Impossible Cat

[orange&white]

oh, dear. this old hag [me] has forgotten how to play

...but, what do i do next time?

One week ago today, my backyard feral played with me for the first time. Yes, piece of string tied to a catnip stuffed toy with the other end tied to a tree branch handle.

Two days later, she rubbed her body up against my legs and let me pet her head over the weekend.

Today, she has become quite demanding about requiring petting.

Getting her to play with a string toy seems to have been the breakthrough she needed to warm up to me more than just seeing me as her personal food dispenser. She's a different cat than she was 7 days ago.

I'm enjoying your story. Good luck! You're doing great so far.

 

[susieqz]

WOW!!
things have been going pretty good around here.
now that she takes her meals inches from me, i've been running my fingers over her back.
she no longer jumps when i do that.
i talked to the guy who bot the adjacent pasture. i let him know about the pack of 4 coyotes here.
he's gonna hunt them.
of course, i also told him that the cat is not wild ,but mine.
i know there are people who shoot cats because they might prey on game species.
i'm the only one here that shoots bunnies, so no hunting will be hurt, except mine, n i only shoot them to protect my garden.

today, i've been kicking myself for getting so attached to her. she was gone all night n didn't come for breakfast.
i was sure she was dead.

but, i went for a walk around 6 pm n she was waiting on the steps for me.
this was an entirely different animal.
as i walked out, she didn't run.
as soon as i sat down she came over, rubbing her cheek on me.
she welcomed me scratching behind her ears.
she couldn't get enow.
she was acting like an actual pet!
like we had been together from birth n i had disappeared for a month.
the difference between yesterday n today is incredible.
no feral cat here.
i don't know if she missed me, but it seemed that way.
now, since she likes contact, i gotta get her a brush.
any amazon suggestions?
no pet stores here.

 

[surya]

I'm glad your neighbor is going to get the coyotes, for kitties sake. She must have been a tame kitty after all. She must have missed you.

 

[LeiLana80]

i gotta get her a brush.
any amazon suggestions?

What type of fur does she have? Short, long, thick, thin, undercoat, no undercoat..?

 

[susieqz]

she is short haired. that's all i know.
i didn't know brushes were chosen based on coat.
please help me get the right one.
i knew when i posted the last post, people would say she wasn't feral.
i disagree.
many folks talk about it taking years to make progress with a true feral, but none of them used my supine protocol.
i've spent an hour/day with her flat on the ground.
i can get a deer to come to me doing that.

 

[LeiLana80]

Well, I'm probably not the best to answer! I'd wait to hear what others have to say- I just use a people comb on my cat! haha. He has VERY thick short fur with a crazy thick undercoat- and I just started using a person cheapie fine toothed comb on him, and it works and he likes it. (all my others don't seem to require combing like he does)
I do know that my parents and my sister in law both use a cat FURminator on their cats, and they seem to be pretty happy with it.

 

[susieqz]

thank you.
i'm not concerned about doing the nicest grooming.
this is a bonding thing.
i need what feels best to her.
i wanna get a purr out of her.

 

[orange&white]

If you have an old hairbrush you aren't using anymore, you might try it before purchasing a "cat" brush.

I've taken a large round brush with soft bristles (which my indoor kitten and adult cat both love) outside since my backyard feral started letting me pet her. She's afraid of the brush. I've been laying it down close to her food when she eats to get her to see it as "normal".

My senior cat also likes the rake I use on my dog. This rake really takes out all the shedding undercoat and is gentle, even though it looks like a medieval torture device. This is the rake type I use (the furminator-type tools are also called "rakes", though they look more like miniature garden rakes). They make smaller rakes for cats that are circular, not oval.

 

[susieqz]

thanks leila n orange. i'll take an old brush n comb out there n see what she has to say.

 

[maggiedemi]

I believe you that she was feral. I've been able to pretty much tame my two ferals. They still bite and scratch sometimes and are terrified of all new strangers. You'll know if she is feral, because they are unlike any house cats I've ever had that's for sure. She might prefer a soft brush or one of those grooming gloves, but here is the one I bought, it gets loose hair off and you push the button to clean out the hair:
JW Pet Self-Cleaning Cat Slicker

 

[Willowy]

My shorthaired cats really love rubber brushes. You can get a cat-shaped Zoom Groom or just use a rubber curry brush made for horses.

 

[susieqz]

thanks, guys.i don't recall ever brushing a kitty, just dogs n horses.
i know that some indoor cats make my eyes water n others don't.
perhaps brushing helps allergies.
i did take an old brush out n brushed her while she had supper.
she liked it but seemed to prefer my hand.
i'm not sure she'd be happy in the house.
she likes my company, but only for a half hour in the morn n eve.
then she goes to her end of the garden.
if i go there, she has an irritated meow n then hops the fence.
i don't think that wanting alone time has anything to do with being feral.it's just a personality trait.
to have her in the house, she would need her own room as far from me as possible.
i wouldn't get to go in there.
plus, she'd be bored out of her mind.
who knows what a bored kitty will do.

 

[orange&white]

I'd just say that you never know what the future holds. She just started letting you touch her, the same as my backyard feral who was deemed "unredeemable" by the shelter..."very wild"...not socializable, not adoptable, not fosterable...put her outside.

Look how quickly they've turned the corner...so far.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
What's the week-end update with you and Drifter?
.

 

[susieqz]

DAY 42
the interpersonal relationship between me n drifter has astounded me.
in the evening, we spend most of an hour together. her eating n rubbing against me.
i started just stroking her while she ate, but now she stays for lots of touching.
we haven't played, but i doubt outdoor cats need play as much as indoor kitties.
during this time, she won't run for me when i stand, probably because if i get up it's to get more kibble/
she has even put both front feet on the door sill.
she knows where the food is.

unfortunately, my plan to move here into the garden is a complete failure.
she is spending much less time in the garden now than she did a couple weeks ago.
i think she was staying in the garden due to food insecurity.
now, she knows she will be fed so she feels no need to stay close.
in the morn, when i call her to breakfast, she climbs in n spends 10 minutes eating n getting stroked.
then, she leaves.
in the cool of the eve, she socializes, but then leaves.
she has a den somewhere she likes better.
i guess she has a place where she can defend herself.
plus, she spends lots of time hunting.
sometimes, she comes to dinner just to see me n ignores her food, because she has had a good day hunting.

now that she's thinking of investigating the inside of
the house, i have some questions.
first, if i see no fleas from inches away, does that mean she has none?
she seldom scratches herself.
second, where do worms come from?
if they come from other cats there should be no problem.
no cats here.
but if they come from mice n bunnies i gotta worry.
finally, if she decides to come in, i have a 99 cent dishpan that fits in the sink.
is that big enow for a sandbox for a normal size cat?
litter is no problem.
she has picked an unused corner of the garden as her bathroom.
it is covered in pine bark mulch.
that's what she uses to bury her waste n i have hundreds of pounds of that.
when she first came, she didn't bury her scat, but now she does.

if anyone can give me their thots on my questions, i'd appreciate it very much.
she may decide to come in, n, i know little about house cats.
these questions never came up with barn cats.

 

[LeiLana80]

It would practically be a miracle if she doesn't have fleas or worms!
They are pretty much a given for outdoor cats who hunt and eat their prey.
Fleas come from any other animal outdoors (and even in the grass).
The most common form of worms is roundworms, and they can be transferred through a nursing cats milk (to her kittens), or by eating another animal/rodent with worms.
There are lots of other parasites that a wild animal can have, too. Several of our stray cats have had crazy kids of parasites that required several rounds of strong medicines (and ridiculous amounts of cleaning around the house, as one of the kinds our cat had was transmittable to humans ). I'm fairly certain that a vet has to prescribe medicine for that... but someone please correct me if I am wrong!
As far as littler boxes... I'm not sure what to answer as I have not personally been in that situation before! I would loosely make a guess that she would highly prefer to use the garden anyway, even in the cold months (unless where you live it's extreme temperatures/snow/ice.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

i know little about house cats.

There's nothing to know that you don't already know about people, except that cats won't quit Loving you. When she decides to come inside, play The Eagles' Desperado for one another.
.

 

[susieqz]

thanks, leil. if a cat decides to come inside, will she ask to be let out to use her potty?
um, what is the name of the parasite that can trasnfer to humans?
if that's common, she doesn't get to come in.

 

[susieqz]

1cat, have you had problems with cat parasites.?
i can deal with fleas n worms but not something that can infect me.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
Nope; I've never had a problem in more than 90 strays and ferals, in half a century.
.