Help Please With The Ink

[walli]

Inky! yay! he is coming around quicker than I thought, because he went through so much stress.

you mean you want to keep him? not selfish

 

[walli]

He seems to be food motivated, trust me this is a good thing!!
get some delicious treats too, some people get stage 2 baby food, no garlic/onions, My Feral is not food motivated, but she is a bit treat motivated.
get him even more excited to see you, things are going well!!

 

[jefferd18]

Inky! yay! he is coming around quicker than I thought, because he went through so much stress.

you mean you want to keep him? not selfish

No, I really don't want to keep him for I need another cat like I need a hole in my head. But I can't see putting him through another car ride, another stint with the dogs over at my vets, then the foster home, then appearing at Petsmart, and then, (if lucky), his forever home. I think that is too much to ask of anyone, much less a frighten little cat.

 

[jefferd18]

He seems to be food motivated, trust me this is a good thing!!
get some delicious treats too, some people get stage 2 baby food, no garlic/onions, My Feral is not food motivated, but she is a bit treat motivated.
get him even more excited to see you, things are going well!!

Yeah, but I want him to think of people as more than just food, as something that can give him love, acceptance, and a piece of mind.

 

[tabbytom]

Now when he hears the sound of a can opening he will come out and stand right next to me. Sometimes, if I am real lucky, he will come out and sit by me as I brush my teeth or comb my hair.

This is progress!

 

[walli]

He will! being food motivated is a good sign!
He will come around, but loving you for the food at first is ok!
did you get him some toys?

 

[moxiewild]

Have you considered re-homing him on your own once you are done taming and socializing him?

 

[jefferd18]

He will! being food motivated is a good sign!
He will come around, but loving you for the food at first is ok!
did you get him some toys?

No, I haven't but I probably should get him something to play with. Sometimes toys are a great stress buster for cats and sometimes they can make a nervous cat even more agitated. I will try him on toys and see where it goes.

 

[jefferd18]

Have you considered re-homing him on your own once you are done taming and socializing him?

That's a great idea, I hadn't thought of that.

 

[fionasmom]

As for the vet and the dogs....this morning I had to drop off one of my cats at the vet's without an appointment; something is going on but nothing determined yet. The place was a madhouse with people dropping off dogs for boarding over the holiday and the local humane society bringing in an injured dog. BUT as the vet tech took Eve from me he said that I did not need to worry that she would be near the dogs as the cat kennels were at another part of the hospital, as I always suspected, where the cats would not be traumatized by the dogs. Who did that make me think of? Inky and his miserable experience.

 

[moxiewild]

That's a great idea, I hadn't thought of that.

There are a lot of threads on here about ways to rehome, and there are plenty of members with substantial experience with this who would be happy to help guide you when the time comes! Sounds like that would be a much better solution than going back to that vet...

As far as socializing, if he really is food or treat motivated, it makes the taming process a lot more efficient! If you're willing to put the work in, you can also utilize clicker training fairly easily with a cat who is food motivated, as well.

When both of you are ready, be sure to incorporate play therapy (interactive play) - I have the best luck with the Go Cat wand toys like da bird, da mouse, da bee, etc., and if he's more into ribbons and strings, then the Cat Dancer is better for that (all of these can be found on Amazon). Takes them a while to figure out the toy isn't a threat, what it is. and what to do with it, but they get it eventually!

Also - again, when you are both ready - try to find a way to sleep/nap in front of him/in the same room as him; it's a sign of trust that they often respond to. And along the same line of thinking, when you do spend time with him, sit with your back to him. This also shows that you trust him, and are not a threat.

Progress can seem agonizingly slow and inconsistent in the beginning, but eventually, it'll seem like you're making strides on a near-daily basis. At that point, you'll start seeing a full, dimensional, unique personality take shape right before your very eyes as kitty starts opening up and coming into his own.

It's the best part of the process and a very rewarding feeling. Don't give up, and you'll get there!

 

[jefferd18]

As for the vet and the dogs....this morning I had to drop off one of my cats at the vet's without an appointment; something is going on but nothing determined yet. The place was a madhouse with people dropping off dogs for boarding over the holiday and the local humane society bringing in an injured dog. BUT as the vet tech took Eve from me he said that I did not need to worry that she would be near the dogs as the cat kennels were at another part of the hospital, as I always suspected, where the cats would not be traumatized by the dogs. Who did that make me think of? Inky and his miserable experience.

I hope your kitty is going to be okay. It sounds like you have a great vet, one that you can really trust.

Even a tame very laid back cat would come unglued if placed in the middle of dogs. He has a cat ward but told me that there were only sick cats there and he was afraid Inky would catch something. That explanation might have flied if I hadn't already visited that section when wanting to adopt a healthy cat.

What I think is they thought that Inky at least had a place to go and they wanted to rescue cats who were on death row. I am still chaffed about it.

 

[jefferd18]

There are a lot of threads on here about ways to rehome, and there are plenty of members with substantial experience with this who would be happy to help guide you when the time comes! Sounds like that would be a much better solution than going back to that vet...

As far as socializing, if he really is food or treat motivated, it makes the taming process a lot more efficient! If you're willing to put the work in, you can also utilize clicker training fairly easily with a cat who is food motivated, as well.

When both of you are ready, be sure to incorporate play therapy (interactive play) - I have the best luck with the Go Cat wand toys like da bird, da mouse, da bee, etc., and if he's more into ribbons and strings, then the Cat Dancer is better for that (all of these can be found on Amazon). Takes them a while to figure out the toy isn't a threat, what it is. and what to do with it, but they get it eventually!

Also - again, when you are both ready - try to find a way to sleep/nap in front of him/in the same room as him; it's a sign of trust that they often respond to. And along the same line of thinking, when you do spend time with him, sit with your back to him. This also shows that you trust him, and are not a threat.

Progress can seem agonizingly slow and inconsistent in the beginning, but eventually, it'll seem like you're making strides on a near-daily basis. At that point, you'll start seeing a full, dimensional, unique personality take shape right before your very eyes as kitty starts opening up and coming into his own.

It's the best part of the process and a very rewarding feeling. Don't give up, and you'll get there!

Wow, you gave me some really helpful suggestions in regards in how to gain his trust and what toys to get him. Thank you. I can't sleep in there because it is the bathroom, but I can do all the rest.

 

[jefferd18]

Update:

Ink is now no longer running away from me, in fact is actually coming to me- just a'hissing all the way. I really wish he would get over that. At times he seems really angry.

When I pass him in the bathroom I give him wide berth, but I think I will stop doing that and see what happens. My thoughts for doing this are if I start acting 'normal' around him he will be less stressed. Maybe??

 

[walli]

don't worry about the hissing, he is just communicating that he is afraid.
Don't show any emotion when he hisses, just tell him he's a good kitty.
We mistakenly interpret hissing as anger, That is real progress him coming to you, keep it up!

 

[tabbytom]

Ink is now no longer running away from me, in fact is actually coming to me- just a'hissing all the way.

This is a good sign as he knows you are not a threat but he is still in a defensive mode as his trust in you is not 100% yet so that's why he stood his ground but hiss at you.

Give him more time, more assurance and more time sitting down with him talking to him and feeding him and playing with him. Once routines are checked, it'll be easier and each time he hiss, tell him in a soft calm loving way and say 'It's ok, no hissing' and slow eye blink with him.

 

[jefferd18]

Update on Ink:

Good News

He has allowed me to pet him and will even jump up to my hand to have his head petted. His hisses have lessened.

Bad News

He is a killer. The other night a baby mouse got into the bathroom and Inky went after him. I got Inky away from it, but before I could get back with a paper towel in my hand to pick the mouse up and safely put him outside, he had decapitated the little guy. I believe he may have eaten it's head. Trust me, I am completely grossed out and saddened by this situation as I type. I have had cats who play with mice but never one who actually eats them.

And there really is no excuse considering he is fed three large cans a day.

 

[fionasmom]

I am so glad to hear that you are making such progress. He is definitely becoming your friend and is learning to trust you.

I have also tried to assist rodents who got in harms way, but after a point you have to accept that it is the way of things. The mouse entered his bathroom and he did what he is genetically programmed to do. There is no connection with food in most cases and has nothing to do with the fact that he is not eating enough.

 

[jefferd18]

I am so glad to hear that you are making such progress. He is definitely becoming your friend and is learning to trust you.

I have also tried to assist rodents who got in harms way, but after a point you have to accept that it is the way of things. The mouse entered his bathroom and he did what he is genetically programmed to do. There is no connection with food in most cases and has nothing to do with the fact that he is not eating enough.

Thank you, fionasmom. I too am sensing that Inky is actually going from just tolerating me to wanting to become a friend. Its a good feeling when an animal allows you the privilege of trust.

I have never had any cat, even an outdoor one, eat another animal. I caught them playing with a mouse to the point of fatally injuring it, but not eating the mouse. It was to say, a little disturbing.

 

[fionasmom]

If you can figure out the access for the mouse, you might be able to close it up and end Inky's hunting days. I would not overreact with him if he kills another mouse as you don't want him to think that he is being punished or that you like him any the less for his actions. Remember also that he is inordinately proud of his actions and may even come to see that he is leaving gifts for you....very common with cats. Years ago my then cats were all good ratters and mousers and would leave the bodies for me. Evidently they figured out that I did not eat their gifts and began to skin them and leave them on the computer keyboard.