These two sweeties are still feral. I was only going to feed them and let them stay outside to help with the rodent control. Well it was December when they arrived and then January & worse February hit. The temperature was going to be 14d over night. We brought them in that morning AFTER a stop at the vets office. We just couldn't leave them outside. Not in that terrible cold. You see they were dumped in the middle of the worst winter chill. They were in a pet taxi at night and then a strange but wonderful thing happened. A true feral tom came to visit my house. He took Muffet and Stripes under paw and showed them to go into the pet taxi (I had added egg crate foam wrapped around all sides except the front.) The tom got the two into the crate and then he blocked the door. He faced into the crate so they were toasty warm all night. This tom was not the daddy–just a friend to two little scared babies. I am always amazed at the way the animal world runs. In another part of the year this tom may well have killed Stripes but in the dead of winter he protected him and his mommy. SleepyKitty still comes around, but he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stop to eat and he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to care about what happened to his two charges–or maybe he does care. Today he was at the back door laying against the glass and Muffet was also laying against the glass. Stripes was next to Muffet. All were sleeping soundly. SleepyKitty has been around at least 6 years so he knows all the good eating places. I never worry about if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hungry. Everyone feeds him. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s nice and fat. Not overly fat but not so thin his bones are sticking out. Healthy.
It was very easy to catch them. I had been feeding them several days. Our neighbor had company and the boy said the cats belonged to them. “If I want to hit it I can hit it. If I want to kill it I can kill it. My dad said so.†The neighbor kick Muffet. So I had no problem bringing them into my home once they were cleared by the vet. As I had been feeding them outside, they already knew their names. This day I took a Pet Taxi outside and set it down on the porch. The food went into the Pet Taxi and I stood waiting. I gave the call for the children to come to breakfast and I waited. I stood statue still. Muffet went in completely but Stripes still had his tail out. I waited some more. Finally Stripes was comfortable enough to pull his tail in around his body. SNAP the crate door was closed and locked in an instant. Stripes and Muffet both jumped, but soon calmed down as I began speaking to them in a soft gentle voice. The same I had used since the day they arrived.
The ride to the vet and a bit of blood work proved them to be healthy. Return home and slip them into a dog crate for everyone to get used to each other scents. Two weeks later, back to the vet for Muffet–thought she might be pregnant but was not. She was allowed the freedom of the entire house. She still hides most the day–we know all her hiding spots–but when called to come eat, she and Stripes are always the first to the table and the last to leave. They donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat the entire time, but they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t leave the food either. We think they may have been starving the cats even before they threw them away.
Muffet has been spayed and Stripes will go for neuter as soon as we know heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s full grown. All the rest of the cats (except for our newest one – pregnant for certain) are spayed/neutered so Stripes cannot cause any damage. Cynthia
It was very easy to catch them. I had been feeding them several days. Our neighbor had company and the boy said the cats belonged to them. “If I want to hit it I can hit it. If I want to kill it I can kill it. My dad said so.†The neighbor kick Muffet. So I had no problem bringing them into my home once they were cleared by the vet. As I had been feeding them outside, they already knew their names. This day I took a Pet Taxi outside and set it down on the porch. The food went into the Pet Taxi and I stood waiting. I gave the call for the children to come to breakfast and I waited. I stood statue still. Muffet went in completely but Stripes still had his tail out. I waited some more. Finally Stripes was comfortable enough to pull his tail in around his body. SNAP the crate door was closed and locked in an instant. Stripes and Muffet both jumped, but soon calmed down as I began speaking to them in a soft gentle voice. The same I had used since the day they arrived.
The ride to the vet and a bit of blood work proved them to be healthy. Return home and slip them into a dog crate for everyone to get used to each other scents. Two weeks later, back to the vet for Muffet–thought she might be pregnant but was not. She was allowed the freedom of the entire house. She still hides most the day–we know all her hiding spots–but when called to come eat, she and Stripes are always the first to the table and the last to leave. They donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat the entire time, but they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t leave the food either. We think they may have been starving the cats even before they threw them away.
Muffet has been spayed and Stripes will go for neuter as soon as we know heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s full grown. All the rest of the cats (except for our newest one – pregnant for certain) are spayed/neutered so Stripes cannot cause any damage. Cynthia
