Two and half weeks in, and Semi-Feral Kitty is already leaps and bounds removed from the drenched, bedraggled thing I took away from neighbour kids who think it's funny to waterboard animals.
SFK's belly is no longer scab-encrusted. She doesn't suckle on it much any more; every time I caught her, I re-directed to a piece of raw chicken breast. Her belly is still too round for her frame, but the bloating seems far less extreme. And she's 99% less stinky.
She eats a lot, mostly chicken so far, coated with diatomaceous earth. Her stools are regular, but their consistency tells me she's not drinking enough water. For litter, she likes a noisy mix of dried lentils, beans, bulgur and DE.
Her energy is ten times what it was, and her play is becoming more creative. Tonight she tried to ambush me, hiding behind a doorframe as I came down the hallway. Seemingly overnight, she can move fast.
Miau inhibition is iffy so far, even though crying gets her no reward. Bite inhibition isn't much better: she doesn't seem to care that play ends when she bites.
Her toys are pretty limited in range, just things I've been able to make from household refuse and bendy straws. Sometimes she sits up underneath a wooden folding chair, front paws on the cross-support, her round, still-furless belly on display, like a worn Steiff plushie handed down over generations.
Tonight I'll buy another kind of meat and hope SFK eats it. Her apparent siblings are much bigger and stronger on a dumpster diet. :shrug:
SFK's belly is no longer scab-encrusted. She doesn't suckle on it much any more; every time I caught her, I re-directed to a piece of raw chicken breast. Her belly is still too round for her frame, but the bloating seems far less extreme. And she's 99% less stinky.
She eats a lot, mostly chicken so far, coated with diatomaceous earth. Her stools are regular, but their consistency tells me she's not drinking enough water. For litter, she likes a noisy mix of dried lentils, beans, bulgur and DE.
Her energy is ten times what it was, and her play is becoming more creative. Tonight she tried to ambush me, hiding behind a doorframe as I came down the hallway. Seemingly overnight, she can move fast.
Miau inhibition is iffy so far, even though crying gets her no reward. Bite inhibition isn't much better: she doesn't seem to care that play ends when she bites.
Her toys are pretty limited in range, just things I've been able to make from household refuse and bendy straws. Sometimes she sits up underneath a wooden folding chair, front paws on the cross-support, her round, still-furless belly on display, like a worn Steiff plushie handed down over generations.
Tonight I'll buy another kind of meat and hope SFK eats it. Her apparent siblings are much bigger and stronger on a dumpster diet. :shrug:
