Taming a feral 2 year old kitty boy

[killerapple]

How are things going????

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by killerapple

How are things going????

Miss updates!

 

[lovewhiskers]

Hi everybody
I have not been on the forum for a while but have not forgotten about updating. Things have been difficult. Sammy was diagnosed last Friday with fibrosarcoma, most likely indirectly related to vaccination. He had the tumour removed the Monday before and had to wear the e collar for 10 days. Today we took him to a holistic vet and we are starting a holistic treatment for him. We pray for a miracle...He is doing well right now and I ask him everyday to stay strong.

Sweet Pea is a very beautiful and very loving boy

During our play sessions he runs into me and plops himself on the floor next to me when he is tired and then he gazes up with loving blue eyes. Then he gets cautious and walks away...He wants to come out of the room but Leo is still hissing and running to the gate. We are praying for peace and acceptance. Tubi on the other hand spends a lot of the time at the gates, talking, reaching with his paw and just hanging out with Sweet Pea. They carry a lot of conversations, its' so cute to listen to them.
On the 22nd it will be 3 mos since Sweet Pea has been home...They went so fast..

Please pray for us, we could use all the postive energy we can get!
Marina

 

[ldg]

Oh No! I'm so sorry to hear about Sammy.

 

[lovewhiskers]

I hope spring is good to all of you and your sweet babies

Although I have not been on the board lately Sweet Pea and I talk about you everyday. He is simply a delight to be around, extremely loving and very very playful. I get nose kissies everyday from him and when I see how long he has come my heart just melts with joy. Tubi and Chloe are visiting him in his room and Leo is much better too; he has not visited yet but he and Sweet Pea touch noses and paws through the gates. I don't know if/when we will be able to pick Sweet Pea up. He does look at my lap often and I can see he is thinking about it...But everything is at his own pace...I took this photo in one of his serious moments, he really is a goofball

We had to add fiber (the petalive brand) to Sweet Pea's wetfood because he became constipated. Pumpkin was making things worse and we did not want him on lactulose, he is too young for it. It helps him but he does not like the taste, so I have to give it to him in Salmon or Tuna wetfood.

We send you a big hug and big thanks for all the help!!!
Marina

 

[killerapple]

I'm glad to hear about Sweet Pea!!

I didn't see a picture though. It sounds like they're all doing well with getting acquainted with each other.

That's wonderful!!!!!! I hope Sammy is doing well too.

 

[ldg]

I'm so glad sweet pea is getting visits from Tubi and Chloe!

I expect he's enjoying those.

Just work on the scent swapping between Leo and Sweet Pea - have a good play session with Leo and put treats down on a rag that smells like Sweet Pea.... just keep at it, and Leo will eventually come around.

 

[lovewhiskers]

Hi everybody and Happy Easter to you and your families!

We took Friday and Monday off and decided to dedicate the whole time to the kitties. Leo went in Sweet Peaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room on Friday for a visit; he was interested in sniffing around and just hissed a couple of times at Sweet Pea (good hisses not mean ones). We wanted to keep the visit short so I was trying to lure Leo out of the room by shaking a bag of treats (I was in the hallway outside the door and my husband was inside the room with the boys). I was using the treats because sometimes leo gets upset when we pick him up. Tubi came in the hallway and as Leo approached the door to come outside, Tubi managed to get in the room and jumped on Leo. Sweet Pea got scared and ran on the kitty tree, Leo and Tubi got scared and darted outside and Chloe who was in the hallway got scared too and ran downstairs. I am thinking Tubi was upset that Leo was not coming fast enough for treats and since he wanted treats also he got upset with Leo. Although this incident happened, we think overall the visit went well.

For the past few days we have been feeding Leo and Sweet Pea wetfood together; I am in the room with Sweet Pea and my husband is outside in the hallway with Leo, the gates are off and the door is cracked open, the boys are eating as close as possible. They just look at each other and their food and gobble everything up. No hissing or growling or bad looks at all.

Sweet Pea has been outside of his room a few times to roam around. This was the scenario today. I was with Sweet Pea upstairs and my husband was with Leo in the kitchen playing with him. Sweet Pea checked first the upstairs and then he went downstairs. When I went down the steps to be with him he got scared and ran back upstairs for his room, thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s when Leo saw him and his pupils got dilated. He did not run because my husband got him distracted. I quickly went and put the gates back up as soon as Sweet Pea was is in his safe room. Then I gave Sweet Pea, Tubi, Chloe and Tubi treats in front of the gate. Right after this my husband played with Leo for a good while.

Last night Leo and Sweet Pea were playing peekaboo and pawsies ate the gate but then later (a few hours later) Leo hissed at Sweet Pea at the gate.

I think overall we are making progress, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just taking time!

Thank you so much for asking about Sammy. He is doing well and is under the care of a holistic vet who recommended Neoplasene (homeopathic chemo) and Transfer factor. We did take Sammy to an oncologist who recommended either the removal of the entire ear (internal and external) or radiation (for this Sammy would have to be boarded at a facility in Columbus for three weeks where he would receive radiation daily under anesthesia). We decided against these procedures because the stress of such drastic surgery or being away from home and in a cage would do him a lot of emotional harm; he would feel abandoned since he spent two years at a shelter before he came to live with us.

Enjoy your holiday with your babies!

Marina

PS I can't remove old photos in order to be able to attach new ones, there is no option for doing that and it looks like I reached the allowed attachment memory.

 

[ldg]

for Sammy. I know Transfer Factor has helped a lot of cats.

As to photos, most of us use http://www.photobucket.com to upload our photos and then we post the IMG tag links here. Registration is free.

...and as to the kitty intros, it sounds like things are really going well!!!!! You're taking it at the kitties' pace, which is just what you need to do.

Happy Easter!

 

[lovewhiskers]

Hi everybody, here is an update on what has been going on in our household.

For over three weeks we have been carrying two play sessions, evening and afternoon, at the gate. I am inside the room with Sweet Pea and my husband is outside in the hallway with the other babies. We are using Da Bird and change the refills after a few days but we use the same kind of refill at any given time on both toys (otherwise pouting and unhappiness occurs). They all loved the little mouse, then got bored with it and now we are using the bunny tail- Sweet Pea is crazy about it, it must remind him of the little animals he caught outside.

After each play session we give treats at the gate. When both Joe and I are home we feed the wet food meals at the gate also.

A week ago we started switching Leoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s and Sweet Peaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s places, Leo goes in Sweet Peaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room and Sweet Pea goes in the rest of the house. Sweet Pea is so cute walking through the house, he talks to himself a lot. He knows the house already.

Today we organized a face to face interaction between Sweet Pea and Leo. Since boys are biiiiiiiiiiig mamaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s boys, I left the house to do some shopping and Joe supervised the session. We figured this way they will not have to think about getting affection from me and possibly get upset. Before I left I put vanilla on both boys. Tubi and Chloe went in a bedroom and waited there. With the exception of two chasings followed by abrupt stopping and watching, they just looked at each other; Leo chased Sweet Pea. Joe had Da bird out and Sweet Pea played a lot with it and Leo just watched. After an hour of this, Sweet Pea went into his room and I came back home. We fed them at the gate and while they were eating Joe lifted the gate up. The boys continued eating and when they got done Sweet Pea attempted to sniff Leoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s nose. Leo did not like this, hissed and smacked Sweet Pea, pretty hard smack (he reacted the same way about a month ago when Sweet Pea escaped his room into the hallway and also attempted to touch noses). Then Tubi who was next to Leo in the hallway, jumped into Sweet Peaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room (redirected aggression maybe?) as soon as he witnessed the hissing/smacking, ready to cause some trouble. He has done this before, when there was a disagreement he chimes in.

So, we think that overall the meeting went great. Sweet Pea has to learn not to get into Leoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s face I guess; there is no way we can teach him that.

These are my questions. Should we continue with this face to face interaction everyday and increase the duration? When is it OK to take the gates off completely? When is it OK to allow Tubi and Chloe to be a part of this face to face interaction. I know Sweet Pea and Leo have to get comfortable with each other before we introduce the twins. Sammy does not mind Sweet Pea at all, he keeps to himself and he sleeps a lot anyway; he was on a kitty tree today when the interaction occured.

Joe recorded today three cute videos of the two boys.

I will start another thread about a kitty girl who showed up on our deck two weeks ago.

Marina

 

[ldg]

You're right - Sweet Pea's just going to have to learn on his own not to get in Leo's face. It has been one year and five months since we brought Billy inside. Lazlo hates him, has from day 1. We do not live in a home that allows for separation. We did everything else (scent swapping, giving Lazlo all the attention, especially when Billy was present, Feliway, play as a redirection, etc.). After several months we managed to get Lazlo to stop actively chasing Billy down (there was never active fighting where we worried anyone was going to get hurt - Billy was submissive enough).... but even now, Billy is DETERMINED to make Lazlo his friend. He's wary of him - and will hunker down into a ball when Lazlo glares at him - but as soon as Lazlo turns, Billy will try to sneak up on him - or if Lazlo is just walking by, tail up - Billy will reach out and try to sniff his nose - Lazlo smacks him every time.

Billy was just an outdoor feral and learned to be friendly with other kitties - and was very close to his brother. Lazlo accepts all the other indoor kitties - they all came inside within a rather short period of time... our take is just that Billy is the eternal optimist.

I really don't know what to recommend at this point! Maybe an intro with the twins? Perhaps forget about Leo accepting him first. Maybe focus on Tubi and Chloe - and eventually Leo will fall in line???????????????????????

It actually sounds like things are going really well! If you decide to just let him out and see how things go, just remember to provide attention to Leo, Chloe and/or Tubi first before Sweet Pea. It's hard - but it helps reinforce he's not a threat (especially if everyone is a momma's boy

).

 

[lovewhiskers]

Thank you Laurie. I remember you telling the story about Billy. Our kitties have never been very close to each other so hearing about Billy brought a tear to my eyes. Him missing his brother so deeply for sooooo long is very touching. I have a huge weakness for black and white kitties and I think Billy can't be any cuter then he already is

. Lots of kisses for him from me! He sounds like the eternal optimist for sure, how sweet is that!

Today I left the house and Joe handled face to face beteween Leo, Sweet Pea, Tubi and Chloe. There were two chasing incidents between Leo and Sweet Pea. When I came home after an hour and a half, the gates were down, Sweet Pea was on the couch in his room looking sleepy and the other babies were hanging out in the house. We fed them wetfood and who came in the kitchen to eat? YES, Sweet Pea did

. We did not have the camera ready to capture the five of them eating together. Gosh, I am so emotional, it was unbelievable to see them like this and think back to when I first asked for help on the forum...We could not have done this without you! THANK YOU

I uploaded some pics and am in the process of uploading some photos in my photobucket account. Here are the links for two photos Sweet Pea and Leo, Sweet Pea and for the video we took today May 2nd, first time all four together.

Marina

 

[killerapple]

Oh how wonderful! Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures too. It sounds like things are going fantastic. What a handsome lucky boy!

Everything will work out! Well, it is already IS working out!

 

[ldg]

Love the pictures and the video!

I'm sure there will be "incidents" as they work things out.... but you've done GREAT! (And the kitties are all sooooooo cute!)

 

[lovewhiskers]

Thank you!

Yes, we are not there yet. Since Sat Sweet Pea is out and about in the house with the rest of the gang for two hours, one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. We let them be for some time and then we play and after that we have something good to eat. Leo has chased Sweet Pea with some hissing and swatting.

What would be the best thing to let the two of them interact or redirect Leo? I know they have to work out the hierarchy...

Oh and Sweet Pea has kitty acne. He will not let me wash his chin with medicated soap. He eats and drinks from porcelain bowls that are washed twice a day. Our RB Heidi had acne and it cleared up with the soap.

Marina

 

[lovewhiskers]

Sweet Pea has been free in the house for almost two weeks and he LOVES it. He is in love with the kitchen and everytime I open the fridge he is at my feets.

He does not go much in his room anymore, I am not sure if it's because he got tired of it or he is afraid we will put the gates back up and keep him in there.

We call him Squints because when he wants pets he lifts his head and squints his eyes.

Leo and Swet Pea are doing very well, even playing together. It took a while for Leo to understand that he is still very much loved and will always be. We praise him sooooo much!

They are working out the hierarchy among themselves I( mean all five of them), some chasing and hissing and head smacking and they have divided the house whcih was to be expected. It makes me cry when I see Leo and Sweet Pea touching butts at feeding time or together in the windowsill.

Sweet Pea seems to have established himself above Tubi; he does the dominance hold with Tubi and Tubi cries out because of Sweet Pea's nails. But they also play a lot together, they do the "you are it tag game"

The hard work paid off

and it is amazing and simply a MIRACLE!
Marina

 

[ldg]

<- happy cry

Our Ming Loy often starts something with an aggressive move - and then when she gets a reaction, she yowls bloody murder.

With five cats, there's gonna be the occassional hissing and swatting - it's just the way it is, silly kitties.

But the news about Sweet Pea being soooo happy and loving the kitchen - and Leo and Sweet Pea - your news is just GREAT!

It's been a lot of hard work - I'm so glad you "got there" (so quickly, though it doesn't seem that way to you LOL).

(And Billy does that squinty thing too, and it's just too cute!)

 

[stephanietx]

WOOHOO!! What a wonderful update! So happy for both you and Sweet Pea!

 

[lovewhiskers]

THANK YOU for sharing the joy with us

Yes we celebrate on the 22nd five months since Sweets has been with us but it feels like five years.

Our Siamese son is getting more and more comfortable each day, discovering new things and new places. It's hilarious to see how and what they learn from each other. Tubi is a begger at the table (he does not get people food but begs anyway) and guess who is following suit? Yep, Sweet Pea!
He also weaves himself around our legs to the point we can't walk (just like Charlie does) and on top of that his coat matches our flooring so often we can't see him and walk into him.

Right now he is snoozing in our bedroom on the armchair and Leo is on our bed.

Oh, we replaced the insect screens with pet screen and changed the way we use the doors; have to practice tons of caution.

Now, we have to pray that he will trust us enough to take him to the vet eventually.

Marina

 

[otto]

Thanks for the happy update. patience, time and love, pays off!