With a new female loose, I was fairly confident that even if I don’t catch her right away, there wasn’t a male around to service her that I knew of. This confidence disappeared this morning when I went out to feed and saw him. I call him Tom Tom and he is huge! He’s big long-hair grey boy and even from a distance I can tell he’s a tom. His cheeks are so huge he looks like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter (no pun intended).
So I have the spent the majority of the day trying to gain Slip’s trust because not only is the weather getting colder, but if this tom goes for her- he will kill her because she is so tiny. She is older than I thought- now that I have seen her in full daylight- and this afternoon, I was able to pet her back before she vanished under the house. Her and Lincoln seem to be ‘pals’ which is extraordinary to me, because Lincoln is as feral as they come. He’s been here for years- just showed up one day and although I trapped and neutered him, he has been elusive as a ghost ever since. But she has tapped into something within him and I saw him today giving her a bath and they were snuggling together. Cats are so amazing.
Yesterday, the delivery from No Bowls arrived and bless her heart, the owner and inventor Dr. Liz Bales sent enough to keep all the cats in the house busy eating out of these mouse bowls. I have followed the instructions and filled them and left them in hiding places, so far no one has bothered with them, but her literature tells you this happens. It takes time and patience for the cats to figure it out. I will leave some near their food trays tonight and see how it goes. Maybe throwing some catnip into the mix might help? I don’t know..
Molly’s wound is not getting better, so tomorrow she gets to go to the vet. Every time I try to clean out her wound, she tries to bite me (which is not like her at all) so she is quite painful and pus is still oozing from the site. It’s the strangest thing, she is so loving until she is ill and then she turns into a panther in tortie clothing! She nailed me this morning pretty good on my hand. I thought I was going to be quick and she wouldn’t get me, I was wrong. I am certain they will have to sedate her to examine her. I can’t imagine she would sit pretty for what is in store for her. It looks deep so stitches may be in order.
I have heard if you make those “mouse bowls” run around a bit 😉 the cats are more likely to get it. Cats don’t eat carrion, they stalk and hunt live prey, so the mouses hiding behind the furniture won’t be very attractive until they move.
Good luck with Slip!
I did try that, I also rolled them around the floor and other than paying attention to the tail, my cats weren’t interested. Unfortunately, even being indoor cats they have access to live prey out in the enclosure. When the weather gets so cold, the mice come burrowing under the wire to seek the warmth indoor. We have plenty of mice carcasses on a daily basis as well as a few that have escaped and are who knows where in the house? They aren’t attracted to the hard plastic much. I do wish there were someway to prevent the kibble from coming out so freely- you roll it a few times and it empties out. wishing the collar might also hold some sort of netting with smaller holes to make rolling the mouse better for the cats. But it is a learning process- and we will proceed with it. 🙂
Molly sounds like a feline version of a bad patient. She and Slip are the ones of most concern now, I guess. Good luck to you with them.
Maybe tape over one of those holes so only a few pieces come out at a time?