Taming my feral cat.

Originally Posted by tigerclaw

When I have his talk sessions during the day I will sometimes baby talk to him and his reaction is to half way close his eyes sort of squint. Kind of looks like a relaxing posture to me. Tiger my other cat does the same thing when I sweet talk to him.

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Interesting and a good sign. Cats do have many sounds, besides the meowing and hissing...
Moms talk sweetly to their kittens. Courting toms may have quite a lot of friendly sounds to the female they are courting. Sometimes you can be amazed how many sounds there may be in a cat....

So Tabby surely recognizes your baby talk as some equivalent of friendly cat communication.

Yes, cat bumping is with head...
When they swat with the paw, it is not always with the claws. In the family they usually swat without claws: a sort of more or less friendly teaching.

And sometimes they can touch you friendly with their soft paws... (but if they have long uncut nails the paw isnt soft, although they try to be gentle...)

Sorry I didn't make myself clear but I changed my routine to feed him first.

Yes I will have to try the blink while looking at him and see if I get a response.

Ah, the cat bump with the head. I'm not sure i'm ready for that just yet. He comes right at me to get his food when he is hungry. Not sure what he will do to get it. So far he has pushed on the door.

A natural log is a good idea although I do have a rope scratch pole that i've seen him use once. I can't get him out of the cages to vac the carpeting and the natural log might be a little messy.

Thanks for all the tips their very helpful.

-Pete

StefanZ,
Thanks for the insight. It's funny when Tiger want's me to come back he will grab my leg with his paw with no claws, also at play time he uses no claws. Tigers greeting call is a low gurgling meow. He does make different sounds depending what he is wanting to communicate, like a sweet low meow when he want's to go outside.

Thanks again, Pete

I just spent 3-hrs. typing and update on Tabby. I had signed in then I pushed the reply button and typed the 3-hr. update, then hit hte submit reply button and I got a message to sign in again so I did and hit "submit reply" and I lost the whole thing. Can someone tell me what gives??

Forget the above, I had a computer glitch that I resolved. I'll post a shorter version on Monday, my fingers are sore.

I really don't know what happened, but I am anxious to read your update.

Oh no! If I type a really long thread, I'll get logged out. I've been able to hit back in my browser and grab my posts - whew!

Can't wait to hear the update on Tabby!

ARRRGGGHHHHHH!

That has happened to me so many times (and I FREQUENTLY) write long replies - so I've taken to copying long posts and pasting them into Word before hitting the "post" button, because sometimes it's just gone when I hit the back button.

I'm bummed! I hope that means there's lots of news - and some of it good?

Hi all!

Oh my! It's been awhile. After my wife and I, taking care of our grandson since birth at our home, and now at 1-1/2 years old has started day-care three days a week and with all the illness that comes with it. We've been sick for the passed six weeks off and on. He still had a bad cold and fever this past week and that's were my time went. I think we're back on track. Everyone is well.

I would like to update and recap since capture on Tabby's progress. It's been a slow steady positive process with minor setbacks along the way. The only setbacks were at, New Years eve and all the fireworks in the neighborhood. He was scared for a few days to a point I had to cover the window in his cage. He wouldn't get near it. The second setback was after he got neutered. He was madder than "H" at me for getting him cut. He got over it in a week. Other than that it's been good, slow but good.

Here is the recap from day one.

Tabby, my feral cat, was captured on Oct. 17, 2009. He was an unneutered tom cat approx. 3-4 years old. When I would feed him outside during seven months last summer, he would come around to eat after dark like a wild animal. He would run away at the sight of anyone at the window or any strange movement of any kind.

He is now living in a two story attached cages 2.5' wide x 7.5' long each.

After capture, Tabby spent the first 10-days in his hide box during the day, only to come out to eat and use the litter box at nite. It took him 3-weeks for him to spend any time out of his hide box during the day.

The 4th-week I started to feed him at the cage door with a mixture of canned and dry food. It took him 45-minutes the 1st time for him to come out and eat with me standing 20' away from the cages. It took him a few days to come and eat right away.

The 5th-week he used the scratch pole after he finished eating.

The 6th-week he started using the litter box during the day. I also started him with a catnip/mouse toy, which he liked because he loves fresh catnip. It grows wild in the back yard.

By the 8th-week he started to become less aggressive. He was now eating at the open door of his cage with me 4' away and showing no aggression. Although, he would still give me a hiss as he left his hide box and head for the food bowl. He also would give he the meows but not as loud as before.

At 9-weeks I started feeding him treats, which he loved. I could call him from his hide box to the open door of his cage and he would come get his treats usually right away. He knows where his food and treats are coming from now.

He also started using the litter box while I was standing at the open cage door after he would eat. He stopped hissing at me as he left the hide box on his way to the food bowl to eat.

At 10-weeks(2-1/2-months) I rubbed some fresh catnip on his mouse toy and put it through the cage screen. He licked it and rubbed his face and head all over it. He then laid near the cage screen one foot from my head for over 1/2-hour. The longest ever that close. The catnip calms him down.

At 3-months I noticed after eating that he would use the litter box and pee and poo and then pee again. I thought that was strange for him to have to pee again in such a short period of time. I remember reading a post here that most cats pee like 3-4 time a day max.

So I started to monitor his litter habits and found out that he was peeing 10-12 times in a 24-hr period. I thought that wasn't good, so I stopped at the vets and ask their oppinion.They told me it could be crystals, bladder stones or a partial blockage of sorts. They suggested to bring in a urine sample no longer then 2-hrs after the cat urinated. It needed to be fresh.

I tried the bare litter box method....no good. They also suggested a non-absorbant litter. So I went to the pet store and found some that looked like rabbit pellets("breeze" I think). Well, it worked. The vet found crystal in his urine. They scheduled to bring him in in a couple days. I also mentioned I would like to get him neutered, blood work and shots.

Two days later I got him to the vet. It took me 45-minutes to get him in the raccoon trap I had without getting him too upset. I put a beach towel over the trap and off to the vet he went.

Before I got him loaded into my SUV, I had to set him down in the middle of my garage so I could get the back of the SUV open. Thank God for that still moment for Tabby to take a big wee-wee. He must of drained a quart of strong smelling testosterone pee right in the middle of my garage floor. I was very lucky he didn’t pee on my house carpeting in the house or in the SUV where I had plastic spread in the back though. When I got home I had to use bleach to remove all the smell from the garage floor. I thanked kitty for going where he did, it could have been a lot worse.

After the surgery they did rap him in a clean towel and laid him in the trap. His blood work was fine, he got all his shots, two x-rays for bladder stones(none) and a pelvic bone chip from an accident or something in the past that wasn’t a concern. He also got neutered, nails cut, and a dose of revolution for worms, fleas etc. I had gave him all the worm and flea medicine awhile back and ask if it would be ok to give him a dose of revolution. They did it while he was still under.

I brought him home that evening because the vet thought it best to get him in his cage overnight rather than keep him in the raccoon trap at the vets all night.

At 4-months Tabby is now on a special veterinary diet of “Hill’s Prescription Diet” c/d canned and c/d dry food for his crystals in his urine. After a couple weeks he started to hack like he had hairballs and his stool was all marble shaped. I checked his old food and saw that it contained more fiber. About six weeks before I was checking his stool for worms and always noticed he would pass hair in his stool without any problem. I also gave him a dose of hairball treatment which he loved. I when to the vet, my second home of late, and asked about the fiber and marble stool. The c/d canned and dried food only has 1% fiber, while my old dry food had 6% fiber. So they recommended Hill’s w/d Prescription Diet canned food that has 4% fiber. Both the canned c/d and w/d have the same amount of moisture(78% max). With the hairball treatment and the added fiber his stool is looking more normal. They also recommended distilled water for him to drink to reduce the intake of calcium and magnesium as much as possible. All helpful in reducing urinary crystals in cats.

The last couple weeks I have been trying to introduce a feathered toy on the end of a stick to him. Through the screen he would play with it some but with the cage door open he played with a little more forceful swats of his paws. More like get this thing away from me. I stopped the feathered stick toy because I didn’t think he was ready for it just yet. The object was to get him to play with the toy and then proceed to the next step of touching him with the feathers. Through the screen I could tickle his toes and rub his feet gently but that was about all.

So for now I’m feeding him with the cage door open with his food bowl 2-½ feet away from me and he is ok with that. When he gets done eating he lays 4-5 feet away from me with his back toward me. A sign of increased trust. Although, he does have one ear pointing right at me. He knows exactly what’s happening in his environment, that’s why he is a survivor and not road kill. Then I get him some treats in the bowl and he comes right to me. He sits at the bowl a few minutes and looks around and today he laid right by his bowl 2-½ feet away with his front feet tucked under his chest. Another sight of increased trust. I can feel him trying so hard to break loose and be my friend. It just will take more time. I’m very pleased that he is moving in the right direction and not stopping at a point and go no further. He’s come along way in four months. Hopefully in another four months he will be in my lap. That about where he is today.

void...space not required.

Originally Posted by tigerclaw

Saving another window just in case I need it for editing room. I've got booted off a few times even in the editing mode. So far this post has taken me 5-hrs. with one hr to feed Tabby inbetween. I'm taking a break till tomorrow.

I'm on a turtle forum and post alot and don't have any of this problem. I think someone needs to look into this problem of posting maybe too many word I suspect and then say you are not signed in when I am, then you lose all that you have typed. It's very frustrating to say the least.

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I've never heard of this before?? Do you apply regular security patches and updates to your computer? Have you run a virus scanner recently? What browser are you using? If you wouldn't mind letting me know, I'll let the tech people know.

In the meantime, you can type out your post in Word or something like that, then copy and paste the entire thing into a new post, and submit it. That way you won't lose everything

Oh and that's great news about Tabby! You've done a wonderful job with him. I'm not surprised he took a while to settle again after his vet trip, it's a pretty stressful thing for any cat let alone a partly tamed feral! That's great you picked up on his crystals so fast though, good job!

Originally Posted by sarahp

I've never heard of this before?? Do you apply regular security patches and updates to your computer? Have you run a virus scanner recently? What browser are you using? If you wouldn't mind letting me know, I'll let the tech people know.

In the meantime, you can type out your post in Word or something like that, then copy and paste the entire thing into a new post, and submit it. That way you won't lose everything

Oh and that's great news about Tabby! You've done a wonderful job with him. I'm not surprised he took a while to settle again after his vet trip, it's a pretty stressful thing for any cat let alone a partly tamed feral! That's great you picked up on his crystals so fast though, good job!

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It just did it again, everything on my computer is working fine, ran a virus scan this am, it's ok. I use Microsoft internet explorer. Thanks for all your help. Hope this goes thru this time.

EDIT: I added this after it went thru the second time, 1st time I got timed out or something.

It made it thru. It seems there might be a time element for posting. If I post something within a few minutes, like I jusr did, it goes thru, longer it wan't me to sign in again and everything gets lost.

Update on problem.
I typed in word a couple paragraphs, copied and pasted into the 1st update post above and I got an error. I had been signed-in for a while. So I signed-in again, copied and pasted here and it took it. I still think i'm getting timed out somehow. Well at least I don't lose anything in word. I'll keep adding to the one update above.

When I log in, unless I click the little box to "remember me" it times out on me too. I also have trouble even when logged in permanently, to the point that when I write a long post, I copy it into Word before hitting the "post" button.

I'm so sorry you've had so much trouble sharing his story with us. But it sounds like you've really made some amazing progress.

Is he on a prescription diet now? Three of our boys all had problems with crystals, all of them multiple times. One of them had to have bladder surgery because he had crystals embedded in his bladder wall - one of the others almost had to have surgery to enlarge his urethra (males can block so easily. ). We have them all free feeding on Hill's Science Diet C/D and feed them one wet meal of food a day - also the Hill's Science Diet C/D. This worked for us. It's not very high quality food, but it keeps them healthy and alive.

I think the website will sign you out if you're not active after a certain duration of time - so if you're writing a long post, it may ask you to log back in since the browser was idle. I wrote a lot of long posts.. so what I do is just copy the entry before I hit submit, so if I have to re-login, I can just paste it into the submit entry form again if it's gone when I go back in.

Originally Posted by LDG

When I log in, unless I click the little box to "remember me" it times out on me too. I also have trouble even when logged in permanently, to the point that when I write a long post, I copy it into Word before hitting the "post" button.

I'm so sorry you've had so much trouble sharing his story with us. But it sounds like you've really made some amazing progress.

Is he on a prescription diet now? Three of our boys all had problems with crystals, all of them multiple times. One of them had to have bladder surgery because he had crystals embedded in his bladder wall - one of the others almost had to have surgery to enlarge his urethra (males can block so easily.

). We have them all free feeding on Hill's Science Diet C/D and feed them one wet meal of food a day - also the Hill's Science Diet C/D. This worked for us. It's not very high quality food, but it keeps them healthy and alive.

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Hi,
Been dying to get back on here for along time but my little guy(grandson) has kept me busy.
Yes Tabby started on c/d canned and dried food. But his stool got hard and was pooing marbles instead of a nice stool. I looked at his old food and it contained more fiber so i'm using w/d(4% fiber, c/d only has 1% fiber) for the canned and c/d dry food. I give him 1/4 of the 5.5oz canned of w/d food and 1/4 cup of the c/d dry food twice a day. Tabby weight at the vets was 16.12#. I asked about his weight. The vet said he all muscle and testosterone. They wanted him to eat more of the canned food but he doesn't like that mushy of food. That food isn't cheap. Tiger my other cat is on z/d for food allergys. It's done wonder for him. He was scratching himself to the point of drawing blood. He perfect now.

I'll try the remember me box. What i'm doing now is just writing in word and copying and pasting to here. 1st time I did it I got an error. I had to sign in again and then it took all of it, about 2-1/2 paragraphs.

I'm still posting all the details in the 1st update post, it accepting the post very well, it's just the time out factor.

Originally Posted by killerapple

I think the website will sign you out if you're not active after a certain duration of time - so if you're writing a long post, it may ask you to log back in since the browser was idle. I wrote a lot of long posts.. so what I do is just copy the entry before I hit submit, so if I have to re-login, I can just paste it into the submit entry form again if it's gone when I go back in.

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Hi,
I think you are absolutley right about the time-out factor. I started to just write in word and pasting it in here, same thing though. At least there is nothing lost.

I have a sweet story for you and it reminded me of your Batman. A few weeks ago a little black kitty probably a year old or so, came to our door step hungry and very thirsty. She looked just like your Batman with the beautiful light green eyes. I fed her for a few days on the back deck. She was kind of thin. She wanted to run in every time I opened the door. I checked the neighborhood if someone lost their kitty. Checked with the vets and animal control if someone reported a lost pet. I kept her in the garage for two weeks until I found a rescue place that deals with Petco to rehome. THis was the sweetest kitty every it wanted to jump on my lap all the time and run up my chest to give me a kiss. I brought it to the rescue and right to the vet to be spayed. She was so friendly I don't think she will have any problem finding a good home. Thought I would share the story with you.

Thanks for the info on the mechanics of this site. It's very helpful to know.

I've reported your problems to the techs, hopefully we can do something to fix it

Yeah, our kitties got kinda constipated too. They don't hate wet food though. What we do is mix a little canned pumpkin and water into the c/d (wet). One can gets split 5-ways, each gets about a little more than a teaspoon of pumpkin mixed in with probably 1/4 cup of water. They get fed that once a day. Works great.

Originally Posted by sarahp

I've reported your problems to the techs, hopefully we can do something to fix it

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Thanks so much. I know i'm not the only one with this problem. Hope it can get resolved. I imagine it depends on how vBulleton's version is power up to allow longer hang time.

Originally Posted by LDG

Yeah, our kitties got kinda constipated too. They don't hate wet food though. What we do is mix a little canned pumpkin and water into the c/d (wet). One can gets split 5-ways, each gets about a little more than a teaspoon of pumpkin mixed in with probably 1/4 cup of water. They get fed that once a day. Works great.

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It seems that a lot of stray cat have some sort of issues. Wow, three of yours have had crystals in the urine and or bladder. You just free feed them the dry c/d food plus one meal a day with the pumpkin and water in dry food or is it mixed with canned food?

Is there something about pumpkin that they should have?

The vet originally told me to feed Tabby a total of one can(5.5oz) of canned food(c/d) and 1/4 cup of dry(c/d) food per day. I mentioned that I was thinking about 50/50 canned and dry food. I feed Tabby twice a day. It's actually good training at this point for him. He's far from being tame. I feed twice a day and just so much he eats it at one time because i'm mixing the canned with the dry and I don't want to leave the canned food out too long.

Let me ask you, how do you tell your cat is getting an increase in crystals again? What are the signs?

Before neutering Tabby was urinating 10-12 times in a 24 hour period about the size of half a golf ball. The vet made one comment to the effect that he was marking his territory so much that he got used to spraying smaller amounts of urine at one time. He never sprayed in the cages and used the litter boxes 100% of the time. He was also drinking about 140ml of water in a 24 hour period and urinating about the same per day.

After neutering he urinated about two times a day the size of about 1-1/2 golf balls or about 80ml per day and drinking about the same amount. So after neutering he was drinking and urinating about half the amount as before neutering. Have you found this to be in line with your cats? Thanks.

I've had the problem with timing out once in a while, but as LDG mentioned clicking the "remember me" box when logging in normally takes care of it.