Hi everyone,
I just registered and am brand new to this site, hoping for some help. I have been caring for a feral colony for a year now. There are 6 cats at the horse farm where I keep my horse, and 2 were Humane Society barn cat adoptions, 1 just showed up, and then last year three kittens from the same litter were dumped there. I have been giving them extra food daily to make up for the fact there just aren't enough rats to go around. I have been socializing the three kittens for a year and two are very friendly. One of them, named "Bingo" has become so friendly that he's practically tame now. He allows me to pick him up and walk around with him on my shoulder while I look for chicken eggs, and we have our daily routine of feeding, then getting picked up and taken to the barn (they all live under the horse trailers away from the barn) then sitting in my lap while chewing my fingers and giving head butts. He's such a great little cat.
Well...I had to go on a 14 day trip for work and I was dreading it for a year. I paid two different people to feed all of them the dry food, and wet food, and give them the water I always do while I was gone. Still, I was worried. I asked about them and was told everyone was OK, and Bingo was sleeping on my bales of hay. (After I left for 7 days for Christmas in December, he peed on my bags of pine shavings outside my horse's stall in protest) but this time, just sleeping on my hay.
So I go out there yesterday literally hours after my flight gets in, and everyone shows up but Bingo. I searched for him in the woods and eventually he came out and he'd lost a lot of weight. He was the biggest of the three kittens and now he was smaller than the runt! His neck was all sunken in, and I could feel his spine and he was very sad looking. I picked him up and cuddled him, and sat with him while he ate but he kept walking away. I'd pick him up again until he purred and set him down to eat again and he'd nibble.
Today I went out there to take care of my horse, back on schedule, regular time and all but one of the 6 came out....and no Bingo. I called for him everywhere and he never came out. I saw his sister and brother who both look much better than he does. Is he really that mad at me? He's always the first one there to meet my truck in the afternoon, and was there yesterday, and he knew I was back...I feel awful now and knowing he didn't come for food today worries me. Any advice?
I just registered and am brand new to this site, hoping for some help. I have been caring for a feral colony for a year now. There are 6 cats at the horse farm where I keep my horse, and 2 were Humane Society barn cat adoptions, 1 just showed up, and then last year three kittens from the same litter were dumped there. I have been giving them extra food daily to make up for the fact there just aren't enough rats to go around. I have been socializing the three kittens for a year and two are very friendly. One of them, named "Bingo" has become so friendly that he's practically tame now. He allows me to pick him up and walk around with him on my shoulder while I look for chicken eggs, and we have our daily routine of feeding, then getting picked up and taken to the barn (they all live under the horse trailers away from the barn) then sitting in my lap while chewing my fingers and giving head butts. He's such a great little cat.
Well...I had to go on a 14 day trip for work and I was dreading it for a year. I paid two different people to feed all of them the dry food, and wet food, and give them the water I always do while I was gone. Still, I was worried. I asked about them and was told everyone was OK, and Bingo was sleeping on my bales of hay. (After I left for 7 days for Christmas in December, he peed on my bags of pine shavings outside my horse's stall in protest) but this time, just sleeping on my hay.
So I go out there yesterday literally hours after my flight gets in, and everyone shows up but Bingo. I searched for him in the woods and eventually he came out and he'd lost a lot of weight. He was the biggest of the three kittens and now he was smaller than the runt! His neck was all sunken in, and I could feel his spine and he was very sad looking. I picked him up and cuddled him, and sat with him while he ate but he kept walking away. I'd pick him up again until he purred and set him down to eat again and he'd nibble.
Today I went out there to take care of my horse, back on schedule, regular time and all but one of the 6 came out....and no Bingo. I called for him everywhere and he never came out. I saw his sister and brother who both look much better than he does. Is he really that mad at me? He's always the first one there to meet my truck in the afternoon, and was there yesterday, and he knew I was back...I feel awful now and knowing he didn't come for food today worries me. Any advice?