I finally let them go...

7/31/08

Sigh…. I am such an impatient person.

Today, Torao was in the cat house. My daughter peeked inside and he even didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t run out. So I decided to put Leo in there.
Leo was not quite sure how to go in so I opened the roof, and put him in.
They were both inside for a while.
So, I decided to hold Torao and do more brushing.

Big mistake.

Since we were outside, he did protest A LOT.
He scratched me (he ruined my shirt by ripping it) and also bit my finger pretty deep.
I finally let him go and he ran to his den.

I feel terrible.

I kept apologizing to him about what I have done.
Thankfully, he hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t been acting like he is afraid of me more.
He came to eat, he played with DaBird and played with Leo.
He didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t run away unless I was really close.

I should not try to change him. My co-worker's cat HATES to be held. She protests quite bit even though she is a tame house cat.

I think we all have done something similar! I am sure Torao has forgiven you. I remember I upset Paddington one time (he too ripped and ruined my shirt!) and I was really worried he would hold it against me, but he was back to being himself in no time. It was just his way of telling you to not do that again.

Is your finger okay? Watch it - we got bitten (by Paddington) when we took him into get neutered and both my husband and I had to go on antibiotics. My doctor (who had an unrelated appointment with a few days later) checked out the wound and said it was good we went in to see her as we would have gotten blood poisoning and spent the weekend in the ER.

Thanks, Wendy.

I think Torao has forgiven me. In fact, he was little more bold than before today.
I was sitting right in front of cat house, probably less than 2 feet away. He went right in there. I was wondering if he was testing me??? He played with me more and ate from my hand. I will be more patient and if I can't hold him by the end of August, I will just have to trap him for annual shot.

I went in to doctor's office for different appointment. Nurse took look at my finger and it doesn't look bad a all. Scratch on my arm is more swollen than my finger. She told me to keep eye on them. I made my finger bleed quite bit intentionally to flush out. Maybe that helped.

I'm glad your finger is okay. Be careful of all cat bites and scratches, they can easily be infected. The vet explained to me why but I don't remember!

Some cats really don't want to be held. You are doing very well with your cats. Some of mine won't let me near them, much less pick them up!

It's beautiful the way Leo has bonded with Tarao. They are adorable. All your cats are very pretty.

And I love your garden!

8/5/08

On Sunday, I rescued small bunny from Torako.
Bunny had good part of skin ripped off by you know who. I applied Neosporin and let him go outside the gate.
Then on Monday, bunny was back. It looked like Torako has been sitting next to bunny's hiding place all day long. We caught him again and let him go in to our neighbor's yard this time.


At first, I wasn't sure if it was same bunny or not. I guess bunny's skin heals very quick. It still had same scar, but it was healing very nicely.

Rest of evening, Toras seemed very tired. They just laid around and took nap. I guess being alert for bunny all day long wore Torako out. I wonder where the bunny came from??? I remember we had bunny nest in our yard few years ago, but I don't think bunnies are stupid enough to do so this year… or would they???



Leo started to do more resting when he is outside. But it is clear he doesn't feel secure enough to completely relax there. Littlest noise make him up. Torao and Torako seem very secure in our yard. Torako was stretched out and completely sleeping on our patio. My husband was out barbecuing but that even didn't make her move.



Here is Leo being on top of Torako. I was little worried when Torako even didn't move or opened her eyes. I guess she was super tired. Leo was trying to wake her up to play.

They all look so relaxed! How lovely!

And Leo is getting big, isn't he? They grow up so quickly. He is adorable and it is great to see how much he seems to love his 'siblings'.

8/6/08

There must be bunny next near by us.
Yesterday, Torao went out of fence after dinner. Torako stayed in the yard, but sat on top of fence to look for Torao's return.
After little bit, Torako quickly jumped and run over to the other neighbor's yard.
My daughter was peeking through the knot of fence and screamed.
"Wow! Torao caught something! He has something white!" I run to the fence and peeked. It looked like he had another baby bunny in his mouth.
Both kitties disappeared to neighbor's yard. Then, I heard laud scream of bunny. We knew what it was because bunny we caught yesterday made same laud squeaking sound. Did bunny escaped or what???
Both kitties came back around 11pm. I wonder if they were catching bunny for food or fun….
They are not eating dry food that much lately.

8/6/08

We came home and there was new bunny again!!
Kitties must be bringing baby bunnies every night.
I let this one go again, but I may leave next one alone.

Torao didn't show himself until late today. I let Leo play with him little bit, but it was time for him to come inside.
Around 11pm, Torao kept going back and forth infront of sliding door and meowing. I think he was waiting for Leo to come out again.

Awwww. That is cute that they are such good friends.
The one thing I have hard time with outdoor cats is the hunting part. I would have been like you trying to free the little baby bunny.
Leo is getting very very big.

8/11/08

Torako is missing for more than 24 hours.
We were gone camping on the weekend. When we came home and called kitties for dinner, only Torao showed up.
Catcam showed footage of two together Sunday morning around 10am. So she was OK at that point.
This is day 2 and still no sign of Torako. This is very unusual and I am worried something had happened to her.

At the same time, Torao started to let me pet him. It may be just a coincident, but I suspect him being sad or lonely of not having his sister near by and that why he decided to let me pet him...

I am making appointment with Hillary tomorrow. I can't let a day go by like this....

8/12/08

Torako is back!!!!
I wonder where she has been, but she came back this morning!

Originally Posted by Kazy

8/12/08

Torako is back!!!!

I wonder where she has been, but she came back this morning!

Click to expand...

YAY! I was worried for her. I always wonder they go when they disappear for days like that.

8/13/08

Thanks for encouraging words!
I may be little crazy to care about kitties so much, but Torao and Trako are my kitties now.
I care about them as much as I care about Leo.
It is one draw back of having them outside. I may keep them inside if they want to come in. But I don't think that would happen. I don't think outdoor kitties would like confined indoor life….
Leo is used to of going out every day, but he did not leave patio when we had rain. May be outdoor kitties may decide to come in once realizing how warm inside house is.

I am having petting practice with Torao every day. He is still little scaredy kitty and I have to approach very gently. He definitely is not sure about my daughter. He doesn't feel comfortable of being petted when my daughter is in his sight.
Yesterday, I was petting him and noticed something dripped from his face. I was worried if he was catching cold. Then it was his drool!! He was enjoying being petted and he was drooling! Wow, I must give very good massage. I hope he would be more tame by the end of month so that I can take both Torako and Torao to the vet without trapping them.

Cats are in the house!

I was able to bring both Torako and Torao inside and finished having vet visit for annual shot!!
Torao will become very sweet whenever I have Leo with me. That's how I was able to bring him inside. He lets me pet him really good and he even rubs me.
It was stormy on Wednesday. Torako was even sleeping inside of cat house. That made me decided to bring kitties inside. Torao was uneasy at first, but quickly adjusted. After all, that room was where they used to live.
They were very good at the vet. I was holding Torako and my daughter was holding Torao.
We are planning to let them out this afternoon. All kitties are taking nap in the room now.

If any bad weather comes, I am ready to bring them in anytime.

8/26/08

Summer is definitely over here in Seattle area.
It was decent day during daylight hour, but started to rain in the evening. I called Leo to come inside. Then he showed up with Torako. Leo was little far from sliding door to grab on, so I picked up Torako and put her inside to have Leo follow her. He came right in. And Torako decided to stay inside!! Instead of walking out, she was following Leo and ready to explorer the house. So, I carried her to Leoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room. She crawled under the sofa and made her self comfortable like she did before.
It really seems like she likes sleeping inside when itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s wet outside. This is perfectly fine with me, but I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want Trao to worry about her. I tried to invite him in, but he was little skeptical. If Leo was more willing to roam around outside with me, he would have came closer and I would have been able to pick him up. But Leo hates going outside in rain. He was little uneasy and that drove Torao away. I am sure Leo knows I am using him to lure Torao to me.
I tried to communicate Torao that Torako is fine and she is very comfortable inside. I am planning to let Torako out in the morning.

I am really enjoying reading about your adventure.

How cute! You are a very caring person.

9/3/08

Tora is becoming more and more tame. He trusts me more. But he is still not sure about my daughter. I don't blame him. She is 9 year old and she is a full of energy. The other day, I was able to pet him and pick him up without having Leo near me. That was nice. That night, both Torako and Torao stayed inside with Leo. When 3 of them are together in there, they must have a lot of activity. I see lot of evidence in the morning in cat's room. Torako spend the night inside for 2 nights in row. I invited her in and she came inside. She sniffed around and Leo and her were to have fun time in my daughter's room with is full of little toys and stuffed animals. I am ready to have both outdoor kitties inside when night time gets really cold. But if they refuse, they have cat house and other place to stay warm.

Torako is a good hunter. Over the weekend, I witnessed her catching bird twice!! After toying the bird, she gobbled up, too. I guess birds are yummier than mice. I often see abandoned dead mouse out there but never a bird.



I think Torako and Torao identify themselves to belong to us. Or they identify us as their human. I really enjoy watching my outdoor cat and indoor cat bonding close, too. They get along very well and they are clearly becoming family.

I don't see Puff or Torami anymore. I see Torami occasionally in cat cam footage. Last time I saw her was when Torako was sleeping inside of cat house. Torami came for meal, but turned around after sniffing to realize Torako's presence inside. Since they are separated too long, I don't think they identify themselves as siblings anymore. My back yard clearly belong to two kitties and no one else seems to come intrude it.

We still have daylight when I come home, but I wonder what I would do when it gets dark. Shall I still let Leo go outside for few hours in dark?? Or, invite Toras to come inside?