I Got My Feral In The House Today!

[walli]

yes, He wanted out of the carrier, I know he would go right up to her which she may not like.

 

[maggiedemi]

Any updates on Joey and Walli?

 

[walli]

Yes, we have digressed, Walli is staying in her room at night now.
Joey got out the other day and went running right up to her, she got hissy
and he got really puffy, I think he was scared more than anything.

I am worried about getting them together, not sure what to do.
Now I have to get my home tented for termites, so I have to get Walli
in a crate, I am thinking about leaving her in the crate for 3 days, she will go to the vet while she is in the crate tho.

I think leaving her in the crate for 3 days is going to freak her out tho.
any suggestions? We will be going to my dads and he has extra rooms
but I know if I let Walli out of the cage she will be hiding the entire time
would this be better?

I am going to try and put off the tenting as long as I can.

Problem with the Catio plans too, I planned on putting it in the window
in the room where Joey is staying now, I'm thinking it will be hard to get
Walli to go into that room, should I hold off on the Catio plans?
Walli is really needing to go outside tho, I'm considering building a Catio
on my back porch, but I would have to hire a carpenter, which I don't know
of any right now.

I'm really at a loss right now, I'm really worried about Walli
Joey can come out of quarantine starting tomorrow, His parasite should
be all cleared up.

 

[maggiedemi]

I think the crate would be okay for 3 days, as long as it's big enough. Or a room at your dad's if you think you can get her back in the crate when it's time to go, and if everybody is careful not to let her escape. Will Joey be going with you too? Where will you put him, just let him roam your dad's house? It seems like Walli would still go in the catio, she should be able to tell that Joey isn't in that room anymore.

 

[rubysmama]

Sorry, can't really advise on either the crating or catio.

However, since she has to go to the vet anyway, would boarding her at the vets be an option? Might be less stressful for her.

 

[walli]

You know I had the same thought, I am going there tomorrow
to get Joeys poo checked again. I will ask them.
I was thinking I could at least pick her up and be the hero
instead of the prison Warden.
Thanks guys for always replying, I'm actually considering contacting a behaviorist for help, but already know I can't afford it.

Yes Joey will go with us to my dads, He is a lot easier to deal with.
He can run free, or I will keep him in a room, prolly let him run free tho.
If I take Walli to my dad's and leave her in the crate maybe it's a good idea to keep
Joey in the same room but free? I don't know [sigh]

 

[rubysmama]

Thinking about it a bit more, if Walli stays at the vet, and Joey at your Dad's place, maybe when they both get back home, you could separate them and do a re-introduction.

Introducing Cats To Cats
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction

Or maybe they'll be so happy to be home, they'll suddenly become best buds.

 

[walli]

I thought I read that article through, just read about the blanket
intro I will try that.

 

[walli]

Update:
We are set to get our house tented May 2, I have an appt for Walli at the Vets.
I will keep her in the crate for 2 days, and plan on staying in the same room at my dad's with her and possibly let Joey free in the same room, Hope that works out.

We are moving the small catio that we have, to the window where Joey is currently staying. I'm thinking about releasing Walli in that room when we get back home. Since we will be home on a Friday I'm thinking about closing her in that room for 3 days, and not let Joey into the Catio at first. I still need to socialize them, I will have to figure out what to do with Joey.

any thoughts or any potential problems with Moving Walli to a different room
temporarily? I just want her to get outside ASAP.

 

[rubysmama]

Honestly, not sure about the different room. Maybe see how she does at your Dad's place first. She's no longer confined to one room, though, is she?

 

[maggiedemi]

That just might work out well, with Walli in the crate and Joey in the room with you at your dad's. Just watch out that they don't scratch each other in the eyes. Mine never did, but a poster the other day said his female cat got his male cat in the eye. My cats smacked each other thousands of times through the gate and never once hurt each other.

 

[walli]

Thanks guys!
rubysmama, I'm not going to leave Walli in the new room, just to get her acclimated to the fact that the catio is out there, then we will have to work on socializing.
I hear you about the concern of the different room, I am concerned.

maggiedemi, yeah I'm hoping for a miracle having them in the same room
at my Dad's, I will try and sleep in the same room, see how that goes tho.
The Vet offered boarding, but I figure that would be a total freakout for Walli.
Thanks guys, don't know what I would do without you.

 

[walli]

Update:
Walli is doing much better since Joey came in the house.
She came out to look at him at the baby gates right in front of us.
We put him in a crate in her room on saturday and she didn't hide
she was sitting there checking him out, He was just laid back
cleaning himself. We started putting the Catio at the window, will be done
next weekend. We are getting our house tented on May 2nd and decided to release her into it when we get home on the 4th. It's going to be a freakout getting her in the crate and to the vets, but I'm hopeful that she won't reject Joey. I will check the forum on capturing and crating a Feral but any tips
would be appreciated, I just plan on manhandling her, I know my husband won't be able to do it, so he will be there to assist.

 

[maggiedemi]

That's wonderful! How long did you leave Joey in with Walli?... I leave the carrier out all the time, so my cats aren't afraid of it at all. You could try feeding her in it every day.

 

[walli]

I left him in there for about 2 hours.
There is no way Walli will go in there. She has too much going on right now
I am going to ask the Vet how old they think she is, I suspect she is an
older Feral. I do believe she is going to make friends with him eventually
she is curious about him, I am so thankful of that!
I am considering putting him in the Catio on day 2 of her in the catio, too soon?
I'm inpatient so I have to be careful.

 

[walli]

Walli is totally NOT Food motivated, bummer

 

[maggiedemi]

Wow, 2 hours is great! I would do that a couple more times with the crate first. I'm surprised they didn't punch each other through the bars. That's the first thing my cats did! You have some well behaved cats...Honestly, I didn't use food either. It sounds ridiculous, but my cats would get in the cage voluntarily. They hated being locked up in a room and they knew if they got in the cage, they could leave and go somewhere more exciting. I must have weird cats...

 

[maggiedemi]

The thing I did that I think helped a lot was I talked all the time and my cats began to recognize words, like "get in your cage, go side side". They knew that meant to "get in the cage and you can leave this boring room and go outside in the garage."

 

[walli]

Joey is so funny, He doesn't mind anything, He is a gift for Walli I'm sure.
You should see him do flips and back flips! I should of called him Mr Miyagi
I am going to put him in the crate again tonite. Leaving the empty crate in Walli's room freaked her out the other day, It's heartbreaking that she is coming around and she is going to be traumatized for a few days, I hope it's not too bad. I will try leaving the crate in there again tho.

 

[maggiedemi]

How did it go, did you put Joey in Walli's room again? He does backflips? That sounds so cute.