Impossible Cat

[susieqz]

i'm nowhere near where you are, i seldom get near her while standing.
when i tried, i didn't even get her off the ground.
she won't attack, but she won't allow it. if i'm stroking her n i'm lying down, i can drag her to me without her minding. i may be able to pick her up that way, but standing is still a problem.
in fact, i seldom get near her if i'm on my feet.

 

[susieqz]

sur, when i got my hands under her she struggled violently. not scratching but fighting her way out of a trap.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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susieqz - Cats have two responses when faced with a perceived threat - fight or flight, and often it's both. It's a matter of patience, and of wearing her down. When I first met White Tip, I couldn't even get within ten feet of her. Two and a half years later, I could pick her up, although it was grudging on her part. Now - five years after she came inside - she likes being held for a few minutes at a time. It's all patience; a few years makes a world of difference.

It's not like it is with people, Susie; you just keep Loving her, and eventually, she'll Love you right back - and never stop.
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[orange&white]

sur, when i got my hands under her she struggled violently. not scratching but fighting her way out of a trap.

While she's lying next to you and letting you pet her, sneak in a pet or two down her sides and try to slip a hand under her ribs once in a while. Stop before she gets "offended". Then pet where she likes and slip in another pet around/under her ribs. She needs to get used to having your hand touch her rib cage before being picked up.

You're way ahead of me in getting Drifter to snuggle with you lying down. Misfit feels too vulnerable to lie down anywhere close to me. She's only comfortable being petted when she's standing (so she can run away quickly if she wants).

 

[susieqz]

1cat, i don't have years to pick her up. she's sneaking in the house right now.
i insist that a cat in the house allow me to pick her up.
i want to be able to pick her up n plop her in the litter box, for example.
or, to toss her outside, just to protect her from me, if she eats my dinner or something.

orange, that sounds smart. i'll start that tomorrow, if that's a cuddle day.
some days are, some days she won't get close.
oddly, she wants to come in because she likes to keep tabs on me.
she may not wanna get close, but she likes to be around.
in the house, i bet she would mostly live under the bed.

 

[orange&white]

I sort of doubt she would hide under the bed. She sounds fairly friendly and bold. The really shy skittish ones hide under furniture.

 

[susieqz]

well, she is friendly once in a while. sometimes we cuddle, but, for most of the day, she prefers to be 10-20' from me.
that's what is frustrating,that n her dislike of me standing.if she goes under my work bench, i can call til my voice is horse n she won'i move.
all cuddling occurs when she comes for a snack.
there is always eating involved.

 

[susieqz]

you know, i'm ahead of you guys in one respect, i see lots of mentions of getting scratched. or of a cat bating you with claws out.
only one time did drifter raise her paw as if to bat n her claws were retracted.
she has never tried to scratch me.
all touching on both sides is gentle.
i bet that means i'm moving too slow.
still, i'd be really disappointed if she tried to hurt me.
i'm not sure what i'd do. i guess i'd give up on her, permanently.

 

[maggiedemi]

I think the reason I got scratched so much was because I was trying to introduce two feral cats. So I had to pick them up whether they liked it or not and switch them from room to room. I had no idea what I was doing, since I didn't plan to take in two feral cats. The only problem you might have is picking her up, but if you go slow, you might do better than I did.

 

[orange&white]

A few weeks ago Misfit batted/scratched and her face showed a bit of fear aggression, which is normal for a feral. Her facial expression has changed lately. I don't see any more fear when she bats. It's more like she's testing me to see how I'll react to her putting her paws on me. It also seems sometimes like she's just trying to play with me the same as she might with another cat. She doesn't understand that her claws wouldn't go through the fur of another cat but they do break human skin. I don't think she's trying to hurt me with intent.

 

[maggiedemi]

Yeah, sometimes when they try to scratch me, it seems like they are trying to play, they just don't know to retract their claws.

 

[orange&white]

I know if I didn't trim Farrell's claws I'd have scratches from her, too. (Farrell is the feral I adopted in Feb.) There's no way Misfit would let me trim her claws, probably ever. It would solve the problem if I could take those sharp pointy tips off.

 

[susieqz]

do you have to trim claws when they work them on wood?
for a scratching post, drifter uses this log i have on the ground for a raised bed. she really goes at it.
yesterday, she was pretty cute. these butterflies were flying low. she kept chasing n trying to catch them. she never caught one, but she had a good time trying.

 

[orange&white]

Their claws shed outer layers (sheaves), leaving a fresh new sharp pointy tip underneath. lol Clipping is the only way to blunt the points.

I love watching Misfit stalk prey. Rarely do I see her eating anything, so she doesn't seem to actually catch much. When she does, I assume it's a cricket or other bug. Though I did find 1/2 of a lizard's body on the patio a couple weeks ago. When I mowed Saturday, I left a half dozen "hunting blinds" of tall grass for her to hide in while stalking.

 

[susieqz]

that was considerate of you, aiding misfit's hunting.
i am convinced that nothing makes a cat as happy
as hunting prey.
mice or bugs, it doesn't matter.

 

[orange&white]

Their claws shed outer layers (sheaves),

That word should have been sheaths (not sheaves). lol

My mower was broken and I didn't mow between getting 7-8 inches of rain from Harvey and last Saturday (after replacing the mower carburetor). The grass was thigh high by that time. I saw how much Misfit enjoyed hiding and pouncing out of clumps of tall grass so I didn't have the heart to mow it all down. The clumps I left her were about 1 foot by 2 feet. It would probably look to a normal person like I'm completely incompetent at lawn mowing with all those random "missed spots".

 

[susieqz]

helping her hunt is just great.
i do not have it in me to be a proper caretaker of cats.
i had some milk that was turning but i just couldn't pour it down the drain.
you have convinced me that factory milk isn't good for kitties, but it brings her joy,
so she got it, with antibiotics mixed in.
same with keeping a cat indoors. i'm sure indoor cats live long lives, but i can't
shut her away from hunting.
at least the only traffic here is me n delivery persons, so cars are no problem.

drifter must be afraid of the house. this morn, she ran a few feet in, then ran back out.
she is obviously testing things, to find out if she gets hurt.i don't know why she's worried, but she is.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

i don't know why she's worried, but she is.

susieqz - She's not worried; she's cautious. "Cautious" carries a sidearm in Condition 1 until it's known that the building is clear. "Worried" doesn't go in at all, stays outside, and ends up in the ding ring of someone's .308.
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[susieqz]

got it. i think the plan is to explore the whole place, a bit at a time.it looks to me like intellegent long range planning, but i doubt cats can do that.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

got it. i think the plan is to explore the whole place, a bit at a time.it looks to me like intellegent long range planning, but i doubt cats can do that.

susieqz - Yeah... that's what André Léon Blum said about the Viet Cong three days after he took office, when he entered into the Indochina War at the end of 1946. "Trois jours," he promised - 'the war will be over in three days.' And eight years later? "The glorious Republic was defeated by cunning."
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