This Spring I wrote in to this site asking for advice and help in dealing with a stray/feral cat I had taken off the streets and named David d'Khat.
Thank you to those who gave me such great advice and support as I dealt with a traumatized cat for the first time. So I thought you would like to know how he is doing.
Just to recap - I had been feeding him for most of the past two winters and when I saw him in February I just knew he was not doing well and needed to be helped. David was lured inside in March. Severely underweight with open sores and wounds on his back and face. He is missing all his teeth except the molars and has a cauliflower ear from an untreated wound/ hematoma. At his initial vet visit he was rated barely a "3" on the wellness scale and was younger than I thought - perhaps only about 9-10. He was also very underweight at barely five pounds for a cat whose bone structure suggests he should weigh almost triple that.
And while there have been many times when I wondered whether I had made the biggest mistake of my life in bringing him inside - I almost cannot believe the changes in him. His back has healed and the fur grew back. His flaky dry skin resolved itself with a proper diet and some brushing and his fur is now shiny. He also has gone from a scrawny barely five pound street cat to a muscular 12 pound lap cat.
I am still amazed that to this day he has not ONCE even expressed an interest in going, or get back, outside - not even to poke his head out and just look around. (Although as a friend pointed out - why would he? He currently has food and water available 24/7, climate controlled living space, soft places to sleep and no dogs or cars to watch out for - so why would he leave??
)
This solidifies for me the idea that he was someone's pet earlier in his life who was either lost, abandoned or tossed out when perhaps his owner(s) died/moved. And having barely survived living on the streets he may be terrified of finding himself back in that situation - so better to stay clear of the door and settle himself on a soft piece of furniture. The one time I did take him outside to my back deck to clip his nails he trembled violently the entire time and tried to reach and hold onto the kitchen door. The look in his eyes was a mixture of panic and terror that another human might again toss him aside. Poor baby.
Thinking back I would say it has been almost three months since he has hidden himself anywhere, and he only ventures downstairs to use the cat box or into my studio only when I am there. The same space where he hid out for months. If it is the latter he will use the scratching post for a bit then crouch down where he can keep an eye on me and what I am doing. But once I make moves to go upstairs for the night he is right on my heels.
If we are in the living room during the evening to watch television he is first to jump up on the couch and his favorite spot is nestled between myself and whoever is sitting to my left. He also discovered the "kitty hammock" which doesn't thrill me but he sees the other cats using it so thought he should take a turn.
(*Note* - the "kitty hammock" is actually a standing quilting hoop that currently has one quilt in it and another folded atop it.)
David is often the early arrival in the kitchen when I am cooking dinner - as this seems to be the cat signal that they will be fed soon. They have access to dry food all day, but each evening they get a small amount of canned food also - and this they hover around for in the most UN-subtle manner.
He is also very vocal. He will let you know that he thinks you are taking too long in getting the food from can to dish and he "calls" if I have somehow slipped past him and am no longer in the room he thought I was.
And along with his declared interest in getting HIS share of catnip when it is brought out I think I have decyphered his other more bothersome behaviour trait. If I am holding another cat and he comes into the room - that's fine. Unless that cat is mrowling or in any way protesting (example: I am cutting their claws or they just don't want to be held at that moment). David will then go into "attack" mode - at me! It may be that he believes in that moment I am hurting the other cat - because it is never the other cat he lunges for - but my legs/hands/feet.
He and Tigger (they wrestle and chase each other - even though Tigger is his junior by at least four years, I think it keeps them both on their toes and let's off some energy. This is good for David as it gives him a playmate and exercise, and good for Tigger as Naomi and Jericho were never that interested in rough housing with him.
It is rare in the last month or so that I wake up without David on the bed somewhere. He has even taken to sneaking up to my pillow and I have turned over in the middle of the night to find him curled around the top of my head! He also thrums consistently while being petted or even if you just lay a resting hand on his back.
Someone had once mentioned to me that I should be careful to have realistic expectations of adopting a stray cat as many will never be the snuggling lap cats we have know before. Well, apparently David did not get this memo as he has become as much of an attention demanding love bug as any cat I have owned previously.
Thank you to those who gave me such great advice and support as I dealt with a traumatized cat for the first time. So I thought you would like to know how he is doing.
Just to recap - I had been feeding him for most of the past two winters and when I saw him in February I just knew he was not doing well and needed to be helped. David was lured inside in March. Severely underweight with open sores and wounds on his back and face. He is missing all his teeth except the molars and has a cauliflower ear from an untreated wound/ hematoma. At his initial vet visit he was rated barely a "3" on the wellness scale and was younger than I thought - perhaps only about 9-10. He was also very underweight at barely five pounds for a cat whose bone structure suggests he should weigh almost triple that.
And while there have been many times when I wondered whether I had made the biggest mistake of my life in bringing him inside - I almost cannot believe the changes in him. His back has healed and the fur grew back. His flaky dry skin resolved itself with a proper diet and some brushing and his fur is now shiny. He also has gone from a scrawny barely five pound street cat to a muscular 12 pound lap cat.
I am still amazed that to this day he has not ONCE even expressed an interest in going, or get back, outside - not even to poke his head out and just look around. (Although as a friend pointed out - why would he? He currently has food and water available 24/7, climate controlled living space, soft places to sleep and no dogs or cars to watch out for - so why would he leave??
This solidifies for me the idea that he was someone's pet earlier in his life who was either lost, abandoned or tossed out when perhaps his owner(s) died/moved. And having barely survived living on the streets he may be terrified of finding himself back in that situation - so better to stay clear of the door and settle himself on a soft piece of furniture. The one time I did take him outside to my back deck to clip his nails he trembled violently the entire time and tried to reach and hold onto the kitchen door. The look in his eyes was a mixture of panic and terror that another human might again toss him aside. Poor baby.
Thinking back I would say it has been almost three months since he has hidden himself anywhere, and he only ventures downstairs to use the cat box or into my studio only when I am there. The same space where he hid out for months. If it is the latter he will use the scratching post for a bit then crouch down where he can keep an eye on me and what I am doing. But once I make moves to go upstairs for the night he is right on my heels.
If we are in the living room during the evening to watch television he is first to jump up on the couch and his favorite spot is nestled between myself and whoever is sitting to my left. He also discovered the "kitty hammock" which doesn't thrill me but he sees the other cats using it so thought he should take a turn.
(*Note* - the "kitty hammock" is actually a standing quilting hoop that currently has one quilt in it and another folded atop it.)
David is often the early arrival in the kitchen when I am cooking dinner - as this seems to be the cat signal that they will be fed soon. They have access to dry food all day, but each evening they get a small amount of canned food also - and this they hover around for in the most UN-subtle manner.
He is also very vocal. He will let you know that he thinks you are taking too long in getting the food from can to dish and he "calls" if I have somehow slipped past him and am no longer in the room he thought I was.
And along with his declared interest in getting HIS share of catnip when it is brought out I think I have decyphered his other more bothersome behaviour trait. If I am holding another cat and he comes into the room - that's fine. Unless that cat is mrowling or in any way protesting (example: I am cutting their claws or they just don't want to be held at that moment). David will then go into "attack" mode - at me! It may be that he believes in that moment I am hurting the other cat - because it is never the other cat he lunges for - but my legs/hands/feet.
He and Tigger (they wrestle and chase each other - even though Tigger is his junior by at least four years, I think it keeps them both on their toes and let's off some energy. This is good for David as it gives him a playmate and exercise, and good for Tigger as Naomi and Jericho were never that interested in rough housing with him.
It is rare in the last month or so that I wake up without David on the bed somewhere. He has even taken to sneaking up to my pillow and I have turned over in the middle of the night to find him curled around the top of my head! He also thrums consistently while being petted or even if you just lay a resting hand on his back.
Someone had once mentioned to me that I should be careful to have realistic expectations of adopting a stray cat as many will never be the snuggling lap cats we have know before. Well, apparently David did not get this memo as he has become as much of an attention demanding love bug as any cat I have owned previously.
