From Feral To Lap Cats

[MoonstoneWolf]

It's been 2 weeks tomorrow since Shaman let me pet her. I guess I am selfish but I put in a lot of work taming her and this happened. I failed to protect her. I hope she's happy wherever she goes because I did not do a good job of it. I am still wondering where CG eats. CG hangs out in my yard but never eats from the bowls. I know this to be a fact as I have cams on both feeding areas. Yes both have excellent IR. Spirit and Gypsy come to eat at night if the raccoon doesn't get the food first

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Only cat that made an appearance last night was Treasure. All the others were gone. Raccoons ran off scared last night into the bushes. The possums ran scared after the raccoons. Treasure looked at the sky and watched the meteorites (I suppose) but seemed unphased. This morning: Only Treasure. No birds, no squirrels, nothing. Food I set out last night was not even touched. What the heck is going on? This is the 4th time in a month the animals and birds were terrified of something. Oh and before anyone says anything in my township it is illegal to do yard work and construction between 9pm and 7am

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Here we go again with Mom and the cats. And this time the police are on her side.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

I got word from one of my nearby caretakers that Shaman and CG have moved over there. And so with that I'm going to pray that the others move on as well (of their own accord), which most likely with Shaman and CG gone the others will follow. The situation with Mom is not fair for them to hear and endure on a daily basis. And I'm not a very good caretaker to begin with. I never should have started this. I'll miss all of them, especially Shaman, dearly but I'm hoping that they do what it takes to survive.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

As one final thought on this, I'm leaving it to them. No bonds broke, no neglect. It has to be on their terms. That way if the situation here changes that I can take this up again, hopefully, with these cats, the bond will still be there. But for now it's not good for them to be involved in all this mess.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

So Gypsy and Spirit moved on, for awhile that is. Need to get the others to as well while I'm taking care of this situation at home. Treasure came up and rubbed noses with me and he's been eating fish, so they're eating at one of the other colonies here for sure, as we don't have ponds nearby. I just need them to move on (without losing the bond and trust) for awhile so I can concentrate on resolving the Mom issue. But with fighting delivery companies to give me what I pay for, getting the basement cleaned up without her throwing things at me, earning money I am really on the verge of just disappearing to the point an alert is put out on me. Ugh

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

So Shadow moved on it appears. So that leaves only Treasure and Sopdet. And of course when I'm trying to get them to go (without breaking bonds) they take to the shelter and sleep in it. This is one of the hardest things I'm doing right now but their safety and well being are more important than my selfish desires or what I want as what I want really doesn't matter any more.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

I said that even though the cats move on of their own free will I will always keep the cams up and some of the cat items for the entertainment. While it's obvious that whatever bond I imagined existed between Shaman and I has broke, if ever there, and she will never return (3 weeks now except for passing through) and I'm praying the others move on til the situation at home is over, Harrison still hangs around. And he is quite the ham. Here he goes into the pet carrier to eat and knocks over my Wyze Cam.

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And in this video you'll see him try to get the cam positioned upright again. I know it wasn't the bowl he was trying to get to as the bowl was knocked outside the carrier as I saw from the 2nd cam on the driveway at that time. Raccoons are smart. He definitely has to be an offspring of Rocky (my raccoon visitor from the 1980s)

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Since the cats are moving on until things at the house settle down I'm not going to be updating this thread as much as I have been and bore you all with details of birds, raccons and possums. I'm still hoping that things change here and the cats will feel safe to return but I know the biggest reason why they all took off (especially Shaman) and I know for a fact she will not return unless things are different here as she is the most sensitive and skittish one of the bunch. Please continue to send positive thoughts and prayers their way that they live full healthy cat lives, whether here with me or with another colony. What I want is not important as I don't matter in this case. . It's what's best for them. Remember Spock's wise words of The needs of many and the song by the Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want".

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Update Treasure is running around looking for Shaman. He's crying pitifully. I truly do not understand. If they were true ferals wouldn't he just not pay attention to her absence? Something is horribly wrong and I'm sadly the cause if I can ever figure out why or someone would tell me.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Another update: Treasure is once again totally feral. So again, cat experts are wrong in that feral cats do turn feral again. I give up on it, especially since no one will tell me what I'm doing wrong. It makes no sense to put another colony of feral cats through this again and again and again. One colony going through this torture is enough and I have heavy karma to pay already. Not to mention Shaman has not been seen since 1:07 am on the 19th of April. I have no idea if she’s even still alive as my idiot neighbors refuse to answer me although they have an area for the cats as well. The only time any of these neighbors have anything to do with me is to dump their unwanted pets in my yard (as with CG and Cooper). I'm at point that I'm worried about the survival of the cats and hands are tied. I will never know if they're well or not I suppose and So I guess that's that.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

It is now almost 1 month since my sweet Shaman has been seen and I am worried sick that she's dead but rude neighbors won't tell me anything. And I KNOW that they know something because she also hung out in their yard and they sometimes fed the cats. If she is gone I hope it was quick and that she doesn't hate me. I miss her so much especially since she was the first one to come to me. I'm so sad about this. I'm at point I just want closure. I guess that's too much to ask of my neighbors though.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

I probably won't get a response to this but I'll try anyway since I'm still very new to behaviour Why would Shaman send new cats to me when she won't come back herself. I know these cats are familiar with her as they all have the very same tipped style ear that she and the others have. She did this when I first started feeding her almost 2 years ago. I can't wind up with 80 plus cats or Mom will really have a cow.

Anyway: Un named The three daylight photos are of the same cat. Then a night photo of the other 2 newbies The 3rd one looks identical to Spirit only timid and won't come into the carrier to eat. Also never shows up during the day and so it's hard to get a good photo of him/her.

Here is CG up close

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

I'm so sad. Treasure has huge gash on top of head that is pus. No vet will take him because he's not friendly to anyone but me. The feral vet is not open. I don't know what to do.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Well I'm through with the cats. Tomorrow I'm calling no kill shelters and will have this bunch removed and taken there. I I couldn't even protect Treasure from whatever happened to him. Not once but 5 times: 3 times injuries and 2 times sickness. And now, even though he came back to eat a bit he is once again 100% feral. He attacked me viciously. He ran from me. He was in full fight mode. And yet it seems no one cares. I am sure I am not the only person who has gone through this but it sure feels like it. Again, while Shaman was the first to come to me, Treasure was the first one to tame. I spent two years with the cats, one year on here. It seems no one in my stupid neighborhood cares if he dies or not. I'm tired of the constant tears, the stress, the hassle. I'm sure this is one of the reasons why Shaman left. Maybe it would have been better for Treasure if he did too. This is not another one of those long epic tragedies but instead just stating facts. Maybe in a no kill shelter these cats will have a good life, because it's obvious they aren't with me. I'll take whatever punishment karma dishes out for what happened to Pepper, Harley and these cats. I'm so sad about this right now.

As a last thought to this thread, I have repeatedly mentioned the circumstances with my Mom. I have also stated that I do not have POA so my hands are tied on how I stand up to her. The law is sadly on her side. So it was a constant fight and struggle with my Mom and the daily struggles and tears over these cats. I have no idea if Shaman is still alive. I haven't seen her in a month. No one on next door tells me. Neighbors refuse to tell me. It's like no one cares. I know feral cats roam but for her to just abruptly leave like that worries me. If it's her stage of her journey to be somewhere else ok I accept that. But I am worried about her well being. Obviously I'm the only one in my neighborhood who is. Now the situation with Treasure. I can't get him to a vet. He is (or rather was) friendly only to me. He has a gash with pus. He was hurt. Feral cat vet is too far for me to leave my Mom alone and the vet is not even equipped for this. Other vets will not tend to him because he's considered a risk to the vet. So it should be understandable that I'd worry and cry and lose sleep over this. Treasure was on my watch and this happened. Now he won't even come to me. Someone who I thought was my best friend won't even let me cry on her shoulder about it. So I feel abandoned and alone in my darkest of days because I hopefully can send them to a no kill shelter where maybe for once in their lives be happy and safe. They obviously weren't under my care and that's my karma that I have to deal with and pay. But I am not getting into this ever again. Not with ferals, not even with a cute little kitten at the shelter. I'll support in any way I can feral societies but I just can't go through this again. And I put out all this work on these cats and then this happens. Sorry for the long cry and vent. And I suppose that's that with Treasure and Shaman.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

As of today I have 7 missing cats. I have no idea if they are alive or dead. Which that part is understandable being that they are feral cats. To date the following have gone missing: Ambrose; Cooper; Shaman; Shadow; CG; Tourmaline (injury from play fighting) and Sopdet. As the cats are not friendly to anyone but me a vet will not see them. Plus the pandemic. What I don't understand is out of 2000 neighbors, 95% of them outside all the time, and none of them saw a cat? The neighbors are rude and refuse to answer and this breaks my heart. I just want closure and I'm not getting it. If they passed away I'll have no choice but to accept that. If they found homes, I'll be happy for them and hope that no one dumps them when things are back to semi normal. The only one still here is Treasure. As a result of the cats disappearing he's moping around, walks around with tail between his legs, refuses to eat. Lethargic. But as I said vets here don't want to chance it with a cat that is not friendly. That is the first thing I was asked when calling. I feel it's depression as in the span of 8 months Treasure lost 3 friends. First he and Shaman had a fight and then she took off April 7th. Tourmaline got injured play fighting with Treasure. He/she disappeared. Never seen again. Now Sopdet. Sopdet NEVER misses spending the night with Treasure and it's been 30 hours since he saw her. He wanders aimlessly through the yard and yet I still cannot bring him inside because of crazy woman inside. Nothing changes. I get no help from behaviorists, no help from the vets, and no cooperation from the neighbors. I tried to hold out but I just can't do it anymore. It breaks my heart seeing Treasure like this and in case anyone does care: If he doesn't eat he'll get sick and die. And with the craziness around here plus the constant gunshots I hear I worry that someone hurt these cats. ALL ON MY WATCH I'm sorry if my worrying about the cats being alive is offensive to some especially since they are feral cats, but that's just the way I am. I've reach the end of my rope. Sadly I may have to ask around and see if someone would take Treasure where he would have a good home because it's obvious that good home isn't here with me, no matter how hard I tried to do things right.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Well not so good news about Cooper after all and it's sort of my fault because I'm too chicken to stand up to Mom and causing issues. The person who wants to adopt Cooper is not going to get him. He refused to spay his female cat (I at least tried to get to Cooper to fix but never could find a trap to use) and by the time a trap was available the pandemic broke out. Anyway Cooper is a father. And I just have this feeling these kittens are going to be thrown outside with the other stray and feral cats in a few months time when they get to be too much to handle. They even had the gall to send me a photo of Mamma with the kittens and while the kittens are cute and adorable, I have to take partial responsibility for this mess and to quote Judd Crandall from Pet Semetary it's up to me to fix it. Going to call around and see if I can find a trap again and have Cooper fixed (if I find him on the street he's supposed to be on).

 

[Katie M]

Well not so good news about Cooper after all and it's sort of my fault because I'm too chicken to stand up to Mom and causing issues. The person who wants to adopt Cooper is not going to get him. He refused to spay his female cat (I at least tried to get to Cooper to fix but never could find a trap to use) and by the time a trap was available the pandemic broke out. Anyway Cooper is a father. And I just have this feeling these kittens are going to be thrown outside with the other stray and feral cats in a few months time when they get to be too much to handle. They even had the gall to send me a photo of Mamma with the kittens and while the kittens are cute and adorable, I have to take partial responsibility for this mess and to quote Judd Crandall from Pet Semetary it's up to me to fix it. Going to call around and see if I can find a trap again and have Cooper fixed (if I find him on the street he's supposed to be on).

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I wish I lived in Missouri. Otherwise, I'd gladly take one of the kittens.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Poor kitties will need a home. BTW: here’s Dad. If I can find him.

 

[mani]

Another update: Cooper and Treasure are coming home tomorrow afternoon. They seem to be acclimated to one another now as in cages next to each other. We'll see when they get home but they both seem to be doing very well. Both are male, but Cooper is 1 1/2 years old, recently neutered and released so he wasn't part of the colony I guess Shaman and Treasure were in.

Treasure, Cooper and Ambrose are male. All neutered as visible tipped ears. Shaman and Sopdet female and also spayed. Noticeable tipped ears on all 5. And none of the suggestions given in articles works with Sopdet. She still creeps and dashes past me like I'm Jack the Ripper of cats. And it's going on 8 to 9 months now with constantly seeing me.

Is this the same Cooper? If so, I don't think he's the dad.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

There is an update: Someone told me that Shaman was taken in and given a home by a neighbor 4 blocks away. If this is true, which I cannot confirm I hope that when this virus mess is over with that Shaman has a permanent home and not kicked to the curb again. Poor Girl went through so much and as much as I love her and miss her I want her to be happy. Someone once told me that cats actually forget us until they smell us again. I hope that is true for her sake so she doesn't feel that I just sent Treasure after her to run her off. I could never live with myself if Shaman's last memory of this property is a bad one because of the feuding between those two as that would signify I was not able to protect her like a caretaker should have (hence the term). CG has not been seen for a month. Shadow passes through and Spirit has also taken off. The other new cat that is as big as CG that I now call Tourmaline is buddies with Treasure and Sopdet (I think). Right now Treasure and Sopdet are laying in the grass, growling and hissing with eyes closed and not even facing each other while Sopdet is on my chair looking at the two like they're nuts. There have been sightings of Cooper but Mani is correct, he was neutered. Ugh I have too many of these cats coming and going and the heartbreak of my girl Shaman leaving me.