Caught My Feral...what Now?

[msaimee]

Congratulation! Sorry he broke his tooth on the crate. Next time you take him to the vet, cover the carrier with a towel or blanket, it helps to calm them down. He may be sore for a few days, and the rabies vaccine also tends to knock cats out for a day, so be sure he has a quiet, private place to recover.
This is wonderful news that you were able to get him to the vet. It will take three or four weeks for his hormones to settle down after the neuter, but he should be able to settle into your home now that he won't have the desire to roam and mate. Again, great job!

 

[Angel7472]

I think he broke it on the crate that we put him in when we first caught him. We didn't have a room with a door so he was in a crate in the garage. So this has probably been bothering him since we caught him on the 18th. If he was in pain that could explain some of the aggressiveness along with hormones.
The vet is going to keep him and sedate him for the next 6 days till he heals. It may seem excessive but he was climbing walls and managed to cut himself on something. He was bleeding from his paw when we finally got him in the carrier. we did drape the carrier in a blanket that was in the cubby of the cat tower. So he should have the smells from home with him.
They did manage to brush him and get all the mats out of his fur (again another reason why I think stray more than full feral).
I'm just hoping that my male (Trix) who is 7 years old can adapt and allow this guy into his life. Granted Ghost was pretty mellow when he came to our home outside. He didn't spray the windows or doors as a sign of territory. When he came inside he was pretty mellow other than the yowling at night. With him being young I'm hoping that the two should get along.
My husband is happy! It's not just him and Trix in house full of females anymore

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Just a thought, if you can, try and keep up with that fur, --- I know, hard enough with a relatively compliant cat!
Speaking of by the way, did they just brush or actually trim/cut out the matted areas? I'd almost think about asking for a tummy, armpit and under-the-tail shave if he's going to be continually sedated.
Also have some music ready for when he gets back

 

[Angel7472]

I'm not 100% sure what they did. lol I think they said that they managed to brush out the matted areas. My other boy cat (in the picture) is long hair, but he is constantly grooming himself.
I was looking on Amazon music for harp and relaxing cat music yesterday as a matter of fact. Never thought I'd be doing that.
I also just called and he's negative for the SNAP test

 

[Furballsmom]

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[Angel7472]

So as I suspected he hates us after the vet. He's coming around slowly again. He lunged and spit at my husband and younger daughter when he came home last Monday.
So we noticed that he uses the litterbox to do poop but not pee. He's peeing on my couch in the safe room. We had a problem with our other boy cat that used to do this on the couches. So we had left over hard plastic type carpet runner mats that have the spikes on them from when we put those on the couches to protect them and try to keep our other male cat from peeing on them. We put these on the coach in the safe room and every morning I go in and he's peed on it. But here's what I noticed. He's not really drinking and the urine has a strong smell and is very very dark yellow. Is it possible he might have a UTI?
My other male (Trix) was a stray that was already neutered. When he first came inside he had a UTI and we treated it with the Vetscience UTI formula and he was fine. He got a couple more and then they just started resolving themselves and he hasn't had any since. So is it possible that this new cat is having the same problem?
On a plus note I've been working with him daily touching him and stroking him with a fluffy cat toy on a wand. We've gotten to the point that he will sit in his cubby and I put the toy in wiggle it them stroke him with it. He let me do this on his cheek. I also got him to play with a pet mouse last night. Till he realized that I saw him being silly and promptly stopped and looked at me and laid down.
Small steps for kitty kind

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
The strong smell and color is definitely concerning.

Are you feeding canned and/or pouch foods?
If not, maybe you can start doing so, and also add a little water, --if he'll still eat it. Warm water could help if he's fussy.

You could moisten the kibble as well, just be sure that you don't leave it out very long due to fast bacteria growth.

Is the water he gets filtered? If you aren't, try a filter pitcher (deep clean it now and then to avoid build-up).

Try cleaned daily, fresh daily water bowls in multiple locations, and even placed at different heights.

Also if you aren't already, obtain an enzymatic cleaner such as nature's miracle or the Equalizer.

 

[Angel7472]

Water is soft water. I have filtered water I can try. The not drinking is new though. He has kibble all day (haven't been restricting food due to healing) and he gets wet food in the evening with my other cats. I've also been giving him Composure twice a day to calm him. He's starting to lose interest in them though.
I'll try the multiple water dishes and see what happens. Thanks

 

[Furballsmom]

Try a canned meal during the day for him with a little extra water added in, too.

Hang in there, let us know how things go .

 

[white shadow]

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Angel7472 - How many litter boxes are in his safe room ?
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[Angel7472]

We've got 3 but he really only uses the 1 religiously. The other 2 sit undisturbed.
I'll try putting extra water in his food. He doesn't eat during the day. Only at night still. The kibble will remain the same amount all day. As soon as night comes he becomes active. Haven't been able to get him out of his cubby during the day.

 

[msaimee]

You might want to call your vet and describe his symptoms and your concerns that he may have a UTI. The vet might prescribe an antibiotic without having you bring him back in for a urine sample. If he does have a UTI, those are very uncomfortable for a cat, and could be the reason why he is behaving out of sorts and aggressively.

 

[white shadow]

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Do you remember the suggestion made early on in the thread about putting a little soil in a litter box? I think I would do that.

I haven't used this one, but many people have had success with inappropriate urination by using "Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter": this one

I notice someone suggested that your mention of dark yellow and strong smelling urine is "definitely concerning". Nothing could be farther from fact.

Cats 'work' with concentrated urine -- it's their nature. Concentrated urine will show in strong shades of yellow. Should it loose the yellow hue, either clearing or moving into browns or even reds....then you have reason for concern.

As for the smell, he has just been neutered, so over the coming days and weeks, the very strong 'tomcat' urine smell will diminish.....but, it won't be overnight. Did you notice that with your first rescue?

As for the extra 'watering holes', the more, the better......especially when dry foods are on the menu. With all-wet diets, there's much less need - and, fewer problems in the moment and, more importantly 'down the road'.

(just as a btw, where it comes to litter, cats don't 'appreciate' sudden changes underfoot! A best strategy is to slowly add increasing amounts to the old litter.)
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[Angel7472]

Thanks so much for this. We did the soil in the litter box thing when he first came in. Then he went to the vet and when he came back he went in the litter box and did his thing. He seems to prefer just one box. I scoop the box he goes in but noticed there wasn't any wet in there. My husband went to sleep in the room with him because he was crying and noticed the blanket left in there smelled. That's how we discovered it. He's peeing on objects left on the couch. First the throw, then the throw pillow, now the protective plastic mat.
He drinks about half a small cat size bowl of water a night. Plus eats @ half a can of wet food during the night.
He did get fixed recently. I honestly never really noticed the smell from my other male cat when he first came in. I'm sensitive to urine smell in the first place. Even when I clean our cats litter boxes I feel I smell it more than everyone else in the house. I'm usually the one telling my husband the boxes smell and to take them out. I know if I can smell them the cats can really smell them.
I looked to see if it was orangy, reddish color but it honestly just appeared more dark yellow. Usually if Trix is crying when in the litter box I know something is up. Ghost won't really come out of his cubby unless I walk in before going to bed and he's yowling out the window. That's how I got him to play last night. I was trying to distract him from crying. I also go in there before bed to give him his second dose of Composure (not sure if it's working in all honesty). But other than that he won't leave the cubby.

 

[Angel7472]

I wanted to update everyone that's been so helpful to Ghost and me. So far he's been home since 11/5. After the litterbox problem he's been bahaving so much better.

I bought him a fuzzy/feathery wand toy. I've been touching him and petting him with the fuzzy end. He's been doing pretty good and started to play with it with me. I actually got him to come out of his cubby and play. He batted at it a couple times and realized he was closer to me and stopped. But he didn't run back into the cubby right away. If I try putting Budding ham on the other end of the toy he attacks and bites it, same thing with baby food. So I retreat the end and just give him the ham. I've gotten him to come within a couple feet with Friskies Temtations, but he then realized and retreated. One day he'll accept it.

My daughter was in his room watching tv and he growled at her in his cubby. She came downstairs and told me and I said "you let him get away with it? You just taught him that if he growls you'll retreat and do what he wants. Next time just look at him and tell him no". I'm guessing it's because we put his soft food in there and he didn't want her in there and wanted to eat.

I've been spending a lot of time in his room. He's gotten to the point that he will come out of his cubby and lay on the floor a safe distance from me. I usually grab a pillow and lay on the floor wiith my belly up and just watch tv and talk to him about it.

Can't touch him. My older daughter touch his tail beccause it was hanging out his cubby and he freaked. He's swatted at me pretty bad if I put treats or a toy too close in his cubby. I can play with him with his catnip mousy around his cuuby hole and he watches the mouse and accepts that. I'll leave the mouse perched in the opening and he'll grab it or knock it out when I'm not looking.

Again it's only been a week since he came home but he's getting back to where we were before he went. Hopefully we can try to advancce further. i wanted to share a picture I took yesterday when we were lying on the floor together watching tv.

 

[msaimee]

You are making such great progress with him!

 

[white shadow]

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Is he still urinating outside the litterbox?
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[Angel7472]

Nope, he's all good now. I changed where I put them and he's happy with that. There's one behind both ends of the couch right behind it. So that was solved right away.

 

[Angel7472]

So my initial thoughts on Ghost being a stray and becoming semi feral have all been true. I'm going to hazard a guess that someone got a cute lovable kitten and brought it home. Once, said kitten got older and was spraying because they didn't act responsibly and get him neutered, they probably got mad and threw him outside. Or someone moved and just threw their problem cat outside. Whichever one you want to pick.
For Thanksgiving Ghost finally gave us the gift of his love. You guys all know that I've been working with him everyday. Petting with wand toy and just sitting and watching tv with him in his room. Been feeding him treats by placing them on the hole to his cubby. He's smacked at me but nothing major. Started to pet his paw while he looked at me.
Wednesday night my husband went in and petted him with his toy catnip mousy then replaced his hand with the toy. He didn't react.
Thursday he just decided that he completely trusts us. We can reach into his cubby and pet him, scratch his cheek and he pushes his head into your hand. He followed my youngest daughter around the room and he let her pick him up and put him in her lap (I can't do this yet). He will roll over and let us pet his belly and will cuddle my whole lower arm while I rub his belly. He still is skittish and will hide at loud noises. But my youngest cat does that and I'm not worried about it.
We've put a screen on his safe room so he can see the other cats and hallway now. We've also started scent swapping. He's been yowling for the other cats so my husband went in and slept with him last night.
My theory that he wants attention is correct and hence his yowling. When he sees another one of my resident cats he chirps and trills to get their attention.
He's actually a really big lover boy like my other male cat Trix. So we've nicknamed him Little Boy and Trix is Big Boy. Since Trix is older and Ghost is estimated around a year old.
I wanted to thank everyone on this site for all your help and expertise. Without it Ghost would still be out there and freezing by now. It makes me angry that someone did this to him. That he did nothing wrong other than what's in his nature. I'm hoping that with love and patience he will be a great addition to our family. He will never be cold, hungry and alone again thanks to all of you and your expertise.

 

[Avery]

I'm tearing up here reading your last posting! WOW! I'm so glad that things are working out so well for Ghost. I agree, the folks on this site are super, willing to share their experience and provide lots of support. But give yourself plenty of credit, too, for taking on this guy and for sticking with him long enough to find out what a big lover boy he is! YAY! Good news like this makes my day!