meet Buggy

bigbadbass said:

 
Thank you, J.  The open door, introductions, seeing, smells, sounds really perked him up. Turned him on like a light switch. I believe its 6 weeks to the day that he came indoors. Yet again, his conduct defies full feral behavior...he's acting more like a dumped housecat?  Much like his perfect batting average with the litterbox, he took to it immediately . Curious for a full feral, no? 

Little Elvis has seen fit to claim my chair yet again.....now THATS the Bug that we know and love. The screen remains up for awhile tonight .....I've monitoring him on camera...curled up and comfy, possibly catching a wink after being subjected to such exertion this afternoon.  

Stealin' my chair? Anytime Bug.

Wife, one kid who's home, dog, other cat, myself...everyone seems ecstatic FINALLY able to welcome the Bug.  

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G. - it all pays off eventually.  First they steal your Heart, and then they steal your chair.  Thank your lucky stars they have no thumbs, or you might find him coming home in a Suffolk County Sheriff's car, with the Ducati jammed in the trumk.

Once more - bravo !

@bigbadbass
I forgot to mention...I saw on a
television show that cats instinctively take to litter boxes...they naturally cover their mess in the wild...I truly have nevery ever had a litter box problem ever with any of my cats...and I've had tons of cats...[emoji]128568[/emoji][emoji]128522[/emoji]

Naturally cover their mess? Well my Kabby never covers his mess shits in his box and leaves it so the stink infiltrates the nose of anyone in the house.

@Indy Jones

When they don't cover their mess in the house that's a mark of either for them marking territory or they are upset...can't think of the word

Thumbs or no thumbs....I'll start hiding the Ducati keys immediately.

Indy....evidently I am truly blessed....more than I will ever know. Keep up the good work, Bug.   

Keep it up! What a good thing to hear!

Both Bugs and yourself are doing great. I'm so happy!

Slowly increase the interaction and maintain course.

TT-        

I plan to put the screen up again in the morning.....get him up and attempt to reverse his whacked out hours....or at least provide incentive to prevent him sleeping 20+ hours per day.

If all goes well...another week or so, i'll expose him to the next room.

At least now I've stumbled upon a safe, positive method to trigger his interest and focus, meanwhile implement his household integration.

Timeline....Jan 9 brought indoors

                  Jan 23 vetted and neutered,  he's withdrawn, sleeping excessively      

                   Feb 14 first signs of integrating into household, 

Pretty quick, actually...though a long way to go

My son tells me Bug brushed against his legs, he petted him and Bug hissed, hauled off and nailed him.   

That's great. Again slow transition, and slow exploration for him. He might not be interested in the first place but slowly he'll learn to expand his turf when he thinks it's safe. Otherwise he'll be back to his hole again.

Oh, is your so ok? Best now is to let Bugs take the initiative. Let him do the rubbing as while he's doing that, it means he's owning you. So let him own you first and no petting for the time being, that goes for everyone. He npmay even up his scent on furnitures and fixtures, which is good.

Instead of petting him, give him fist bumps and stay low while doing that.

Would be great if we could see photos!

@bigbadbass

That's your timeline....wow you are doing way better than you are giving g yourself credit for...and in that short amount of time Bugs is doing fine...for some reason I thought this thread has been since the beginning of December....good on ya...[emoji]128568[/emoji]

bigbadbass said:

 
Thumbs or no thumbs....I'll start hiding the Ducati keys immediately.

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It's for the best.  Remember Toonces The Driving Cat and that '57 Dodge....

.

Truth be told, I encountered him as a stray and began feeding outdoors late October, around Halloween. continued feeding and housing him outdoors then slowly luring indoors and finally caught Jan 9.

TT, my son is ok, just minor scratch. He's been told hands off for now.  Good advise on letting Bug lead on the initiative.   

Though I'll never know for sure...I'm hoping he is a dumped house cat, not a true feral. Would explain his seemingly quick timeline, which I can't take credit for

His integration to indoor will go easier on us all, and quicker if he's been in a home before, I'd think.

Thanks all for ongoing support and praise. Your help has been invaluable. It ain't over yet, not by a longshot.  

Bug slept better last night and ate well. Greeted me brushing against my legs this morning, looking awake and alert. Screen door is up for a bit...but I'm working my old job today ....filling in for an emergency absence.   

Give him praises whenever he brush against your legs, meows, purrs, blinking eyes, while eating, playing or even just staying put.

And whenever he hisses or bat with claws showing, in a stern voice and say to him no hissing or no claws. Just let him get use to the tone for praises and Nos. Try to anticipate before he hisses or about to bat, this is to intercept him to remind him that he is not supposed to hiss or bat with claws.

It is very possible that Bugs was a "dumped housecat" indeed, as you put it.  That being the case, he very well may have been abused by his first owners, hence the hissing and scratching at humans right now.  Like you and everyone else, I think this will pass as soon as he once again feels he can "trust" humans.  We know he wants to, otherwise he would not be rubbing against your legs.  I predict one of these days, as you, or a member of your family is sitting in your chair, relaxing, Bugs will out of nowhere jump up into that person's lap.  It will happen, all in good time.  We know he wants to be close, with everything you are saying is pointing to that outcome.  Again, patience and this all will be worth it!!

bigbadbass said:

 
Bug slept better last night and ate well. Greeted me brushing against my legs this morning, looking awake and alert. Screen door is up for a bit...but I'm working my old job today ....filling in for an emergency absence.   

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That's great!  He is coming around.

I agree that he's probably a dumped and/or abused/neglected cat who has been on his own for a bit and adopted feral behaviors out of necessity.  His touchiness is a sign of all three.

The stern voice works well - I use an "ach-ach" noise that brings them up short.  Any sharp noise that gets his attention will work.  I know someone who claps and another person who snaps her fingers.  Their cats have learned these are the signs for "NO!"

Hahaha I love these posts!!! One reason cats brush up against your legs is they are marking you with their sent...they are claiming you...they also do this when you are about to feed them...there's been a few theories as to why they do that...anyhoo...I have a stern voice and a finger snap...if that doesn't work I tap something...with Duchess all I have to do is put my finger up and say no...with Prince I have to snap...his training was/is challenging as my father-in-law let him do what he wanted...Smokey is learning no (I haven't laid claim to Smokey all the way...still deciding)

Haven't checked in in a few days- great news! I'm interested in how you did the screen door. You have me wondering if that would be a good next step for me as well?

@SimonSchuster   Nothing fancy shmantzy...the door to Bugs room is a wood slider, the screen door i'm using is wider...from another door altogether....I sunk eye hooks into the left and right side walls...use a bungee cord clipped to each eyehook. Its unsightly but strong...no cats will get out or in...remember its only temporary...only until Bug is outta there. At which time i;'ll remove the eyehooks, spackle and return the screen to its rightful door. Nothing permanent at all. Cheap and effective. 

@imjustacatmom  interesting they are claiming us by rubbing against legs.  Makes great sense. 

@Ondine    @mazie  he's picking up and acclimating so fast...would lead me to believe he's been in a household environment before....not a true feral as I once believed. He went nose to nose (through the screen door) with the Yorkie today...no barking, hissing, clawing, nuthin', just sniffing and eyeballs. i'm amazed he's so well behaved. The rate he's going, I'll let him into the next room in a couple days.    

@TabbyTom   will do on praising His Highness and  I'll try the "no" lessons in the near future. Would like to nip the hissing in the bud ASAP,  frankly.  

Thank you all, for passing on awesome tips and knowledge....very helpful to understand strategy and the reasons for it. 

 He's been awake a lot today...that should assure him sleeping better tonight. A good guess is he's now liking his surroundings more and more. Very important to me that he's happy indoors!  He'll be watchin' TV and drinkin' beer with me in no time! Sure hoping he's a Yankees fan!    :  )

Yea, that's good. Remember, let him lay claim on everything, every place and everyone first. This will boost his confidence and trust tremendously. And never betray his trust.

Keep it up! :beerpals:

We are definitely over the hump.

Little Elvis slept in MY chair the majority of the night, also ate, used L box.  Normal morning feed time ate some more...screen is up...he's still awake, and attentive.

His healthy appetite seem to be returning,  had some real deal baked chicken (people food) last night, kind of a "pre dinner".  Needless to say, he loved every piece.  

His sleeping hours seem to be turned around some, even just after a day or so. Will continue to work on this.  

He's meowing at us...communicating.  Just overall happier, awake, willing to interact more and more. IF there was depression caused by his whole ordeal and instant, forced lifestyle change... its seemingly gone now.  

The social stimulation, safely being introduced to people and pets through the temporary screen door, seems to have worked wonders. An INSTANT U-turn from his prior retreat and hide syndrome. 

While this method is traditionally used to integrate, cat to cat, into a household, it may be a useful tool to "bring them out" from retreat....voluntarily on their part.   

Controlled and  safe, no one's gonna get hurt ...a method worth trying for those cats we read about who simply "won't come out" for long periods. Hey, if it worked for Bug, I'm sure it'll work for others.