Trapping for 2nd time?

A couple nights ago when I went in (after knocking) she was actually sitting low to ground in front of the night stand table - exposed, not in a box. I sloooowwwwly sat down, got my book, read. She just stayed there. She did look VERY scared, but I am not completely sure if she was frozen in terror or was more trusting because she could've easily ran off and hid. She just stayed there and I ignored her and read. After 40 minutes, I did get up because it was getting late. I slowly moved over to a part of the room to do my cat-room chores, turned my back to her. She used that opportunity to quietly retreat into a box. I was then able to do litter box clean-up etc. (I didn't want to mess with litter and scare her.)

So I think that has to be a good sign? That she stayed out in the open that day.

Things are going slow. I wish she was eating her wet food but she's eating enough dry that it's probably ok. She doesn't like the pate style wet food at all. She's surprisingly very finicky about food. Also, last week I started transitioning her dry food to Wellness brand.

I am going to look into getting an inflatable air mattress so I can sleep in there without killing my back. I think that is the next step I need to do.

Batman figured out it IS possible for him to shove his paw under the door bottom if he goes in at the side where I didn't quite line up the plastic draft protector right... So I'm not sure if he terrorizes her at night. I did hear her playing with the door a few nights ago at like 3am. He used to sleep very close to her door - until we got the Christmas tree put up (now he sleeps under the tree all the time).

We'll see what happens when I start sleeping in there and busting out the shrimp. (I haven't put out shrimp yet still because I am not sure it's the right time.) I still put out a few treats for her whenever I go in there - she does eat them up when I leave, so hopefully that is helping with good association.

Will keep you posted!

At this point, I think letting Batman fish his paws around under there is fine. She's in control - and can choose to play or ignore.

....and I think her staying out was a good thing - like you siad, she could have gone and hid in her box.

I know it's frustrating.... but SO WORTH IT in the long run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're doing great - hang in there!

She was dozing off again when I sat in there tonight reading.

When I was on my way out, closing the door, she was on her way out of her hiding box - she likes to look outside and see where I go. The other thing is - I leave her bedroom light on off all day. When I'm in there, it's on. So one of the last things I on my way out, is flip the switch - so the light in the hallway is on - and I think she looks to the direction of that light from hallway. She either wants out (probably definitely!) or is wondering what is out there or maybe wondering where I'm going? Not sure. But it does make me careful so she doesn't dart out.

She's tough. I just worry she's depressed. But one day at a time. She hasn't cried or anything. She was a little vocal outside. She cried for her 4th baby after we trapped him - it was awful.. She'd sit outside and cry. There were also a few nights where she'd stretch all out on the front porch and meow - waiting for dinner. She's just very cautious now, understandably, but I haven't made her hiss or gotten her to upset since the vet visit.

One day at a time!

We'll see how things go with the shrimp soon.

I just heard her jump off the furniture. I think she does go out and explore after I leave. Maybe she smells where I've been, who knows. I should hook up a webcam and see what she does

Edit: Thinking about the light thing.. I wonder if I should hang out there - with the lights OFF. With just the night lights on..? Maybe she'd feel more comfortable?

Try it one night and see!

Last night I slept in Patches room. Nothing much to report though unfortunately. I am not sure she moved at all. Food/litter box untouched during night. I will say the sleeping bag is kinda loud and swishy so maybe that discouraged her from exploring when I was there. We'll have to see what happens on repeat nights.

Not a lot of encouragement coming from people I know, which makes me a bit upset to hear from people who I would hope would be supportive ("why don't you just make her indoor/outdoor?" "that poor cat being locked in that room for another 6 weeks???!"). But my husband is not being negative about it, at least. We are both looking very forward to the day where we can use Batman to interact with us to help her. We are thinking that in this situation, perhaps we need to do scent swapping then gradual intros as soon as her 2nd test is fine in February, then let her into rest of house. Perhaps her being able to watch the birds outside and have more of a place to explore will help her a lot. We have about 6 more weeks of "solitary confinement". Halfway there. Just that there is some progress before this!

I hope that I can give you some encouragement. I took in a feral cat that was about a year and a half. My vet, who was used to dealing with ferals, God bless her, told me that this was the wildest cat she had ever seen and that it would be best to just ear tip her and put her back outside. I just could not do it. There was no colony, she was alone in an industrial park.

To make a long story short, it took a very long time and a lot of patience, but now she is just part of my family. She is so sweet and loving. It did take years for her to get to this point. I kept trying everything I could think of to speed up the process.

Then one day I just decided that she was safe inside, she was warm and had access to food whenever she wanted and if necessary she would get medical attention. I just let her become part of the family on her timeline.

It sounds like it won't take that long with Patches. You have done a wonderful thing for her and the reward to you will be well worth it. Just hang in there, I was discouraged many many times. My husband used to tell me that the only way I could ever get near Gracie was if she died and I would have to carry her out of the house--that is how much she avoided me. You would never believe she is the same cat.

Please keep posting, I feel like I am sharing in your progress with her!

Originally Posted by KRZ

I hope that I can give you some encouragement. I took in a feral cat that was about a year and a half. My vet, who was used to dealing with ferals, God bless her, told me that this was the wildest cat she had ever seen and that it would be best to just ear tip her and put her back outside. I just could not do it. There was no colony, she was alone in an industrial park.

To make a long story short, it took a very long time and a lot of patience, but now she is just part of my family. She is so sweet and loving. It did take years for her to get to this point. I kept trying everything I could think of to speed up the process.

Then one day I just decided that she was safe inside, she was warm and had access to food whenever she wanted and if necessary she would get medical attention. I just let her become part of the family on her timeline.

It sounds like it won't take that long with Patches. You have done a wonderful thing for her and the reward to you will be well worth it. Just hang in there, I was discouraged many many times. My husband used to tell me that the only way I could ever get near Gracie was if she died and I would have to carry her out of the house--that is how much she avoided me. You would never believe she is the same cat.

Please keep posting, I feel like I am sharing in your progress with her!

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Aww thanks KRZ It's wonderful getting support here. I always get frustrated when people who don't know anything about this type of stuff almost try to crush my sense of hope about this whole thing. I just need to keep my chin up!

Wow, that's a wonderful story about your kitty!! I will keep that in the back of my mind on bad days. I know I need to not worry about Time. I know there's not a timeline with things since each kitty is different but the only time issue I have is just worrying she is depressed. I do think she will be a bit happier once she can watch the birds and things. I am really hoping Batman will be good for her. We did see her with other kitties outside and she seemed to get along fine with them so hopefully it won't be too hard of an introduction. Batman will still be a kitten when they do re-meet (since Patches is his mommy!)

I sort of turned this thread into a blog about her I'll keep updating unless there is absolutely nothing going on. Thanks again!

Here is some inspiration, when you have the time.

Sweetie, I am SO sorry this thread is gone (lost in a TCS crash in Dec 2004), because the hardest, most frustrating parts of Penguin's socialization are lost. That said - Jana found the first post of the original thread in google archives. When you have a lot of time - or maybe start, and read it in parts... here is the "Pengy" thread, part 2. By this time, she'd gotten the advice to let her have the option to leave the room - meaning the other kitties could get into the room. Sadly, I don't remember the process.

But I'm sure that once the 6 weeks are up and you have the all clear from the vet, I think Batman intros will really help speed things along. I don't know how slow I'd go, though I'd definitely do scent swapping.

BTW - have you asked DH about temporarily changing the door to the room with a screen door? If the door is a standard size, it really should be just a matter of buying a screen door (if you can afford it and have some place to set the regular door for a while), and lifting the door off the hinges and putting on the screen door.

Start with the google archive of the original post - here: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...&postcount=304

...and then go back and start the part 2 of the thread at the beginning - remembering that the original thread had been going on for 6-8 months or so. You'll see from the date on the first post of the Part II thread (Dec 2004)that she'd trapped and brought Pengy inside almost a year before.

...and here is a thread, July 2005, with the first pictures Michele (noni) took of Pengy: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57456

....and I very much doubt she's depressed. She may be bored - but she's not terrified in a cage, and she's not freezing or wet - and though the process is slow, she's gonna be one happy kitty.

Aw, thanks Laurie for digging up those threads!!! Looks like I have some reading to do - thank you! I love reading these stories.

I did talk to my husband about the door. Next time we go to Home Depot, we will take a look. To be safe, I probably should not use a screen door in case she would have something transmittable with saliva. I wish there was no such thing as FLV/FIV. Odds are she will be ok, but I'm not thinking about that test - just glad the time is flying by.

I have 3 pouches of different treats for her. Every time I go in, I put a few by her. I put them where she's hanging out - so my hand does get a foot or so away from her. I can tell she does tense up a bit but I've only made her hiss 2 times from that so far (and both times I just was moving too fast, just realized too late). She always eats the treats later (not in front of me).

She hasn't touched wet food in the past couple weeks. It can't be the type - I rotate all the time between flavors, textures, and brands and Batman gobbles every bite up (I split a 6oz can between the 2). She's eating enough dry that it's not a nutritional concern, but geez, she sure is picky for a former outside kitty. Might be some tortitude.

This is not a flattering picture but I took this a week or so ago. (I was not looking at her straight on taking it - I held the camera to my side to take it.) Every 4 days or so, she changes her 'favorite spot'. The room set-up is pretty good for her now - lots of hiding places I think so she can feel secure.


I think the hardest part is not looking her in the eye and not feeling like there is no hope for her to be happy. I don't care about me being happy - I just care about her being happy. If I wanted another cat like Batman, I would've just adopted from a shelter and not taken her inside. (I have to watch that I don't start saying "but she was SO HAPPY OUTSIDE!!!!!" That said - I have NEVER considered her going back outside. It's just a negative thought that creeps into my mind. She's stuck inside with me. )

I had neighbors growing up that had about 8 feral rescues they would find around work. I took care of the kitties when they went on vacation. They had about 4 cats that lived in basement (which had a nice patio view to watch birdies, which we unfortunately don't have) and 3 that were upstairs only and 1 that could go both ways. 2 looked the same - and some of the friendly ones would try to go in and out of basement and I would have to make sure I wouldn't let any in/out because one that started fights and was stuck on 1 floor looked a lot like the one that could go both ways I never saw half of those kitties. I always tried to - I'd go looking for them, not knowing any better. If she ends up like those kitties, I'd be happy. They had a good life.

One day at a time. Many more slumber nights in her room

I'd call the vet - but I'm pretty sure you don't need to worry about transmission of FIV/FeLV through a screen door. I'm sure it's possible, because it is saliva transmission - but I'm pretty sure it's so unlikely it really needn't be a worry. I think her being able to see out there - and Batman and her see and smell each other easily - may go a long way to making their intros a lot easier when it's time.

We took a look at screen doors at Home Depot last night. It may be tricky - if we put on the hardware wrong, there's a chance she could bolt out of room while doorway is open - but we are going to look into this after the holidays. I will call vet about transmission. When I first caught her, they advised to have a towel over her trap and put Batman in another room during transport in case she would sneeze and something could get passed. I would think hiss/spit would be the same case but maybe that was just respiratory infection worries, not FLV/FIV. I will call.

Speaking of hissing... I finally put a radio in there for classical music. It was a long time coming. The past 2 times I have put treats out, she has hissed at me! She never did that before unless I moved too fast. I hope the music isn't scaring her. She had only hissed at me a couple times before in the past 6 weeks - and now I get 2 hisses in a row. I will turn down the volume and see if that helps (it's not blasting, but it's not super quiet either).

She transitioned fine to her Wellness brand dry. She is offered wet food as well but so far she's been Miss Picky.

I have to laugh at her being Miss Picky. All of our kitties are - and always have been - amazingly picky eaters!

About the classical music... Some classical music isn't all that calming. Hmmm... do you have a way to play CDs instead? You could try these:

http://www.musicmypet.com
http://www.catfaeries.com/music-for-cats.html

....and sometimes the hissing is actually a good thing. It means she's getting more comfortable that it's "her" space.

Turned radio off and no more Miss Hissy Kitty.

Someone very kind from TCS is sending me one of the kitty music CDs. I'm so excited to have Patches listen to it!! I will post how that goes.

We gave Batman his Christmas present today - this HUGE "rat" toy. He had carried it upstairs and put it outside her door.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

And how sweet! Both of the elf for Patches.... and Batman to want to share his gift!

Last night, Patches was making some noise upstairs (we could hear her jumping around and what not) and Batman jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs to investigate. He is very curious about what's in the room. He'll lay outside her door sometimes. I wonder if they interact when I'm not around.

I'll keep you posted about the screen door possibility.

Nothing else to report! Hope everyone had a nice Christmas

I think it's great he's interested and not upset!

I agree - no puffed tail or anything from Batman. I understand that may all change the first time he sees her. I am optimistic that they will be good for each other down the road.

Patches ate very well yesterday - the most she's eaten actually since she's been inside!

I read in the room, with myself at a 90 degree angle from her so she could see me but I wasn't facing her. I would look over every now and then and she would be dozing off. I must be boring. She used to tense up a bit when I would be getting comfortable sitting down, stretching out my legs, etc, but she seems to not be as concerned anymore.

What are thoughts on Rescue Remedy? Is that something I should consider or not right for this situation? (I have Feliway diffuser for her room and I ordered some spray for when she gets to rest of house, but realize a 2nd diffuser may work better.)

She has 2 litter boxes in the room with the same litter - they're right next to each other. She only uses the original litter box. (2nd one was added a month later.) Even when we went out of town for 2 days, she only used the original box. This is a non-issue right now of course, but it is interesting and I wonder why.

Anyways, that is all!

It sounds to me like Batman is "wooing" Patches!!!! This could be the beginning of a great romance!

Originally Posted by esrandall2000

It sounds to me like Batman is "wooing" Patches!!!! This could be the beginning of a great romance!

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I sure hope not - they are mother and son!!

I'm hoping they end up buds and I can buy this lovely print and hang it in the house (that said, I have no idea what it says, but I like the print..)

Nothing too exciting, but a couple times in the last 24 hours hours when I've left Patches room, she ends up walking a bit out of her retreat box so she can watch me leave the room. This only happens at night when the light from the hallway shines in (and her room is dark) but she's curious nonetheless.

Her blankets are getting washed so some of her hiding areas (blankets over tables, etc) are gone so she was a bit more exposed tonight when I read with her. Nonetheless, she fell asleep with me there. She seemed uneasy at first, like usual, but then got more relaxed, in a more comfy position, then started drifting off after a few minutes of watching me.