone else had this experience? They like to use the same litter tray (their choice). Crypto neatly covers her leavings, but Tuxy leaves great extremely stinky piles right there in full view (and smell - gag <_< ). She knows to cover (I hear her scratching nearby) but since about the second month I had her, she won't cover. She will do this whether the litter is completely fresh or whether it has been out for a little while and therefore used.
I've thought this might be her showing her dominance. Believe me, I've thought of leaving my own message for her and not covering, but that seems too disgusting. If there were a zoo nearby I might ask for some lion poo. Any suggestions?
Maybe when they start going outside they'll learn to use soil. Probably in my vege garden...
Sorry if you were eating when you read this ! :D
Link to comment
Share on other sites
leafytwiglet
I agree I think it is a dominance thing with them. I have two taht cover and one tuxy that leaves it out for all to see and smell. and when I had Darin a big white tom he liked to leave it uncovered to prove he wore teh pants in a house full of females.. (He didn't...wear the pants, LOL)
anyway think of it as better than them deciding to pee in a corner or spray which he started to do off and on to let me know he was not happy there were any other kitties in the house thank you very much. Even if they were girl kitties.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Gotta agree, Leafy, a whole lot better than doing it elsewhere or weeing in places that she shouldn't.
Have had to throw one rug away and need to clean its replacement; someone on this thread recommended borax. That's a job for when the weather is consistently warmer, another couple of months or so.
Just lately I am starting to feed them real Go-Cat (not supermarket lookalike) and they like this very much. Eat all they can. Both are considerably larger, no bad thing since they were so skinny and bony before. However this high inflow of food they are now consuming also means high outflow. Yesterday I had 6 or 8 of Tuxy's stinky little statements. I remove it from the litter tray and whadayaknow, seems like she goes straight back and does another.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
leafytwiglet
LOL you know you are their complete slave when they think you are their chief chef and commode cleaner.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Hahaha, you got it!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.