Strange happenings

They all look so happy to be indoors in the warm.

Worms are really easy to treat, just a little vial of liquid that you drip onto the skin at the back of their neck. If Scotty lets you pet him you shouldn't have any trouble doing this. Ask your vet for a wormer for him. Be careful with the cheap over-the-counter ones you can buy, they're not very good and sometimes cause severe allergic reactions.

Yep.  I'd have been amazed if the whole milling mob of them weren't wormy.  Considering that they've all be living out and eating whatever, I'd say de-worm the whole clowder.  It certainly won't hurt anything,

Just my pocketbook   Our local vet wanted $212 per cat which is completely absurd for a $25 bottle of medication.  Luckily my sister's neighbour & friend happens to be a vet so I'm going to do a little horse trading with them.  They need a room in their house painted, I happen to have done it professionally, so with any luck a little painting for some free veterinary care.

If you remember I said yesterday was going to be an interesting day?  It was full of milestones.

Julius and Scotty got along amazingly, we actually got through the entire day with only one small cat fight between Mama and Julius - which is not bad for 4 male cats & 1 female.  Julius stayed the entire day, somewhat begrudgingly but he wasn't actively scanning for a way out, he just found various spots to hunker down (including the litter box which was strange).  He got pets multiple times - he lets out the most pathetic mews when you start to pet him like you're about to kill him and he's begging for his life... it's so cute but he quickly stops when he realizes it feels so good.


Scotty was the big news - he can only stay inside for so long before he starts meowing and stress spraying to get out.  I opened the door for him, he walked up to the threshold and sat down.  I stood there with him for a minute while he made up his mind... he took a few steps out and quickly turned around and came back inside!!  We repeated this about 4 hours later to the same result.  Then we left the door open for all the cats to go on walkabout and to let Julius and Scotty head out for the night.  They left and our 3 kitties returned, we went to bed to watch some Daredevil and I just had this weird feeling so I got up, looked out the window and sure enough Scotty was pacing back and forth in front of the apartment wanting in!  If that wasn't enough, for the first time we were able to open the door without him running off.  He got a little spooked but stayed in the yard and quickly came inside where when we came upstairs we found him snuggled up on the bed.  We even crawled in without him moving.  He spent the night without incident and when I awoke I couldn't find him anywhere - not under the bed, not on his blanket, not on the stairs... I found him asleep downstairs in one of the kitty beds.  I gave him some pets and he just sat there purring.  Such a great transition.

Scotty is giving us no end of worry.  Luckily we've found a solution do deworm all 4 cats for $79 (Profender Allwormer) instead of the absurd $1,017 the vet wanted.  Unluckily his eye has started giving him problems


We're not quite sure what's causing it, hopefully it'll clear up on its own... we're just cleaning it with cotton pads soaked in green tea.  He was such a good patient too - sat there and let us clean it out without complaining or freaking out.  He actually started purring part way through. 

If he gets snuffly it's probably a upper respiratory problem and will need your vet friend's help.  I've known cats with allergies who were runny eyed every spring, though, so just watch him carefully.

Things have really quieted down now.  Very few strays are coming around anymore, really only Julius and on rare occasions Morgan. 

We've resigned ourselves to the place smelling like cat pee for now while we train them all to stop spraying.  We've got all but Scotty to stop on command but not to stop spraying indoors entirely.  Mama is the main problem as he marks his territory frequently.  Sissy is more of a sympathetic sprayer so if we can get the others to stop she should too.  Scotty is also a sprayer but he seems to only do it out of frustration - whenever he wants out and we won't let him he lets us know his displeasure by spraying.

Scotty is getting better, his eyes have almost cleared up and his fever is gone.  He's turning out to be my favourite.  He has is quirks like all of them, his thing is talking.  At first it was just to announce he was going to the bathroom or changing positions but now it's begging for treats, asking for pets, and to let us know that he's sad when one of us leaves his eye line.  He's such a sweet boy and once he's healthy he'll be a real joy.

He's become one of the crew now.  Sissy and he are becoming very friendly


Junior isn't in this picture because he's actually getting worse with his behaviour.  Since his surgery he's becoming more kitten like in his behaviour which none of the other kitties have the patience for.  He's becoming less fearful of Scotty but not enough to join everyone upstairs.  He'll usually sit at the top of the stairs trying to work up the courage to come in.  He'll get there once he gets a bit older and stops annoying everyone. 

This picture really sums up the whole situation with Junior:


He was trying to hide & pounce on Mama who was not impressed by any of it

Awww, they all look so cosy. I guess now that they've established themselves they're probably scaring off any interlopers which could be why you're seeing less new strays.

So Mama is a boy? You're going to have to change his name to something a little more butch.

Norachan said:

 
Awww, they all look so cosy. I guess now that they've established themselves they're probably scaring off any interlopers which could be why you're seeing less new strays.

So Mama is a boy? You're going to have to change his name to something a little more butch.

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The majority of the time they choose to stay indoors and still almost no one is coming to the food bowl.  I think it might be more that the weather is getting nicer and things like baby squirrels & returning bird flocks are abundant now so they're not as hungry or cold. 

Well, Mama's sex is a bit of a disputed subject.  I think neutered male, Alpha Kitty thinks female... she wants her 'tigress'   Either way the name is staying as Mama even when he's confirmed as a boy.  The name was first inspired by a male nurse on Code Black who went by the nickname 'Mama' so it would be appropriate that he turns out to be male.

JMJimmy said:

 
The majority of the time they choose to stay indoors and still almost no one is coming to the food bowl.  I think it might be more that the weather is getting nicer and things like baby squirrels & returning bird flocks are abundant now so they're not as hungry or cold. 

Well, Mama's sex is a bit of a disputed subject.  I think neutered male, Alpha Kitty thinks female... she wants her 'tigress'   Either way the name is staying as Mama even when he's confirmed as a boy.  The name was first inspired by a male nurse on Code Black who went by the nickname 'Mama' so it would be appropriate that he turns out to be male.

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That's a wonderful character!  And it fits your Mama to a "T" as well. 

Hadn't checked on this thread in a bit - SO happy to see they're generally getting along much better! Sorting things out for a big crew that didn't hang out together initially is tough. Generally everyone will end up sorting themselves out - although the fighting in the meantime is scary. Can't remember if anyone has mentioned Feliway - the concept is it mimics cat pheremones (in either collar or wall diffuser or spray form) and some cats really respond to it diffusing their stress/spraying. Not every cat - and not cheap - but you might give a wall diffuser - or spray on the areas where the marking is the worst - a try. We foster cats/kittens alot - and already have a household full - and some cats it really has helped them adapt while fostering. Again - not all cats react to it, but some it really helps. Our shelter uses the collars on very stressed kitties - and some it really helps. 

Gotta say - you two are two of the most patient people I've ever seen, between the door open and the spraying! When I realize the stressful discussions my hubby and I have been having bc we started leaving our garage door (the large type cars come in - not a side "people" door) cracked for our little feral TNR colony of 5 seems really minor! (He wants to put our garage door down - as we've had some garage break-ins in our very normally safe suburban neighborhood).

Somehow that all seems really minor to worry about vs leaving our house/apartment door open for comings and goings You're one impressive cat parent! (or two impressive cat parent)! I wish the people who dump their cats at our shelter bc they "have had it" with their cats who miss the litterbox once or twice could spend an hour of compassion training from you two!

kittychick said:

I wish the people who dump their cats at our shelter bc they "have had it" with their cats who miss the litterbox once or twice could spend an hour of compassion training from you two!

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Missing the litterbox once or twice.... LOL  I just watched Scotty projectile pee off the stairs - covering half the living room floor.  It took all of 2 minutes to grab a mop & bleach to clean it up.  I think that's something I could teach - looking at the reality of what you're actually having to do for these cats.  Many people get themselves worked up and stressed over the thought of the extra work but rarely sit down and figure out how much work they're having to put in vs how much time they're spending thinking about the work.  For me it's less than 10 minutes of work a day and, for the time being, a 120 minute scrub down once a week.  A small price to pay for the 9890 other minutes in the week when they're bringing us happiness.

Regarding Feliway, we looked into it but the expense wasn't worth it.  We would need 4 of them to cover the apartment and we wouldn't be able to keep the door open during summer. 

I've been looking into cat doors and I might have a solution for your problem.  The 309 4-way lock door https://www.petdoors.com/cat-mate-manual-cat-flaps-304-309.html It's very easy to modify a garage door to install one of these, this particular one is inexpensive and the in/out locks are ideal for controlling entry/exit for ferals.  It's not the prettiest thing but it allows you to keep your garage secure & care for your ferals - it may take a bit of 'tuna training' or propping it open initially so they get used to it.  Edit:  An installation note - it says no thinner than 1/2" metal but you can ignore that.  All you do is put it flush against the exterior of the garage door, insert small solid wood framing on the interior to fill the gap that the screws can hold onto and you're all set.

You have to be the most "Zen" cat parent I've ever seen. So beautifully stated about the time doing vs the time worrying! I definitely need to say that out loud to myself (and not just regarding kitties - but other household - and work - issues!) daily for awhile. I'm a huge "catastrophizer" (and saying "huge" with "catastrophizer" probably is a bit redundant in and of itself).

Funny we hadn't even thought cat door - I think perhaps initially bc my husband just hates the raccoons that start appearing right about now (even though we take food up in the evening - they still love creating havoc in the garage). And we have 3 outdoor shelters with heated mats in them that this group (and every TNR kitty before) had used...and then I fell hard for this gang of 5 and made more heated shelters in the garage once it got really cold. My husband reminds me they'll be plenty fine going back to the outdoor shelters (they rotate in and out of them anyway) that are all even further sheltered by plexi fronts that they  like to laze in and watch out of....but I'm the even bigger softy and hate to "displace" them from the garage. Although my husband also reminds me that two fo the "adopted garage shelters" will go away once it's a little warmer anyway - - - since they involve heated mats on our stored outdoor furniture (so that'll all go out back onto the deck in weeks). I know he's right - - - but I'm going to lobby for the kitty door. THanks for taking the time to look that up! I think we also have the option of propping open just slightly a "people" door at the back of the garage (not in view of the street). It's blocked right now by a cord of firewood inside, but we can easily move part just enough to allow it to be propped enough for kitties to come and go, but people couldn't push it in. 

We'll figure something out!  And I love your 3 questions - so well put and well thought-through!

I vote with kittychick on this one,  Those questions are not harsh and uncaring, they are the most loving and responsible thing I've heard in a while.  I only hope that I'm strong enough to let Hekitty go if I ever truly feel she would be better in another home.  Man, I just get warm fuzzies thinking about you and Alpha Kitty. 

You guys are just too nice.

Scotty the little heartbreaker has hurt his front leg or paw somehow.  I don't know what it is with him but he's one thing after another health wise.  Hopefully he just landed funny or something but between the crusties in his eyes, the way he sits a little funny to begin with, quietly wines for attention, and now holding his paw up... he is the single most pathetic & sweet looking creature.  I'll try to get a picture off it

Scotty's health issues continue.  He took a turn for the worse last night so we scheduled a vet appointment today.  It turns out he had a high fever (104) and the vet couldn't determine what was wrong with him without doing extensive blood work.  We decided that rather than break the bank trying to figure out what it was we'd start by trying a course of antibiotics and close monitoring to see if he recovers.  He was such a good patient again.  While he wasn't sure about going into the carrier the first time, he didn't complain the entire time.  Once we got to the vet he wanted nothing but affection from everyone.  He even flopped over for a nap while waiting for the vet.  Absolutely wonderful.

Shortly after returning home we also had an interesting find.  Morgan showed up again for some food (yay!), she seemed very interested when I came to the door so I opened it up, Mama went out to greet her and she didn't run away.  Unfortunately she made the mistake of showing affection to Mama which was returned with a swat.  Then Junior came running out wanting to play and Morgan took off.  The interesting find was what happened next - I was able to follow her back to one of her haunts to find Julius there as well.  One of the apartments has a backyard that's more like a junkyard than a patio.  Julius was snuggled up in a box and Morgan was right next to him, the two of them seem to be thick as thieves.  This is great news, we'll be able to coax her in no problem now that we know she's nearby.

Don't give up.  Where we used to live, there were many "community cats" and we took it upon ourselves to spay/neuter and get basic vetting for as many as we could, and adopt those we could.  Matriarch and generations of her babies.  We finally succeeded in earning her trust after about 2 years, and got everyone vetted except for one little guy who did basically the same thing as your girl did.  We moved right after that, so IDK what happened with him, but I pray he is okay.  This community where we lived had lots of community cats and some people besides us would feed them, but no more than that.  Don't give up.  You may be able to get her help yet. 

Saying lots of little cat prayers for Scotty.

And for you and Alpha Kitty, as well...having just realized that you essentially just said, "THANK GOODNESS WE CAN TAKE ON TWO MORE CATS THAT WE NEVER PLANNED ON!"  St. Gertrude will bless you both, or she's no sort of saint at all (not that I'm Catholic, but still!)

Mamanyt1953 said:

Saying lots of little cat prayers for Scotty.


And for you and Alpha Kitty, as well...having just realized that you essentially just said, "THANK GOODNESS WE CAN TAKE ON TWO MORE CATS THAT WE NEVER PLANNED ON!"  St. Gertrude will bless you both, or she's no sort of saint at all (not that I'm Catholic, but still!)

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What about St Francis oFord asisi

Stewball said:

What about St Francis oFord asisi

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Of Assissi