Oh how wonderful! Yes, pics we must have pics!!!!
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Clyde Will get a New Roommate!!!
- Thread starter clyde
- Start Date
BRAVO!
I am so glad you are welcoming Bonnie into your home! Yippee!
I am so glad you are welcoming Bonnie into your home! Yippee!
Mike you have made me so happy. Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for not getting her declawed. I wish only happy things for you Bonnie and Clyde!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #24
Bonnie is
a little boy!!!!
As soon as one of the moderators can tell me how, I want to run a one day contest to name my new cat. Whoever wins, I will donate $25.00 to the local Partnership for Pets (where I got Clyde) in their favorite cat charity name. I have a polaroid (not real great) but it also has me, so you have my mug shot also.
This cat is as much a total love bug as Clyde is a crazy gazelle type cat.
Waiting to hear from a moderator.
Mike
As soon as one of the moderators can tell me how, I want to run a one day contest to name my new cat. Whoever wins, I will donate $25.00 to the local Partnership for Pets (where I got Clyde) in their favorite cat charity name. I have a polaroid (not real great) but it also has me, so you have my mug shot also.
This cat is as much a total love bug as Clyde is a crazy gazelle type cat.
Waiting to hear from a moderator.
Mike
Hi Mike! What a wonderful thing to do - in so many ways, LOL! Rescue a kitty, donate money.... what is there to say but you're an angel?
I've contacted TCS Admin to see what can be arranged. I've never encountered anyone asking this question before, so I have no answer for you offhand, sorry! But what a wonderful thing to WANT to do.
Also, I read the thread you started in the Cat Lounge. I think this thread might belong merged back into that one. It gets a little confusing sometimes, even for us mods! This is theoretically the section where we post cats that need homes. On the other hand, posting about adopting a cat is such a wonderful thing, and this forum could really use "good news" threads, that's for sure. We'll see after other mods weigh in with their thoughts on the matter.
Now - to the "real" business, in my mind.
1) If your medical condition is a problem of blood clotting, please either have someone clip your new kitty's claws every two weeks for you (why don't we just call him Bonn for now, LOL!), or have the vet apply soft paws every - what is it - six weeks or so?
I'm SO glad you've learned a lot while on this site. I did too. (I still do!) The really wonderful thing about what you're doing is that even if you end up having to adopt out Bonn, the time you'r spending now to have him socialized will make it so much easier to find him a home.
2) PLEASE read these stories about bringing feral and stray cats inside. It sounds very much like Bonn is a stray kitty and not actually feral. The process of socializing him would take MUCH longer if he were feral. But these will have LOTS of advice - about how to handle his first days at home, how to introduce him to Clyde over time so that they enjoy each other more than they would.....
Here is the story of Lucky, a feral that was brought inside at around six months old: Lucky's story - socializing a feral
Here is the wonderful story of Maggie...now Annie (an older stray the neighborhood hated because she was so "mean." New here / New to Feral Cats
Also, here's an article called "Bringing Outside Cats In" : http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/PDF/BringOutsideIn.pdf;
and in my signature line, if you click on the ferals section in the www.savesamoa.org website, you can learn lots about the difference between stray and feral cats. (If you have that deep an interest).
Good luck naming and socializing this kitty! If you have questions about what to do, or you need support along the way, feel free to post them in either the Feral Forum or the Behavior Forum.
Just remember - patience is the key. Go slow. Give Bonn his space. He is entering an alien world - even if he was, at some point in the past, somebody's cat. He has to get used to the sights and sounds of his new space, the new smells of you, Clyde and where's he's living. He'll be scared (if not terrified). Don't give him the opportunity to lash out (especially given your medical condition?)
Even new hand-raised kittens should be kept in a separate room when brought into a new home - this holds even truer for strays or ferals.
If you work on Bonn's schedule instead of yours, everything should work out well for all three of you. Clyde will love having a pal - he just may not know it yet.
Cats are very territorial, and it takes them a while to learn to share. Think of them as two- three-year old children, and everything should be just fine.
Oh - almost forgot. If Clyde is declawed, then you will not be familiar with cats that need to scratch. Scratching is something a cat must do for many reasons. What you'll have to do is provide him appropriate things on which it is OK for him to scratch, and you shouldn't have problems with him scratching your furniture or curtains or something. If you do have problems with this, there is LOTS of info about how to address that in the Behavior forum. But for ideas on what to do to prevent any problems to begin with, please click on the link in my signature line in the www.straypetadvocacy.org that says "Save a Paw! Don't Declaw! - and scroll down towards the bottom of the page. You'll find a section of links called "Alternatives to Declaw: Scratching Solutions, Claw Protectors, Claw Care & More"
There's also an article on the TCS Home Page - in the behavior section: Problem scratching and how to stop it Works for avoiding it, too.
I've contacted TCS Admin to see what can be arranged. I've never encountered anyone asking this question before, so I have no answer for you offhand, sorry! But what a wonderful thing to WANT to do.
Also, I read the thread you started in the Cat Lounge. I think this thread might belong merged back into that one. It gets a little confusing sometimes, even for us mods! This is theoretically the section where we post cats that need homes. On the other hand, posting about adopting a cat is such a wonderful thing, and this forum could really use "good news" threads, that's for sure. We'll see after other mods weigh in with their thoughts on the matter.
Now - to the "real" business, in my mind.
1) If your medical condition is a problem of blood clotting, please either have someone clip your new kitty's claws every two weeks for you (why don't we just call him Bonn for now, LOL!), or have the vet apply soft paws every - what is it - six weeks or so?
I'm SO glad you've learned a lot while on this site. I did too. (I still do!) The really wonderful thing about what you're doing is that even if you end up having to adopt out Bonn, the time you'r spending now to have him socialized will make it so much easier to find him a home.
2) PLEASE read these stories about bringing feral and stray cats inside. It sounds very much like Bonn is a stray kitty and not actually feral. The process of socializing him would take MUCH longer if he were feral. But these will have LOTS of advice - about how to handle his first days at home, how to introduce him to Clyde over time so that they enjoy each other more than they would.....
Here is the story of Lucky, a feral that was brought inside at around six months old: Lucky's story - socializing a feral
Here is the wonderful story of Maggie...now Annie (an older stray the neighborhood hated because she was so "mean." New here / New to Feral Cats
Also, here's an article called "Bringing Outside Cats In" : http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/PDF/BringOutsideIn.pdf;
and in my signature line, if you click on the ferals section in the www.savesamoa.org website, you can learn lots about the difference between stray and feral cats. (If you have that deep an interest).
Good luck naming and socializing this kitty! If you have questions about what to do, or you need support along the way, feel free to post them in either the Feral Forum or the Behavior Forum.
Just remember - patience is the key. Go slow. Give Bonn his space. He is entering an alien world - even if he was, at some point in the past, somebody's cat. He has to get used to the sights and sounds of his new space, the new smells of you, Clyde and where's he's living. He'll be scared (if not terrified). Don't give him the opportunity to lash out (especially given your medical condition?)
Even new hand-raised kittens should be kept in a separate room when brought into a new home - this holds even truer for strays or ferals.
If you work on Bonn's schedule instead of yours, everything should work out well for all three of you. Clyde will love having a pal - he just may not know it yet.
Cats are very territorial, and it takes them a while to learn to share. Think of them as two- three-year old children, and everything should be just fine.
Oh - almost forgot. If Clyde is declawed, then you will not be familiar with cats that need to scratch. Scratching is something a cat must do for many reasons. What you'll have to do is provide him appropriate things on which it is OK for him to scratch, and you shouldn't have problems with him scratching your furniture or curtains or something. If you do have problems with this, there is LOTS of info about how to address that in the Behavior forum. But for ideas on what to do to prevent any problems to begin with, please click on the link in my signature line in the www.straypetadvocacy.org that says "Save a Paw! Don't Declaw! - and scroll down towards the bottom of the page. You'll find a section of links called "Alternatives to Declaw: Scratching Solutions, Claw Protectors, Claw Care & More"
There's also an article on the TCS Home Page - in the behavior section: Problem scratching and how to stop it Works for avoiding it, too.
OK - here's the answer on the contest.
Although we'd love to make an exception for this one because of the nature of the proposed contest, here's the actual rule regarding contests:
TCS Guidelines/Rules:
You can still post in the Cat Lounge to have members help you come up with a name - that's been done many times. It doesn't take a contest to motivate people to help around here.
What you can then do is PM the person whose name you chose for your kitty, and make private arrangements to donate the money in that person's name or on behalf of their favorite charity.
Although we'd love to make an exception for this one because of the nature of the proposed contest, here's the actual rule regarding contests:
TCS Guidelines/Rules:
It's located under Rule #8. I know it's not for promotion of a commercial business or website, but if we break the rule for you, it isn't fair to others that have asked for contests.
You can still post in the Cat Lounge to have members help you come up with a name - that's been done many times. It doesn't take a contest to motivate people to help around here.
What you can then do is PM the person whose name you chose for your kitty, and make private arrangements to donate the money in that person's name or on behalf of their favorite charity.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #27
Well, they fought a little last night, slept, ate next to each other, are now butting and sniffing noses, still a little arching of the backs, and the new one is interested in watching Clyde play.
The new one does use the litter box, and has only used the claws in playing with a spring loaded mouse. I'm not even concerned about that issue anymore, and have adopted since I've already paid for it. He will be neutered Dec 2. I've decided to name him Bandit for the unique markings on his face. I definitely have a pair of outlaws there, with Clyde being the aggressor, and Bandit being the laid back, quiet planning type.
I have a kitty tree with sisal rope on the way so that should take care of the scratching. Since I'm building a model railroad, furniture isn't an issue (bachelor). I really don't have a need for much.
This one was definitely a stray, I think was dumped. He is extremely social, will let me rub just about any part of him except the lowest part of his tummy (face, ears, all 4 paws, tail, rough him up, he just purrs louder).
The only thing that would cause me to put him up for adoption would be if he and Clyde could absolutely not get along. As for now, I think Clyde is curious why Bandit doesn't want to play, and Bandit wants to know why Clyde bothers him so much.
I think they are approx the same age.
By the smell near my litter box, I think Bandit hasn't learned to cover up yet. Any suggestions?
Mike
The new one does use the litter box, and has only used the claws in playing with a spring loaded mouse. I'm not even concerned about that issue anymore, and have adopted since I've already paid for it. He will be neutered Dec 2. I've decided to name him Bandit for the unique markings on his face. I definitely have a pair of outlaws there, with Clyde being the aggressor, and Bandit being the laid back, quiet planning type.
I have a kitty tree with sisal rope on the way so that should take care of the scratching. Since I'm building a model railroad, furniture isn't an issue (bachelor). I really don't have a need for much.
This one was definitely a stray, I think was dumped. He is extremely social, will let me rub just about any part of him except the lowest part of his tummy (face, ears, all 4 paws, tail, rough him up, he just purrs louder).
The only thing that would cause me to put him up for adoption would be if he and Clyde could absolutely not get along. As for now, I think Clyde is curious why Bandit doesn't want to play, and Bandit wants to know why Clyde bothers him so much.
I think they are approx the same age.
By the smell near my litter box, I think Bandit hasn't learned to cover up yet. Any suggestions?
Mike
It will take Clyde a while to get used to having Bandit around. We started with one cat. Lazlo was just 8 or 10 weeks old when we rescued him. His brother, Sheldon, came in one week later. It took them all of an afternoon to get over the fighting. Their sister, Spooky came inside about six or seven months later. She was terrified, and lashed out whenever either one of them came within a few feet of her. She is pals with both of them now, but it took weeks for her to calm down - and months for them to really become hanging out, playing together pals. Any time we've had a foster kitten or adopted another cat (we adopted two subsequent to bringing Spooky in), it has taken her about six weeks each time before she really accepted them being around.
In any multi-cat household, it will take a while for the cats to accept each other. And one will have to establish dominance - and it may not end up being Clyde!
A couple of things you can do to make Clyde more accepting:
Whenever you come in, lavish him with attention first.
Do you free feed them? Or do you provide them meals? If you give them meals or treats, always give Clyde his first, then give Bandit his.
Make sure to give Clyde play-time first - although Bandit may try to play at the same time. If that happens, do you live somplace that has more than one room? Then you should take Clyde alone at least once a day and play with him exclusively for at least 10 minutes.
All of these things will help him feel more secure.
Also, height is a sign of dominance for cats. The more vertical space you can provide for them, the better. Bookshelves they can climb up easily? An entertainment center they can get up on? Or buy a cat tree (or two. Hubby and I live in an RV, and we took out the dining room and now have 3 cat trees in there. For us it's kind of a must, though, with five cats and us in here, LOL!).
Re: the litterbox. You're very lucky Bandit uses it! Often they're so used to using dirt or leaves or whatever that you have to put a layer of dirt on top before they get comfortable using the box. There are several things you can do.
1) You should provide one litterbox for each cat. (We don't have the space for that, and our cats manage to share two boxes - but I clean them a MINIMUM of two times a day, and often up to four). Cats can be REALLY picky about their litterboxes. Often if they don't cover up their business it's because the box is "too full" in their opinion. So frequent scooping could solve that problem.
2) If the box has nothing but litter in it, and Bandit still doesn't cover up his business, keep an eye on him. When he goes, as he's leaving the box, hold him gently and take his paw and scoop litter over what he just did. This has worked for others - it doesn't always work.
3) It might be smelly just because he's adjusting to a new diet that's much richer, on whole, than what he's had access to for his completel nourishment. It could take a few days or a week for his tummy to adjust, and he may have diarrhea. This is VERY common. Whenever you introduce a cat to new food, it's best done over a several day period by combining the "old" food with the new food, gradually increasing the amount of new food. Of course, you're not about to mix mice and garbage into his cat food, so you'll just have to lump it this time.
Re: scratching. You may want to consider one or two other types of things for Bandit to scratch on. Don't know if you have an "other" or ever plan to live with anyone or get married (or whatever), but your kitties can live to in excess of 20 years, so you may want to encourage proper scratching behavior so you don't have problems down the road.
Cats scratch for several reasons - and they need different types of texture for those different reasons. They like both sisal and a loose weave type fabric (like carpet), so you may want to consider a carpeted scratching post in addition to a sisal post. And cat trees that are carpeted or have both carpet and sisal are great.
I LOVED it the first time we brought home a cat tree!!! Somehow they immediately knew it was for them. They were all over it. And they stopped scratching everywhere else in the house (except the one sisal scratching post we have). They have soooo much fun running around, jumping all over them, chasing each other around... cat trees are a lot of fun for you and your cats.
Also, we found a sisal scratch pad that goes on the floor. The back is a kind of rubbery thing. One night they were so rambunctious that thing got flipped over - and it was covered in scratch marks. Turned out they liked the rubbery side better than the sisal side, LOL! Walmart sells those "puzzle piece" type things that go on the floor in a children's play room or something? The smooth side of those is the same texture. They go nuts for it. And I think they like having the "horizontal stretch" scratching option in addition to having the "vertical stretch" stuff.
In any multi-cat household, it will take a while for the cats to accept each other. And one will have to establish dominance - and it may not end up being Clyde!
A couple of things you can do to make Clyde more accepting:
Whenever you come in, lavish him with attention first.
Do you free feed them? Or do you provide them meals? If you give them meals or treats, always give Clyde his first, then give Bandit his.
Make sure to give Clyde play-time first - although Bandit may try to play at the same time. If that happens, do you live somplace that has more than one room? Then you should take Clyde alone at least once a day and play with him exclusively for at least 10 minutes.
All of these things will help him feel more secure.
Also, height is a sign of dominance for cats. The more vertical space you can provide for them, the better. Bookshelves they can climb up easily? An entertainment center they can get up on? Or buy a cat tree (or two. Hubby and I live in an RV, and we took out the dining room and now have 3 cat trees in there. For us it's kind of a must, though, with five cats and us in here, LOL!).
Re: the litterbox. You're very lucky Bandit uses it! Often they're so used to using dirt or leaves or whatever that you have to put a layer of dirt on top before they get comfortable using the box. There are several things you can do.
1) You should provide one litterbox for each cat. (We don't have the space for that, and our cats manage to share two boxes - but I clean them a MINIMUM of two times a day, and often up to four). Cats can be REALLY picky about their litterboxes. Often if they don't cover up their business it's because the box is "too full" in their opinion. So frequent scooping could solve that problem.
2) If the box has nothing but litter in it, and Bandit still doesn't cover up his business, keep an eye on him. When he goes, as he's leaving the box, hold him gently and take his paw and scoop litter over what he just did. This has worked for others - it doesn't always work.
3) It might be smelly just because he's adjusting to a new diet that's much richer, on whole, than what he's had access to for his completel nourishment. It could take a few days or a week for his tummy to adjust, and he may have diarrhea. This is VERY common. Whenever you introduce a cat to new food, it's best done over a several day period by combining the "old" food with the new food, gradually increasing the amount of new food. Of course, you're not about to mix mice and garbage into his cat food, so you'll just have to lump it this time.
Re: scratching. You may want to consider one or two other types of things for Bandit to scratch on. Don't know if you have an "other" or ever plan to live with anyone or get married (or whatever), but your kitties can live to in excess of 20 years, so you may want to encourage proper scratching behavior so you don't have problems down the road.
Cats scratch for several reasons - and they need different types of texture for those different reasons. They like both sisal and a loose weave type fabric (like carpet), so you may want to consider a carpeted scratching post in addition to a sisal post. And cat trees that are carpeted or have both carpet and sisal are great.
I LOVED it the first time we brought home a cat tree!!! Somehow they immediately knew it was for them. They were all over it. And they stopped scratching everywhere else in the house (except the one sisal scratching post we have). They have soooo much fun running around, jumping all over them, chasing each other around... cat trees are a lot of fun for you and your cats.
Also, we found a sisal scratch pad that goes on the floor. The back is a kind of rubbery thing. One night they were so rambunctious that thing got flipped over - and it was covered in scratch marks. Turned out they liked the rubbery side better than the sisal side, LOL! Walmart sells those "puzzle piece" type things that go on the floor in a children's play room or something? The smooth side of those is the same texture. They go nuts for it. And I think they like having the "horizontal stretch" scratching option in addition to having the "vertical stretch" stuff.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #29
Well, I have unfortunate news. I went to take the garbage out two days ago, and despite my best efforts to keep the kitties in, I managed to catch Clyde, but could not catch my new cat. He got out (not yet neutered) and has not been seen since.
I had a long discussion with the local adoption people today, and they speculated that he may be using my house as a local feed stop on his rounds, and most likely belongs to another family within a 1-2 mile radius. This tends to make sense, since this cat was extremely well fed when I found him, and very well socialized towards humans. Watching his behavior in the last few days, he would not respond most of the time to Clyde in wanting to play, but would sit at the window looking out and howling and yelling in wanting to get out. I feel like I've done the best I could, since he has been updated on all shots, and has been treated for ear mites. His feline leukemia test was negative, and he was otherwise healthy, other than not being neutered. I can only hope that his other family is responsible enough to do that. I don't know if I'll see him again, since he really wanted out very badly and I had to be on constant guard to keep him inside.
Clyde, however, is doing just fine, and is acting as if nothing ever happened. I may be just content for now to keep my one cat.
Thanks for all the advice and help. If I can ever figure out this picture thing, I have more Clyde pics to put on-line.
Mike
I had a long discussion with the local adoption people today, and they speculated that he may be using my house as a local feed stop on his rounds, and most likely belongs to another family within a 1-2 mile radius. This tends to make sense, since this cat was extremely well fed when I found him, and very well socialized towards humans. Watching his behavior in the last few days, he would not respond most of the time to Clyde in wanting to play, but would sit at the window looking out and howling and yelling in wanting to get out. I feel like I've done the best I could, since he has been updated on all shots, and has been treated for ear mites. His feline leukemia test was negative, and he was otherwise healthy, other than not being neutered. I can only hope that his other family is responsible enough to do that. I don't know if I'll see him again, since he really wanted out very badly and I had to be on constant guard to keep him inside.
Clyde, however, is doing just fine, and is acting as if nothing ever happened. I may be just content for now to keep my one cat.
Thanks for all the advice and help. If I can ever figure out this picture thing, I have more Clyde pics to put on-line.
Mike
