Impossible Cat

[susieqz]

dusty, why in the world do you think she's confused?
i've been working with her for almost 3 months.
she knows me, she knows the garden, she knows the house.
there may be a clash of wills, but there is no confusion.

 

[Alejandra Rico]

There is not such a thing as a "normal" cat, they are all pretty crazy one way or another.
Most cats do not enjoy being picked up and carried arround. I would say that is the least normal thing for a cat. A vaste majority of them just tolerate being picked, most of them will express their disconfort with their voices, or moving in the offender's arms.
Feral cats need more time to fully trust their humans, but when they do so, they tend to love with more passion than those acquired from breeders, so do not give up, maybe by Christmas Eve you two will already be where you want.

 

[maggiedemi]

Could you close her in the bathroom with the litter box for a little while? My cats learned to use the litter box when they were closed in the garage. They knew what it was for the first day I tried it.

 

[susieqz]

define ''little while'', please.i'm now thinking of locking her in there for days, as i thing she might have went in the living room.
i'll know tomorrow.

 

[maggiedemi]

As long as you give her food and water and check on her, it should be okay to keep her in the bathroom for a day or two. Make sure she can see the litter box and give her a towel or blanket to sleep on.

 

[EggSandwich]

define ''little while'', please.i'm now thinking of locking her in there for days, as i thing she might have went in the living room.
i'll know tomorrow.

Does your living room have carpet? If she did go there, maybe even putting a bit of carpeting in the litterbox would encourage her.

If you ever catch her in the act, pick her up (forget about her reaction; she will need to learn if she is even semi inside any way.) and set her in the litterbox ASAP. If she doesn't know any better, its not worth getting mad over. If you find any droppings, make sure she is watching, and set them in the litterbox. Or, put them in and show her.

 

[susieqz]

doug, i'd get hurt if i tried to pick her up.
mag, i'll do that by winter.
i'm not sure i want a cranky beast in here
when the weather is nice.
you guys won't believe it, but she has an attitude problem.
n, you know i have an attitude problem.
that batting at me made things different.
she's acting different.
she has become uppity.
i know this critter n i tell you it's so.

 

[orange&white]

you guys won't believe it, but she has an attitude problem.

We all believe you. Welcome to cat ownership! Aren't they fun?

 

[susieqz]

well, we'll see who's tougher, me or her.

 

[orange&white]

I'm betting on a tie in the long run, and a very happy relationship.

 

[susieqz]

i'm alpha female here.
i'm curious what happens.
perhaps, i'll ease up, but right now, i'm gonna just feed her outside.
i don't think she'll like that if i don't come out with the food.
you guys say cats don't understand when disapproval is shown that way.
you say cats can't be disiplined.
i beg to differ.

 

[susieqz]

by the way, did you notice that this animal wants to live in
the bathroom?
that's as far away as she can get from me in the house, since the rest of the
house is closed off.
this is the same animal that couldn't be more than 15' away from me, before.
this is a significant change of behavior.
possibly caused by me calling her a bad dog?
she didn't appear bothered at the time.

 

[vyger]

I had mentioned to you all in some past posts about this gray feral cat that I have been working with. I just went through pictures and cleaned up a few of him. So ---
This is Scottie. I don't know how old he is but I have been seeing him for about five years so I would guess 6 to 8 years at least. He is not a rescue cat or a shelter cat, he is a wild feral cat. He is not pretty, not any special color, just a plain mouse gray. I used to only see him from a distance, nothing closer than 30 feet and at first I thought he was missing an ear. Then when I finally got a closer look it looked like his ears were folded like a Scottish fold so I started calling him Scottie. Well, as he became less afraid and I manage to get close pictures of him I discovered that his ears are all mangled. It's called cauliflower ear and in his case it's probably the result of being frostbite. So he is not pretty and not young and not tame. He grows a very heavy winter coat and in the spring it comes off in clumps and you almost would think he has a skin problem. If he ended up in any kind of shelter he would be put down right away because nobody would ever want him. It has taken several years but Scottie and I are now friends. Just this year we got to where he would let me see him without running away. Slowly he let me get closer and finally this summer he let me touch him and he discovered that he liked it. Now, he is the first one at the door, he will not even go for his food until he gets petted. It is like that is more important to him now than eating. He lets me pick him up he calls to me to find out where I am and likes to stay in my area when I am outside. He is always rubbing on me and I now have to be careful about not stepping on him.
He has had a hard life, now his life is a little easier. Now he has a friend. Does he appreciate it? He is wild and can leave at any time. He has chosen to stay around. I think he appreciates having a family now. By the way, yes he is big. I weighed him and when he held still for a moment it said 16 lbs. and its not fat.

 

[susieqz]

you underrate scottie's looks. except for the missing ears, i find him lovely.

 

[maggiedemi]

I think Scottie is lovely. Thank you for being his friend.

 

[maggiedemi]

Maybe Drifter was insulted when you called her a dog. That was so funny, I'm still laughing. When I call Demi a Bad Boy, he looks crushed like it hurts his feelings. Maggie couldn't care less, she'll just swat me again.

 

[foxxycat]

that grey kitty is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!

 

[foxxycat]

Also each cat is individual=I have one since she was a baby=she HATES being picked up..she tolerates it now- she is 14. She used to squirm and claw to get put down...she is also the lovebug=she will sit next to you rub her face on your face, drool on you and purr but don't put her on your lap.

My other cat honeybee will let me carry her around all day but not like a baby...it depends on the cat..sounds like your cat would be ok with being picked up. At night she sleeps on my chest or stuffs herself into my armpit..sounds like your kitty would do the same thing if she likes to cuddle with you. I bet she would keep you warm during the winter months.

If Drifter is scratching on your carpet stomp your feet and yell no and redirect to a chunk of log. I would keep the bark on it after it's sat out for some time or yes maybe she wouldn't mind it missing the bark...looks like she is a horizontal scratching cat.

 

[LeiLana80]

Oh, vyger, Scottie is stunning!!!!! What a beautiful hunk/lion/beast of a cat!!!
Thank you for sharing your story.

I just keep scrolling up to look at him- oh, the stories I bet he could tell!!

 

[susieqz]

hoho. made some progress.
her new attitude makes me want to stay away, so
i'm not feeling very loving, but i'm still working on her.

didn't let her in for breakfast, but when she came in for dinner,
i held her bowl under her nose n led her to my couch, to eat next to me.
she had missed her cuddling., so she enjoyed my normal at dinner cuddle, then put her front feet on the couch.
i got my hand under her n lifted her up. she spent a few seconds up there with me.
kinda surprised i could pick her up that much.
i don't think that will translate to actually picking her up, tho.