You'll need sisal rope as well for the thing you're building for they're claws.Things have been strangely quiet. I think fewer kitties are jumping up on the fence now that the snow is gone.
I figured out why Sissy was sleeping on the shoes - it wasn't the shoes themselves, they were just more comfortable than the floor. The sweetheart just wanted to be close to me. We setup her bed in that corner and she now only leaves it when I get up and a couple times a day to go and wander outside. :9:
Mama has been sleeping on the bed at night, even on my side which is amazing for her. Missy came by twice today and spent some quality time on the sauna... still not sure why she won't stay.
Since we can't afford much for these guys I've been making plans to build a cat tower for them. I cut down a spruce tree & a couple cedars while at my parents so we're going to use those as the posts and some old plywood from various projects to build something for them. There's also a Re-Store nearby (a kind of 'Salvation Army Store' for construction materials) where I'm hoping to find some carpet scraps to cover it with. It won't be pretty but it'll be a great scratching post and something that should let them see over the fence.
Junior is adorable as always - he spent most of today sunning himself on the fence - he somehow managed to snuggle down and fall asleep atop it!? He's out on walkabout currently but I think part of the reason he'd disappear for days is that we'd miss his return. He just appears, seemingly out of nowhere. Since it's warmer we've been keeping the door open and he's been coming back for the past couple nights. The other kitties all stay on top of the fence until they see us get up to open the door - they seem to get that if we don't see them we don't open the door... he's not so smart, he just goes to the door and starts crying. (Un)fortunately we have amazing sound proofing due to being close to a 6 lane highway so we can't hear him unless it's open anyway.
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Strange happenings
- Thread starter JMJimmy
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- #142
Cedar trees work in place of the rope. I've read it's soft enough that they can dig their claws in and splits vertically so they don't get caught.
Sorry. Didn't notice that sisal had already been mentioned by Norachan.
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Very much agree with you there about dolphins and whales. Not humans but sentient beings that should be respected. Its been shown through studies that their portion of the brain for emotional intelligence is bigger and more complex than ours.
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #145
What a night.
We let the kitties out for their last hurrah before we went to bed and locked them in. Sissy and Mama did their thing and came back then a few minutes later we hear cats screaming right outside our door and one of them was unmistakably Junior. We rush out to see what's going on and find him 6 feet up a tree wedged between two trunks! Scotty is there screaming away but not at Junior... it was Chaucer being a bully again. I don't now what's up with that cat all the other kitties in the neighbourhood seem to be terrified by him. Junior was so terrified he jumps right out of the tree, does a circle around us to jump up on the neighbours fence, does a superman jump to our fence and b-lines it for the safety of indoors.
Scotty came back crying sometime later - I'm getting worried about that kitty, he's getting smaller & smaller. I think we either need to start feeding him or trap him soon. Unfortunately as soon as he sees me approach he runs away.
The night wasn't over though. Mama usually sleeps on the bed while Alpha Kitty is there but not when it's just me. Until last night. She slept at my feet for a good 4 hours while Alpha was off at work. She's starting to allow me pet her a bit without giving me the "I hate you but fine" look. Right now she's passed out beside me on the couch. Anyway, Sissy came into the bedroom for the usual morning wakeup call, I gave her some pets and started to get up. Being lazy I kicked my feet out so I wouldn't have to do a sit-up (TMI but I can't tell the story without it), at that exact moment Sissy decides to jump up on the bed, right into my kicking foot!
The poor girl didn't know what hit her! She wasn't hurt or anything, I gave her lots of pets moments later, but man did I feel bad! Now she's going to think I don't want her to come visit on the bed. She's currently pouting on the other side of the room instead of in her bed as usual.
As i said, what a night.
We've been seeing some other things develop as well. We knew Sissy rolled in the litterbox but didn't know why. I changed it out completely for some fresh litter yesterday and we immediately learned. She thinks its a dust bath. As soon as I put it back down she was in it rolling around like a Chinchilla () She repeated this bath 3-4 times during the day before it got soiled and she no longer found it clean enough to use. It also led to one of the problems that's been developing - Junior. Junior's nickname is fast becoming "The Little F****er", pardon the vulgarity, partly because his testies are larger than his brain, but mostly because he does things that just make you blurt it out. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of play and since Sissy has gone almost full house cat on us, she likes to play. Junior seems to take offence to this and will, ever so casually, walk up to her and whack her in the behind. We know exactly when he's going to do it and if you try to stop/redirect him he just goes and does it at the earliest opportunity. Sissy rolling around in the litterbox was just such an occasion. He didn't understand what she was doing so felt the need to whack her repeatedly. It was the first time I've heard Sissy hiss at him though, normally she runs away. She was going to have her bath come hell or high water. At this point it's nothing serious and with him getting snipped we're thinking it'll subside or maybe it'll allow his brain to learn something other than mating.
I'll post more pictures if I can ever find my USB cord.
We let the kitties out for their last hurrah before we went to bed and locked them in. Sissy and Mama did their thing and came back then a few minutes later we hear cats screaming right outside our door and one of them was unmistakably Junior. We rush out to see what's going on and find him 6 feet up a tree wedged between two trunks! Scotty is there screaming away but not at Junior... it was Chaucer being a bully again. I don't now what's up with that cat all the other kitties in the neighbourhood seem to be terrified by him. Junior was so terrified he jumps right out of the tree, does a circle around us to jump up on the neighbours fence, does a superman jump to our fence and b-lines it for the safety of indoors.
Scotty came back crying sometime later - I'm getting worried about that kitty, he's getting smaller & smaller. I think we either need to start feeding him or trap him soon. Unfortunately as soon as he sees me approach he runs away.
The night wasn't over though. Mama usually sleeps on the bed while Alpha Kitty is there but not when it's just me. Until last night. She slept at my feet for a good 4 hours while Alpha was off at work. She's starting to allow me pet her a bit without giving me the "I hate you but fine" look. Right now she's passed out beside me on the couch. Anyway, Sissy came into the bedroom for the usual morning wakeup call, I gave her some pets and started to get up. Being lazy I kicked my feet out so I wouldn't have to do a sit-up (TMI but I can't tell the story without it), at that exact moment Sissy decides to jump up on the bed, right into my kicking foot!
As i said, what a night.
We've been seeing some other things develop as well. We knew Sissy rolled in the litterbox but didn't know why. I changed it out completely for some fresh litter yesterday and we immediately learned. She thinks its a dust bath. As soon as I put it back down she was in it rolling around like a Chinchilla () She repeated this bath 3-4 times during the day before it got soiled and she no longer found it clean enough to use. It also led to one of the problems that's been developing - Junior. Junior's nickname is fast becoming "The Little F****er", pardon the vulgarity, partly because his testies are larger than his brain, but mostly because he does things that just make you blurt it out. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of play and since Sissy has gone almost full house cat on us, she likes to play. Junior seems to take offence to this and will, ever so casually, walk up to her and whack her in the behind. We know exactly when he's going to do it and if you try to stop/redirect him he just goes and does it at the earliest opportunity. Sissy rolling around in the litterbox was just such an occasion. He didn't understand what she was doing so felt the need to whack her repeatedly. It was the first time I've heard Sissy hiss at him though, normally she runs away. She was going to have her bath come hell or high water. At this point it's nothing serious and with him getting snipped we're thinking it'll subside or maybe it'll allow his brain to learn something other than mating.
I'll post more pictures if I can ever find my USB cord.
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I am sitting here giggling YET AGAIN at the antics at your house! Oh my, what a family you have taken on. I almost hesitate to say this, but I know a human family who behave very much like your four-legged one does (there is something grammatically wrong with this sentence, but I can't quite pin down the fix for it)!
I think maybe you should try to trap Scotty. He may have some health issues going on if he is consistently losing weight. If you can feed him without the other ferals interfering, try that first, but if he continues to lose the weight, something needs to be done.
I think maybe you should try to trap Scotty. He may have some health issues going on if he is consistently losing weight. If you can feed him without the other ferals interfering, try that first, but if he continues to lose the weight, something needs to be done.
human family who behaveS
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #148
And the craziness just keeps on coming!
I'm laying here watching a movie with the door ajar for the kitties nightly walkabouts. The movie ends and I hear a kitty and look over - it's Scotty rolling around on the carpet by the stairs! He sees me and just keeps rolling. He then does a tour of the entire main floor, including coming right beside me! There's no doubt he's a Scottish Fold now - my face was less than 1 foot from his and his ears are nice and healthy. He introduces himself a couple times, very politely, to Sissy and she doesn't even bother to get out of bed. Then he goes and jumps up on the kitchen sink (one of the kitties sprayed the backsplash - grrr!). Junior came back though and after he finished eating he finally noticed Scotty and started hissing at him. I didn't want a fight so I tried distracting them with chits, it spooked Scotty though and he left but wow was that surreal. Once he feels safe he is very assertive.
I'm laying here watching a movie with the door ajar for the kitties nightly walkabouts. The movie ends and I hear a kitty and look over - it's Scotty rolling around on the carpet by the stairs! He sees me and just keeps rolling. He then does a tour of the entire main floor, including coming right beside me! There's no doubt he's a Scottish Fold now - my face was less than 1 foot from his and his ears are nice and healthy. He introduces himself a couple times, very politely, to Sissy and she doesn't even bother to get out of bed. Then he goes and jumps up on the kitchen sink (one of the kitties sprayed the backsplash - grrr!). Junior came back though and after he finished eating he finally noticed Scotty and started hissing at him. I didn't want a fight so I tried distracting them with chits, it spooked Scotty though and he left but wow was that surreal. Once he feels safe he is very assertive.
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~mutters to self~ we really need to throw these guys a baby shower...
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #150
I may have some news on that front soon...
(should have happened already but bureaucracy is a truly evil thing)
Anyway, an update:
Today was grocery day and on the way back we drove past Scotty making his way up to our building. The kitties don't like grocery day they always get really spooked, Junior hightailed it out of here. Scotty wanted to come for a meal (we started putting a cup of food out last night and he found it right away) but like the other kitties he wasn't liking us dragging bags into the apartment and steered clear. I finished up bringing everything in and putting it away, cleaned the litter box and went to take it to the dumpster. Low and behold there is Scotty sitting at the end of the fence waiting for his chance to come back for a meal. I gave him some space and walked around him and he wasn't spooked for the first time. I sat with him briefly and went back inside.
A while later I was waiting for Junior to come back with the door open as usual. Absolutely freezing again but nothing a blanket couldn't fix. Sure enough, Scotty shows up instead. Another roll on the carpet, some oh so wonderful spraying
, and another tour around the main floor, again right beside me. He spent a bit of time with Sissy again with no issue. She even went and ate while he was right nearby - though he casually pushed her out when he wanted a drink (she's low cat on the totem pole). He also ventured upstairs - twice - even though Mama was up there. Maybe Mama didn't notice him since she was asleep with Alpha Kitty? I don't know but I did manage to snap a couple pictures; though I still can't find my USB cord. I hope I didn't leave it at my parents.
I was checking out his ears and I might have been half wrong. The right ear is completely normal & healthy (the one I got a perfect look at yesterday) but today his left ear might be showing a hematoma so everyone could be right! I need a better look at it.
As I'm finishing off this post, I hear a rustle come from outside. I thought it was Junior but apparently when Scotty left he decided to have a nap under the tarp. I tried opening the door for him again but he was off to patrol. If we can figure out how to get Junior (and possibly Mama) to not freak out when he comes around we may just have kitty #5 (or #4... Missy still won't commit but is quite content to eat & drink her fill and warm on the heater frequently)
Anyway, an update:
Today was grocery day and on the way back we drove past Scotty making his way up to our building. The kitties don't like grocery day they always get really spooked, Junior hightailed it out of here. Scotty wanted to come for a meal (we started putting a cup of food out last night and he found it right away) but like the other kitties he wasn't liking us dragging bags into the apartment and steered clear. I finished up bringing everything in and putting it away, cleaned the litter box and went to take it to the dumpster. Low and behold there is Scotty sitting at the end of the fence waiting for his chance to come back for a meal. I gave him some space and walked around him and he wasn't spooked for the first time. I sat with him briefly and went back inside.
A while later I was waiting for Junior to come back with the door open as usual. Absolutely freezing again but nothing a blanket couldn't fix. Sure enough, Scotty shows up instead. Another roll on the carpet, some oh so wonderful spraying
I was checking out his ears and I might have been half wrong. The right ear is completely normal & healthy (the one I got a perfect look at yesterday) but today his left ear might be showing a hematoma so everyone could be right! I need a better look at it.
As I'm finishing off this post, I hear a rustle come from outside. I thought it was Junior but apparently when Scotty left he decided to have a nap under the tarp. I tried opening the door for him again but he was off to patrol. If we can figure out how to get Junior (and possibly Mama) to not freak out when he comes around we may just have kitty #5 (or #4... Missy still won't commit but is quite content to eat & drink her fill and warm on the heater frequently)
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #151
I was startled awake at 5:20am to a nasty cat fight. Scotty got in a dust up with someone, I just hope it wasn't Junior. I found Scotty under the neighbour's car and he didn't bolt, he was just scared/pumped with adrenaline so I let him be and left the door open for him. 5 minutes later he wanders in. He's currently passed out & snoring on the stairs.
The other possibility for the fight could have been the food I left out. Probably not the best of ideas given the conflict between cats in this area.
The other possibility for the fight could have been the food I left out. Probably not the best of ideas given the conflict between cats in this area.
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I think things will get a lot better when you've had them all fixed. All that spraying and fighting should stop then.
Scotty sounds like he might have had a home at some point, I wonder what his story is?
How's it going with your plans to get them spayed and neutered? Any thing sorted out yet?
Scotty sounds like he might have had a home at some point, I wonder what his story is?
How's it going with your plans to get them spayed and neutered? Any thing sorted out yet?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #153
It's been an absolute nightmare to be honest. Dozens of emails, daily phone calls to try to meet with a supervisor, trips to two different shelter locations (35km+ round trip each) to try to get the paperwork signed, everyone making up different excuses as to why they won't accept our forms. Most of the people start by claiming they don't know/can't deal with the subsidy we're applying for then when we politely explain again they magically hand us the exact form to fill out that we are trying to hand to them.
So frustrating, we had to cancel Junior's appointment because of it and made yet another attempt yesterday to talk to someone face to face.
So frustrating, we had to cancel Junior's appointment because of it and made yet another attempt yesterday to talk to someone face to face.
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #154
Well that just happened. I thought Scotty had left and it was getting really cold in here (feels like -9C) after having the door open for 2 hours. I closed the door, gave Sissy a brush, and turn around to find Scotty trying to slink out the now closed door. Unlike Missy who kept trying to find a way out, Scotty scoots back upstairs and is being pretty chill about it so far. A happy accident?!
During those 2 hours Scotty was nice enough to spray about a dozen times, making it home I hope
I still haven't seen Mama interact with him so that's a worry. Every time he's been near her she's been fast asleep lol
Edit: An hour or so in and Scotty came down casually to try to get out again, took one look at the closed door and was ok with it. He went and sat on the stairs so I talked to him a bit to get him used to me. Then he sauntered back up to the bedroom I'm assuming (likely under the bed? I've been leaving him alone so I'm not sure). Either way, the Mama factor has been answered: she's totally cool with him. She's been up sleeping in the bedroom and they passed each other on the stairs like nothing unusual was happening.
Edit 2: I decided I should check, just to make sure he wasn't cowering... he wasn't. He found his way to the windowsill right above the heater & behind the curtains and is surveying the land.
During those 2 hours Scotty was nice enough to spray about a dozen times, making it home I hope
I still haven't seen Mama interact with him so that's a worry. Every time he's been near her she's been fast asleep lolEdit: An hour or so in and Scotty came down casually to try to get out again, took one look at the closed door and was ok with it. He went and sat on the stairs so I talked to him a bit to get him used to me. Then he sauntered back up to the bedroom I'm assuming (likely under the bed? I've been leaving him alone so I'm not sure). Either way, the Mama factor has been answered: she's totally cool with him. She's been up sleeping in the bedroom and they passed each other on the stairs like nothing unusual was happening.
Edit 2: I decided I should check, just to make sure he wasn't cowering... he wasn't. He found his way to the windowsill right above the heater & behind the curtains and is surveying the land.
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #155
Things with Scotty are going better than I ever could have hoped. It's still early obviously but it was treat time and I was able to bring some to him and take a picture without him freaking out. I returned again to steal Alpha Kitty's USB cord so I could share these photos:
Junior fell asleep while playing with the heater:
Junior and Mama enjoying life
Sissy rolling around in the fresh litter
Junior in his favourite kitty litter box
Scotty on his second big adventure into the apartment. He wasn't sure about me taking pictures of him just yet
Scotty in his 'hiding spot' enjoying the morning sun. This picture makes it clear that his left ear is damaged. Maybe he was dumped because of it? It's clear he was a house cat at some point - he's far too chill not to have been.
Junior fell asleep while playing with the heater:
Junior and Mama enjoying life
Sissy rolling around in the fresh litter
Junior in his favourite kitty litter box
Scotty on his second big adventure into the apartment. He wasn't sure about me taking pictures of him just yet
Scotty in his 'hiding spot' enjoying the morning sun. This picture makes it clear that his left ear is damaged. Maybe he was dumped because of it? It's clear he was a house cat at some point - he's far too chill not to have been.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #156
In all Scotty spent 12 hours with us, most of it under the bed unfortunately but it's a great start because he remained in the room while we had a nice nap there. He had some treats and catnip while here too. Around 4pm Missy came around and we decided that since trust building seems to work so much better than trapping we were going to stick with that strategy for Scotty too. I opened the door and about half an hour later Scotty emerged and made his way outside. It wasn't a dash either and he stopped to consider whether he should stay or not. Missy didn't seem to take offence to him either as she was enjoying the sauna. Hopefully he'll return after such a good day of sleeping & eating.
Missy had a nice snuggle in the bed which isn't her usual fare
Edit: I don't think Scotty will be long for the outside. Within 45 minutes he was back on the fence looking to come back in. I spooked him a little when I stood up to open the door so he went into the neighbours yard (didn't run away entirely like he has in the past).
Missy had a nice snuggle in the bed which isn't her usual fare
Edit: I don't think Scotty will be long for the outside. Within 45 minutes he was back on the fence looking to come back in. I spooked him a little when I stood up to open the door so he went into the neighbours yard (didn't run away entirely like he has in the past).
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But he sprays! Is he whole or neutered?Things with Scotty are going better than I ever could have hoped. It's still early obviously but it was treat time and I was able to bring some to him and take a picture without him freaking out. I returned again to steal Alpha Kitty's USB cord so I could share these photos:
Junior fell asleep while playing with the heater:
Junior and Mama enjoying life
Sissy rolling around in the fresh litter
Junior in his favourite kitty litter box
Scotty on his second big adventure into the apartment. He wasn't sure about me taking pictures of him just yet
Scotty in his 'hiding spot' enjoying the morning sun. This picture makes it clear that his left ear is damaged. Maybe he was dumped because of it? It's clear he was a house cat at some point - he's far too chill not to have been.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #158
They all spray at this point, we clean every couple days with bleach to get rid of the smell. Honestly, I'm not even sure if he's male or female yet - it's just easier to assign a gender until we know for sure
OMG Scotty is breaking my heart! He has such a sweet little face. I'm so glad to hear he's getting used to you. I think he must have been someone's pet and gone through an awful time being dumped or abandoned.
If you start getting them spayed and neutered at a regular vets could you claim back some of the money once you've got the forms all sorted out? I just thought it might make your lives a bit easier if you got some of them fixed soon. Scotty probably needs his ears checking by a vet too.
Think how much money you'll save on bleach once they're all fixed and settled in!
If you start getting them spayed and neutered at a regular vets could you claim back some of the money once you've got the forms all sorted out? I just thought it might make your lives a bit easier if you got some of them fixed soon. Scotty probably needs his ears checking by a vet too.
Think how much money you'll save on bleach once they're all fixed and settled in!
What a sweet family! It was so good of you to take them all in.
