Feral Cat Behavior

Feral cats are so unfazed by situations that we think will stress them out.

Mike and I went to the animal shelter last week and brought back a dog. The pedigree is questionable. I do not believe this is a breed specific dog, I believe he is breed inspecific!

I had to laugh at the woman when she released him to me. She said to remember to make the introductions to the cats gradual. I had told her that we would test drive “dave” until Monday. If he was aggressive to the cats or the horses, we would bring him back. She agreed to this. I also told her that with over a dozen cats, a gradual introduction of this puppy was not going to happen. It was going to be a baptism of fire, because the cats would surround him the minute we got home. When you have only one or two cats, that is another story.

We took our leave and came home. I was correct, the minute we walked in “Quincy” was surrounded by five very inquistive and nervous kitties. To this dog’s credit, he handled the investigation quite well. There was hissing and spitting and some circling going on, but we had Quincy on the lead and he held himself in check, although he was quite nervous.

Things were progressing well until snot-nose (also known as Matuse) came into the room. He ran up and swatted Quincy square on the head several times, and then the gloves came off. Quincy was not having any of this nonsense and he went to lunge at Mateuse. Stupid me reached down to stop him and got bit in the process, but the bite was doggy mistake and I didn’t correct Quincy. I did shoo Mateuse into the other room and shut him in for a 10 second time-out.

It took some working with both the cats and dogs, but today- Monday, everyone is getting along just fine. There is clear evidence that this charming dog has been severly abused, and so we are working with him gently and calmly and he is responding well. We took him to the coast yesterday and let him run on the beach. He loved it and it was so windy when I threw his ball, I thought the darn thing would never stop. The tide was way out and so Quincy met his first real sea creature (a crab) and he got all sandy and wet. But we had a ball.

One thing I don’t appreciate about him, is we can spend hours brushing him. He gets brushed twice a day. And the minute we are finished and he looks so sleek and shiny, he shakes and looks unkempt again! The little scamp!

We took him to the vet, and other than kennel cough he appears healthy.The vet puts him at one year old and says he is part English Sheepdog, Lhasa Apso and Terrier. His photo is below. And yes, he is a keeper-

Some disturbing findings regarding the recent outbreak of bird flu

The cat enclosure that Mike and I constructed is such a joy. I can look out of the kitchen window and watch the cats running up and down the ramps, scampering up the trees, or laying on the condos courtesy of Feline Furniture

It is so reassuring to know that they are safe. No more fear of collisions with automobiles, exposure to those who wish to do them harm, vanishing for days at a time worrying us half to death, coming back with cat bites or worse.

I miss so many of them, Noddy, Wink and Blink, Tazzy, Hissy and just wish that we had been able to construct or buy an enclosure before late last year. But at least now, I know they are safe, and that is worth its weight in gold for peace of mind.

I am so against caging ferals in small cages, but outdoor, large enclosures are a far cry from small cramped cages. They are hardly at rest out there. They are almost always active inside and that just helps them keep healthy.

Since I have been talking about Chappy quite a bit, thought I would post a picture of him right when he arrived.

Chappy has made great strides with us in bonding and affection. He jumps on the couch now and sits next to me and then just stares…waiting. I look over at him slowly and blink a few times, talk to him in my special voice and call him “Chap Chap..” When he hears those words he raises his tail end and waits expectantly for me to scratch his tail bone. He is so funny in his elevator butt manuever and he acts like he could reach the ceiling he raises his butt so high.

I am always amazed when these feral cats decide we are worth trusting, and every time I make that point where we bond, the feeling is immeasurable. It truly feels like I have hit the lottery in unconditional love-

The game continues daily of “Chase Indy into the kitchen cupboard.” All health issues have been ruled out, including anal gland problems. Indy is bright, alert, playful, loving and eating and drinking and using the litter pan normally. Yet, Prowler continues to chase her into the cupboard several times a day.

They do not seem distressed at this game. They are not fighting, growling, spitting or hissing at each other. They are just stalking each other, and then the chase begins. It ends with Indy scrambling up the side of the cupboard under the sink, and over the top onto the shelf.

Perhaps that is all it is, just a game and I am worrying unnecessarily. Though I have to admit, as Indy gets bigger, this game will have to stop because the opening is so small, she won’t fit any longer.

It is abeautiful day here today with the sun out for the first time in days. I managed to clean off the back porch, something that truly needed to be done. The heated cat bed is still going strong and Bailey climbs into it every night to sleep. He is such a funny barn cat, he follows China and I out when I take China back to the creek. We must look a sight to the neighbors; a white german shepherd dog, an orange barn cat and me. China doesn’t bother Bailey, she knows better, and when I am done and ready to head back, Bailey begs for a ride, so up he goes on my shoulder all the way back to the house. I love the harmony here with the animals.

My major change in my life this week will afford me more time to spend with the horses, as well as to begin to train China in earnest. I also started a special diet after seeing a nutritional expert about some problems. Both Mike and I are now on the same diet plan.

Life can change in a moment notice, and with changes in my life comes a new element of stress in the cats. They are used to me being easy-going and tranquil around them, and lately when I come in the room they are all around me as if to try and comfort me. I woke up last night with Oliver draped on my head, Tipster on my legs, Chappy on my chest and Riley on the shelf over my head. That was a first. I took comfort in their presence and was lulled back to sleep on a sea of purrs.

Bently is in heat-at not even 3 and a half months, she is in silent heat and Matuese wastes no time in mounting her when she starts to crouch. Thank God he has been neutered. That is all I need, a litter of kittens! I called the vet, but she is to young for him to consider spaying so tomorrow I will do some long-distance calling and see if I can find another vet that does early spay and neuter-

Trying to unravel blind cords after kittens decide they are the best play toy around!

Mercedes and Bently have been attacking the blinds for several days. Just sitting on the window sill and batting the light-weight cords back and forth have caused quite a tangled mess.

Everynight, I untangle the cords and every morning I wake up to another tangled mess.

So finally, I got smart and took a section of PVC pipe and cut it to fit. I mounted it on the side of the window frame and now the cords slide through the pipe and stay straight and away from busy kitty paws. Of course Mercedes and Bently are looking at me accusingly from across the room wondering why I had to spoil all their fun.

I guess I am all about spoiling animal’s fun today. Racer (my mustang-cross) has been leaning across our neighbor’s fence trying to get to the grass. I put up a barrier this morning to keep him away from the fence. I know that Dean will be pleased, but I don’t think Racer was amused.

There is a storm arriving tonight, and as it comes closer, the cats get more and more anxious. There were a few territorial disputes developing between the four alpha cats and I heard more growling tonight than I have in a long time.

Now that the storm is here, the cats are outside in the enclosure, all of them. Huddled on the new CattyCorner Condo from www.felinefurniture.com they are looking out into the darkness and the pounding rain. Not one cat or kitten is in the house! With 150 foot evergreens around the place, I am a bit nervous that they might know something I don’t.

They seem spooked by their own shadows and when they move, they do so with caution, almost as if they are walking on shredded glass or something. It’s almost as eerie as the storm outside to see this type of behavior from them.

I will be eternally grateful to my friend Eddie who sent me an email right before Mike and I were getting ready to leave. The email alerted me to the storm. We had no idea and we would have driven right into it had we left, plus, we wouldn’t be here to protect the cats, and the horses should something happen. I am sad to not see my parents as planned, but sometimes things just don’t go as planned do they?

I have the window open and the drapes are blowing out into the room, adding to the drama of the storm outside. I do love it when it gets like this, and being so close to the mountains, we get some pretty wild storms.

I have plenty of supplies both for us and the animals. Fresh hay in the barn- 4 tons of it, plenty of water, lots of pet food, and we have food that doesn’t need to be heated should we lose power.

We thought we were up but apparently not. Hang in there- I will be in touch as soon as I know more.