Should I do anything?

Thanks ladies.

Well, it was a tough night, but I guess this is why taking it slow is a good idea.

Remember how I said Belle and Delilah didn't hiss? Well, that didn't sound like them. They've started hissing/growling now too. However, as well as covering the crack at the bottom of the door, I've also now stuffed the crack at the jam as well. They were somehow looking through there and getting a glimpse/whiff of each other, which started the hissing, etc. We will now also only be visiting Gus from the door downstairs, which means no more possible "glimpses" until we're ready. My girls are starting to get back on with their normal life...they are losing interest in the door. I've also moved their litter away from there so that they have no reason to be in the area anyway.

I went and visited Gus once more before bed. As usual, he hopped right up onto my lap and started purring. I was careful just to pet his head and a few gentle body pets. He eventually hopped off and plopped down right in his bed. I pet him for a little bit longer and then said goodnight and left him.

I wondered if taking him to the vet earlier was a bad idea now that we've had these problems, but I think I'll still attempt for a trip tomorrow. At the moment, I'm not even comfortable scent swapping until he gets checked out. At least taking him tomorrow, I'll be able to get the ball rolling before Saturday.

I've been wearing the same outfit each time I go see Gus...I then change out of it when I get back and put it in a garbage back. Would it be a good idea to eventually keep these clothes on so that the girls can smell him on me? Or should I stick strictly with the blanket?

I think we've got everything under control for now, my biggest fear is the actual introduction the lies down the road. I really don't want any blood shed or any of the kitties hurt in any way.

Thanks again for your reassurance. It helped relax me a bit.

sorry I dont remember. Is he already neutered or is he a whole tom?

I am pretty sure he is neutered.

Well, at 4am I woke up to growling cats. Both blankets that were blocking the door have went missing. But, the cats weren't growling/hissing at him, they are growling at each other.

I've recovered the door with towels and tried to get my girls to stop hating each other. I'm headed back to bed for now.

Neutered or not, shy semiferals are usually submissive to residents.
But exceptions do occur, as we see here....
(non shy territorial toms may be problematic, even dangerous, to residents).

Your girls growling at each other is because they are aggressive at him, but cant reach him - and instead turn against each other.

Time for a Feliway diffuser I think.

"should" not be necessary, but it does makes things easier.

I'm off in a few minutes to get some rescue remedy and some Feliway (although I don't think why my pet store has is called that, it looks like the same idea).

I'm gonna have to get the Feliway spray if they have any. There are no electrical sockets on either side of the stairwell.

Rescue Remedy - how do I apply it? I think I'd like to do both my cats and Gus.

Put a dab of vanilla under their chins, too. It helps so much because all they will all smell is vanilla, versus cat.

The feliway diffuser is good to have in your apartment, as it is clear your girls are getting touchy also to each other and unhappy.

When it it time for them to meet, he will too breathe in the Feliway fumes...

Of course, if you afford, do have both diffuser and spray, so you can begin with the spray in his stairs.
Spray is handy also in other situations, say if you must transport a touchy cat.


Rescue remedy can be useful to try, yes.

essentially, it is for solving in water. The drops are in 40% brandy, so if oral intake, they must be solved.
You can also try to dab them on where the skin is thin; behind ears, on soles of feet, also at the tail...
As it is solved in alcohol, it will absorbe through the skin.

I've been dreading coming to post this...

I feel like a horrible person...just as bad as his "owners" who don't care.

But I care...I've been thinking about this all day and am currently crying as I write this.

I let Gus out this morning. He's absolutely fine when someone is in there paying attention to him, but he just meows and meows and meows once we leave.

As much as I've grown attached to Gus, I can't do this to my cats, even if it's only for a few days. I know a week or so of stress could very well lead to a successful introduction, but I just don't have it in me...right now at least. I just got called this morning because I got a teaching position for this year, meaning that I have many long days at work in the next few weeks. I would have very little time to spend with Gus in the stairwell and I would have to lock my girls up in the bedroom all day because they can't go near the door to the stairway without hissing. It just doesn't seem fair to any of them.

We will continue feeding Gus on the front porch and spending time with him outside whenever we can. If he appears ill or anything, we will take him to the vet. We've discussed maybe making him some sort of house on the front porch, although at the moment, the dog living downstairs (our new neighbour says she's trying to re-home him) sometimes gets tied out there, so I'm not sure how much he'll want to hang out on our porch. Not sure yet about winter.

Maybe we'll try again sometime, armed with Feliway and Rescue Remedy from the beginning. I'm really torn up about this...I'm so mad at myself right now.

I know you must feel terrible I am one that has very territorial cats that could not handle being around another cat.

Is there any way for you to start contacting local rescue groups in your area? I know that people are so full, but this little guy, according to your other post about being uncertain outside, would probably do better inside.

You know you can go to petfinder.org to find all the rescue people in your area. On the left just type in your zip code.
You can email them and see if any of them can help you.
I have helped 2 stray adult cats that way and they were adopted very quick. They even posted them on petfinder for me.

If they cant help you they cant, but if they can, it will be beneficial to him and to you.

I feel like I made things 100% worse by feeding/trying to take him in. As Stefan said, maybe I confused him...

I did email his owners back to see if he's still coming around there. I noticed when I walked by the other day that there was a carrier on the porch. Maybe it was for him.

This is all complicated by our new downstairs neighbours, who are in the process of moving in and have a little beagle who they tie up out front. Gah! She mentioned that she's trying to rehome him, so I'm hoping they do so.

I've moved his food and bed to the little deck at the back door, hoping that he'll visit there more if he's disturbed by the dog.

Edited: Just walked by his owner's house and the carrier isn't there. If it was for him, it looks like they've given up on him.

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

I did email his owners back to see if he's still coming around there. I noticed when I walked by the other day that there was a carrier on the porch. Maybe it was for him.

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Oh, so he HAS a known owner? In that case, the best is if you do speak directly with them. Help them perhaps to manage him better...

If you see from the talk they had really abandoned him, there are two different solutions:
1. You try, together with them, to find him a new permanent home.
It is really their responsibility, and thus, best if they do it - but perhaps with encouragement and some help from you.

2. If that fails too, your reserve plane is OK. Ie having him as your outside cat. Quite many rescuers do have it so.
He is very much outdoors, probably not very cared for(??) by his owners (this you will know more exactly if and when you talk with them). And yet he has good flesh. A hypothesis is he does manage quite well.
And thus, he would do quite nicely as your outdoor cat.

Originally Posted by StefanZ

Oh, so he HAS a known owner? In that case, the best is if you do speak directly with them. Help them perhaps to manage him better...

If you see from the talk they had really abandoned him, there are two different solutions:
1. You try, together with them, to find him a new permanent home.
It is really their responsibility, and thus, best if they do it - but perhaps with encouragement and some help from you.

2. If that fails too, your reserve plane is OK. Ie having him as your outside cat. Quite many rescuers do have it so.
He is very much outdoors, probably not very cared for(??) by his owners (this you will know more exactly if and when you talk with them). And yet he has good flesh. A hypothesis is he does manage quite well.
And thus, he would do quite nicely as your outdoor cat.

Click to expand...

Sorry Stefan, I posted about his owners in my picture thread, but I guess not here. I posted an ad about him and his owners did respond. The basically said that he had "decided" he wanted to be an outdoor cat. They claimed he returned for meals, but bolted out doors whenever they opened. However, he ate like he had never seen food before we started feeding him regularly (then he ate and left whatever he didn't need in the bowl) and had the collar with note on him for 2 days before anyone noticed (and then it was a neighbour, not the owners). Here, he bolts in doors.

We're not done with Gus yet (my boyfriend calls him "Mister"...so I think "Mister Gus" will be fine. Our current solution of keeping him outside and feeding him is temporary. I'm working on other solutions (re-trying intros, finding new home).

OK....so after exchanging a few more emails with his female owner (whose husband is the one I spoke with when I went to the door), they really do seem like decent people. His name is Francis, he is 3 years old, neutered/vaccinated. They say they've tried to keep him in, but he keeps escaping. I guess they also have his brother cat and they get along well. Their two dogs are afraid of them. He likes their older children (teenagers) but is not a fan of the younger ones. Perhaps that's what's driving him away. I guess his former owner had the same problem with him wandering off...not sure if there were kids, etc there). So, I just sent this email to them. I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries, but I have to do something. Please let me know what you think.

Hi there,

I really appreciate you providing so much information.

I'm not sure if Francis has still been coming around your place, but I have to admit that I've made the mistake of feeding him, in addition to giving him attention (started before I knew he had a home). As a result, I think he's starting to think of here (just a couple doors away) as home. He's here every time I leave the house/come home and seems to be hanging out here even when we are not outside. I'm not sure why he seems to prefer being here, while he runs away from your place. It seems like he is well cared for.

I don't mind him hanging around here, even providing him with food. However, since there is no way I can take him in (my cats are currently hissing/growling at each other after getting a whiff of his scent on me), I think I need to re-train him where home is. I'd like to bring him back to your place whenever he comes here. Would you mind leaving food out on your porch to entice him? I don't mind providing food, dishes...anything you need.... I know you are fine with him roaming....I'm just thinking of winter when he will need a warm place to sleep...I don't want him to forget where that place is. If you are still noticing him around your place quite often and he is still eating at your place, perhaps this is not much of a concern and we can stop feeding him without being concerned about him not getting enough to eat (maybe he's just playing me).

The other option is to find him a new home where there are no other pets/young kids that might be driving him away, which is certainly your call since he is your cat.

This is my fault for feeding him in the first place, and I would like to rectify it if I can. I'm just a sucker for friendly cats...especially orange ones that resemble my two here at home.

Please let me know if any of this sounds OK with you.

Thanks,

Stacey

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Knowing that he was vaccinated, I let my girls sniff my hands after I spent some time with him outside to see if maybe they'd be a bit more accepting. So began the hissing, growling, etc. Pet-ease spray (like Feliway...all I could find here in town) and Rescue Remedy don't seem to be helping (possible because Delilah, who seems to be the aggressor, isn't letting me be too successful with application). I know they'll get over it.

How nice of you - and his owners too...


It strikes me. If you want to try with Feliway, so it should be good for his current owners too. By the same reason. Ie, he is not thriwing there because of they younger kids.

But the Feliway MAY be the last straw to get him to accept the situation at home.
Suggest them this. Perhaps even give them Feliway diffuser as a gift.


(myself I shall look into that Pet ease you talk about)

I think your letter is good, and very diplomatic. As one who had only indoor/outdoor cats growing up, I would have been crushed to pieces if someone had taken one because it was outside. So I am happy that you're trying to work it out with the owners.

And good on you for trying to save what you thought was a stray.

Originally Posted by threecatowner

I think your letter is good, and very diplomatic. As one who had only indoor/outdoor cats growing up, I would have been crushed to pieces if someone had taken one because it was outside. So I am happy that you're trying to work it out with the owners.

And good on you for trying to save what you thought was a stray.

Click to expand...

You know, while I don't necessarily agree with letting cats outdoors in the city (we're not in a really busy place, but also not a quite dead end), I try not to judge those who do let their cats outside. I do, however, think that it is the owner's responsibility to keep tabs on their cats.

If I knew he had a home, I probably never would have started giving him food. However, he had the collar/note on for 2 days before I tried the first time to take him in. Once he was in, the person emailed me after seeing my ad on Kijiji. They said he came home with a collar, but no note (maybe after the neighbour took it off)....so perhaps that's why the owner checked Kijiji.

However, now I must do something. My stomach has been in knots for the last 3 days. I get the flu, I still eat. I get a cold, I still eat. I get a stray cat, my appetite goes way. Go figure.

Stefan, I was thinking that about the Feliway as well. I will consider it for sure, although I don't think the owners think he's escaping because he's stressed out. They said he was just independent and likes to do his own thing.

Well, I've taken Francis home a couple of times now. The first time there was food in his dish and he ate and I left. The second time, I had to put food in the dish. Today when I went, there was a little boy on the porch. He was like "Hey, you found Francis!" So, I put him on the porch, put food in his bowl (I now travel with a ziplock baggie of food for this purpose). We then decided to try to get him to go in the house. We opened the door and put the food dish in the house. It was going fine, the little boy was very nice and when he tried to pet Francis and he jumped away, he left him alone. Then, another boy, a couple years older came and pretty much grabbed Francis from me. Francis clearly didn't like being held like this, but the boy just took him inside. I told him he didn't like being held like that, and the boy just spat "I know, he's our cat!." Gah! Brat!

With Francis in the house, I left. I told the little boy who was originally on the porch to try his best to keep him in the house. He said, "I know...I'm going to stand right here!" Haha...he was cute!

But, I'm beginning to see why Francis doesn't like being there.