My name is Dee and I've been checking out the forum for a couple months now and it looks like a great community for caring for the cats in our lives.
I've had at least one cat in my 40 years of keeping them and couldn't imagine not having one as they are a joy as well as tribulation sometimes.
Currently I have 2 cats, both were visiting my outdoor cat feeding station for the neighborhood feral/strays for a number of months before they showed any interest in being friendly. I was able to find a local TNR group that gives assistance in low cost spay/neuter fees and was able to trap 4 cats over the course of 2 months, two were neutered, one was spayed and the last cat had already been a neutered and ear tipped TNR cat.
Unfortunately at the time, I was dealing with elderly cats and wasn't able to 'adopt' any of them. Sadly I lost my last cat Gracie when she was 20 years old due a tumor near her esophagus in October of 2022.
In November of 2022 my neighbor mentioned she was seeing one of 'my' feral strays in her horse barn and he was showing less fear of humans so she agreed to get him in my large cat carrier and I brought him home around Thanksgiving. I kept him in a large dog crate in a separate room where he could still see us and get used to being indoors. His name is Long Legs, a brown based Tabby and was the neutered TNR cat that I had previously caught in the trap.
Long Legs is the sweetest cat, loves to be held and cuddled and took to sleeping with me in bed. He did great at the vet, got his shots and blood work done and is doing great. He is FIV+ but the vet said it shouldn't be any issues for awhile as she also has FIV+ cats. He's around 2 years old according to the vet.
In April 2023, another TNR cat showed up at my feeder, a small black and white cat that was very skittish when he/she saw me at the windows but would lay in front of the patio door rolling on the ground and squeaking at Long Legs. I was able to trap him/her and again kept him/her confined in the dog crate in a separate room. I used the tips and tricks on TCS to get him/her accustomed to Long Legs and our home. The 1st visit to the vet went well for his shots and I was surprised to find out it was a neutered male despite the behavior I noted before trapping him. He got a clean bill of health and is integrated into our family. The boyfriend named him Binks and he's about a year old.
The cats get along great though around 10 PM it starts sounding like a herd of buffalo are running around upstairs. This continues well into the wee hours of the morning. Thank goodness I am a heavy sleeper and I don't notice their antics.
Well I think that is enough for now. Hopefully I can scrape up some pics so I can pay my cat tax on TCS. I'm not much of a photo taker so it may be a while.
I've had at least one cat in my 40 years of keeping them and couldn't imagine not having one as they are a joy as well as tribulation sometimes.
Currently I have 2 cats, both were visiting my outdoor cat feeding station for the neighborhood feral/strays for a number of months before they showed any interest in being friendly. I was able to find a local TNR group that gives assistance in low cost spay/neuter fees and was able to trap 4 cats over the course of 2 months, two were neutered, one was spayed and the last cat had already been a neutered and ear tipped TNR cat.
Unfortunately at the time, I was dealing with elderly cats and wasn't able to 'adopt' any of them. Sadly I lost my last cat Gracie when she was 20 years old due a tumor near her esophagus in October of 2022.
In November of 2022 my neighbor mentioned she was seeing one of 'my' feral strays in her horse barn and he was showing less fear of humans so she agreed to get him in my large cat carrier and I brought him home around Thanksgiving. I kept him in a large dog crate in a separate room where he could still see us and get used to being indoors. His name is Long Legs, a brown based Tabby and was the neutered TNR cat that I had previously caught in the trap.
Long Legs is the sweetest cat, loves to be held and cuddled and took to sleeping with me in bed. He did great at the vet, got his shots and blood work done and is doing great. He is FIV+ but the vet said it shouldn't be any issues for awhile as she also has FIV+ cats. He's around 2 years old according to the vet.
In April 2023, another TNR cat showed up at my feeder, a small black and white cat that was very skittish when he/she saw me at the windows but would lay in front of the patio door rolling on the ground and squeaking at Long Legs. I was able to trap him/her and again kept him/her confined in the dog crate in a separate room. I used the tips and tricks on TCS to get him/her accustomed to Long Legs and our home. The 1st visit to the vet went well for his shots and I was surprised to find out it was a neutered male despite the behavior I noted before trapping him. He got a clean bill of health and is integrated into our family. The boyfriend named him Binks and he's about a year old.
The cats get along great though around 10 PM it starts sounding like a herd of buffalo are running around upstairs. This continues well into the wee hours of the morning. Thank goodness I am a heavy sleeper and I don't notice their antics.
Well I think that is enough for now. Hopefully I can scrape up some pics so I can pay my cat tax on TCS. I'm not much of a photo taker so it may be a while.
Glad the site has been helpful, and that you've decided to join us.
