Hello from Casper's Humans

Hello! . We're Casper's humans.

He came to live with us a few days before Christmas. We adopted him from the Animal Welfare Society. We don't know his whole story but he was rescued from outdoors. He is acclimated to humans so we think he was abandoned or lost. Casper will have a good home from now on.

If you want to say hello to Casper, you can visit him on YouTube... [video][/video]

Since Casper has only been living with us for three months or so, he's still getting used to his new home. He's settling in pretty well but he still has his spooky moments.

We're hoping to get in touch with some other cats's humans for advice and talk about new cats.

Anyhow... Thought we'd just pop in and say hi!

Welcome to TCS!     Casper is completely gorgeous and looks very happy in his new home. I'd say your trip to the shelter was a lucky day for all concerned.  I love the video - good soundtrack, too!   This is a great place to make friends and talk about, and learn about cats.  You can talk about Casper to your heart's content and we will be happy to listen.  There is a lot of information available as well, and if you can't find it, just ask a question in one of the forums. There are a lot of people here who know a great deal about cats and who are generous in sharing their expertise.  Give Casper a rub behind the ears for me.  He looks like a real sweetheart.  

Thanks! 

Casper says, "M-rrrr!" 

I think we got a good one! 

Probably the most mellow, well behaved cat I've ever had.

He rarely makes any noise other than "Purr!" and an occasional, "Mrrr."  The only times he ever meowed was when he had to go in that "black box" when we brought him home and another trip in that "black box" when we took him to the vet.

Fortunately, he won't have to go in that "black box" very often.  Only for his semi-annual trip to the vet, etc.

He has really taken to his girl-human but, since I'm "the big, mean guy-human" who puts him into the black box, clips his nails and makes him take his medicine, he's not quite as friendly with me.  He'll sit on his girl-human's lap but he will only sit beside me, on the soft, j-u-s-t within petting distance.  (Somebody's got to do the unpleasant things like handling the cat carrier and giving medicine.  I just got elected, I guess.)

I try to make sure I give him cat treats every morning while I'm getting coffee and breakfast ready.  Associate the "guy-human" with yummy food.  Right? 

I also play laser tag with him every night, after dinner, for about 15-30 minutes.  Associate the "guy-human" with play time.  Right? 

(BTW:  We only play laser tag in the evenings, after dinner, and we keep it to about 15-30 minutes so he won't become habituated to chasing the "red spot."  Some cats can get habituated to playing laser tag if you do it too much.  Right?)

I have had cats before but never an adopted, adult cat.  Always kittens.

This is where I think, somewhere in Casper's past, he has been abused by men.

He snuggles right up to his girl-human but he's just a tad bit spooky around his guy-human.

Casper has gotten better around the guy-human.

He doesn't like being "stuffed in that black box" but he's never been hurt from it.  Somebody's got to do it.  Eh?

I'm careful not to hurt him or stress him out more than I have to.  It's a soft-sided, zip-up kind of cat carrier.  I just use the "Scoop-and-Go" method.  Quick and easy...  He's inside the carrier and safely zipped up before he even knows what happened.

It's not fun to go in the carrier and get taken to the vet but I think cats are smart enough to know that they feel better when their humans take them to the vet.  Casper had worms.  He was gagging and throwing up.  I'm sure that Casper is smart enough to understand...  "Even though I didn't like going in the black box, I wasn't sick anymore, after I came home.  As much as I didn't like it, the big-mean-human made it so I wasn't sick, anymore, so...  I'm sorta' okay with it."

I just keep giving him treats ("kitty cookies") every morning and playing laser tag every night.

I make sure he's got enough paper bags to shred and cardboard boxes to hide out in.

I pet him as much as he'll tolerate and call him "Good puddy."

(Strangely, he seems to prefer it when the girl-human calls him "kitty-kitty" but likes it better when the guy-human calls him "puddy-tat."  )

He's only been living here for two, not-quite-three months so I guess it's a little early, yet.

Still...  I want to make sure he acclimates well and doesn't become afraid of people. 

It sounds like you're off to a great start with Casper.  Giving him treats and playing with him are exactly the right things to do to help him trust you.   You're right about some cats getting used to the red laser and no longer playing with it, although my Chula and Paul have been going strong every day for a year now.  However, you might consider getting the wand toy called Da Bird.  It is the rare cat who does not go crazy over this toy.  They leap and twist up in the air and chase you all over the house with it.  The appeal is that it's made of guinea feathers attached in such a way that it moves and sounds like real birds.

Here's the review page for it on our site:  http://www.thecatsite.com/products/da-bird-cat-toy.  Check out amazon for additional positive reviews:      You should probably order a couple of extra feathers if you decide to go for this.   

As far as putting him in the black box   , you've got the technique down perfectly.  Sometimes getting a cat into the carrier can be the hardest part of going to the vet!

I'm sure Casper will start coming closer to you for his pets soon.  Try sitting down on the floor with him at his level - that often helps shy cats.  My Chula actually will only cuddle with me when I'm lying down in bed and then she's a total snuggle bunny.  The rest of the time, she makes me reach to touch her.  

It's funny Casper having a favorite name from each of his humans!  He sounds like so much fun and like a such a sweetheart.  

Thanks! 

I keep trying!

Casper is a sweet cat!

I know that some people say, "Cats don't have owners.  They have staff."

I think it's a bit more nuanced than that.

Cats think in terms of imperatives:  "It's time for food."  "The human will pet me, now."  "This (thing) must be attacked."

I also think that they understand people more as "concepts" than as individuals:  "The woman-human who snuggles me on the sofa," or the "man-human who stuffs me in the box and makes me swallow icky pills."

As imperative and conceptual as they are, I also think they understand things better than we give them credit:  "Maybe I don't like going to the vet but I don't feel sick after the man-human takes me there."

Here's the thing...  Casper has had two, maybe three years of learned concepts in his memory banks, BEFORE we adopted him.  Now, he has to learn a whole, NEW set of concepts in his new home!  That's a lot for a cat to learn!

Like I said, I have only had cats since they were kittens but never a grown cat.  Maybe Casper has a lot of old concepts to learn and a bunch more concepts to un-learn but I've got a lot of cat-concepts to re-learn, too.

So far, Casper has been, probably, the best, most well-behaved cat I've ever seen.

He's super quiet.  Never makes too much noise.  He always uses the litter box.  He's clean and doesn't get into a lot of trouble.

The ONLY thing he does is scratch the sofa... since that is "par for the course" for cats, I don't even see that as being too bad.

We have an old, Arabian rug by the front door.  I don't care about that.  He can scratch and claw the rug all he wants.

I just put catnip on the carpet and hormone spray on the sofa.  Seems to work!

(BTW:  Casper is probably the biggest catnip fiend I have ever seen!  OMG!  He goes crazy for the stuff!  )

I know that two or three months isn't a whole lot of time for a cat to acclimate to new humans and a new home but, at the same time, I don't want to have a neurotic cat on my hands.  Casper is such a sweet cat to be neurotic!  I just want to "do it right" with Casper!     

Casper is very cute

Aww, Casper is such a cutie pie! He is so beautiful!

Welcome to TCS, & Casper is a cutie!   One thing you may want to try as far as making him used to the carrier. I know you said it was a soft one, so if it holds it's shape you can leave it out in a nice spot somewhere. It becomes a hang out, sleep in place.  If it doesn't have a pad in it already, you can fold a towel & put it in there to make it cozy. it can become a cozy place for them, that's just their own space. Then, hopefully when it comes time to go to the vets, it won't be so bad. Is the spray you spoke of the Feliway, or comfort zone spray? They also say to spray the carrier with that 30 minutes before putting them in for a vet visit for calming. 

Clasper's carrier is a smaller one, about the size of a gym bag. It's got stays to keep the shape and a Velcro closure. The sides have mesh windows.
We got Casper from the Animal Welfare Society, not the Humane Society or animal shelter. They are the non-profit org that has space at Petsmart.

When we met with the Animal Welfare woman, we decided to get the smaller carrier instead of the larger "cage" kind because we thought Casper might be more comfortable to have a carrier that was cozier inside.

We brought him home and set his carrier in the middle of the living room. He hopped out, sniffed around for a minute or two then he hid behind the sofa for a couple of hours. He explored his way, upstairs, to the bedroom and found a comfy spot under the bed. That's where he stayed for almost two days. He only came out to eat and leave a deposit in his litter box.

We did leave his carrier on the floor in the living room, right where it was when we brought him in. We left it for about a week. Casper came and sniffed it a couple-few times but he mostly walked a wide circle around it. Now, it is on the top shelf in the hall closet... Out of sight and out of mind,

When it's time for Casper to go to the vet we get the carrier out and wait till he's taking a cat nap. One of us humans waits outside the room with cat carrier at the ready. The other comes in and pets him for a minute then scoops him up and zips the carrier closed as quick as possible. "Scoop and Go." Quick and dirty like.
Luckily, he won't have to go in the "black box" very often. The last time was to go to the vet so we could get rid of his worms. We also got him microchipped. Two birds with one stone. Eh?

Casper didn't like it very much but we did get vibes from him that said he understood. After he came home and wasn't barfing up worms, anymore, he made the connection... "Vet = not sick anymore." I even think he warmed up to me (the man-human) a little bit after that. ("Thank you for helping me feel better.")

With any luck, Casper won't have to go in the black box very often only for his checkups at the vet. We're planning for Casper to be an indoor-only cat from now on. He's got a two bedroom apartment with an upstairs, a downstairs and a living room. There is a big patio door, downstairs, and a windowsill, upstairs, for him to look out and supervise the neighborhood. Since he was rescued from outside, he seems to be saying, "It's GOOD to live indoors with a warm place to sleep!"

Casper is king of the house and we're happy to have him.

We use the Felaway brand spray. We got it at the vet when we had him wormed. I didn't have a chance to put it in his carrier beforehand but, next time, I plan to use it. Right now, we spray it on the sofa to keep him from scratching. Seems to work pretty well if you keep using it regularly.

Right now, Casper is sitting on the floor, about three feet away, while I type this. I'm guessing that means he's okay keeping company with me.
I say, "Hey, puddy tat," every once in a while and give him a quick scratch behind the ears but most of the time I just "pretend" to ignore him.
As I understand cat behavior, "pretending to ignore" somebody means the opposite of actually ignoring them. If a cat pretends to ignore you, it really means he's NOT ignoring you and that he's cool being around you.

So... I guess so far, so good. Right?

It sounds like he has adjusted well. Yes, the Feliway is great. You can find it MUCH cheaper on amazon. another brand, but same thing, & sometimes cost a little less is comfort zone. If he does well with the spray, you may want to invest in getting a diffuser plug in, also much, much cheaper on amazon, than the vets, or the store. i have found that one bottle/refill last about 3 weeks. I think I read that they cover about 5oo sq. ft. or so. 

I used to keep one plugged in the living room for stress reasons. (maybe seeing a stray through the window, out in the yard etc...)   I'm glad you are keeping him indoors!    Sounds like things are going well.

I just had some lap time with Casper, moments ago. 

It's the fourth time this week. 

I sit by my computer in the morning to read e-mails and check messages and stuff when I hear Casper come into the room.  He does figure eights around me in the chair while I reach down and pat him on the head and stroke his back.  A couple minutes later, he's sitting between my feet, looking up at me.  You can tell that he's deciding whether to jump up.  It takes him a minute to make up his mind.  Then it's...HOP!...and up he jumps!

He lays there and purrs and makes biscuits on my tummy for about five or ten minutes then, just as suddenly as he came, he jumps down and goes about his business.

I dunno'...  It was last Wednesday when he just decided that he wanted attention from me.  I guess he decided that the "big, bad, man-human" isn't so bad, after all. 

He's been doing laps with his girl-human for a while, now.  He often sits on the sofa, beside her while she crochets or reads.

But, until recently, if I came into the room, it would be "all eyes on the man-human" and, if I came to sit on the sofa, he'd scamper away.  Now, if I say hello to him and give him a scritch behind the ear, he'll stay and let me sit on the sofa, too.

Another thing...  You can't say the word, "tuna," within earshot of Casper! 

We don't give him real tuna.  That's what we call his canned cat food because it comes in a can that looks like canned tuna.

(The only time he gets real tuna is when we give him the few bits left over from when we make tuna for ourselves.  Just a tiny taste as a treat.)  However, he's tuned in to that word, "tuna!"  If you say it, he's right there waiting for his din-din! 

It's gotten to the point where we humans have to say it in Pig Latin or spell it out.  If one of us is going to the store and we say, "Pick up some tuna for the cat," we have to say "T-U-N-A" or else Casper will want his dinner.

So, it looks like Casper is settling in nicely!  It just took him a while.

I'm glad to hear that Casper has finally recognized you're worthy of his attentions.       Your patience finally paid off!   Now wait until he decides you're worthy of his attentions at 3:00 am.    There's nothing quite like waking up in the wee hours of the morning to discover a cat making biscuits on your abdomen.  

It's funny that you have to spell out "tuna"  or else Casper thinks it's time for a meal.  He's a very clever boy.  

He also knows "cookies." That's what we call his kitty treats.
If you say "tuna" or "cookie" within earshot of Casper, he perks right up and heads for the kitchen.

He does visit us in the mornings. He'll lay on girl-human's tummy but he only slays next to me in bed.