Jimmy is having a breakthrough!!

This is fabolous news!

Way to go Jimmy and Jenn!

I also picked Star up last night. She did not like it one bit because I tricked her. I scooped her up off the balcony. I did not have a good grip and she promply jumped down and glared at me. She still sits a foot from me and she is back to looking in the door. She wants in but is leery of frontline........ She did let me pet her today so she is not traumatized... She is just a hard headed little feral kitty wearing that halo.

Tonight one of the feral males in our area accidently got locked in the neighbors garage. I knew something was up because when I went out the back door Star was there. She NEVER sits back there. The only time was when Cow's kittens were under there. She looked worried and when I started talking to her, I heard the male start meowing. I called the neighbors and they told me the back door to the garage was open. So I went in and it took me about 30 mintues to get him out. I had to open the big door and feed the other cats outside the door. When he heard them eating, here he came... He is on my porch now. He is the one I call Festus... Star sat by the door the entire time until the male cat was safely outside the garage. Then she came back to her porch with me. I had my gown on doing this and it was hot as heck in that garage. He would have suffocated if he had stayed in there all night. I wet my porch several times a day to keep it cool for the ferals. It is slat boards that sit 10' off the ground so water drips through and cools it under also. They like to sit under there. It is open underneath and with the porch wet, they have a cool breeze.

Thank you Satai...... I just love you!!

Originally Posted by jcribbs

Thank you Satai...... I just love you!!

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Thank you - that is so sweet, especially cause you are my hero.

Shucks..................

Check this out......... Jimmy is a big boy now!! And he is relaxed......... so cool so cool so cool.......





This is Jimmy's original thread that led to me adopting him if anyone want to read it. He is one special kitty and I am so grateful he is with me... Thank you Eileen! And thank Millie too... Jimmy is going to be ok.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...hlight=JCRIBBS

Yeah, in the second pic, he looks like he's hitting the 'nip pretty hard.

I have to head to bed

Catch you on the flip side.

He is so sweet..........

Have you seen the cat on the Friskies treats? Looks like Jimmy is doing some side work!

Sheila

He probably does a lot of side work that I don't know about. I got up last night and he scared me to death. I walked in the kitchen to get a drink and Jimmy was "drinking out the big water bowl"......and he dashed like heck past me. I startled him too. Evidently he likes having the run of the house when we are all asleep!!

But he is using the regular litter boxes now and drinking out of the regular cats water bowl and probably eating with them too at night and I am just not aware of it.

I still put him special food out however in case he feels like he is hungry and can't manage to make himself go to the food area. I keep him food/water under my dresser and also behind a piece of plywood that I put by the washer because he likes sitting there. That way he has two food areas that are private so he always has access to food/water... He is going through a hiding stage again right now. Not hiding exactly but not coming out around us is what I mean. Only at night does he roam when the dreaded humans are out of sight and snoring... He still lets me approach him "in the laundry area" but the last week he is preferring to stay there.

One thing different he did yesterday..... I was vaccuming the laundry area and Emma, the dog, was in there with me. So was Jimmy. When he decided to leave the room [he doesn't like the noise], he choose to "speed walk" past me rather than take the Emma route. He walked about 2 feet from me. Not running but not walking. It was a vacuum thing. Cleo was in there with him. She waited a couple more minutes before she dashed as well.

But that was the first time Jimmy chose to walk past me in order to avoid something else. I was the lesser of the two evils.. And that is cool. He used to prefer to dash on the side of the dogs to avoid me but not yesterday. He is used to me now but just doesn't fully trust me.

p.s. Wonder where he is hiding his Friskies money???? hehe He must have a kitty bank account somewhere.

Got up their morning and Jimmy was sitting pretty as your please snoozing on the commode lid. I had to use the other restroom so as not to "disturb him"........

I have a large cat named JJ. Very big boned. I honestly believe Jimmy might be even larger or very close to the same size. I can't really tell because I can't examine him but Jimmy has a long long body and is also a tall cat. And I suspect Jimmy probably weighs in the neighborhood of 15-16 lbs right now just like JJ. He is not a 10-12 lb cat which is pretty normal. Jimmy has a big body.

Husband was saying this morning that he truely believes Jimmy is going to a sweet pet one day who enjoys his life with us. He is so unintrusive as an animal and he makes us laugh sometimes. He does nothing wrong. He causes no trouble. He just eats and poops and plays at night. He sleeps in our room and I suspect in about a year he will he sleeping on our feet at night.

Him, Yellow, JJ and the kittens are the only ones who are constantly in the house during the day. They are all pretty close. So having constant buddies help Jimmy too.

Watching him gain trust is like watching a baby go through their first year of life. There is so much to learn and he is soaking it up at a fast rate as he gains confidence in his surroundings..

Giving this adult cat his space is all I do to help him. Everything has to be on his terms and at his own pace or it will cause him to step backwards which I don't want. Many older ferals don't take to socialization and so I am not trying to socialize him except to our household.. I keep things the same so he always knows what to expect and that is itself is the one thing he can always count on. We don't have alot of company so he knows our voices and our step and he is used to that. He knows the tv and the vacuum sounds and our voices. He doesn't hear any cars or traffic. He hears hears the birds and outside sounds and I know he likes that because he likes sitting on window sills. I keep the cat food on a table in front of a window so he likes that too. He likes looking out the front door and will sit there with other cats. He is doing the best he can "in order to feel safe".

He is getting there. This might not sound like a lot of progress to many but with Jimmy being an adult feral, it is great! He has gone to complete exploration of the house and including sitting in the room with us from staying in hiding the first two months we had him.

It will take time but this is for the long haul and I look forward to the day where he sits in my lap. Or sits on one end of couch with me on the other. It will happen and when it happens is entirely up to Jimmy. I talk to him whenever I pass him.

He will sit behind the commode while I am in there. He will sit in the sink while I use the restroom. This is in close proximenty. He does not not run from the restroom. Why is beyond me.........hehe... No no......that's not what I mean now. The restroom I like is a very small room and I would think Jimmy would not like being in that room with a human since it might make him uncomfortable. I can brush my teeth and run water and he will sit 4 feet from me in the tub watching. He naps in the bathtub.

We also have a moving dolly in the laundry room. He like sleeping on the metal foot of it. He will let me approach him to within a foot squatting down and talk to him without him running.

I really want to reach out and pet him but I feel I need to wait a while longer so that he will enjoy it and not freak out. If it freaks him out, he will revert backwards, so I would rather wait...

And he absolutely loves special snacks put under my dresser. When he is under there, he gobbles them up. I plan these snacks so the other cats aren't aware of them so I absolutely know Jimmy ate them. He loves weinees but not cheese too much. He loves canned cat food too. And he loves raw steak cut in little bitty pieces. And bologna. Jimmy is definately a meat man. I have one cat who will eat fruit and salad including the lettuce.

Jimmy has the ball now. I am just waiting for him to throw it my direction.

I always look forward to your posts about Jimmy's progress, Jenn. He's got such a special place in my heart and I know in yours too.

That's cute how he decided that between you and the vacum, you are the lesser of two evils. And, I love how you describe him as a "meat man."
What a character Jimmy is in his own special way!

You're doing a great job with him, Jenn!

Thank you El..... And ya, Jimmy does have character.. And it's very nice he trust me more than the dreaded vacuum.......

He's been solitary for about a week now. He should be coming out again soon...

Originally Posted by jcribbs

Thank you El..... And ya, Jimmy does have character.. And it's very nice he trust me more than the dreaded vacuum.......

He's been solitary for about a week now. He should be coming out again soon...

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He's making great progress.

This is further than many ferals get, and I think he will go much, much further in time.

Thank you Satai....... I think he will go all the way to being pampered and enjoy it.

Jenn, sorry to borrow your thread - but if you've had experince with kitty birth, there is a weird problem on pregnancy forum -
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...55#post1292655

WEll, Jimmy let me reach toward him and pick his bowl up which was about 1" in front ofl his nose!! He did not run or dash off. He just sat there and waited for his filled food bowl.

Next time, I might reach that extra inch and pet the top of his head.

My adrenalin was pumping wondering if I was going to get scratched but Jimmy calmly sat there!!!!

That's awesome, Jenn! Maybe next time you could hold out your hand to let Jimmy sniff it and see what he does. Then, if he seems okay with that, try gently scratching the top of his head without making a big deal out of it. Either way, this is huge progress in your relationship with the big guy!

He had curiosity in his eyes. Not fear. It is so wonderful that he feels good about me and not scared........regarding food! hehe....... I hope one day to take a self picture holding him. We will get there.

I also moved his crate into the laundry room because I want him to keep using it and he prefers the laundry room. So he is staying in his crate again and I am glad.

When we move, it will make things much easier. I will just have to shut the door and he will suffer no trauma when we move.

I faced the door of it away from the rest of the house so he has a safe spot and put food and water in front of it like I used to in the closet for him. He jumped right in it. He never used his crate when it was in out bedroom. He preferred the dresser in there. So Jimmy is happy in his crate.

Jenn, he's come so far! Don't be surprised if the move sets him back a bit. You know how it goes with these guys - it's either three steps forward and one step back, or one step forward and three steps back, lol!

You're doing great - and Jimmy's doing great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!