Interesting times ahead - Page 2

Pics and an update from young Padders

http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/...urrent=015.jpg

http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/...urrent=027.jpg

http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/...urrent=011.jpg

http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/...urrent=008.jpg

"The old man comes to my house at about 8:30 and lets me out. I chase around a bit and get under the old man's feet while he comments on the vast quantities of poop I've done overnight ('Blimey, girl, you could sh*t for England') while he scoops out my litter. I then race to the back door and try and find my big brother Rudi and see if that funny cat the old man calls a 'Cow' is around. I've seen her once or twice and she's weird, although the old man likes her. I say hello to Rudi by having a little nose rub and some sniffing of derrieres and then eat my food. Sometimes I try to pinch a bit of Rudi's and he's not too worried about this. It's funny: when I first came here I ate everything but now I'm getting quite fussy and seem to like dry food more than wet. I've even started leaving some! Then the old man says something about going to work, so I run around his courtyard and farm for a while honing my hunting skills. Rudi won't come with me as he says he's old and needs a sleep, but sometimes he watches me from afar and tells me about the rabbits he caught last winter (although I reckon that that 'Cow' cat actually caught them and Rudi is just taking the credit). But I'm sometimes sad when the old man and his family aren't around so, just in case any of them are still in the house, I don't go too far from the courtyard. I might pop back to my house for some biscuits or I might sit outside their house and call out for them to see if anyone is there, but if they are they seem to ignore me which is a pity. Sometimes the old man comes back for what he calls 'lunchtime' and we have a play with my wand toy. The afternoon is then like the morning (although I might have a little sleep) - I wish I could be like Rudi who just deposits himself in a pile of straw in the barn or under a tree and sleeps for hours. But I've got too much energy and I want to meet people. When the old man comes back it's time for tea and another play and then he hoodwinks me into going back into my little house (do you like the photo of my home?) by putting a couple of treats in there. And then it's time for bed.'

So there you go! On a more serious note, Padders went to the vet the other day for a check on her pee problem. This 'second opinion' vet found her to be a healthy young lady and is convinced that it's a problem that can be improved, if not cured, through medical care. They believe that the best option is a little exploratory operation which will involve a midline incision and an examination of her urinary tract. It is believed they will find a loose sphincter which can be improved by moving muscles or stitching the sphincter. I've agreed to cover the costs of this - it's not too expensive.

My caveat, however, is that, if the operation is successful then Padders should be put up for adoption. I can't have an indoor only (or even indoor-mainly) cat and this little lady would benefit so much from having a big loving family around her and a predominantly indoor lifestyle. My feeling is that, if I pay for her op, then I should also decide her future. I've now owned her for almost a month and I think I know what's best for her (I don't think the shelter people agree with me and are trying to twist my arm - something they seem to do very successfully). Rest assured I would screen potential new owners very carefully. And if the op isn't fully successful then I'll continue and care for her though she'll have to be an outdoor lady (although she can eat in the utility room with Rudi if the weather is rubbish and, just maybe, sleep indoors if the weather is bad).

best to all

An update on things at this end.

Life with Paddy (we've almost stopped calling her Padders) remains up and down - a couple of steps forward, one step back. On the whole, she has adapted well to outdoor life. However, mischievous little thing that she is, she has taken to refusing to go into her little house at night, preferring instead one or more of the other barns around the farm courtyard area. After a week full of evenings spending 30-40 frustrating minutes trying to corral and coerce her (and picking her up only to see her wriggle free), we reached the stage a week or so ago of saying enough is enough, and are just letting her sleep where she wants to.
For the first few nights this led to lots of crying and wailing at the back door. Heartbreaking, but we've had to show tough love. And now, a week or so in, the crying seems to have stopped and she's becoming more independent. She doesn't even run straight into the utility room any more as soon as we open the door.
We've also managed to get her still enough to get a collar with a little bell on it. I know it's only her nature, but I don't like her catching birds (she turned up with a partridge one day last week and they are fairly endangered!) so I'm hoping this will help.
On the medical front, there's been a slight change of tack. I detail this below and would appreciate feedback.
We went back in to the vet on Friday to get her second batch of vaccinations done and also talk about her operation. Same practice, different vet: but this one has suggested medicine prior to any operation and so I'm now (meant to be) administering something called Propylin (sic?) twice a day into her food. It's apparently most commonly used in dogs but can be used in cats on reduced doses. I've very mixed views on this; first and foremost, over recent weeks she's gone from being a pig to being picky, which means that I can't be sure that Rudi (or maybe even LC) aren't actually eating her food. Sadly, I simply don't have the time to sit over her and make sure she is eating all her food up! This morning, for example, I put the drops in to some juicy beefy thing in gravy and she had a couple of mouthfuls and then started wandering around. Apparently it won't do the other cats any harm so that's not a worry. I've been told that I could try syringing it into her mouth but I simply don't have the time or inclination to go down such a route. The second concern is that, to test whether the drugs are working, we are going to have to let her back in the house of an evening. This, to my mind, could undo a lot of the work we've done of getting her used to being outside (I appreciate that this would happen if she were operated on, but the operation wouldn't be/ have been for a few months). The third concern is that I'm starting to think that it is an issue that previous owner caused or knew more about than they have let on to. Whilst she's incredibly nimble on her feet, I've always thought when I've seen her scampering around that she runs in a very strange way, with her back legs essentially a little splayed. It's not noticeable when she walks. A friend who has owned cats all her life came over yesterday and, whilst she and her children played with Paddy, she - unprompted - made the comment 'Paddy seems to jump-run rather than run with her back legs - it's like they move simultaneously, not one slightly after the other'. All of which suggests to me that she's been in an accident of some kind which will probably mean it's nerve damage and, as such, it is an incurable issue.
I'm fully aware that my 'won't administer drugs via a syringe' and 'reluctant to let her back in' may come off as heartless, but we need to revisit the top of the hour. This is where I saved the life of a cat that was going to be euthanised on the proviso I could make her a barn/ farm cat with benefits. And that is what I've done (not to mention vaccinations, microchipping, medicines etc). If I'm honest, as much as Paddy is growing on me, I feel as if I've been a bit hoodwinked into going over and above the line of duty. As it stands, I am very tempted to knock all these various treatments etc on the head, say to the shelter people 'look she's happy with me and we're happy with her - no more treatment and she can live out her days with me as a farm cat with benefits'. Cost isn't an issue here - it is more a feeling that a) I'm being taken advantage of and b) that unless I nip it in the bud, we'll be searching forever and a day. There have been times over the last couple of weeks when I have almost resented Paddy for taking up so much of my time, and whilst I know that will again make me sound heartless, I hope you'll understand that I feel I am being pulled in many different directions!
anyway, best to all

Thanks for the note - you've hit the nail on the head as ever and made me feel a whole heap better.
Part of the issue is with the shelter - there are some politics involved. Don't know if I've mentioned previously but the person I'm dealing with USED to work for the shelter involved but left owing to a difference of opinion. She heard about Paddy through her old connections there and got in touch with me as she placed Ruby and LC with me. So the shelter aren't meant to know she's my contact - I don't think they would have homed Paddy with me (even though they were desperate) if they'd known as it sounds like it was a fairly major tiff. And, as cynical as it may sound, there is a part of me that thinks she is being so 'involved' with Paddy as a form of one-upmanship on her old cohorts.
The crux of the issue is that if we try and fix Paddy through medication (apparently liquid only available) it still may be difficult to home her, as she'll need to take this medicine forever and, whilst still under 2 and a pretty little thing, she's not an 8 week old bundle of malleable energy and fluff. And if we go down the the operation route it will be both costly and, I fear, may really set Paddy back - I believe she would be in recuperation for a week or two - without any guarantee of working.
So I reckon the path of least resistance - and the one that will stop me feeling as frazzled as I do - is simply to accept that she's now an outdoor kitty. I will feed and care for her and fix her problems 'on my watch' in the way I do with Rudi (who I suspect has been in another fight - big red welt and missing fur above one eye) but I shall have to close the book on the peeing problem. With good nutrition, a little bit of daily love and a warm barn or two, the little monkey should continue to thrive ...... ;-)
(p.s. we always knew the little house would be temporary, and she clearly returns there for naps during the day. She's now made a big old dog kennel in the courtyard her second home - it's filled with straw, probably lovely and toasty and about the same size as her little house. To be honest, I don't envisage her running away - my greater fear is over cars, both ours and those on the road about 90 feet away. Bless her, she's taken to following me when I work to my office, a few hundred yards away! But I guess she'll learn!)

cheers for the feedback...quick update from this end:

Paddy - doing better each day. Has caught us 5 mice in the past week and been praised to high heaven for it. Has made the straw-filled dog kennel in the courtyard her hangout - she now basically eschews the little house in the garden. Seems very settled and, now that I'm settled on the plan of action for her, all is well. She's becoming a very, very fine farm cat. (note for obpilot - we don't get coyotes in the UK, but we do get foxes...that said, I've always heard that foxes tend to avoid cats as they realise that cats have rather sharp claws!)

Rudi - is pretty much completely under Paddy's thumb, not that he seems to mind. I've seen him grooming her a couple of times this week - if somebody had told me two months ago he'd be doing that, I'd have been staggered. With Paddy now firmly ensconsed in the courtyard area, the onset of Autumn has seen Rudi resume his residence in one of the barns at the back of the farm, though he pootles up to the house for a meal and always acknowledges your presence when you wander by him (if he's feeling energetic, this means coming over to you and demanding a little petting. Otherwise it's a big meow from his straw-lined perch)

Little Cow - well, she's now been on the farm for a full year. Unbelievable that a year has passed since I adopted her and her sibling/ friend, Ruby. She remains utterly feral and is a mystery to me, though I love her dearly. There were a couple of times over the summer when I, by chance, got to c. 15-20 feet of her while she was out and about and we had a nice 'chat'. But that hasn't happened for a while now; indeed, since Paddy's been on the scene she appears to be more confined to her barns than ever.
The dynamic between her and the others is weird. Rudi has never liked her and that's why I have been feeding them in separate locations for most of the year; Rudi (and now Paddy) up near the house/ outside the back door, The Cow down in the lean-to about 40 feet from the house. Now it seems that, unfortunately, Paddy has also taken against Little Cow. A few weeks ago I was sitting at the upstairs window and noticed them in the lean-to a few feet apart just looking at one another, which I thought was a promising sign. However yesterday Paddy saw LC eating in the lean-to and dashed across the courtyard in a very aggressive manner. LC - well, she ran away into one of her many boltholes. This prompted Paddy to try and follow her and lots of caterwauling ensued! Fortunately it all calmed down pretty quickly.

I'm really not sure why Paddy and Rudi don't like Little Cow. I'm guessing that it's mainly a territorial thing, but I wonder if they have also picked up on her fearfulness ('fearful' and 'feral' are such near-neighbours, aren't they?) and are, in a sense, bullying her. I'm guessing that her running from them may be sending out signals which they are taking umbrage with.

Ultimately, though, she's now stuck around for a full year so she can't be unhappy. With the poorer weather approaching I've thought about trying to get them all to feed up near the house, but I've come to the conclusion that this would be counter-productive. So we're at the stage where my little feral girl is going to remain on the edge of farm life, accepting of being seen (that's one step up on last year!) but wanting to keep the lowest possible profile. She knows she's fed but she doesn't know she's loved, and that's a shame. But as she's about 3-4 years old now, I don't foresee any change - but I live in hope........

bests to all

Thanks, both, for the interesting and positive feedback.

I went and had a good look at the term 'pariah cat' on Google. I reckon it describes Little Cow pretty well though on top of her pariah status, she's also feral! But, as you say, she's happy.

Here's a picture I took of Little Cow a few weeks back. It's at the rather derelict back of the farm area, a part of the farm where both she and Rudi seem to do a lot of their hunting. Typically, the photo looks as if I'm about half a mile away but I was actually only about 20-25 feet from her and only had my mobile to hand. So it's very much in the spirit of Where's Waly, though instead of searching for a bespectacled lad in a stripey top, you're looking for a little black and white lady......

http://s1235.photobucket.com/albums/...urrent=007.jpg

Evening All....been a while since I updated as I've been away on business a lot. So here goes...

Paddy: she's doing fine. Quite the little diva, but a lovely girl really and, I think, hugely happy (she's not a big fan of belly rubs but I take it that her rolling around on the floor about a foot in front of me is a good thing?). She's got such a kitten-like instinct for things, but as she's not 2 till January, I guess that's no surprise. It's getting dark quite early here in England now - and will be really early when the clocks change this coming weekend - and tonight I had to bring the shopping in from the car in the fading light. Bless her, Paddy was around my feet, dashing in and of the utility room while I was bringing various bags of shopping inside. Once all done, I shut the car, went inside and put the kettle on. Two minutes later - car alarm. You guessed it, she'd only jumped in the car while I was unloading the last of the bags and was busy exploring around the car when I'd inadvertantly locked her in! She seemed unfazed by the shenanigans, thankfully.

Little Cow: have only seen her a couple of times in the past fortnight, sadly. I think she's going nocturnal on us again. Just before the temperatures started dropping (and we have had a very mild early Autumn) I saw her properly out and about on the farm, bounding around in the sun. Utterly heart-warming, it was. I am confident that the upcoming winter, which is forecast to be really nasty, will be survived by this tough little cookie.

Rudi: a source of some concern. I think as cat owners and lovers we are all perhaps guilty of trying to transpose the range of human feelings onto our kitties. I'm certainly guilty of this and, as such, I think Rudi's got the blues. He's now been big friends with us for about 6 months (having been around the farm as a stray for maybe 15-18 months) and I think the sun shines out of his big, fat, grey behind! But the arrival of Paddy has really changed the dynamic. Until she was on the scene, the big lad spent much of his time up near the house - he has now marginalised himself to the edge of the farm, and is often seen wandering near the hedges that divide the farm from the building next door (which, ironically, is where I have an office so as to separate - but not too much! - work from leisure). B.P. (Before Paddy), he was (99% of the time) only ever a call of 'Rudi, Rudicat, come on, tea-time!' away from us. Now he might show up for food every couple of days. I certainly haven't seen him since yesterday morning - and I've gone looking three times today. Last week, while I was away on buisiness, the rest of the house didn't see him at all. B.P. he would sit with me on the back step, roll over and demand a big, man-sized belly rub almost every day. Now if he does show up, he eats his food, has a little petting and walks away. Interestingly, I did get a belly rub session in with him last week - but only at a 'neutral' part of the farm. Finally, the last big change since B.P. is that he doesn't come in the house anymore. Previously he'd happily saunter around the utility room, pop into the kitchen and sometimes the study, as long as he knew the back door was open. Now if he does turn up for food he doesn't come over the threshold. I wonder if it's because we have to keep the utility room closed as we can't let Paddy in and roam free round the house like we can Rudi.
But I'm guessing it's all territory-related and, much as he gets on with Paddy (and she clearly likes him), he has ceded the courtyard/ near house area to her. I am worried that he might be a little broken-hearted and feel a little rejected (there I go again, putting people sentiment onto kitty psyche) and, more practically, I am not sure that he'll get through the winter as well as the other two if he continues his itinerant ways as he's a fair bit older (about 5). I'd really love for him to share Paddy's straw-filled kennel - it's big enough for half a dozen cats, let alone 2. I've read on this site that cats are also expert at hiding pain and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to know that he is also under the weather. I think another vet trip for him may be in order and then we may need to review his situation based on their findings. Essentially, he's becoming a stray again, if that makes sense. Any thoughts welcomed - I really do feel this past 2-3 weeks as if he's slowly wandering away from me and I do feel more than a bit guilty. But I can't change the fact that Paddy's here now, so any advice would be appreciated!
best to all (LDG - hope all goes well with Baloo. Fab name!)

Thanks for the reply - as ever, lots of sensible ideas. And your point about real ferals being emotionally a little easier on us than the strays/ semi-ferals is so true; I know, for instance, that I can't connect with LC but I do know that Rudi and I are a mutual appreciation society!

Rudi's patterns are definitely changing and, the more I think about it, it all started happening about 4 weeks ago when Paddy became impossible to get in her wendy house every night and basically moved 20 yards into the farm courtyard's straw-filled dog kennel instead

He has shown up for breakfast twice in the past 6 days since I've been back from work travels. On these occasions he basically defers to Paddy: I'll put a bowl down each for them and she'll put her nose in the first bowl down - even if I put the bowl down in front of him. He's also, thinking it through, turned up for his supper on two evenings - and on neither occasion did paddy stir from her slumbers so we got a bit of 'dad and lad' time.

But, yes, Paddy does generally follow me pretty much everywhere when I'm out and about! Indeed, every time I've gone looking for Rudi these past 36 hours, she's been at my side, squeaking away (in a sense, adorable - but not as rewarding as a Rudi headbutt).

From the front door of the house to the door of my office is, as the crow flies, about 200 ft. But i very seldom take this direct route: instead I generally take the long way round, which involves wandering around the farm driveway/ paths. This takes me past the various places where Rudi and LC hang out (never together, mind) up to the road that links the farm and the offices. There are 2-3 places on this route, farm-side, with lovely warm straw bales where Rudi goes for a kip and I have seen him there a few times this past month or so, just as I did as I was getting to know him all those months ago. But these days I'll be invariably followed by Paddy on my walks around the farm and I do wonder if Rudi decides against making himself seen because he can sense Paddy around and could do without the hassle! Actually Paddy sometimes really worries me as she'll follow me right up to the road on which the farm and offices technically lie (although both are set back) and only turns around when a big lorry rumbles by about 10ft from her. And, of course, pretty much all the time she's following me she's meowing her funny little 'I'm here, I'm here, pay attention to me Dad!' type squeaks....I swear that, before too long, she will follow me to the office....

But I digress. My office is a small, 2nd floor one in an out-of-town conference centre owned by the local authorities. I have one room from about 40 in total. There's not only a hedge between the conference centre and the farm but a wire-mesh fence has been erected, I believe, to stop the rabbits that plague the farm (although they plague us less since the cats!) getting onto their land. I wouldn't be surprised if Rudi has gone onto the office grounds either via the main road/ path or via some hole in the fence. Indeed, one of the porters at the centre reckoned he saw him a few mornings back, although he said it was a black cat, not a dark grey with a white bib and socks. However I'm not sure I can do anything for Rudi at the office given that it's a shared facility and some tenants might not be best pleased (although some might be chuffed!). If the office was owned by me and I was the only tenant I'd definitely set him up with something there. I'll ponder on solutions - but a vet visit needs to be first to make sure he's ok. Wish me luck - hope I can find and catch him! Going to work at home tomorrow (as the office is such a haul ) so hopefully I'll see him out and about on the farm and get a bit of quality time with him.

good thinking - i shall do that tomorrow if/ when I see the big fella. She can't do any damage to the utility room in a few minutes - but obviously I don't want her being in there too long as we're still trying to get her 100% certain that the kennel is her home.
BTW, just had another fruitless trip around the farm. The food - comfortably enough for 3 kitties, and fairly full about 4 hours ago, has all but disappeared which I suspect means that Rudi and LC have both made trips recently.
And I was, of course, accompanied on my search by Paddy. I must get her a new collar - her last one, which had a lovely little bell on it that was soooooo handy for knowing where she is ("ah, she's under my feet, best move slowly") must have come off somewhere, as she came out of her hut one morning not wearing it.

I'll give one more collar a try and then that's it!

She gives me a piece of her mind all the time:

'why are you walking away from me towards that building next door?'
'my food, please'
'look at me rolling on my back'
'do you have any of that special milk?'
'look at this mouse I killed!'
'it's bloody cold out here, can I come in?'

and, most commonly:

'pay attention to me, pay attention to me! I'm here! Look!'

It's actually increasingly endearing. She's now been with us for 10 weeks and since she's been outside there's only been one time when she and I 'fell out'. She was doing her rolling around on her back thing and I mistakenly took it for a 'rub my belly' sign. After a couple of rubs she basically went for my hand with her teeth in a non-playful way but didn't draw blood (clearly she was giving me a warning). I learnt then not to pet her belly again and she learnt not to bite the hand that feeds because the owner of that hand blanked her for 48 hours - she got fed but totally ignored. Not sure if this was the right thing for me to do, but she's been more loving than ever since so it seems to have worked. It's weird; on her 'resume' they talked about her loving cuddles. I'd say she loves petting but not cuddles: everyone I know who has picked her up has found her trying to wriggle free within 10 seconds. The things rescues say, eh?! But I'm good with this - I love to give her a few pets a few times a day (its handy working so close) and have never been a big one for picking cats up anyway.
But I'm rambling. I'm going to have a late one tonight catching up on paperwork, watching the World Series (ESPN has come to England - fab!) and maybe having a little traipse around the farm, weather-permitting.

Everyone is here, all present and correct .....

When I went outside this morning, Paddy came from her kennel in the courtyard and did her usual 'I want food now' act. So I put her food in the back of the lean-to (where I've been feeding them all for a while now) and set off to find Rudi while she chowed down.

And there he was, in the back barn, on a pile of straw. This is the place where I first became 'buddies' with him about 9-10 months ago (just before he started meowing at me and I still thought he was a she called Ruby, he disappeared for a few days. I was so chuffed to see him/ her back one day that I emptied a tin of human tuna for him/ her there and, given that he was very nervous of me, walked away....came back 10 minutes later to find tuna devoured...next morning he's meowing....4 weeks later he's in a trap, has a sex change and becomes the world's best farm cat!). Anyway, given that I was sans Paddy he was delighted to see me and we had a good petting session. As I didn't have any food with me he followed me back to the house and devoured his favourite breakfast - a sachet of Gourmet Perle and a little bit of special cat milk. Cue the return of Paddy and the two of them shared the last of the milk together in a fashion not dissimilar to that scene in lady & the tramp, including growling at the last bit!

Anyway, the continuing good news is that Paddy then got distracted by something and I got a bit of quality time with the lad. We wandered back to his barn and he settled down. He then got a special treat a couple of hours later when I re-emerged (again, without disturbing Paddy) and gave him a second sachet which was greeted with a headbutt of gratitude.

So I think it's going to be a case of separate feeding areas for the time being, at least wherever possible. And he seems well - his eyes are a bit gloopy but I remember being told by the vey months ago that, given he'd been a stray for so long, he was likely to always have a problem like this lurking. I'll keep monitoring it and, if it worsens, I'll get an appt.

Also glad to report that The Cow put in an appearance mid-morning. Interestingly, she emerged from a side barn different from her usual haunt. This is the second time recently I've seen her come out yawning in the morning from this location and, importantly, that was another of Rudi's former strongholds of territory. So I reckon there's been even more territory to-ing and fro-ing than I'd first realised. You think they'd have the decency to tell me what they're up to, wouldn't you? ;-))