I have just found out that my kitten is an African Wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica

alkemist · Apr 16, 2015

I'm going back in june for a month, but if all goes as planned, (I'm starting an NGO from scratch in Somalia) I will be here for the better part of 2015. but my brother is dying for me to bring nala, I tried to upload this funny vid of her getting stuck inside her fav box & jumping out, but the site disallowed it.

alkemist · Apr 16, 2015

I meant help as in raising her, but surely is a godsend, i was alone basically for the past 4 weeks, she's been great company! Ive read how difficult feral cats can be, let alone a wildcat, & she's way too sweet, so i guess the universe def meant for us to find one another!

alkemist · Apr 16, 2015

haaaaaa, that should be interesting, maybe we should find out whether it is. I've been feigning some katzs pastrami since the 4 months I've been here. i know its unhealthy but I'm sure nala would love some as well. Glad you guys are all enjoying it, me too! esp since I'm patronized by the locals doing all the "extras" like digging sand, feeding her good meat etc. they're attitude is, she's wild, just let her be; theres no sense of "pets" here, except this 1 guy i know who has a few ostriches & dik diks (these are absolutely adorable I've been trying to get a pair.theyre like mini antelope, size of a cat, super fast & stay in a monogamous relationship entire lives). Oh & I found out this is basically where they smuggle cheetah cubs from, a thousand or 2 usd even though its outlawed...

stephenq · Apr 16, 2015

Norachan said:
@StephenQ What do you think? Any chance of her being allowed into New York?

Animals are caught all the time going through JFK. If this cat wasn't legal she would certainly be busted i expect.

alkemist · Apr 17, 2015

Ok, so I have a long hallway that leads on one side to my bedroom, another to a living room and another to different room. Like a "T", i never allowed her in those areas up until 2 days ago. & now i go find that she has pooped peed in 4 diff corners, one was fresh another could be yesterday and another 2 days ago. Her litter is clean & she even goes outside at time in the corner of the yard where theres piles of leaves etc. Is she marking territory? Bc she went out of her way to get these corners & the doors usually closed, she doesnt have access. So im partial to it being purposefully done.

segelkatt · Apr 17, 2015

alkemist said:
Ok, so I have a long hallway that leads on one side to my bedroom, another to a living room and another to different room. Like a "T", i never allowed her in those areas up until 2 days ago. & now i go find that she has pooped peed in 4 diff corners, one was fresh another could be yesterday and another 2 days ago. Her litter is clean & she even goes outside at time in the corner of the yard where theres piles of leaves etc. Is she marking territory? Bc she went out of her way to get these corners & the doors usually closed, she doesnt have access. So im partial to it being purposefully done.

This is NOT marking territory. When a cat does that, it backs onto a vertical surface and pees on that as high as it can get it, not on the floor or pooping. There is something else involved here, maybe she is looking for a quiet out of the way spot where she does not feel threatened and vulnerable when doing her business.

alkemist · Apr 17, 2015

segelkatt said:
This is NOT marking territory. When a cat does that, it backs onto a vertical surface and pees on that as high as it can get it, not on the floor or pooping. There is something else involved here, maybe she is looking for a quiet out of the way spot where she does not feel threatened and vulnerable when doing her business.

Hmmmm, that doesnt make sense bc she has her own room with litter, & shes been doing her business in the corner of the yard & infront of the gate outside (i obstructed the bottom bc i dont want her out)

I gave her some of my flagyl pill, like a a quarter disloved in water, hopefully thatll help her diarrhea & get her eating again until i find some deworming meds.

I wonder what she would do in the wild, how she would survive with all these worms etc.

Norachan · Apr 17, 2015

Most feral kittens I've rescued have been full of worms. It can have a really bad effect on their health, it certainly shortens their life expectancy because they're not getting all the nutrition they need.

Try putting a litter box in all the places Nala has pooped. Some cats just like to have their litter box in a specific spot, they often don't like the litter box and their food bowls in the same room. Maybe she just wants somewhere quieter to go.

Margret · Apr 18, 2015

Sometimes pooping in an inappropriate spot is an expression of displeasure. You may be lucky it's not on your bed. That's where Sweet Thing put it after we moved to Oregon.

Margret

catloverinfla · Apr 18, 2015

I have a cat that could pass for Nala's twin

Her name is Adalyn. I found her when she was about 3-4 weeks old. She's also very sweet and affectionate. Nala is beautiful and you seem to be doing a great job. Congrats on your new companion!

alkemist · Apr 20, 2015

Sorry about the late responses was busy staving off scorpions in my house out of nowhere so havent been sleeping bc of paranoia & in the morning they bombed the UN compound.
I was finally able to procure a liter of albendazole for the tapeworms. I gave her the proper dosage yesterday, shes def acting positively different, much more playfull, eatingg & running around a lot. I havent seen the tapeworm in her litter yet tho. I expected to see this huge worm but nothing yet; how long will it take? Also, they said online to give her another dose in 2 weeks, i may just give it to her every 2 weeks would that be palatable to her health?

Oh, & ive been taking her hunting around my yard at night. She eats these 3 inch dragonflies & lizards, cries for more lizard tho. I just wish she could kill all the scorpions.

alkemist · Apr 20, 2015

Y

CatLoverInFla said:
I have a cat that could pass for Nala's twin Her name is Adalyn. I found her when she was about 3-4 weeks old. She's also very sweet and affectionate. Nala is beautiful and you seem to be doing a great job. Congrats on your new companion!

Post some pics! I actually saw an adult wildcat walk by yesterday, i never saw it in my area before as this orange cat runs it. But i took nala out to see her reaction, she kind of went in the adult wildccats direction, & he kept looking at me & then at her. I could tell he thought about walking towards nala a few times but didnt. Guess he took over the orange cats territory; but as an adult nala is going to look so regal, the adult wildcat was gorgeous and appeared to be a mini tiger with the walk

alkemist · Apr 20, 2015

Did some afternoon "hunting" nala saved me, found a scorpion under the door & ate it before i got a good look. Then i scaredly went back to my old room, lifted the rug, voila scorpion, & nala pounced on it. I made a short clip but she absolutely loves the critters, she even ate some crickets hiding under the rug. I may just let her sleep in my room to save me. I did it in the morning she was super quiet, even sleeping next to me. & didnt try to wake me up!

image.jpg

alkemist
Apr 20, 2015
1

Norachan · Apr 20, 2015

Nala is really earning her keep, isn't she? My cats have had a lot of crickets this week, but it's still too cold for any really big bugs around here yet.

chevs · Apr 20, 2015

Nala is really pulling her weight! My cat loves eating flies, bees, and wasps. Also quite useful.

And she's so cute too!

segelkatt · Apr 20, 2015

Not much chance for my cats to eat any "wildlife" as I live on the second floor. However, no fly is safe from my Panthera, he catches them in mid-flight, jumping as high as 4 feet. Then there is the occasional hummingbird that flies onto the balcony, yesterday it was a big butterfly, and last summer twice a lizard made it up the wall to its sudden death. Panthera is watching for bigger prey tough, like crows, one of which had landed on the railing but flew away before Panthera could catch it. I'm glad I don't live where there are dangerous creatures like scorpions, just hearing coyotes during the night is enough for me.

Kat0121 · Apr 20, 2015

segelkatt said:
Not much chance for my cats to eat any "wildlife" as I live on the second floor. However, no fly is safe from my Panthera, he catches them in mid-flight, jumping as high as 4 feet. Then there is the occasional hummingbird that flies onto the balcony, yesterday it was a big butterfly, and last summer twice a lizard made it up the wall to its sudden death. Panthera is watching for bigger prey tough, like crows, one of which had landed on the railing but flew away before Panthera could catch it. I'm glad I don't live where there are dangerous creatures like scorpions, just hearing coyotes during the night is enough for me.

Mine either. I have an enclosed screen room at the back of the house that I let the cats go out and explore in. We do get quite a few small lizards in there that they like to chase and stalk but they have never caught one. The lizards are really fast and climb up the screen to wait for the cats to either get bored and wander off or for me to bring them back in before they come back down.

Aren't those scorpions poisonous? I'd be scared to death that one of the babies would get stung. They do make these things that you can plug into an outlet that supposed to give off a sound that insects and other vermin don't like. It's supposed to keep them at bay. Maybe look into those?

segelkatt · Apr 20, 2015

Kat0121 said:
Regarding those electronic devices: from what I gather the theory is sound but the practicality is not. I had one quite a long time ago before there were good meds to get rid of fleas as my house was absolutely inundated (I finally bug-bombed the place) and the little machine just ate a lot of electricity and did absolutely nothing else. I would not buy one again unless I knew somebody personally who could swear to it that it got rid of fleas or anything else (allegedly also mice, roaches and other critters)

Norachan · Apr 20, 2015

That looks like a really nice spot to sit and relax @segelkatt

My cats are all scared of crows. We get really big ones out here who come and sit in the tree tops and yell "CAAAAAT, CAAAAAT, CAAAAAT!" at them. I'd be scared too.

alkemist · Apr 21, 2015

that really looks like a cool place to just relax, wheres this? colorado?

& i did some "research" & those electronic things don't stave off scorpions. But bright side, I haven't seen any last night, & today.

Nala has soooooo much, if not too much energy, & her appetite is insatiable. She keeps wanting more & more food, & I'm unsure to how much to keep giving her.

After eating all the lizards & bugs I show her, now she's got this habit of eating anything she finds on the floor or wall; which is so odd bc anything i ever give her, she smells to make sure what it is before eating.

I feel bad I wasn't able to procure the meds earlier, bc in 2 days, she's totally different. I see her groom herself fully & often now, I didn't see this much before bc I guess she lacked the energy.

But yes, the scorpions alone she's doing more than her job, they totally perturb me. & I think she likes the live lizards & bugs/scorpions more than the food I give her, bc she keeps crying & asking for the bugs/lizards & thinks I "give/put" them for her to find, its kind of cute!

I have just found out that my kitten is an African Wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica

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