My Feral And Rescued Cats

[dustydiamond1]

@ParkBaby You keep in touch and let me know how things go. I’m pulling for you! Persistence, hope and faith in finding other good people is how it works for us all.

I have news tonight. Some good for kittens and some a worry.
Flowers and Kelly are spayed and have returned home. They are doing fairly well but missing their babies terribly. Me too.
All of the Flowers babies left for foster care early this morning. Flowers is looking everywhere for them and it is breaking my heart. I had hoped to keep them a little longer but at 8 weeks the foster wanted to prepare them go for adoption soon. I had little choice and had to accept the chance to find them a safe place and love.
The other news has me worried. All three Gingerbtead babies went to the vet today. They are running a fever. My friend took them to foster along with the other kittens but they will be isolated for now. If the fever continues tomorrow they will be taking antibiotics the vet prescribed. If they are sick I may bring them back here. If the fever passes they will go to foster care. I am very concerned. Being without all seven kittens has left me sad tonight. I feel like meowing with their Moms. Lol
BJ ate tonight and then settled in very close to where I sat. He laid down almost against me but at my back. That is better but the fact that he chose to lay behind me tells me he is not ready to be touched yet. He needs more time and I will give it to him.
I did take more funny pictures of the babies but for tonight I am saying my goodbyes through photos of them.

I know you are confused little one.
View attachment 253747
The look you give me makes me think you know you are leaving.
View attachment 253748
Just keep looking up
View attachment 253750
Don’t fret or get upset
View attachment 253746
Trust
View attachment 253749
Have kitty faith
View attachment 253754
Hold on
View attachment 253751
Come let me hold you once more

View attachment 253745
And say goodbye.
View attachment 253755

 

[Norachan]

I had sad day today.

I'm so sorry! It doesn't make any difference how feral she was, you still cared for her so of course it hurts to lose her. I still think about every cat that was too feral to rehome, or that was lost because I didn't get to them in time.

We do what we can and we grieve for those we couldn't do enough for.

This one is for you!

Thank you! He is a wonderful boy, I'm glad to hear he's letting you get a little closer.

Poor mama cats looking for their babies. It is heartbreaking, but at least you know they've gone to a safe place and have a good chance of a proper home at the end of it.

I hope the fever isn't anything serious. Hang in there little kittens. Be well.

 

[ileen]

I know it is for the best, but it is heartbreaking. Seems like it could be a Twilight Zone episode - people being sterilized, coming home to find their children are gone & at the end we discover we're all controlled by giant dogs & cats.

 

[maggiedemi]

He still slaps new people if they try to pet him but we are working on that.

Any tips to get Maggie to stop slapping me? I'm terrible with any type of discipline/correction since I hated being disciplined as a kid.

Love the pics of Thrasher babysitting the kittens. It's great that you will have the photos to remember them. I deleted all but one photo of the 7 chickens I rescued. I wish I hadn't, but I was so sad to see them go, I wasn't thinking clearly.

 

[Jcatbird]

Warning! Smile at the bottom!
Maggie is a slapper huh? M maggiedemi
Thrasher was doing that. I said no to her and did not pet for a minute. When she lowered her paw I scratched her favorite spot. If she raised the paw again ( she usually did) then I put my hand down and said a firm no. She would give me an angry look that said, well!?!?! Again , when she lowered paw and put her ears back up I started petting and giving love. It took many repeats of this to finally get through to her but she got it. No rewards for bad behavior. patience and reward a nicely behaved kitty. She was a little upset at sharing attention with other cats. She just needed to know she would get her fair share. She behaves very well now.

The Gingerbread kittens are on antibiotics now. I am hoping their fever will go away. Fecal test results come back tomorrow.
Kelly busted out of her Spay cage last night while I slept! I don’t know how she pushed through that latched door but I was quite surprised when I looked in this morning and the cage was empty! Door latched! I hunted every inch of this house for hours. No Kelly! Finally discovered her inside a cat food box. Judging by all the things she knocked over, she was trying to get back to the room she had been sharing with her babies. Since I had sanitized it yestefay, I put her back in the room when I found her today. Even though her kittens are not there, she is much more content now. She was back to purring for me again tonight.
Flowers kittens are adjusting well. I got to see what foster care is like for them today. Here is a smile for tonight.

This looked like a kitty ( kiddie) birthday party to me!

I just love their expressions! No wonder they are adjusting! This must be the greatest foster care ever! My friend is a true friend to me and to the kittens. I almost expected to see tiny little party hats on the floor. Our sweet little flowers are off to a great new start. Not one sign that they began as feral kittens. Emily Post would be impressed!

 

[dustydiamond1]

Warning! Smile at the bottom!
Maggie is a slapper huh? M maggiedemi
Thrasher was doing that. I said no to her and did not pet for a minute. When she lowered her paw I scratched her favorite spot. If she raised the paw again ( she usually did) then I put my hand down and said a firm no. She would give me an angry look that said, well!?!?! Again , when she lowered paw and put her ears back up I started petting and giving love. It took many repeats of this to finally get through to her but she got it. No rewards for bad behavior. patience and reward a nicely behaved kitty. She was a little upset at sharing attention with other cats. She just needed to know she would get her fair share. She behaves very well now.

The Gingerbread kittens are on antibiotics now. I am hoping their fever will go away. Fecal test results come back tomorrow.
Kelly busted out of her Spay cage last night while I slept! I don’t know how she pushed through that latched door but I was quite surprised when I looked in this morning and the cage was empty! Door latched! I hunted every inch of this house for hours. No Kelly! Finally discovered her inside a cat food box. Judging by all the things she knocked over, she was trying to get back to the room she had been sharing with her babies. Since I had sanitized it yestefay, I put her back in the room when I found her today. Even though her kittens are not there, she is much more content now. She was back to purring for me again tonight.
Flowers kittens are adjusting well. I got to see what foster care is like for them today. Here is a smile for tonight.

This looked like a kitty ( kiddie) birthday party to me! View attachment 253866
I just love their expressions! No wonder they are adjusting! This must be the greatest foster care ever! My friend is a true friend to me and to the kittens. I almost expected to see tiny little party hats on the floor. Our sweet little flowers are off to a great new start. Not one sign that they began as feral kittens. Emily Post would be impressed!

 

[maggiedemi]

Again , when she lowered paw and put her ears back up I started petting and giving love.

Ummm. Only problem is Maggie is GLAD when I stop petting her. She's like "Good, I got rid of her."

 

[Jcatbird]

JosieQ is a feral rescuer. I just read the posts written about the feral they are desperate to save. Anyone who can help with information, please check this out. My heart and desire to help that cat is with them.

M maggiedemi How would Maggie react if you only petted Demi? Hmmmmm.

I prefer to sit like tiger’s eye stone
I’ll tell you now to leave me alone!
But petting my mate might just inspire,
a furry , big kitty’s affectionate desire!
Lol
Worth a try!

dustydiamond1 Theg were cute, weren’t they?

I am often asked about integrating new ferals with my established cats. As I was working with a group of the kitties today I took a few pictures to show that ferals, pets kitties, new members and old can mix well without a fight or any real upset. It takes time and repeating the process while I supervise but it can be done. New cats can blend in and ferals can too. Here’s the evidence!

Mitsy. My most shy and last to be petted.

A crowd starts to gather as I flip around a toy at the end of a wand. Mitsy is now near the middle with Thrasher on the top left. The baby of the family and long time tesident, Bonjure is st the bottom of the photo.

Mitsy takes the first leap! Long time resident , Lambie is on her right.

Twice rescued and previous feral, Banjo takes the bait and the risk of jumping over Lambie!

Lady, a slightly older girl uses her head and snatched the toy away from everyone, right over their heads! A table top gives her the height advantage!

Whistle, also a formal feral and a double rescue, steps in front of Bonjure to get a paw on the toy!

My oldest cat and first resident, steps in for some play time too.

Thrasher, the untrappable feral , won’t be left out. She snags the toy as easily as she would have snagged a big outside.

Here you can see there are nine cats in a small area of the room. Mackie has his back to the whole thing but then , he just wasn’t interested in this particular game. He prefers towel surfing.

You can see 8 here. Lady is to the left, up on the table. Not one cat was interested in arguing and no one was injured during the filming of this game.

It is possible to mix feral, tame, young, old, new residents and established ones without incident. It was a great play date!
Every cat in these photos started out life as a Feral. Most don’t even remember that now. I hope the others will soon forget and just learn to feel safe and enjoy life.

 

[ileen]

So you were holding the wand toy with one hand and taking pictures with the other? Impressive!

 

[dustydiamond1]

JosieQ is a feral rescuer. I just read the posts written about the feral they are desperate to save. Anyone who can help with information, please check this out. My heart and desire to help that cat is with them.

M maggiedemi How would Maggie react if you only petted Demi? Hmmmmm.

I prefer to sit like tiger’s eye stone
I’ll tell you now to leave me alone!
But petting my mate might just inspire,
a furry , big kitty’s affectionate desire!
Lol
Worth a try!

dustydiamond1 Theg were cute, weren’t they?

I am often asked about integrating new ferals with my established cats. As I was working with a group of the kitties today I took a few pictures to show that ferals, pets kitties, new members and old can mix well without a fight or any real upset. It takes time and repeating the process while I supervise but it can be done. New cats can blend in and ferals can too. Here’s the evidence!

Mitsy. My most shy and last to be petted.
View attachment 253945
A crowd starts to gather as I flip around a toy at the end of a wand. Mitsy is now near the middle with Thrasher on the top left. The baby of the family and long time tesident, Bonjure is st the bottom of the photo.
View attachment 253946
Mitsy takes the first leap! Long time resident , Lambie is on her right.
View attachment 253947
Twice rescued and previous feral, Banjo takes the bait and the risk of jumping over Lambie!
View attachment 253948
Lady, a slightly older girl uses her head and snatched the toy away from everyone, right over their heads! A table top gives her the height advantage!
View attachment 253949
Whistle, also a formal feral and a double rescue, steps in front of Bonjure to get a paw on the toy!
View attachment 253950
My oldest cat and first resident, steps in for some play time too.View attachment 253958
Thrasher, the untrappable feral , won’t be left out. She snags the toy as easily as she would have snagged a big outside.View attachment 253963
Here you can see there are nine cats in a small area of the room. Mackie has his back to the whole thing but then , he just wasn’t interested in this particular game. He prefers towel surfing. View attachment 253973
You can see 8 here. Lady is to the left, up on the table. Not one cat was interested in arguing and no one was injured during the filming of this game. View attachment 253972
It is possible to mix feral, tame, young, old, new residents and established ones without incident. It was a great play date!
Every cat in these photos started out life as a Feral. Most don’t even remember that now. I hope the others will soon forget and just learn to feel safe and enjoy life.

 

[Jcatbird]

ileen With this many cats you multi task or they eat you. Lol Feeding time is when I have to be at my best! I would photograph that but I might lose something in the effort.

 

[JosieQ]

@Jcatbird

Thanks for the mention, and adorable post, adorable kitties!

It's weird because I've fed a lot of strays and ferals, and tamed a lot to be petted, but never actually brought them inside until recently. I've now noticed that these two sorta half-feral strays I've rescued play differently than my house kitties. They are much better at catching things first of all, which is understandable, but what was unexpected is that they both have this weird kind of bouncing run when I zoom a laser-pointer in front of them.

My other cats just run, but these two... it's hard to explain, they do these pounce-runs, that look almost awkward and definitely hilarious, but I assume it must be to some purpose that's helpful in the wild. They're moving slightly slower sometimes doing that, but I guess it helps grab something anyway despite the loss of speed? Maybe? I mean, assuming that IS some kinda feral thing and they're not just crazy.

(Also weird is the way they completely ignored the laser-pointer for a full month, they would just look at it and look away like it was nothing of consequence, and then suddenly out of nowhere one day they both went crazy for it like it was amazing and new and now they HAVE to get it, but why out of nowhere like that? Weirdos.)

Upon cursory examination I like Banjo best, but Lambie's got the best name. XD

 

[Jcatbird]

JosieQ i am so glad you wrote! Very observant of you to notice how your cats play differently. I have found that ferals know how to hunt be as they age, play is no longer an option. They kind of forget how to play. Once I bring a feral inside and they understand that they are safe and no longer have to struggle for good they seem to remember how much fun it is to play. My cat Thrasher is a perfect example. She had a terrible life outside but is making up fit it now. She plays harde than any of the other cats. Any excuse to play is accepted. Just wiggle one toe and she is jumping on it. Lol I would guess that your rescues were slow to go after the laser because it didn’t look like a food source they recognized but now that they are being fed they are looking at it as something to okay with. That’s a great sign that they are adjusting to being non ferals. You are doing a great job with them.
I think you assume correctly about their awkward pounce and run. It is the movement of a predator as it tries to catch a mouse or bug. The pounce to incapacitate the food and the run to pursue it and capture if it continues. I think your intuitive understanding of cats is very good. The kitties are lucky to have found you. They are smart. They know who to chose.
If you like Banjo you might be interested in going back in this thread to learn her story. She and her litter mates were feral rescues. She and brother Whistle still live here. They have both had struggles , but are survivors. Whistle is a lover and Banjo just steals hearts. Banjo is the funny one. She steals my phone and takes selfies! I have posted these pictures before but to welcome you I will let Banjo give you a high five for all you are doing for kitties and a kitty hug in case you need one! I hope to hear more from you.

 

[M Thomas]

God bless you all for your cat efforts. Here's a really good suggestion for anyone and everyone who wants to make a far reaching difference in the cat rescue world - www.homelesspetclubs.org. Every county's schools should start this program, get students and adults involved in the rescue/support of abused and feral animals. This website can tell you how to get started.

I learned something rather disturbing recently about a local (county) animal facility. Although considered "no-kill" it can NOT be a no-kill facility by being a county agency. That must be true of all county animal control facilities. Govt. legalities get in the way. So employees of the AC out of the goodness of their hearts try to get the animals adopted out and not be put on the kill list. Also, think about it, rescue groups believing AC is "no-kill" just back off their rescue efforts in that regard.

Also, PETA has an eyeopening article about "the shell game" that some no-kill facilities perpetuate. They send animals to other facilities that do kill, so as to maintain their "no-kill" reputation. It doesn't pay to assume.

 

[Jcatbird]

M M Thomas all very eye opening about the shelters. I know that funding can only support so many. It is a constant battle for our shelter to find money to keep up with the animals turned in. Responsible pet owners will get their pets spayed or neutered to help cut down on the load put on the shelters. I find that working with the local shelter personally does help. Even if you can’t go to the shelter to work ,there are other ways to assist. TNR helps. Letter writing to those who fund the shelters and make the laws helps. Providing funding ,supplies ,( most shelters get only the basics like dry food, food dishes and litter pans so things like canned food, blankets, towels , beds, toys and bleach are much needed) and anything you can offer will help improve the situation for the people who work there and for the animals. Of course adoptions save lives. Rescue if you can!
I am glad you posted the link to the homeless pet club. I hope that spreads.
No animals in shelters at all would be the ultimate goal.

 

[Jcatbird]

I was scrolling through photos of some of the kitties and I saw this picture of Jazzy. It occurred to me that it might be useful to others to see the little patch of missing fur on her shoulder. The reason being ,it shows where she had a micrchip placed that can be used to trace who she is if she is ever lost and then located by someone who cares enough to try and find out where she belongs. So, if you find a cat with this type of mark, the microchip can be scanned and the information it provides can be used to reunite the cat with it’s owner. This is just a handy thing to recognize if you find a kitty. Somewhat like recognizing a clipped ear as a mark that a cat has been spayed or neutered. I think all who find a cat would like to know the information provided by both of these marks. It certainly aids in rescues.

In case anyone here is unfamiliar with the look of the clipped ear of a spayed or neutered cat, here is a picture of Eisenhower with his left ear clipped at the tip.

I have an update on the last outside cat. BJ let me pet him today. He is still jumpy but after being given yrdats he allowed full petting down his back and a little bit of neck scratching. He is trusting me a little more. The right treats can make a huge difference in luring a cat in closer. Ham beats cat food, paws down!

All the kitties have had a big day today. We are trying hard to integrate other cats into our little society here. One of the grown kittens from Goldie has been brought in to the group to prepare her for adoption. As one of the “ bears” Kodiak had been living in the other building on the property but she is doing well enough since I transferred her to the house that I hope she can get adopted.
We are all tired now. I was taking a few photos when I got this shot of Banjo. It says it all.
Time for bed Mom!

Good night all.

 

[Norachan]

That's great news about BJ. I bet they get friendly really quickly when there's ham on offer.

Hope Kodiak gets adopted soon.

 

[rubysmama]

+
I'm guessing BJ will be a member of Jcatbird 's Club Med for cats in the very near future.

Quick question, but maybe not a quick answer. Of the cats you currently have, how many do you hope will eventually be able to be adopted out?

 

[Jcatbird]

rubysmama I am hoping all the rescues get homes but that is probably unrealistic. 18 are left of those I caught this past year. 7 babies are in foster care and two adults are awaiting homes on the adoption floor. 65 have gotten furever homes so I hold out hope for the rest. I have some older cats that were previous rescues and it may be that a couple of them could get adopted but they are here because I could not adopt them out before so I really don’t have a clear answer. I hope for great things for them all. About half of the cats have issues that must be solved in order to be adoption candidates. They are either still too feral or too shy. I work with them all to try and overcome their problems. Banjo and Whistle had a set back when they had to be reclaimed from a failed adoption. This is my first experience with that. I am not sure if they could readjust again or if it is even good for them to be moved again. I suppose I will figure that out in time. Thanks for asking. All good wishes and hopes for them are appreciated. They are all wonderful cats and deserve a great, safe life.
Here is a list.
Kodiak
Mitsy
Thrasher
Jazzy
Man
Eisenhower
Goldie
Mountain
Blue
BJ
Alley
Cally
Kelly
Tortuga
Liberty
Flowers
Banjo
Whistle

 

[rubysmama]

I love that BJ is on that list. Good luck with them. If there is a way to solve their issues and make them adoptable, you'll find it.