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- Mar 23, 2017
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Hi, I’m Annah, new to this site – and so glad to have found you. For the past four months I’ve been drowning myself with literature/websites dedicated to ferals/stray cats - first, just to figure out what the difference is between ferals and strays – then, to figure out how to help them and what is and is not in my control. So here goes…
November/2016: on a bitter freezing night, a Tortoiseshell kitty landed near my garden. Starved and shivering, I scooped her up in a crate and brought her immediately to the vet where she appeared healthy. That week, we placed a have-a-heart trap near a foot path of the garden that her Calico momma frequently used, and within an hour momma was caught. In the cage she was terrified, but calm to my surprise.
We quickly decided to foster the tortoishell kitty, making sure she was clear of any diseases, making sure she received her shots, and when age appropriate have her spayed. The intention was to then place her for adoption. As for momma, we also took her to the vet immediately where, under sedation, the vet spayed her, gave the initial necessary shots, and was able to determine from her teeth that she was 2-3 months shy of being two years old. The weather was getting worse (colder and our first snow storm hit the day I picked up momma from the vet), so per the vet’s recommendation we kept her an extra week to let her heal from the surgery/trauma before putting her out in the elements. During that week we probably made two mistakes: #1, when I realized momma allowed me to enter the cage and place food/water without any hassle, I continued enlisting my trust; and #2, when the end of the week arrived we didn’t have the heart to release her into 2 feet of snow with a bare stomach, so we decided to keep her until the spring.
The kitty, now Hannah, is a healthy 5 month old, a kitten in every way imaginable (including an occasional biting habit I still can’t seem to get her to stop despite all the “tricks” I’ve read and been told to do), and is set to be spayed the first week in May. She has even integrated reasonably well with my two 13 year old cats. My female cat Sasha set her straight from day one, showing her where the boundaries are. My boy Lucien however is a pushover, and Hannah seems to love him and pick on him at the same time
As for momma, now Savannah, after reading all the materials I could get my hands on, I’ve come to the conclusion she is more stray than feral. She was terrified the last time we went to the vet, but did not need to be sedated (just a strong hold on the scruff) and now her last distemper shot is due this Saturday. After that, she will be deemed in tip-top shape and is the sweetest thing you can imagine. She lives in my studio, away from the main house and other cats. She follows me everywhere, rubs up against my legs meowing, allows me to pet her (just this past week I reached the occasional belly rub stage), sat on my lap twice (though this is still new for her), climbs her tower and loves to play. She can still be skittish and/or terribly frightened of new noises/people, and picking her up is still a no-no – she’ll do a little skip-hop-skip on me when I place my hand under her. Very cute but I respect that she’s not ready.
So what’s the problem?
Issue one: We’re not sure if we can handle two extra forever cats. They are the first stray cats I’ve EVER captured and cared for, and it’s a lot to handle – at times exhausting when I have to split my time between Savannah (in the studio) and Hannah, Lucien and Sasha (in the house). Lucien and Sasha are my two 13 year old cats, rescues as well who came with a husband. I just don’t know how much longer I can keep doing it, on top of juggling school, part-time work, and maintaining a household. I know if we had to, we wouldn’t have a problem getting Hannah adopted in a loving home: she is still a kitten, by next month her vet needs will have been completely fulfilled, and for the most part she is very sweet. As for Savannah, she's a bigger concern. If I had known sooner NOT TO TOUCH OR SOCIALIZE Savannah if I was going to just catch/release, I wouldn’t have gone down the touching/socializing road. Also getting her adopted will be the most difficult. It will have to be someone who’s committed and willing to be loving, patient with her and pick up where I’ve left off.
Issue two if we keep her: My biggest fear with Hannah is that she will not grow to be calmer/mellower. I don’t know if my two 13 year olds (Lucien and Sasha) can handle Hannah’s energy. (Maybe I’m not giving cats the credit they deserve to figure these things out for themselves but I am very protective of my seniors.) I haven’t found any books/video clips related to the pluses and minuses of seniors and juveniles living and getting along together. I’m also concerned with Hannah’s behavior towards Lucien. Once Hannah got more access to the house, I’d see her paw at Lucien’s face and leap/lunge over him. I thought perhaps she was testing him but I’m not sure. A few times I’ve caught them behaving as if they were fighting but I saw no claws extracted, only pointy ears, chasing, and kind of trying to slap each other. Nevertheless the behavior is disconcerting to me as I’m afraid once Hannah gets older, she’ll become a bully towards him. The thing is during feeding time everyone gets along, and I’ve even seen Hannah sleeping on the same cushion with Lucien. In fact, right now Lucien, Sasha and Hannah are all sleeping in the living room in their respective cushions sweet as can be.
Issue three if we keep her: Although I’ve made great strides towards socializing Savannah – it will take a long time before she becomes just a regular house cat (whatever that means). She’s also not ready to be socialized with Lucien/Sasha (and I'm not sure it's a good idea to tax them with another new cat). I've also hit a wall re: what more to teach her. Is this the part where I let her be...and live on her terms? I'd want to know I'm doing enough of the right things.
In hindsight, I know rescuing them was the right thing to do, but I rushed to do everything I could for them without being properly educated. Either way when you’ve committed to saving a life and love them, it’s hard to let them go. I must sound like a new mother with all the fears that come with that responsibility.
Well after all this, I think you get more than a gist of my dilemma(s). Any advice, suggestions, guidance would be greatly appreciated. I don’t expect anyone to tell me what to do with regards to keeping them or not, but I would like feedback on:
1) Further socializing Savannah;
2) Or thoughts from people who have had to let go of a strays after socializing. (Although releasing Savannah now into the woods seems cruel to me – especially after showing her the life and safety she can have. Someone told me that it doesn’t take long for stray/feral cats to re-acclimate to their previous surroundings – meaning I could still release her to the outdoors. Is that true?)
3) Thoughts on how kittens think, and tips on stopping kittens from biting (besides ignoring/just stopping interactions, flicking their nose, saying “stop!”, etc.). Also kittens behaving seemingly aggressive towards other cats.
Thanks to all who had the patience to read this, and I’m sorry if I sound a bit hysterical. I’m really not, I’m just going through a lot of emotions with something I’ve never done before. I have to say when I hold Hannah, or pet Savannah, it’s one of the greatest pleasures in the world. All I want to do is love them, care for them and keep them safe. Attached is a photo of Savannah/mom on the left and Hannah/daughter on the right.
In a perfect world, I thought at some point I'd be able to reunite mother and daughter. I thought, what with Lucien's and Sasha's health declining, that somehow the universe has given us another set of cats to care for. But I might just be creating more problems for myself.
Thank you for reading - Annah
P.S.: The book that helped me the most and is now my stray bible is: The Stray Cat Handbook by Tamara Kreuz. If you have any books or videos you can recommend, please let me know.