I finally let them go...

Just wanted to also say a big thanks for keeping us up-to-date! I read this thread regularly so I can see how your kittens are doing - it does sound like they are thriving once again! And, I am originally from the Seattle area (Kent), so it is always interesting to read about cat lovers from an area of the world I am familiar with.

All the best! Look forward to each and every update!

Thanks for the encouragement, ladies!!
Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s good to know someone is enjoying my log.

4/2/08

Torako has been coming every time I called her since Sunday.
Every day, as soon as I come home I call her once. Then she shows up!
This morning, I took dry food out on the porch. I later checked on cat cam footage and there she was!! It looked like she came shortly after I put the bowl out there. We were so busy in the morning, that I was not paying attention.
She at least comes twice during the day. I wonder if she decided to settle in my yard!! That would be perfect!

Last night, I was doing little weeding. Then Torako was checking out what I am doing. She was following me little bit, too.

On Monday, I made little modification to the cat house entry. Mr. Scar showed up that night early and we rushed to go see him. They he run away.
And that was it. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see him in nightly video capture for 2 nights.
I hope he wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be back….

Here are the pictures I took of Torako yesterday.
Spring is finally here!!! (for now....)


Here, she is looking at humming bird on the branch.
She is really interested in them.

You have such a beautiful yard. Everything is so neat and nice -- including your cats.

Thanks for the compliment, Katie. It looks nice, but weeds are starting to pop up now. I should start gardening soon, but weekend has been always rainy and cold!!!

4/3/08

I got present from my kitties again! 2 mouse this time.

I wonder who caught them...
From the cat cam video, at least one mouse has been already left there by 11PM. I see cats sniff at it and walk away. I guess once mouse stops moving, they are not interested.

Mr. Scar stopped coming. It's very strange....
On Monday, I made more modification to the cat house entry. Then, Mr. Scar showed up earlier that day. When my husband came to the kitchen, Mr. Scar run away. Since he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t touch the cat house, he doesn't know about the entry modification.
That was the last time I saw him. I wonder if Mother Nature took him away...?

4/6/08

Sigh… Mr. Scar is still around. And he stole a mouse Torao brought for us!!
Cat cam footage clearly showed Torao dropping mouse at the porch. Then, few hours later, Mr. Scar showed up. He didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t try to go inside of cat house, but quickly found mouse. It looked like he gobbled it up. Mr. Scar also dug up part of lawn I planted yesterday.

Torako got to eat fancy feast twice! She is such a nice girl.
At dinner time, she always comes when I call. I think she is staying in my neighborâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s yard, though.
Later on, I put out a scrap parts from roast chicken for them. I called Torako but she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come until much later.

I love your log.
It is like a story. It seems as though Torako is the tamest of them all.
You are very loved by your cats. For ferals to leave gifts and to keep coming is very sweet.
I am glad you are finding ways to still connect with them. Your heart was so broken before.

Thanks CC12. I still miss them, though. I miss petting them and playing with them. I long for more interaction with them…. Torako comes nose to nose distance to us, but she doesn't like to be petted. She goes back her den somewhere out side of my yard.
After all, they are barn cats and I should accept how they are….
I miss having indoor kitty pet so much that I am starting to look for one to adopt. My husband is overly worried about his allergy but he said OK to Russian Blue…. But adult Russian Blue is very hard to come by….. I am not in hurry to adopt one, though. When right one comes in right timing, we will get one.

4/8/08

Mr. Scar made it in to the cat house!!! But he doesn't do that every night.
Torako got to eat Fancy Feat twice again. Both my husband and daughter were down with flu. So I stayed home yesterday.
Compared to other 2 kits, she must be eating more. She is not "FAT", but she looks more full than other two.
It was nice day yesterday and I saw Torako sitting in my patio enjoying cherry blossoms. It was such an nice sight. I hope other kits come out like she does and relax in my yard some day...

You express so much love for your cats; it is so much fun to read.

You know the shelters have a lot of adult cats and some might have Russian Blues. Also you can try Petfinder.com ( I might not have the name exactly right).

I hope you get a kitty to love inside your house.

Petfinder is how I found my boys.
I was horribly allergic to cats. I took Singulaire and Zyrtec. Now I am not allergic at all. I adapted to my cats. It is not easy at first.
I got heavy duty air filters. I gave Mary weekly baths. I opened the windows so that it could air out. I mopped the floors. I kept her out of one room so that I could go in there if it overwhelmed me but soon it was over.
I even have allergy induced asthma but I hung in there and now I have my kits to snuggle with.

4/9/08

Mr. Scar stole my mouse again!!!!
Cat cam shows Torao bringing mouse in his mouth and dropping at the patio. Then few hours later, Mr. Scar gobbled it up again!!! Torao must be a good hunter…or, do we have a lot of mouse around??? We had rat infestation few years ago. That was gross.

Torako came around 5PM today, so I opened Fancy Feast for her. She ate it all. She sniffed at dry food on the patio then walked away. While she was still in the yard, my daughter went out and played with her a little.
Then Torako noticed me standing and watching behind sliding door. She came right up to patio and sat and looked at me. I knew that look! She wants more! I gave in, and brought out left over chicken. She clearly knows I have better food, and how she could get it.

Thanks Katie and CC.

Yes. I look at Petfinder.com a lot. I also look at Craigslist.
I have been visiting local shelters a lot, too. Visiting the shelters were new experience for me. And I am discovering how shelters are run differently between organizations.
Recently, local county run shelters were cited by auditor for the second time. When I visited there, it made me very sad. Officers were yelling at dogs and cats were all hungry for attention. I have visited another place which was run by non-profit organization. They rescue many ferals and re-home them. It was very dumpy place. 3 cats were kept in confinement of the size for Genie pig enclosure. I saw 2 cats kept in small crate and one of them had his waste in his water bowl.
I also visited very nice places, too. Very clean and cats are kept all cozy. I wonder why there are so many differences in shelters??? Maybe feral place takes in more than they can handle…
I often visit near by humane society to pet the cats. They have free roaming cat rooms and I can basically come and go freely.

I found Russian Blue, but rescue organization wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t let me have him since he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like kids. That cat acts like he is a king, too. He would have hard time finding a new home.
I am not in hurry to find one. When Torako comes by, and stays in my yard while my daughter was trying to interact with her, I feel like I should not have another cat. Maybe Torako will be indoor/outdoor cat some day. But I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think my husband would like that idea.

Singulaire and Zyrtec

Click to expand...

I am a bit distracted right now, and I read this as your cats names, CC12!

Allergies are a pain, aren't they? I have none, but my husband does. We vacuum regularly and at night, we don't let the kittens in the room and open the window. It helps him - but I think his allergies are relatively minor.

Love the thread Kazy!

4/11/08

I was little concerned to discover some blood stain at the cat house entry this morning. One of food bowls were left outside, too.
By examining the cat cam footage, it was Mr. Scar who did all that. There was no conflict with cats. He was just determined to get the food inside the cat house.
I did more modifications to the cat house entry last night and that worked to prevent Mr. Scar to be able to go in there. Since I wasn't sure if that solution would work, I didn't nail it down yet.
I made little maze inside. Cats were able to maneuver but Mr. Scar must not be good at turning tight corner. He was struggling for about an hour and finally gave up. I now know how distructive raccoons can be. I will secure the maze tonight.

Last night before I went to bed, I walked in to the dark kitchen. Then I saw Torako by the cat house. I gently called her from inside. She noticed me and quickly sat down as usual. I opened the door and she is expecting me to give her yummy stuff.


So, I brought out the chicken again. While I was getting dish and chicken, Torako came inside. So I put the dish down on the floor. She ate it right there!! Then she went on to explore the kitchen and the family room. Then quickly went outside. It was such a precious moment!!

Thanks Wendy.

My husband has itchy eczema. He thinks cat allergy will aggravate it.
He is on Zyrtec. His cat allergy level is 2 out of scale of 5. So, I would say it's minor. But he is very concerned since itchy rash is very uncomfortable for him. Personally, I don't think allergy is contributing it to his eczema, but his doctor told him it would affect it. He is allergic to dust mites, too and I think that's more of thread than cat…

He just doesn't like having animal in the house. He is worried about them making mess and scratch his furniture....

Cute picture.
Good for getting rid of Mr Scar. The cats will love having a familiar home come next winter. Mr Scar was becoming the bad guy in this story.

4/14/08

Seattle hit 80 degrees on Saturday and cats were enjoying nice day.
Torako seems to come visit us more often when weather is nice. She knows how to make me bring her Fancy Feast now.

Friday night, I saw Torako wondering around by the cat house. I opened the door, and Torao rushed out of the cat house. I called him, he mewed a little. So, I put Fancy Feast out and left it in the cat house. (Since Torako has been eating all Fancy Feast these days, other cats are only getting dry food)
When I was about to go inside, Torako came to me. I gave her little treat. Torao came closer and wanting to have treat, too. So I threw it to him which made him scared and run behind the bush. He mewed a little to call Torako. Torako went back to him but quickly came back and ate more treat. It was as if Torako has been telling all about yummy encounters to other kits. I knew Torao wanting to try it but he is little scared…
Torako smelled Fancy Feast and went inside cat house. So I went inside the house, closed the door, and turned off the light. As soon as I did that, Torao run to the cat house.

Sunday was gardening day and I was out and doing a lot of yard work. Then Torako came. I gave some treat, but she sniffed and sat again with the look. She is demanding Fancy Feast!! She ate the whole can. I think Torako enjoys being around us (in her own terms, though). We were even able to pet her while she was eating. I tried to put FrontLine on her, but she was not tame enough. She run away.
I don't think they have much flea anyway, though...


She is definitely getting fatter…. I think I am feeding her too much, but…. Oh well. She only gets Fancy Feast twice when we are home. During the week, she only gets Fancy Feast once.

She looks very cute and pleased with herself and her training you to provide treats and Fancy Feast. She doesn't look fat to me. Just right.

She looks pleased with herself. I would say these cats are yours totally. I think all you will have to do to catch them is offering up the food.
Good job.

4/15/08

It was raining hard early evening yesterday, but Torako still came.
While she was eating Fancy Feast, my daughter gave her little bit of cheddar cheese. She loved it.
After she was all done with Fancy Feast, my daughter gave her more cheese.
Since is was cold to have door open, she put the cheese inside the house. Torako came in! And she ventured in more. But, as soon as I shut the door, she panicked. She was darting to the window with distress meow.
I brought Frontline out and applied to her.

She was scared, but didn't hiss or scratch. She was little anxious. She stayed close to the door and didn't run around to hide. (Torao would do this) That's why I was able to hold her. I could feel her shaking from being scared. (Cats do shake when they are scared).
After that, I opened the door and gently put her down. I was expecting her to run away to the bush but she then sat at the usual place. So I told my daughter to get more cheese out and Torako ate it up.
I hope she gets use to of this so I can apply flea and worm remedy periodically.