I don't really speak cat, though i know a bit of the basics. But i am often puzzled by what they say with their bodies and voices.
In the outdoors corner we have Minou, a 4 year old feral i have been feeding for about a month and who is too smart to be trapped so i can TNR him. So he is still whole. Although i have seen him grow up over the years and he is indeed feral, he has become very affectionate with me with the rubbing, talking, kneading, and begging for neck scratching. There are 2 other people feeding him, but he has been sleeping on my balcony the past few days and generally comes when i call. He is there each night at 9pm for food and cuddles, and is still there the next morning waiting for his breakfast. He is gone most of the afternoon and comes back around 7pm. I have been feeding him on my balcony the past couple days, as we are both on a break from TNR trapping protocol after 2 failed trappings.To my knowledge, he has never been inside someone's home.
In the inside corner we have Pixie, a 1 year old demon i rescued from my back yard when she was 5 weeks old and very sick. Minou is her uncle for sure, and perhaps even her father. She is an inside cat, only coming outside on my balcony with me when i go out for a smoke, though i have not been taking her out lately as Minou is often waiting for me not far away, and the two occasions both cats were within visible distance, separated by a baby barrier and 3 yards, Pixie has made the motion of attacking him, stopped only by my swift intervention (putting her back inside, huffing and puffing). Pixie has never bee in contact with other cats since i took her in, only seeing them from the balcony.
It's getting cold here and i could tell Minou wanted to come in after our nightime cuddle fest. So i did a little test earlier. I put my cat in the washroom as i usually do whenever i have to open the door in case Minou is there (this is kinda complicated) and removed the baby barrier from the door and invited Minou in my kitchen, blocking the rest of my apartment with the same baby barrier. Took him 5 seconds to decide he was game, and he pretty much spent the next ten minutes exploring and rubbing him scent on things. I kept the door wide open for him to feel he could flee if he got scared, but he really did not seem scared, just very curious. He spoke to me, rubbed on me, explored, went to the bathroom door a couple times (i have no clue if mine hissed or growled. I didn't hear anything from the other side of the door) and almost knocked the baby barrier down so he could explore further.
Question number one: Does that makes him a confident dominant cat? Cause he kinda seems like a pushover out there with other male owned outside cats, letting them eat his food.
Anywho, right after he had visited the bathroom door, he came back in the kitchen growling, walking around me and looking at me, and that kinda creeped me out so i invited him out.
Question number two; Why was he growling at me?
He stayed on the balcony for a few minutes, looking at me, then left.
I let mine out of the bathroom. She smelled around a bit, but was mainly hanging around my feet, looking at me. And this struck me; her tail was way up and straight, the base flicking like she was a male trying to spray urine. She also let out high pitched meows when i spoke to her (she's not usually vocal), getting up on her back legs to smell my face or mouth. She did that after both times she almost attacked him outside, but i especially noticed the tail today.
Question number three; what was that all about? Especially her tail.
Last question; Doesn't this seem like they are both very territorial and would never get along?
My plans for feral Minou is to keep feeding him, give him (and mine) Revolution every month, provide a Rubbermaid tote shelter for winter, get him vetted, tested for FeLV and FIV, and neutered if i can trap him.
My long term plan is to adopt him, letting him inside when he wants to, without having to keep my cat away from the balcony or locked on the bathroom everytime i want to go out for a smoke.
But now i feel that kitchen test was a mistake, as he will want to come in again. Feeding him and encouraging him to sleep on my balcony was also a mistake as it takes away from my cat's pleasure of coming along with me to torture bugs.
I guess the ultimate questions are, what does it all mean and what should i do?
In the outdoors corner we have Minou, a 4 year old feral i have been feeding for about a month and who is too smart to be trapped so i can TNR him. So he is still whole. Although i have seen him grow up over the years and he is indeed feral, he has become very affectionate with me with the rubbing, talking, kneading, and begging for neck scratching. There are 2 other people feeding him, but he has been sleeping on my balcony the past few days and generally comes when i call. He is there each night at 9pm for food and cuddles, and is still there the next morning waiting for his breakfast. He is gone most of the afternoon and comes back around 7pm. I have been feeding him on my balcony the past couple days, as we are both on a break from TNR trapping protocol after 2 failed trappings.To my knowledge, he has never been inside someone's home.
In the inside corner we have Pixie, a 1 year old demon i rescued from my back yard when she was 5 weeks old and very sick. Minou is her uncle for sure, and perhaps even her father. She is an inside cat, only coming outside on my balcony with me when i go out for a smoke, though i have not been taking her out lately as Minou is often waiting for me not far away, and the two occasions both cats were within visible distance, separated by a baby barrier and 3 yards, Pixie has made the motion of attacking him, stopped only by my swift intervention (putting her back inside, huffing and puffing). Pixie has never bee in contact with other cats since i took her in, only seeing them from the balcony.
It's getting cold here and i could tell Minou wanted to come in after our nightime cuddle fest. So i did a little test earlier. I put my cat in the washroom as i usually do whenever i have to open the door in case Minou is there (this is kinda complicated) and removed the baby barrier from the door and invited Minou in my kitchen, blocking the rest of my apartment with the same baby barrier. Took him 5 seconds to decide he was game, and he pretty much spent the next ten minutes exploring and rubbing him scent on things. I kept the door wide open for him to feel he could flee if he got scared, but he really did not seem scared, just very curious. He spoke to me, rubbed on me, explored, went to the bathroom door a couple times (i have no clue if mine hissed or growled. I didn't hear anything from the other side of the door) and almost knocked the baby barrier down so he could explore further.
Question number one: Does that makes him a confident dominant cat? Cause he kinda seems like a pushover out there with other male owned outside cats, letting them eat his food.
Anywho, right after he had visited the bathroom door, he came back in the kitchen growling, walking around me and looking at me, and that kinda creeped me out so i invited him out.
Question number two; Why was he growling at me?
He stayed on the balcony for a few minutes, looking at me, then left.
I let mine out of the bathroom. She smelled around a bit, but was mainly hanging around my feet, looking at me. And this struck me; her tail was way up and straight, the base flicking like she was a male trying to spray urine. She also let out high pitched meows when i spoke to her (she's not usually vocal), getting up on her back legs to smell my face or mouth. She did that after both times she almost attacked him outside, but i especially noticed the tail today.
Question number three; what was that all about? Especially her tail.
Last question; Doesn't this seem like they are both very territorial and would never get along?
My plans for feral Minou is to keep feeding him, give him (and mine) Revolution every month, provide a Rubbermaid tote shelter for winter, get him vetted, tested for FeLV and FIV, and neutered if i can trap him.
My long term plan is to adopt him, letting him inside when he wants to, without having to keep my cat away from the balcony or locked on the bathroom everytime i want to go out for a smoke.
But now i feel that kitchen test was a mistake, as he will want to come in again. Feeding him and encouraging him to sleep on my balcony was also a mistake as it takes away from my cat's pleasure of coming along with me to torture bugs.
I guess the ultimate questions are, what does it all mean and what should i do?