Progress and mystery cats??

dunnyboy69

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Hi all - thought I'd start a new thread. Today, whilst I was preparing food for the barn girls (Ruby & Cow) at my back door, I took a little squint into the lean-to about 30 feet away and saw a cat. Immediate thought was 'that's Cow', as she regularly sits and watches me, even if from a distance.
But no, it was Ruby, and she was actually a little closer (about 20ft) than Cow gets. So I said hello and carried on preparing. Long story short, I realised she was miaowing at me quite loudly! I'd always had the impression that ferals didn't do noises, as they don't like to announce their presence. Anyway, I guessed it meant 'I am hungry' and, lo and behold, after I'd had a quick word with her - 'Hungry today are we Rubycat? You're a funny cat - you didn't eat any food yesterday until it got dark!' (I'd been working at home) - she dashed off to her barn and about 5 minutes later I saw her coming away from her food station and her wet portion had disappeared.

I'm guessing this is progress?!

As I alluded to in an earlier post, Ruby is a real mystery cat. Indeed, I'm not convinced she is actually the same cat who took receipt of! When they came to us, we never really got a good look at them in their carrier but just thought they were two peas in a pod, both b/w girls. In the 3 weeks they were in their acclimatisation hut, both generally hid but Cow's nose gave her away - she has a white nose with a black Nike-like tick on it. Come the day we left their door open, I was working from home and watching from the upstairs . Within about 15 minutes, little Cow was out and about exploring and I noticed she had a really big tuxedo (we hadn't really named her till then, but this is when the Cow moniker kicked in). However, I never saw Ruby leave her hut and I sat there all day! Fast forward a couple of days and it was clear she'd left the hut and was eating food, but I hadn't seen her about. When I finally did see the cat we call Ruby, she was on a straw bale in the back barn. A couple of days later, this Ruby comes into the courtyard and I think to myself:

1) crikey, she's a lot taller than Cow! Quite sleek and lean, whereas Cow is titchy and chunky!
2) she is a tuxedo, but has much, much less white on her. Just a few splashes on her legs and a little v-neck.
3) most noticeably, her dark colourings aren't anything like as dark as Cow...Ruby is a very dark grey, Cow is proper black!

In their acclimatisation time, they were quite often huddled up together in a hidey space in their hut. They were apparently picked up together by the shelter on a lorry park about 15 miles away and both had a litter of kittens (don't worry, they've now been spayed). They lived together in a shelter for about 12 months. But now Cow seems terrified of Ruby: if Ruby comes out for food or an explore, Cow immediately dashes for the safety of her barn, and I've actually seen Ruby chase Cow on a few occasions. I believed they were bonded, but now I just feel they tolerate one another!

Last summer, we had a number of cats come around the farm on a sporadic basis. None of them ever came close to us, though we did see them out and about - there was a big white one, a grey/ white one and a couple of b/w one....

I can't help wondering if the cat we're calling Ruby is actually the latter of these strays - possibly even a male, given how much taller she is? Don't get me wrong, even if he (she) is I'll still love her to bits and it's clear she has adopted us. But I'd love to know! Not sure I'll ever find out, unless Ruby lets me check her out. But it is a mystery!

Anyone, just a few musings from this side of the pond. Any thoughts appreciated!
 

ldg

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Well that is an interesting story! Female & Male and size or "alpha" qualities really aren't related. Just like with people - it's all genetics and personality. One of our fiestiest cats is male - but he's the smallest of the males, and of his litter (there were five of them), he was the smallest cat.

They were all very close when younger and outside (well, except for the little nasty male) - but once inside and as they got older, they got less cuddly with each other and spread out. Ferals do tend to be rather social, especially when they eat together - but in my experience, females are more "loners" than the males. All of our adult female ferals outside come and go to eat alone, and the big one (that actually turned out to be a stray, but she's become feral) they are all scared of - even the two males that are larger than she is. Our inside kitties were all very cuddly when we lived in the RV (where we lived when they were first rescued). We had five by the time we moved into a house. I have VERY few pictures of any of them where they're not cuddled up with someone prior to moving into the house. When they moved into the MUCH larger area - they all spread out and stopped being cuddly with each other.
Due to health issues and economics, we moved back into the RV four years later - and they still aren't cuddly with each other. So even if it IS Ruby - the same Ruby - it may very well be that they've just "spread out" and spread their independence wings, so to speak.

Since you never got a good look at Ruby, I guess there's not really any way to know if this Ruby is the same Ruby. The rescue that provided them obviously didn't ear tip them. I don't know if that's a common practice over there, but in the U.S. when feral cats are rescued and intended for release, we typically have the vet nip off the tip of the left ear - then with a VERY quick visual you can tell if a cat you're looking at (or in your trap) has been spayed or neutered.

Can you call the rescue to ask about her description? They'll probably have it noted in her file if she was b&w or dark grey & white. Because if that's not Ruby, you may have an unsterilized cat on your hands... and now that you're putting food out regularly for the kitties, you may well get intact visitors. You might want to talk to the rescue about what to do if you do start getting regular intact visitors. There's no rescue group out here to help, so we bought a trap and just started doing it on our own because we didn't want an endless parade of kittens. We have 8 indoor-only pets (all former ferals), and care for 9 outdoor TNRd feral kitties. (Trap-Neuter-Return). In fact - it may be 10. I just saw a new kitty I've never seen out there this morning. Once you start feeding them regularly - if there are other cats around, they'll find their way.


But whichever kitty your (now) Ruby is, sitting and talking to you is definitely progress!
If ferals were raised with their mums, they don't talk. All of our kitties are feral rescues, and no one talked until we adopted the deaf kitty. She never learned not to talk - she was rescued very young, and she couldn't hear herself talking. After about a year of her chattering away, one of the former ferals (being an indoor-only pet for two+ years at that point) made an attempt at talking. His unused vocal cords made a funny squeaky sound - but they all talk now.
When you talk to them, they can definitely learn to talk back - especially if food is involved.
And yes, it means progress, as it's something they're doing solely to communicate with you.
 
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dunnyboy69

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Thanks so much for the feedback, LDG. As ever, full of good ideas - you're a star. What you've mentioned about cats going their own separate ways definitely seems to have happened with these two. Ruby seems very content to be a solo cat but, skittish though she is, I can't help wondering if Little Cow really wants to play! That said, they never touch their toys.
I'm thrilled that 'Ruby' spoke to me, but her speaking to me really raised the alarm bell on 'is she really feral/ Ruby'? The shelter people are fantastic, but when I mentioned my suspicion to them in passing a few weeks back, you could almost see them making 'he's going mad' gestures. And I guess it does sound like a bit of a stretch, though strange things happen. I'd guess I'd say I'm about 70% sure that Ruby is Ruby but that 30% is nagging away at me, particularly when you mention issues like sterilisation.
When the girls came to us, the shelter said they thought they were about 2 to 2.5 years old and might be related but they couldn't be sure. What you mention about ferals not talking if they are raised by their mums makes me wonder if 'Ruby' is a stray of many years (rather than a feral) and Cow is one of her kittens (who then went on to have her own kittens). That's to say, they are Mother and Daughter.
I think my next steps - as well as keeping working on buddying up with them - might be to get a really good camera with a decent zoom so that I can take some pictures of Ruby and Little Cow. This way I can check on ear tipping (as far as I know, they do no ear-tipping here but I'll check it out) and get some pictures posted for the forum members here and the shelter, just in case they have any records.
thanks again
 

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Another story for you.
Our first indoor-only rescue kitty was Lazlo, in 2002. He was born outside with four littermates by a feral mom. She was one of the few cats that bolted when we released her after being spayed and we never saw her again. Thank goodness we waited until we were sure the kitties that were still outside with her were 12 weeks old (the natural time they spend with their moms before they push them out on their own. Some families stay bonded - but it's pretty normal for moms to force their kids to become independent around that 12 week mark).

Lazlo was 8-10 weeks old when we brought him in. It was a holiday weekend here - a LOT of fireworks and noise. The mom left with the family - leaving Lazlo behind. There was a kitten out back meowing his head off. So we brought him inside. He was a talker from very early on.

Feral moms do take their families on excursions - teaching them how to hunt. We suspect she left him behind because he did not learn to be quiet. He used to meow at the ceiling.
We always used to joke that he was an alien put on earth to observe our species - and all that meowing was just him reporting back to the mother ship.


So it is definitely possible to have a feral that talks. It is uncommon, but it happens.

...and I'll go find a picture of one of our ear-tipped kitties so you can see what it looks like. Oh wait! Just look at the picture of Chumley in my signature! They ear-tipped his right ear, not his left.
But it is hard to compare because his other ear didn't make it into the banner, so I'll go find a better picture for "ear" comparison.
 

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LOVE THE PICTURE OF CHUMLEY, Laurie
What a gorgeous boy
.

It is so wonderful that Ruby is talking to you. Most ferals don't meow to the caretaker unless they are really and truly trusting them and LIKE them. Here are two examples.

Chloe - a barn feral I cared for and finally after three years, she comes close when I feed and MEOWS now to me.

Coalman - started meowing to me after three months of daily care taking. I had him TNRd early on when I first met him. I thought after all of that, he would never trust me again. But I was so wrong, He even became more trusting and loving. He knew I loved him and was the one person he could trust. So on came the talking. I did find him a home as he became so very cuddly and loving to me that I knew he needed to be a pet and wanted to be a pet
.

I have outside ferals too that I have TNRd and just today, I saw another cat come around. Now there are three more I have to get TNR in the Spring. So don't be surprised if you do see a few strays coming around. They all seem to know where the "soft-hearted" people live and will come by for food, shelter and safety.
 
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dunnyboy69

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That's a gorgeous picture of young Chumley. He's really striking a pose.
BTW, I love the name 'Coalman' - nice and quirky. My brother had a cat many years ago called Clifford: when I asked why, he said it was because the cat used to show up when the milkman from Clifford's Dairies brought his daily delivery. I'm guessing a similar story for Coalman?!
Curse my irregular schedule - I had to feed the girls about 45-60 minutes earlier than usual this morning (only really half light), so no sign of either of them.
Whether Ruby is Ruby or 'An Imposter' or not, I'm pretty sure that, like you mention, we're getting the occasional guest cat. I don't think these are strays as such, just a few cats from the neighbourhood - the guest cats we had last summer and Autumn were definitely a bit bolder than Ruby and Little Cow, both of whom really tried to stay invisible for their first few weeks with me. Which is what makes their increased receptiveness all the more lovely. They have got such an amazing spring and summer coming up on the farm: the farmer will be ploughing his field, everything will be growing and the place will be full of life. And a daft old man will probably take a book and blanket into the lean-to, sit on the floor, sprinkle some treats about 10 feet away from him and start talking to his cats....
 

ldg

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Originally Posted by dunnyboy69

.....And a daft old man will probably take a book and blanket into the lean-to, sit on the floor, sprinkle some treats about 10 feet away from him and start talking to his cats....
Well, you've certainly found the right place to share your stories from these adventures!
 

feralvr

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Yep, cats bring out the best stories in us
. Great reading and lots of it.

I saw the same tabby again this morning outside the window. Definitely a new feral. I went out to talk with it and it scattered off. Poor thing, one of his (girl or boy?? who knows) ears has been frost bit. It is laying forward and curled and of course it is the left one. So I can't tell if he has been TNRd but I assume not. Not many people around my town do what I do. There is one guy who lives about 1/2 mile away that I met through Feral Fixers who has trapped a few and got them done. We talk occasionally and have found out that we are seeing some of the same cats by description.

If you do get more cats out on your farm, can you plan to trap and TNR?? Just google Trap-Neuter-Release in your area/county and you will hopefully find an organization who can assist you with your good deed for these cats
 
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dunnyboy69

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Hello All - had an interesting couple of days with Ruby and Little Cow, so thought I'd keep you in the loop and pick your brains! First off, to answer a query from an earlier response - apparently ear-tipping is frowned upon as being unnecessary and cruel here in the UK. Both are the shelters words, not mine - I don't want to get into any kind of transatlantic slanging match - I known far too little to pass comment.

Elsewhere, interesting times with the girls:

Ruby: I've had a couple more miaows from her, but generally I haven't seen much of her. She's a fair bit bolder than Little Cow: on one of the miaow occasions, she was on the fence about 10 ft away from me and didn't run off when I was chatting to her

Little Cow: if there was a competition for the most skittish, timid and yet lovable feral cat in the world, Little Cow would be my entrant. My weekend with her started by trying to move her food box a little bit away from the back of the lean-to to a location nearer to where she could make use of/ territory mark a lovely straw-filled hut I'd prepared for her (my thinking being that she had really gone into her shell in the last few weeks and basically never seemed to roam anymore - something she did lots of a month or two ago). This proved to be unsuccessful and, whilst she came to the new location (about 15ft away in her clear line of vision), she spent about 30 minutes sat where her food box used to be looking bewildered and miserable. I popped outside, talked to her from about 30ft away (my safe zone), told her I was sorry and put her box back to its original position a few minutes later. I was rewarded with her curling up on top of it after she'd had a good feed. This is something she's never done before - the curling up bit, not the good feed - by heavens, she can put it back, that lass!. I also took a couple of woollen toys she didn't seem to play with from her little food box and popped them in the doorway of the straw hut I'd prepared for her. Lo and behold, I've seen her playing with them loads in and around her lean-to - which means she has also explored her new hut! Very happy with this - it's great fun to watch her being such a happy little cat. She must spend about 2-3 hours in her lean-to every day and, as this is visible from the kitchen, utlity room and upstairs office, we get to see her in all her kitten-like glory.

It's been quite a pleasant day in England today and so, with my workload in calm-before-the-storm mode, I decided to have my lunch in Little Cow's lean-to. (FYI, her lean-to is about 25ft wide by 15ft deep by 20ft high, and essentially is a covered area before the barn). I put a little food in her box, which is pretty much right next to her bolthole. Another FYI - her bolthole is basically a hole in the bottom of a barn door that rats had chewed through and that I enlarged (with my boot!) a few months back for the girls to get access to the barns. I positioned myself on a little fishing-type stool about 15 feet away and at right angles from her bolthole. I proceeded to have my sandwich and, once that was finished, I quietly read a book aloud for about 15 minutes. I glanced over and could see her little black and white face in the bolthole at one point - but she didn't come through at all. I'm not disheartened at all, as I know it'll take a long, long time for her to have this kind of trust with me. As I've said before, I don't want her to be a housepet: I just want to reach the stage where she doesn't run from me and perhaps even runs to me when she knows I'm coming with food.
.....Of course, within two minutes of me leaving her lean-to, there she was, back in her bolthole, carefully emerging into the wintry English sunshine....
 

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Originally Posted by dunnyboy69

Hello All - had an interesting couple of days with Ruby and Little Cow, so thought I'd keep you in the loop and pick your brains! First off, to answer a query from an earlier response - apparently ear-tipping is frowned upon as being unnecessary and cruel here in the UK. Both are the shelters words, not mine - I don't want to get into any kind of transatlantic slanging match - I known far too little to pass comment.
I can see that. Many people are opposed to ear and tail-docking, and I suspect those are illegal in the UK too (though I don't know about breeding practices there at all). We're quite barbaric here in the U.S., and declawing is still legal in most places (it's illegal just about everywhere else in the world).
Mind you, I don't think there any members of TCS that would declaw their cats, and the site is anti-declaw. That IS cruel and to no purpose that benefits the cat.


Originally Posted by dunnyboy69

Elsewhere, interesting times with the girls:

Ruby: I've had a couple more miaows from her, but generally I haven't seen much of her. She's a fair bit bolder than Little Cow: on one of the miaow occasions, she was on the fence about 10 ft away from me and didn't run off when I was chatting to her.
We can measure your progress in feet per day!
She is getting bold, isn't she?


Originally Posted by dunnyboy69

Little Cow: if there was a competition for the most skittish, timid and yet lovable feral cat in the world, Little Cow would be my entrant. My weekend with her started by trying to move her food box a little bit away from the back of the lean-to to a location nearer to where she could make use of/ territory mark a lovely straw-filled hut I'd prepared for her (my thinking being that she had really gone into her shell in the last few weeks and basically never seemed to roam anymore - something she did lots of a month or two ago). This proved to be unsuccessful and, whilst she came to the new location (about 15ft away in her clear line of vision), she spent about 30 minutes sat where her food box used to be looking bewildered and miserable. I popped outside, talked to her from about 30ft away (my safe zone), told her I was sorry and put her box back to its original position a few minutes later. I was rewarded with her curling up on top of it after she'd had a good feed. This is something she's never done before - the curling up bit, not the good feed - by heavens, she can put it back, that lass!. I also took a couple of woollen toys she didn't seem to play with from her little food box and popped them in the doorway of the straw hut I'd prepared for her. Lo and behold, I've seen her playing with them loads in and around her lean-to - which means she has also explored her new hut! Very happy with this - it's great fun to watch her being such a happy little cat. She must spend about 2-3 hours in her lean-to every day and, as this is visible from the kitchen, utlity room and upstairs office, we get to see her in all her kitten-like glory.
You've just had a great experiential learning experience.
Cats do not like change! But curiosity is also a "given" with cats.... and it usually gets the best of them.
So... has she been spending more time you're aware of in the new hut?

Originally Posted by dunnyboy69

It's been quite a pleasant day in England today and so, with my workload in calm-before-the-storm mode, I decided to have my lunch in Little Cow's lean-to. (FYI, her lean-to is about 25ft wide by 15ft deep by 20ft high, and essentially is a covered area before the barn). I put a little food in her box, which is pretty much right next to her bolthole. Another FYI - her bolthole is basically a hole in the bottom of a barn door that rats had chewed through and that I enlarged (with my boot!) a few months back for the girls to get access to the barns. I positioned myself on a little fishing-type stool about 15 feet away and at right angles from her bolthole. I proceeded to have my sandwich and, once that was finished, I quietly read a book aloud for about 15 minutes. I glanced over and could see her little black and white face in the bolthole at one point - but she didn't come through at all. I'm not disheartened at all, as I know it'll take a long, long time for her to have this kind of trust with me. As I've said before, I don't want her to be a housepet: I just want to reach the stage where she doesn't run from me and perhaps even runs to me when she knows I'm coming with food.
She's getting bolder though! She was watching you. I can just see her little mind whirring - her instinct to be afraid - but you provide food - and there you are, just being so not scary!


Originally Posted by dunnyboy69

.....Of course, within two minutes of me leaving her lean-to, there she was, back in her bolthole, carefully emerging into the wintry English sunshine....
Ah, she could have bolted through the bolt hole any time. She wanted to hear the story!
 
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dunnyboy69

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Thanks for the wise words, LDG. Particularly true on the not-liking-change bit.
I've had a couple more goes at sitting with Little Cow in her lean-to without success: not even a face at the bolthole. That said, on both occasions it's been lunchtime and I'm guessing she was in the middle of a deep sleep. I'm a patient man - there's no hurry, all being well she has probably another 12-15 years to become my pal!
Anyway, managed to grab a half-decent photo of Little Cow from the kitchen window yesterday morning. She's a tuxedo and a bit more besides, hence her bovine moniker! You can also see the lay of the land from the photo: in the distance is the lean-to, where the caravan is parked. The big white door at the back leads into the main barn and has her bolthole at bottom. And you can see her wooden Happy Hutch too! I've been parking myself just inside the lean-to, approx where the Mini is parked. Her new (intended) hut is in the courtyard - it's an old dog kennel. Am pretty sure they are popping in overnight, but I don't think they are sleeping in it, even though it is filled with straw. I really hope they do: as safe as the barn itself is, the lean-to is becoming increasingly full of my neighbours' cars (lovely people - they have 2 indoor kitties and two grown-up kids who've moved back in with their 'wheels') and that can't be a good thing.
Photo of Ruby (who I haven't seen since Monday - but most of her food is going and she's frequently done these temporary disappearing acts) to follow on next email. Have ordered her a Happy Hutch too. I am clearly softer than an ice cream in a greenhouse....
 
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dunnyboy69

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took this one about a week ago in one of the barns around the back of the property, so a good 50-60 feet from the courtyard. Since the photo was taken have installed some fresh straw (Lord alone knows how old the stuff she's lying in is) and she seems to like her surrounds.
Funny cat is our Ruby. She's the one who has done a bit of miaowing at me, and she's let me get as close as this photo (taken on iPhone, but actually somewhere between 6-10ft away - iPhones are wonderful, but the camera is pretty awful), but she's also the kind of cat who you don't see for 3-4 days. For a while she was christened 'Maneater' in honour of the Hall & Oates song....'She only comes out at night, the lean and hungry type'. But that's an even dafter name to give a cat than 'Little Cow' so Ruby it is, short for Rhubarb. Loves her wet food, not fond of her dry. Unlike Little Cow, who loves everything, particularly if it's in gravy. She can pack it away, can our Little Cow!
 

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I can't really see Ruby, but Little Cow - I love your description of "a tuxedo kitty and a bit more"
In the picture, I'd say she's on her way to a black tie dinner wearing a strapless!


I really hope they move to the hut with all the comings and goings of the cars! That just makes me shudder!

...and daft names are fun for cats! (Though I do love "Ruby, short for Rhubarb."
). We had one named Booger. Gary wanted to name her Hitler, but I did nix that one (even though she really was a dictator).

Chumley is actually named after a cartoon character from the 1960s here in the U.S. Chumley was a one-of-a-kind South Pole Walrus.
 
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dunnyboy69

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Hi All - well, unfortunately I have pretty much had my hand forced by my neighbours and bad weather on moving the cats' feeding stations. This time last week (and for c. the last 3 months), I've been leaving one lot of food and drink in the shed in the garden where they were acclimatised and one lot in the Happy Hutch in the back of the lean-to. Ruby tended to eat at the shed, Little Cow in the Happy Hutch (although Ruby eats wherever she pleases, really). The terrible high winds we had in England last week meant that the shed became out of bounds: it was always propped open a fraction by bricks (it won't take a cat door) and basically the felt roof blew off and the door came away. So I ordered a new Happy Hutch and moved the food bowls from shed into the lean-to. As these 2 extra bowls wouldn't fit into the Happy Hutch, for extra shelter I put them under the corner of my neighbours caravan, parked in the lean-to. All seemed well until the following morning when I woke to find that the neighbours had moved the bowls about 6ft from under their caravan to beside the Happy Hutch, meaning that they were pretty much exposed to the elements. I can't tell you how angry I was - I have done so many favours and acts of kindness for my neighbours over the last couple of years, that this seemed like a petty piece of territory marking on their behalf. Indeed, 2/3rds of the lean-to is technically mine as I have 2 of the 3 cottages! My neighbours have two pampered indoor cats of their own, but they clearly hold mine in much lower esteem. They saw me putting a bed in the back barn before Christmas and joked with me that I was fussing over them unduly. This is infuriating to me - not only are the barn cats a communal resource but, more importantly, they need looking after properly too.
On to more practical issues....the new (2nd) Happy Hutch arrived yesterday morning. So I decided that, as I have been uncomfortable with the amount of cars in the lean-to anyway (all my neighbours - no chance for my household!) I decided to move both Happy Hutches into my courtyard, about 20ft away from the original position and next to the straw-filled dog kennel that Ruby has definitely adopted for her overnight stays (this is my one bit of good news from the past week! She's been seen emerging from there, stretching, at first light!). So after I'd fed LC yesterday morning - she basically eats as soon as I've gone back into the house - I moved both hutches, put fresh straw in and replenished their food bowls. In true Hansel and Gretel style, I also did a little trail of dry food from the old site to the new. I've woken this morning to find the trail eaten, one lot of food almost fully eaten, one lot untouched and Little Cow sat looking miserable in the back of the lean-to where she used to be fed. Ideally I'd have moved it slowly, foot by foot, but that just isn't feasible given the comings and goings of the neighbours cars - LC and Ruby would be fine, but their bowls would get squashed!
I guess my questions are:
* the over-riding one: they/ Little Cow will find the new location, won't they? Its only 20 ft away, albeit in a 'different' area of the farm. Am sure Ruby has already found it! And it's actually pretty much exactly where the photo of Little Cow was taken - although she has been very reluctant to
* as a contingency plan, should I consider continuing to feed a little bit to LC every morning in the lean-to and then move the remainder of her food into the new hutch location. Or is tough love the only way? FYI, today I've left another breadcrumb trail of dry food!
Probably all sounds very petty (certainly does when I look at other posts on the forum), but I'm only looking out for my lovely girls.
bests
 

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Given the issues, I think you did the right thing. They'll find it. LC may be looking miserable - but it's just like with children. They don't always like what's best for them.


She'll find the food, and she'll adjust!

And yes, I'd be really upset with the neighbors and their comments and attitude too.
 
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dunnyboy69

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Thanks for the kind words, LDG.
Well, they found it - but they didn't eat from it!
I've got a night vision scope thingie, and I watched Little Cow wander up to the box at about 6:30 last night, munching the breadcrumb trail on the way. She then popped her head in the box and wandered off. Ruby did similar about 45 minutes later.
So this morning, much to my disappointment, all the food is still there. Not too surprised about LC's (after all, she ate her pathway!), but very surprised by Ruby.
So I replenished, saw both girls, had some quality meowing from Ruby (bless her) and have left them to it. Although I'll admit I succumbed slightly to Ruby's meows and put out a bowl of cat milk for her for a few minutes, which she gulped down 9and let me watch her - about 15ft away, I'd guess). She then wandered off and so I moved the bowls back to their new locations/ hutches - only to get another chorus of meows from her in the lean-to. I feel bad - but they have to take the leap of faith.
I fully understand their nerves - it is much closer to the house where the scary giants live (even if the scary giants think they are great) - but I'm hoping that hunger is a powerful thing.
 

feralvr

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Oh arn't neighbors fun
. Don't worry, I promise LC and Ruby will be fine and will accept where you have moved the new hutch quickly. I had to move my feeding shelter as well. I originally had it near the abandoned house next door in the late fall. Then with the temps dropping and freezing cold weather on it's way, I moved the shelter to the side of my house!! Right next to the dog pen. Although, the cats seem comfortable with my dogs as they see the boys multiple times a day and the dogs don't care much about them. Also, as you say
, the big scary lady with the wild hair is much closer now
.

Anyway, the cats had to trust to come across the yard about forty feet to the new winter shelter. It only took a day and they were in and out to eat. It was funny to watch them out my window the first day I built the winter shelter. They would venture about half way and sit down and just stare at the shelter and sniff the air. They could smell the nice canned food I just put out.
. It took ALL day but the bravest one, Pixie, was the first to go in and eat, then one by one, all the others approached as well.

So, don't worry, your girls will be hungry and that will take over the fear of the hutch and it being closer to where the big people live!!!
 
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dunnyboy69

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thanks for the words of encouragement! Your story, feralvr, re. moving them 40ft sounds like a good example for me!
Ruby has definitely started eating in one of the boxes - not so sure about LC, but she'll get there. Bless her, I saw her wander into the courtyard as bold as brass this morning up to the area where I make up their foodbowls...she had a sniff around on the floor (and probably picked up a stray flake of tuna) and then had a sniff near the boxes. But, once again, she didn't go in!
Fingers crossed.
BTW, hope the weather is clearing up the other side of the pond. Couldn't believe how well my girls coped with our cold weather and snow in December (in fahrenheit, we were pretty constantly 10-20 degrees), they seem to struggle more with wind and rain!
 
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