I finally let them go...

I would let them inside since they don't mind and then you won't feel worried. I was wondering what happened to Torami. Kind of sad but at least she is alive.

I think some feral choose to live without human dependency.
I was very upset when Konne decided to leave, but that was her choice and I had to respect that.
I think Torami is the same kind. From the very beginning, she was very timid and not liking human. When I had all 4 cats inside, she didn't show her self in front of us for one month. I was starting to worry about her health, but she was perfectly fine. At the vet, she was the one who always escaped.

I am sure every Konne, Torami and Puff know where the food is and how to get here. If they are still alive and in need of food, they would stop by.

9/19/08

This weekend is 1 year anniversary for us.
1 year ago, I trapped 3 tabby kittens and a black mom.
That was when my life with cat started!!!
I kept them inside of my guest bedroom until February.

Weather here went down hill few days ago and Torako and Torao decided to come inside.
I let Torako out this morning, but she wanted to come back inside in the evening.
Torao seems much more comfortable around my daughter and myself now.
He still runs whenever he doesn't want to deal with us. Torako never runs. She always comes to us.

We only have 2 staying with us out of original 4 kitties. Catcam caught Konne again the other night.
She was sniffing cat house but walked away. Right after that, Torako came out of it.
I think Torako was sleeping inside and Konne picked up the presence of someone inside and left.
Konne and our kitties have been chosen separate path and I don't think they recognize each other.
Our cats may not mind having them around, but Konne and Torami may not feel good about that.

I haven't seen Torami for a while now. She may not be around any more.... I have no way of knowing.
Both Torami and Konne are micro chipped. So, if they ever get trapped again, I would know.
I hope they are doing OK...

Just as in life sometimes separate paths are the right paths.
At least Konne remembers there is a friendly person inside your house.

9/29/08

Last week, we had almost winter like weather. For few days in row, all cats came inside for the night. When I call Leo to come inside, Torako shows up with him to come inside herself also. If she settles down in her usual spot in kitty room, then I would let her stay.
After my daughter is in bed, I go out in the yard to bring Torao. When I call his name, he usually meows back to me and comes to me. He never comes to during the day or runs away if I try to approach him.
But he comes at night. 3 cats stay over night and go out in the morning.
I was letting Leo out only when someone was home. But after trying for few weeks, I am confident Leo would be fine and he would stay in our yard. So, I let him out with others this morning.

It looks like Leo approaches Torako with respect and they are equal being, but he doesn't approach Torao that way. Usually, whenever Torao see's Leo he becomes rubbing monster. He just keeps rubbing his enter body on Leo. Then he often meows to call him, too. Leo treats him like little weaker being. It is true Torao is still little scared of humans. He is not 100% content when he comes inside. He is getting better, though.

10/6/08

Weather here bypassed October and turned in to November. I turned on the heater pad in the cat house and it's nice and warm inside now. Leo and Torako stayed in there most of the day today.
2 days ago, Torami started to show up again. She seemed very hungry. I wonder where she has been all summer.

My husband saw a coyote this morning. This is a bad news. We haven't seen them for few years, but they are back now.
I decided to bring in all kitties earlier in the evening when they come for dinner. This way, they will be safe at night. Torako was still wanting to get out. I am sure they will get used to of this schedule.
Leo and Trako went in to the cat house around 2pm. When we came home and called them around 5pm, they both came out. When they did, I took them inside. It's 9pm and they haven't used littler box yet. I hope they are not holding too much.

10/8/08

Right after we came home, Torao caught Torami inside of cat house.
I knew right away what was happening because as Torao was entering the cat house, his tail was fluffed up like a raccoon. Then they started to fight inside. Torami escaped and Torao chased her. He was chasing her outside of the fence and I heard another screaming. Then, Torao came back. I was asking him if he was OK, and he meowed back to me gently.

I think Torao has strong since of his territory and our backyard definitely his place. Torami was intruding. My husband just couldn't understand why cats don't recognize each other as sibling because they grew up together for the first one year.

I hope Torao didn't beat her up too badly.

10/29/08

My kitties have been doing good. For several weeks, both Leo and Torako have been sleeping inside at night. I usually bring them inside in the evening, and let them out before we leave house. Leo has been good being outside. He could go outside of fence if he really wants to, but he hasn't been doing that. I have seen him on top of fence (he jumps from my daughter's play structure). But he hasn't gone out so far.
I am monitoring them via CatCam during the day and making sure they are safe.

Torao comes in sometimes, but not all the time. I usually go get him with Leo around 10:30pm. Sometimes he comes in but sometimes he refuses. If I can grub on to him, I pick him up and bring him inside. Cat House is heated and another cat box is fully insulated and packed with hay. He likes it there.

Last night, both Toras were gone for a long time. Leo came inside but no sign of Torako or Torao. But I felt OK. I assumed they found something (like rat's nest) and taking time to come back. Around 8PM, Torako came by the sliding door. As soon as I opened the door, she run inside.
Torao didn't come back until midnight. And he seems very tired today. It looks like he has been taking nap a lot inside of cat house.

I am afraid Leo is becoming little chubby. He is more passionate about food than Torako or Torao. He loves to eat. In contrast to that, Torao doesn't care much about food. He will eat when somebody else is eating, but he never begs for treat. I have to keep close eye on Leo.

Here is Leo sleeping

It is great that you have been able to get them all to come inside, so that when the weather is bad they will not be out in the cold.

I have one feral boy who wants to come in, but his mate is completely feral and freaks out big time if I shut the door.

Plus my indoor boy kitty (Toby, the striped boy in the picture below) is very jealous of my outdoor feral boy (William). We used to go outside with Toby before feral kitties came to our house. So as far as Toby is concerned, William is in HIS back yard!

But we do have heated kitty houses for them outside, plus a bunch of other stuff. This last weekend when we put up their winter houses, they literally sat right there a few feet away and watched us and waited, and then ran on in. LOL!!

Originally Posted by BarbB

freaks out big time if I shut the door.

Click to expand...

Both Torako and Torao started off that way.
Once I shut the screen as soon as Torao came through and he immediately climbed up on screen for desperation. I peeled him off and took him to the cat room.
He is getting more and more comfortable these days.

Oh...my...god. I've only just come across this thread. What an amazing story!! Kazy, your babies are adorable!! I feel like I've been through the wars with you. Thank you so much for taking the time out to blog all of this - it's been incredible reading it

11/04

There is a new comer.
I think he is a male. I am not sure if he is a feral or not. He has been showing up reguraly for few days now. He satys in the cat house for a while at night.
I am sure he is the cause of Torao being missing.

Torao briefly came by to the cat house yesterday morning, but didn't go inside. He sniffed for a while and walked away. That was the footage I saw from video recording and I havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seen him since.
Leo and Torako seems to be OK enough to hang around in the yard even though this intruder is visiting. Leo fluffs his tail up everytime he sees this guy, though...




I was planning to eventually trap this intruder, but decided to do so today because I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want Torao to leave my yard. But this guy ate the food and escaped the trap. I think he knows how trap works. I was able to catch Konne and 3 kits so easily with this trap. I was just stunned.
If Torao continues to be missing, I have to contact Hilary to communicate him. I am willing to take additional feral, only if all of my resident cats are fine with it. If not, I have to relocate newcomer to different colony.
I removed food station from cat house and left food in the trap. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think intruder is stupid enough to go in again, but I will try anyway. Torao might go in if he is hungry enough. If that happens, I might keep him inside for a while.

I hope I would resolve this issue soon and Torao will return to my yard.

Originally Posted by Pui Hang

Oh...my...god. I've only just come across this thread. What an amazing story!! Kazy, your babies are adorable!! I feel like I've been through the wars with you. Thank you so much for taking the time out to blog all of this - it's been incredible reading it

Click to expand...

Thanks for kind word.
Your comment made my day!

11/6/08

Torao is home!

I had a trap out all night long for 2 nights. First night, he went inside but trap didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t trigger.
Second night, I woke up around 4:30am so I decided to check on trap. I could hear cat howling for distress. It was Torao!!
I checked cat cam and Torao just went in around 4:30am. So, he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stay there too long.
I brought him in to cat room. He was purring while I was holding on.
I could clearly see his visiting time was shifting. Yesterday, he visited around 5:00am in the morning, then showed up around noon. Then gone.
Meanwhile, intruder came by around 4:00pm and then again around 7pm. I think Torao was trying to avoid the intruder.
I hope I can catch this intruder (we call him sox).
I am keeping kitties inside since we are expecting storm. I am so glad Torao is inside now….

11/8/08

Sox has been tough one to catch.
Yesterday, trap was triggered, but nothing was inside.
My daughter saw the cat in our yard. So he is still hanging around even though there were no food anywhere else.
Our kitties have been inside for few days, but I let Leo and Torako out today.
I am keeping trap unset to have it used as a feeding station. After Sox feels comfortable to go in and out freely, I will set the trap.
Compared to Torako and Leo, Torao is still scared of us. He is not completely content inside.
I am planning to keep him inside until catching the Sox. I may have Hilary talk to Torao to see how he is feeling and how we could make him more comfortable with us.

11/13/08

I had Hilary communicate with Torao.
Torao is the cat who always needs escape route to be content. This past week, he was trapped, and brought inside of the house which he felt there was no escape route.
He hates being trapped and he is little scared of our alpha male, = my hubby.
Above is very typical of non alpha male cat and I kind of suspected this going on.
Hilary communicated that he must come inside to eat since I am not leaving food in the cat house.
She also found out Torao is not bothered by intruder cat. He just doesn't like idea of being cornered by him and not being able to escape.

I started to ensure all cats that I am alpha mommy and I will protect them. Also, I kept sending them strong visual image of them going outside in the morning.

This must have worked and Torao is more content now. I let all of cats out yesterday morning despite of heavy rain. They all stayed in the yard most of the time. And in the evening, they all came inside by themselves!!!
As soon as we came home, I called them. Leo and Torako came running and went inside. Torao was with them, but didn't come inside. We left the door open and hid. But he peeked inside and didn't come in. I was disappointed, but needed to respect Torao's decision. So closed the door.
Meanwhile. Leo acted differently from usual. He ate a little, but came downstairs and sat at the sliding door. He usually eats and takes long nap. I think that day, he knew Torao was supposed to come inside with him at the same time. After 1 hour or so, I noticed Leo looking out at sliding door again. Then I saw Torao right there!! I opened the door. Usually Torao runs away, but he only backed off a little this time. Then he came in!!!



All and all, Torao likes me and considered our house and yard as his place. He likes warmth of inside, also. Thought of being trapped makes him nervous.
It will take time, but once we build up regular routine, he will be fine.

11/20/08


Our kitties are doing good.
All cats including Torao come inside at night now. Yesterday, everybody was in the kitchen and my husband was standing closer to the sliding door. Torao hesitated, but I assured he will be safe. Then he came in!!! I think he is becoming more and more content inside. I am so glad all cats come inside at night now.




I may start to leave food inside of cat house at night while my cats are inside. This way, if Torami wants to come for food, she has something to eat there. I have been monitoring cat house at night, but so far, only visitor was raccoon. Torami sometimes don't show up for weeks. Just when I start to wonder how she is, she shows up. Konne only shows up once every few months. I don't see Puff anymore. I don't see Socks anymore either. I am sure Socks felt uneasy to see trap in my yard. I left Trap unset with food inside, but no one was eating. So I put trap away now.

I am now wondering what to do when I go on vacation in the future. Shall I take all 3 cats to cat hotel???? (it will be costly, but we can afford it) Shall I leave all cat outside with food in the cat house??? I will be worried about Leo and won't be able to enjoy vacation…. I don't plan to go away at least until spring. I guess I will decide when time comes...

11/27/08

Torao has been coming inside every single night.
Torako and Leo come in as soon as we get home. They are often waiting to come inside. Torao, on the other hand, goes out for late afternoon patrol around 3:30pm and doesn't come back until 7:30pm or so.
Torako seems to like indoor better these days. She goes out in the morning, but wants to come back in sooner if she had chance. I guess she likes warmth of indoors.
Leo often hangs around with Torao until he takes off to his late afternoon patrol.

When Torao comes back, he usually sits in front of sliding door. But when door is opened, he doesn't come in right away. He meows for Leo. He seems to be more comfortable when Leo is escorting him along.
Last night, I could see Leo waiting for Torao to come back. As soon as he came back and I opened the door, Leo greeted and licked Torao's head, and invited him in. I could see him trying to make Torao follow him. Torao is still little scared. Often times I have to hide myself for him to walk in. Once Torao is inside, I serve him his portion of wet food. Leo likes to share that. (is that why Leo is waiting for him??? )

I am planning to give them roast turkey! For Torao and Torako, this is the second Thanksgiving together!

Seattle area is having arctic temperatures.
We had snow Saturday night and our high temperature was like 31 degrees.
But my kitties loved it. They run around and chasing each other.
I saw both Torako and Leo sticking their paws in to snow pile and sniffing around.
They both come inside around noon on the weekend but they stayed out all day long.
I guess they didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t mind being cold. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think they stayed in cat house that much either.




This morning, my yard temperature was 18 degrees. And I decided to keep them inside.
They were itching to get out though.
After all, cat house is heated, so, they know where to stay warm. I might let them out if I am staying home….

One thing I have to do is to trust them more.
I start to worry when they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t show when I call.
For one month, Torao has been coming inside every single night. But I still worry if he is running late.
The other night, I wanted him to come in before we go out for the evening. But he refused.
I was worried that he would be cold or even not try to come inside.
When I came home, he was waiting at the door. It looks like he was there for more than 10min.
He never comes in fast, though. We have to leave the door open and hide ourselves.
I hope he will be more comfortable to come in quick.

I just have to let go of my worry.
I know my kitties know where their home is. Where their food is.
They know how to come inside.

12/21/08

We are having bad winter storm in Seattle area.
But kitties go out every day. They enjoy playing outside. They go inside the cat house to warm up.
Leo comes in and out often, though. He likes warmth better than playing outside all day.



I like following their paw prints to see where they go. It looks like they stay in my yard 80% of time.
I know Torao goes on patrol twice.
I never had multiple pets of same kind before.
I am fascinated by observing the roles each cat have. I am especially amazed by Leo.
He tries very hard to bring Tora inside at night. I have observed many times that he went out and looked for him.
Yesterday, Leo and Torko came in, but Torao was still inside the cat house and he was not ready to come in.
Leo wanted to go out again, so I let him. Then he went inside the cat house to join Torao.
After 15 min or so, they both came out and Torao was ready to come inside.
The other day, he wanted to go out after his dinner. Torao hasn't been back from patrol.
I wouldn't have let him out before, but this time I let him. I grew trust in him.
I am sure Leo was going out of my yard to look for his buddy but I trusted that he won't go too far.
After 1.5 hrs later, Leo was ready to come inside. I have opened the door and there was Torao was with him.
Leo deeply cares for his buddy.
It almost looks like Leo is trying to make indoor life easier for the other two.
And Tora's are definitely responding to him and three of them are very close family now.
It is so enjoyable to watch them function as a family.