Update on CJ - the traumatized kitty in Maine

[mylilscout]

Sheryl,
I am new to this site, so where this was an updated post (brought back up to the top) I found it today and I must say you are such a wonderful mommy to CJ.

It sounds like your patience has been a wonderful gift to CJ and I am sure with time we will become more affectionate with you and your husband, and I hope your pup as well (I feel so bad he has lost his bond with CJ

). Please keep us updated!!!!

 

[sherylt]

We've had our one year anniversary on Thanksgiving weekend. It was a year ago on Nov. 13th that our little guy went missing, and of course, our having him returned to us two weeks later on Thanksgiving weekend 2004. He has come a long way, an amazing and emotional journey for all of us (husband, wife, and other pets). He's back to being CJ, just not quite the same, in that he is always very alert and completey tuned into his environment. He picks up on every movement and noise! He slinks in a low posture scanning back and forth constantly as he travels from room to room. I guess I'd have to say he is a more edgy version of the his old self. CJ's closest buddy is Chucky the Cat,a 12 year old mixed breed, who is a black shorthair like CJ. Cj follows Chucky everywhere and is most confident and adventorous when Chucky is with him. He still scraps with Mr. Kitty, the local hairy curmudgeon, but CJ is now the dominant cat in that relationship. He has gained his confidence around the dogs. That was really the biggest step for him. He's not cuddly and friendly with them, like he used to be, but he tolerates their being where he is and feels secure enough to take a nap with one of them lying 2 feet away. His taste in food has changed. He only likes dry cat food. He used to be the big beggar of "people food" at the table and ate everything from baked chicken to carrots but now he turns his nose up at everything. He used to love catnip and would eat it, roll in it, spaz out, and then go to sleep. Now he sniffs it when I put it out and then turns and walks away. Chucky meanwhile crawls in the bowl and takes a bath in it. We can pat CJ, rub his tummy, and he sleeps on our bed at night but he will not allow us to pick him up. The minute he feels you exert pressure on his bidy as you grasp him he freaks out. First, he goes stiff and the after a few seconds he starts squirming to get free.. When you let go he doesn't run away the way he used to, but he keeps just out of our reach after he is put down. CJ's a very different kitty in so many ways but that's OK because we are so grateful to have him back both physically and mentally. Merry and Christmas to all.

 

[nekomimi]

Awww! I just read your story and it's so wonderful that you had the love and patience to help CJ become a happier kitty!

My 5-6 month old rescued kitten, Seth, still has a way to go with trusting us. She still is afraid of being picked up and immediately bites us when we try to hold her close. We are unsure of her past, but your story gives me hope that we can slowly gain her trust and affections!

She's already come very far for one month of being with us. With lots of rewarding and sweet-talk, we've gotten her to start giving us daily kisses and 3 minute petting sessions.

 

[sashacat421]

Sheryl, I have waited so long for this update. You see, when people post stories here, they aren't "just stories" they are really live snapshots of kitties around the world. They crawl into my heart and sit there for a long time, and I have to wait until somebody posts a new chapter to continue the beating - so I've been waiting with baited breath to hear this. Thank you for remembering us and posting. It made my day.

In the past months since your last update for CJ, I've adopted a rescue Coon/Tabby from 75 miles away in a very rural area...who apparently survived last winter outdoors with coyotes, bears, cougars, dogs, and whatever else was about, and she was only a kitten at the time, about 5 lbs. Saba is now fully grown, still very small, and exhibits much of the same behaviors as CJ. She hoarded food when I first got her home here, but many months ago turned only to cereal and refuses meat or treats. She has a challenge at eating sessions, as her enjoyment of her food is probably the only time she lets her guard down, so it's hard for her to eat. Other than that, she's friendly and as loving as one can expect given her former starvation and ordeal. I wish I knew her story like you had pieces of CJ's story, in order to relate to her better, but I will never know. I just love her.

You remember my Sasha was mauled by a coyote in 2004 and fought him off and lived. He is 100% normal, you would never even know he'd ever been attacked, and Saba adores him. She follows him everywhere and emulates his every action. He grooms her and watches over her. He's the only one she fully trusts.

Happy holidays to you and your husband and family and special CJ. You're a wonderful momma.

 

[sherylt]

Originally Posted by Nekomimi

Awww! I just read your story and it's so wonderful that you had the love and patience to help CJ become a happier kitty!

My 5-6 month old rescued kitten, Seth, still has a way to go with trusting us. She still is afraid of being picked up and immediately bites us when we try to hold her close. We are unsure of her past, but your story gives me hope that we can slowly gain her trust and affections!

She's already come very far for one month of being with us. With lots of rewarding and sweet-talk, we've gotten her to start giving us daily kisses and 3 minute petting sessions.

Just be patient. Easy said but oh so difficult to do. I think the most important thing was to let CJ set the limits. Only once I tried to "force" myself on him by picking him up. I got a good scratch and a big time set back for that mistake. So after that dumb move I started to let him come to me and only touched him when he seemed receptive, and only a little touching and patting. Left him wanting more, which I figured was better than having him get sick of it. The thing that brought him the furthest was interactive play. I got one of those cheap Walmart toys that dangles on a long elestic cord, "bat A Bird", I think it was called. Instead of hanging it, I would hold the string end in my hand while sitting on the bed and jerk it around to entice CJ. He would jump up on the bed, grab it and wrestle with it. We kept this play going two or three times a day, and he loved it. Our bed became a "safe" place for him and he started to sleep on the foot of it at night. It became the area where we could interact with CJ the most. So try some interactive play, especially because your kitten is at an age where they love to play. When you and the toy become the source of her amusement, you'll get a lot more attention from her!!!!!

Good luck...from my experience with CJ i realize that cat's have a very fragile mentality and it takes a long time for them to trust after any trauma. Just be patient..as hard as it is.

 

[sherylt]

Rehabbing a traumatized kitty like my CJ requires PATIENCE with a capital P. It has been a long slow journey but CJ is almost back to where he was before his horrible injury. He has a few quirks but he is back to being "my CJ". He now lets me pick him up, he cuddles with me, and with his friend, Buddy Moe, the Golden Retriever. He is very wary of new things, hides if a visitor comes to the house, and reacts to every loud noise or quick movement but those are things that I can live with. Play therapy seemed to be the thing that we have used that worked the best. It got him to interact with us and that slowly brought him around. We used a weird little toy on an elastic cord that I bought at Walmart. You were supposed to hang it over a doorknob and that cat would play with it as it bounced about. We instead held the string so that the play involved us and CJ responded really well to that. The toy had a little bell on it and CJ could be anywhere in the house and when that bell jingled he was there, ready to play. That made the huge difference in his responding to us. It took 3 years of playing with "Crusty" (toy's name) to get him where he is today. I went to Walmart and bought every "Crusty" they had and put them away so we will always have one for him. So "Crusty" play therapy was the thing that brought him back from his mental breakdown. Clarification on name - we called the toy "Crusty" cause he got mauled and mangled so much he definitely looked a little "crusty" when CJ was done with him.

Furry hugs from Northern Maine,
Sherylt and CJ Kitty

 

[sashacat421]

Oh My Gosh!! Sooooooooooo good to hear this. Has it really been four years now! Go CJ! Go CJ!
Sheryl, my Sasha passed on in 2006 from diffused liver cancer, which took him in only six weeks.... so ironically, it wasn't the coyote mauling that got him, like CJ he survived and healed 100%. I have often thought of CJ and how you folks are doing up there in Maine. Thank you so much for coming back and updating. I wish you could post a photo. I would love to see CJ after so long!