Introducing Tux; the cat who wears a tuxedo!

[artiemom]

 

[Kwik]

View attachment 485751

Love his dots on each side of that cute little pink nose- such a handsome guy

 

[maggiedemi]

I raise my voice & holler No!!!
Believe me, they know what no means! I don't have time to mess around with nasty gaping cuts & ferals can really cut you! These aren't tame sweet house cats. They are backwoods ferals kinda like me. But I love them more than my own life & they ain't going nowhere. But they gotta behave! And stay out of my clean clothes tote! Frasier loves to throw them on the floor. I'm like- Absolutely Not! Get out! And he knows what I mean. They learn words if you repeat them every single time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Wishing Tux -- and you, artiemom -- safe journeys and a good, productive time at the vet. That IS a wild-eyed kitten pic! Tux and Fluff have so much in common and Fluff is slowly learning the patterns here, and calming down by tiny increments, so I have complete confidence in Tux as well

 

[neely]

Good luck at the vet tomorrow. We'll be anxious to hear how Tux's visit goes and what words of wisdom the vet has to say.
Is Tux acquainted with the carrier yet?

 

[iPappy]

I raise my voice & holler No!!!
Believe me, they know what no means! I don't have time to mess around with nasty gaping cuts & ferals can really cut you! These aren't tame sweet house cats. They are backwoods ferals kinda like me. But I love them more than my own life & they ain't going nowhere. But they gotta behave! And stay out of my clean clothes tote! Frasier loves to throw them on the floor. I'm like- Absolutely Not! Get out! And he knows what I mean. They learn words if you repeat them every single time.

There have been times when they (Lila especially) will turn a love nibble into a bite. It takes me by surprise and I don't even try to keep my voice low when I shout "OUCH". They also know what "stop that" means. They don't always listen, but, they know!
Balki understands "no", but, yesterday I caught him chewing a cord and shouted loudly, "BALKI, NO." He stopped in his tracks and his tail went down briefly. I'd much rather he spend 5 minutes feeling down because he got scolded vs. having a life threatening emergency. I use no sparingly, but when I use it, I do mean it!

 

[artiemom]

I would really yell louder, but I live in an apartment building.. noisy neighbors, also.. They would would probably call 911 on me, if they heard me yelling..

Going to resort to the spray water bottle only when he is aggressive towards me.. Vet suggested Zyklene sprinkled on his food.. but Tux, the street cat, is staging a hunger strike!! He wants only Dry food; refusing all wet food, no matter what brand-- even Fancy Feast and Friskies. It is a matter of wills at this point. I opened a can of FF chicken this morning.. nope.. still there.. just opened a can of Wellness chicken pate-- not, still there.. so he can starve. I am not going to create a fussy cat. I have enough issues with him. I do not need another one.
Artie was very fussy with food. I created a monster, and he was stubborn. With Geoffrey, he tried to be fussy, but I played Tuff Love Mama, and I won. Tux is much different, so we will see.... sigh

 

[tarasgirl06]

I would really yell louder, but I live in an apartment building.. noisy neighbors, also.. They would would probably call 911 on me, if they heard me yelling..

Going to resort to the spray water bottle only when he is aggressive towards me.. Vet suggested Zyklene sprinkled on his food.. but Tux, the street cat, is staging a hunger strike!! He wants only Dry food; refusing all wet food, no matter what brand-- even Fancy Feast and Friskies. It is a matter of wills at this point. I opened a can of FF chicken this morning.. nope.. still there.. just opened a can of Wellness chicken pate-- not, still there.. so he can starve. I am not going to create a fussy cat. I have enough issues with him. I do not need another one.
Artie was very fussy with food. I created a monster, and he was stubborn. With Geoffrey, he tried to be fussy, but I played Tuff Love Mama, and I won. Tux is much different, so we will see.... sigh

Cats' hearing is MUCH more sensitive than ours, so yelling isn't necessary. A firm voice and facial expression would be all that's required, or hissing, which mother cats use to discipline their kids.
Have you tried mixing wet and dry together? My roomies' cat always had that.

 

[maggiedemi]

Yeah, I don't really yell, just a firm No! They understand.

My ferals only want Purina dry food. They only like Friskies Shreds for wet food.

 

[artiemom]

Well, the Vet said that Tuxie is a Year old-at the most; so he is still a kitten-- and a big boy. He has gained a pound since he was adopted by me! He weighs 11 lbs. I need to wean him off the kitten dry food. I am getting some Purina One indoor cat dry chicken to mix with the next bag of kitten food. He eats a lot..

After being an 'ex-feral' or 'street' cat, he gobbles down his food.
I amfairly free feeding him, or so....I give him between 1/2- 1 small can of food in the morning. He usually does not eat all of it. I am leaving it down.. another 1/2-1 can at night, with at least 1/3 of dry. He devours the dry food, almost immediately.. the wet food stays there.

The Vet feels that Tux will calm down. He said he is very observant, intelligent, curious. He pretty much did not have any fear at the Vets. He was walking around, ending up in the sink!! Tux is also getting fussy with food!
He refused the Vet's treats!! Preferring Greenies or his Calming treats, instead! He did not agree with me when I said I think he is an alpha cat in the making..
The Vet also said that I can use Zykleene: open the capsule and mix with his food... and/or a Comfort Zone calming collar... And if I have to, a spray water bottle.If these do not work, or he does not improve, I am to contact the Vet. I am using the spray water bottle, when he comes towards me. He is afraid of the spray bottle. I am also using a strong NO, and putting my finger up... He seems to starting to understand this command.

Tux zooms around for several hours in the morning--- you could say he is wild.. and another few hours at night. Last night, I was exhausted, and did not have a play session--- he was wild.. 1/2 of liter box on floor!! Toys everywhere, wanting to come under the sheet in bed, to bite/play with my feet/legs!!
I am consistent with the NO. I show him the spray bottle, and he 99% of the time stops.

I also got him a teddy bear from Walmart. It is about his size. When he starts with me, I throw the teddy bear on the floor, saying: "Go Get Teddy!"..
You should see how he attacks it!! goes for the throat!! and he carries Teddy around the house, looking for a 'home' to attack/eat him.. It is really comical. I also got him a Dog toy: a "Lamb Chop"-- from the old Shari Lewis TV show for kids in the early 60's...

Tux allows me to pick him up.. and to brush him a bit. I keep telling him he is a 'good' boy.

I know I have to be patient. Tux was taken off the streets one month ago. He was neutered 2+ weeks ago. I have not had him for a full 3 weeks, yet....

Picture of Tuxie with his teddy;

 

[rubysmama]

Oh, wow. The teddy really is almost Tux's size. Love it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Well, the Vet said that Tuxie is a Year old-at the most; so he is still a kitten-- and a big boy. He has gained a pound since he was adopted by me! He weighs 11 lbs. I need to wean him off the kitten dry food. I am getting some Purina One indoor cat dry chicken to mix with the next bag of kitten food. He eats a lot..

After being an 'ex-feral' or 'street' cat, he gobbles down his food.
I amfairly free feeding him, or so....I give him between 1/2- 1 small can of food in the morning. He usually does not eat all of it. I am leaving it down.. another 1/2-1 can at night, with at least 1/3 of dry. He devours the dry food, almost immediately.. the wet food stays there.

The Vet feels that Tux will calm down. He said he is very observant, intelligent, curious. He pretty much did not have any fear at the Vets. He was walking around, ending up in the sink!! Tux is also getting fussy with food!
He refused the Vet's treats!! Preferring Greenies or his Calming treats, instead! He did not agree with me when I said I think he is an alpha cat in the making..
The Vet also said that I can use Zykleene: open the capsule and mix with his food... and/or a Comfort Zone calming collar... And if I have to, a spray water bottle.If these do not work, or he does not improve, I am to contact the Vet. I am using the spray water bottle, when he comes towards me. He is afraid of the spray bottle. I am also using a strong NO, and putting my finger up... He seems to starting to understand this command.

Tux zooms around for several hours in the morning--- you could say he is wild.. and another few hours at night. Last night, I was exhausted, and did not have a play session--- he was wild.. 1/2 of liter box on floor!! Toys everywhere, wanting to come under the sheet in bed, to bite/play with my feet/legs!!
I am consistent with the NO. I show him the spray bottle, and he 99% of the time stops.

I also got him a teddy bear from Walmart. It is about his size. When he starts with me, I throw the teddy bear on the floor, saying: "Go Get Teddy!"..
You should see how he attacks it!! goes for the throat!! and he carries Teddy around the house, looking for a 'home' to attack/eat him.. It is really comical. I also got him a Dog toy: a "Lamb Chop"-- from the old Shari Lewis TV show for kids in the early 60's...

Tux allows me to pick him up.. and to brush him a bit. I keep telling him he is a 'good' boy.

I know I have to be patient. Tux was taken off the streets one month ago. He was neutered 2+ weeks ago. I have not had him for a full 3 weeks, yet....

Picture of Tuxie with his teddy;

View attachment 486136

He really is making very good progress for having been neutered so recently, and coming in from the cold, so to speak, so recently.
I have read that cats become afraid of the person using the spray bottle, which is not a good thing for building a bond with him. I would suggest not using it, but just using "NO!" and hissing. Hissing is what mother cats do to discipline their kids. It should be very effective if he is bonding to you and sees you as his surrogate mom, if you are consistent with it. I would avoid drugs if at all possible. ALL drugs have side effects.

 

[fionasmom]

Given his extreme reaction to the teddy bear, it shows that he just needs to be redirected. As was said, he may have not had any interaction with his mom or siblings to the point where he learned about who is a plaything and who is not.

I have said this other places on TCS, but when I rescued Jamie at 4 weeks, he obviously had lost all contact with is family of origin. He decided that his first toy would be my hands and arms and I went to work all sliced up to the point of embarrassment. I had to get rose pruning gloves and teach him that he could only arm wrestle if he saw the gloves, which he did learn. In fact, yesterday we had a little rematch which he enjoyed.

I do not recommend letting him use your hands at all though. It was a last ditch effort to retrain him and it fortunately worked.

I agree that if you can not use the water bottle it would be better because cats often don't see it as a deterrent, but as a new threat to be handled. However, you can't let Tux have the upper hand either.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I have a great tool for playing with cats and not getting hurt. It's made by Petglove, and is a very heavy plush glove, in leopard print. But I bought it some time ago and can't find it online. The idea is to wear it when your hand is near the cat, for protection against those little sharp teeth and gloves. Gardening gloves, heavy leather gloves, Kevlar gloves are other gloves that should serve a similar purpose; you can look for these in hardware/home store businesses.

 

[iPappy]

Oh, I like the teddy bear idea! It gives him something to "attack" without it being you, and that photo is adorable! For only having been with you for such a short time, he's definitely making progress. Most, if not all, cats want to do the right thing but until they understand what those things are, they guess. He is such a cutie, and sounds like he's a lot of fun and very entertaining!

 

[Mia6]

tux is a big boy!!!!!

 

[artiemom]

yesterday, Tux really tried my patience.. He is a hard kicker in the litter box. I bought him a high sided one to stop some of the kicked out litter-- it sometimes works.. Yesterday, I saw that the litter was a bit low, so I added a bit more.. Three times yesterday afternoon, he kicked out ALL of the extra litter I put in the box!! Three times! I moved the box, moved it again, finally took an old scatter rug to put in front of it.. still litter out..
I was so upset.. And he wanted to lie in the box and play by kicking out more of the litter. It was a dilemma because I did not want to scold him cuz he needs to use his box; but I did not want to continually have to pick up half the litter box, which is on the floor of my tiny bathroom. I also do too want to walk on liter..

Last night, I ordered him a covered litter box.. let's see if he uses it!!

You know the phrase: one step forward 2 steps back. Well, that was what it was yesterday. One step forward was, (hopefully) Tux learning to use his large scratching post. The 2 steps back was the litter box issue..

 

[maggiedemi]

Wow, you are doing a great job with Tuxie! The teddy bear was a good idea. Have you tried grain free? I always thought it was a gimmick, but we are trying it now & it seems to be working well! I found a Purina Pro Plan grain free dry food at Chewy, so we ordered it this morning. Should be here in a couple days. They really prefer Purina.

 

[artiemom]

Wow, you are doing a great job with Tuxie! The teddy bear was a good idea. Have you tried grain free? I always thought it was a gimmick, but we are trying it now & it seems to be working well! I found a Purina Pro Plan grain free dry food at Chewy, so we ordered it this morning. Should be here in a couple days. They really prefer Purina.

Thanks.. It feels like a lifetime of training, bites & scratches... but it has only been since Sept 18; so almost 3 weeks. It feels like very slow progress-- if any..

This morning I fed him 1/2 can of Purina Pro Plan Turkey.. He gobbled it down. I found that he seems to like turkey a bit better than chicken. He does not care for fish at all. He snubs it.
I have tried: Fancy Feast, Tiny Tiger, Hill's, Merrit, Blue tasteful, anything which seems to be a good grade. I would prefer to save the FF for any emergency, since I know he will eat it..
Tux dislikes the Hills, will tolerate the Blue Tasteful, Tiny Tiger--so so, is kind of fussy with the FF, Ate the Merrit

For a cat who lived on the outside he is pretty fussy. He will just lick up the 'juice' from the morsels and leave the morsels. He prefers pate.. so that is what I am getting. I would eventually like to get a couple of brands to rotate him through; I do not want him to be a fussy cat.

yes, I am using Purina Pro Plan Plus for dry. I had a small bag of kitten food, since he was younger. Now, I am going to mix it with regular food and then wean him over to indoor food.. He loves his dry..

 

[fionasmom]

For a cat who lived on the outside he is pretty fussy

I have had fussy ferals. It seems that some cats view food preferences entirely separate from hunger.