Seeking help weighing decision to bring feral cat(s) inside

[Margot Lane]

Hi Chirpy Squirrel! Missin those tree pile cats! What’s shakin?

 

[tarasgirl06]

*Inquiring minds DO want to know!*

 

[Jcatbird]

Hmmm. It’s hard to find a Chirpy Squirrel! ……………………
Okay. All I got was a Chirpy chipmunk!
ChirpySquirrel ?

 

[Jcatbird]

Well Hi there! I see a Chirpy Squirrel!

 

[ChirpySquirrel]

Hi Margot Lane and Jcatbird and anyone else out there! I'm so bad at posting updates lately. So glad you tagged me and thank you for your continued interest in the tree pile kitties! I had to look back and remember where we were last time I posted. Clearly it's been too long! So, without further ado...<<<drum roll>>>

The kitties are still doing great! Tiny Tuck, Lippy and Milly have been out of their enclosures full time since shortly after my last post. They transitioned like champs and it was really a breeze. The fighting (well, playing) eventually subsided almost entirely and they only "get into it" once in a while. I think they may actually spend more time grooming each other lovingly than fighting.

Tiny Tuck has become quite the little lap kitty. I usually sit on the floor and just hang out with them and while I'm sitting there, Tuck will almost always end up on my lap and gets sleepy almost immediately. She will always purr with the sweetest little purr that matches her tiny stature. She is still quite small...I don't know if she will grow much more to be honest. I wonder if that's just her genes but I also wonder if it is related to how difficult things most certainly were for her as a kitten...when I first started seeing her, she seemed to not be in very good shape. I observed over the next little while of watching that she was a fighter and a survivor...not to mention she just loved to play. She still plays to her hearts content...limited space notwithstanding.

Milly. Oh Milly. What a funny cat. He keeps growing. I think he's going for a world record. Not fat or anything, just large. He's come out of his shell and plays a lot, and then will just lounge happily. He has come so far. He enjoys scratches and pets. He's not snuggly with me but he is friendly. He will come sit by me sometimes. It may just be in my head, but of all the cats, I think he enjoys the safety and comfort of his new home the most. You may recall his third eyelid issue. It has not healed but it also doesn't seem to me getting any worse or causing any serious issues. I just think it was damaged and healed with some scar tissue which makes it so it doesn't retract normally.

Lippy is just the best. I mean, they're all the best, but Lippy is so so good. She is so prim and proper. Her fur is so long and she keeps it immaculate. The funny thing is, she is quite tame but she will often still give me a couple little hisses when I'm entering the room. What the heck Lippy? I still always knock softly and announce myself. You know who I am! And you know you immediately get yummy treats! I think it's just that she doesn't know what's "out there". I keep the door closed at all times other than when I'm coming and going. They have definitely started to express some curiosity. I have a gate as a second door but probably need to get a better one in place. They certainly don't seem like they will try to make a break for it or anything though. That said, they are farther along sooner than I expected so I'm already starting to feel like I need to think about what the next phase is going to look like. I mean, if I didn't have Puffy, my long time regular house cat, I'd already be letting them out to explore the rest of the house. Puffy, by the way, has also been expressing more curiosity about what's going on in the kitty room. More on this topic later, but I just know he won't adjust well to having a bunch of other wild crazy kitties running around his territory.

Well that leads me to Stormy. So I have good news but she's still going at her own slooooow pace. I recently FINALLY got her to start licking the squeeze up treats off my fingers!!! That was one of the main things that allowed me to really speed things up with the other 3. But I'm still having to keep her in her enclosure. I let all the other kitties in her enclosure just about every day. Milly is a momma's boy. He loves being with her and insists on waiting by her enclosure door to get let in. They do fight though. Again, very playful fighting but a little rough once in a while...but I think it's mostly positive, especially for further bonding because they do stop to lick each other periodically. Lippy and Stormy don't fight so that's good. Lippy seems to like going to Stormy as well and they make noises at each other but more or less mostly kind of just ignore each other after they "acknowledge" each other. Tuckie will go in too but sort of steers clear of Stormy. They have fought some too but I think for the most part they are fine. Stormy is going to be a little more stubborn than the others obviously, but she is still coming along. I don't think I'll wait much longer to let her out but I can't really get her to respond with treats the way I was able to with the others. So she's got me nervous and I sense she is still capable of kind of freaking out if something goes awry.

I need to put a pin in this for now but I'll be back soon for sure! I'll need some guidance on my next steps. I have pictures to post too

 

[Margot Lane]

Congratulations! ! What strides you have all made! I love the way you write about your cats….you make it sound as if you are part of the pride. I can’t recall if you said, but do you have pet insurance? That’s a lot of vet bills! can’t wait for photos, and thanks for the update!

 

[Jcatbird]

Wow!!!! So much awesome news! All the kitties have made so much progress! You are just wonderful with them! I am really looking forward to the pictures!

 

[ChirpySquirrel]

I can’t recall if you said, but do you have pet insurance? That’s a lot of vet bills! can’t wait for photos, and thanks for the update!

Well, I hadn't really thought about that yet and to be honest I'm not sure what's involved in acquiring pet insurance. I'm assuming it would require a visit to the vet. I know vet bills can add up quickly. When Chirpy got sick, I spent thousands of dollars trying to figure out what was wrong. Multiple different vets and many, many procedures, medicines, tests, etc. and honestly none of it seemed to really help him. In fact, it is my belief that they caused him more harm that they did good. Not intentionally of course, but that whole experience left me lacking confidence in vets and some aspects of veterinary care. It's similar to health care for people in my opinion and experience. Doctors are pretty good and preventative care and treating acute and specific problems but when it comes to diagnosing and treating chronic illnesses, autoimmune and other more indeterminant diseases, they are much less effective. Surely, some doctors and vets are better than others.

Anyway, sorry for the side bar there but I guess I'd say we are still quite a ways off from being able to take them in to the vet without it being a very, very stressful ordeal for them. They are comfortable and content in their room and with me as long as things aren't changing much but I'm certain they would not respond well to any major environment changes or new experiences such as taking a car ride to the vet. I'm not sure how long it will take for that to no longer be a major concern so to this point I have no plans to haul them to the vet unless it's an emergency.

Ok, now to get some pictures posts!

 

[ChirpySquirrel]

Unfortunately I don't have time to add captions at the moment but maybe I can do that later. Til then, please enjoy!

 

[Jcatbird]

Loving the photos!!! You don’t need captions but I can tell you that I had a few pop into my mind. Lol I’m sure the thoughts I had ,have absolutely nothing to do with the actual scene though. The kitties all look so happy! It is such a difference between now and when they ran for cover outside as land was cleared. You would never know what they experienced by looking at them now and it is all thanks to all the love, concern, caring and effort you poured into them. Eating squeeze food from your hand. These did my heart so much good today. Thank you!

 

[Jcatbird]

I know that vet visits are intimidating. Ugh. It will be a good idea to look around to start a relationship with one you can trust. The first kitty that seems the calmest would be the start. You may have to try more than one to find the one that works for you but there are some great ones out there. The not knowing who you can trust to handle something rather than having to rush, if needed, to someone you already know and trust can make a huge difference in everything. I stumbled upon the ones I use and I am so glad I found them! It has been a great relationship and we often discuss many aspects and possibilities before any final decisions. We have gained much by working as a team. If you read the issues that came up about Banjo then you can understand. The vet listened to me, went the extra mile to help and we both learned something new. Banjo benefitted from us having an established relationship. Granted, not every experience is going to go that route but many cats got help when it was needed. I do get a bit of a senior discount (should get bulk rate! Lololololol) The office manager often gives extra discounts when she can. I don’t know if that office will always be so amazing but they have always been there when I needed them and I have needed them a lot when I was working to get cats healthy, vetted and up for adoption. We joke around now that they should just let me move in but.... so far they won’t let me bring a cot.

 

[ChirpySquirrel]

We have a snowy Sunday here today and seemed like a good time to jump on and write down a few thoughts and provide an update. No signs of Spring yet! It's been a cold and snowy winter...more so than I can remember in quite some time. A couple of weeks ago, we had some pretty nasty below zero weather...pretty sure I have talked about it before but I keep thinking how glad I am that the tree pile kitties are safe and warm and aren't out there trying to survive in such extreme conditions.

Seems like I'm maybe only doing something like monthly updates but I guess that's probably ok at this point. Things are going well still and it's really fun to see the kitties have a good life: healthy and happy, eating, sleeping, playing, lounging peacefully, etc.

Stormy is still making progress. Along with letting the other kitties in her enclosure for play time and interaction, I'm now letting her out of her enclosure every day. I still don’t feel like I can let her go too far. She just hasn't reached that point yet where I feel comfortable letting her roam. I think I mentioned previously how after a certain level of trust, the other kitties could be enticed with treats to go pretty much anywhere I wanted them to. That predictability made things much easier with them. Stormy is pretty much having none of that! I have had some minor “break-throughs” with her, slowly but surely. It’s funny how it’s difficult to note the progress day by day, but when I look back at just a couple of month ago, I can say she has actually come quite far. She’s now at the point where she does not hide at all. She will lie comfortably on her bed with me only inches away. She will lick treats off my fingers. I can hand feed her crunchy treats. All this is good. Better yet, I finally have been able to quickly give her some scratches and pets. She hasn't protested too much…just quick but not aggressive nips at my hand. It was so nice after all this time to be able to finally actually touch her so I’m just going to keep working on that. I open her door and she will gladly venture out but she only has a little area to go as I position myself to block her from the rest of the room. Fortunately she hasn’t shown any inclination to freak out or make an all-out break for it. At the same time, she hasn’t worked up the courage to attempt to skootch past me. Instead, she’ll sniff around and usually plop down in the corner. I suppose this is good to see she is comfortable and not scared. If I try to interact with her while she’s out of her enclosure, she gets a bit nervous but I’ve been able to play with her more and more with different toys and even my hands (which, although friendly, is a game I play at my own risk ).

Ok, so that’s pretty much the Stormy update. As far as the others go, to me, Milly just seems so content in his safe and happy situation. He loves being with the others and he gets really excited to play with Stormy- he waits for me to open her door and then dashes in. They seem to be quite bonded. Oddly, Lippy and Stormy rarely interact other than greetings. It is a little funny though- Lippy does like to hang out in Stormy’s enclosure. I don’t know if it’s for the privacy or something else. On a couple occasions, I’ve just had to lock her up in there with Stormy overnight so I could go to bed lol.

While I continue to dream up plans to have an outdoor space for them some day, for now my next step is to expand their space from one room to two. I think I’ll have to migrate them to the room across the house and then I can make a “tunnel” through the wall that separates the two bedrooms on that side of the house. This would all be a pretty big change for them but I think I would basically set up one of the rooms very similar to their current room. As you could probably see from the pictures, I have the two catios and their large cages (with doors propped open) still in there for some separation (kind of like smaller rooms within the room), with the tops/roofs covered and carpeted so they have all sorts of areas to jump up on and high ground to lounge and play. They can even perch up on top of the catios. They can see out the window (for better or worse…I just hope they aren’t longing to go out there too badly…only Lippy seems particularly interested). I also have cat trees and a hammock that, to my surprise, they really like. Anyway, I can set all that stuff up in one room and then the other room they’ll have access to will be more open. I will do some catification with a good amount of fun things but I sort of imagine they would like a little more open space for romping around.

One step at a time but things still on my mind for down the road will be whether or not I’ll ever be able to integrate them with Coco Puff. For now I also still have Marshmallow. I have been waffling about whether to resume my efforts to find him another home. Puffy and Mallow still don’t particularly seem to enjoy each other’s company. Mallow is not super mobile and as such, he probably feels vulnerable. I think he doesn’t trust other cats given his experiences outside. Puffy is too used to having the house to himself. He mostly just avoids Marshmallow and will stay downstairs. This all worries me and I can’t even imagine trying to make him adjust to 4 other cats that probably won’t like him much either. I have to either figure out how to partition off the whole house to keep them separated or think about adopting the other cats out. My main problem with that thought is that it just seems like they are well bonded and it’s hard for me to think of having to separate them. I don’t know. Milly seems to have always needed Lippy. I think the same may be for Stormy as well. Maybe Tuck would do ok alone…she is very adaptive and will probably bond with other humans reasonably well….but she does really enjoy playtime with the others. I don’t know. Separating them is not a pleasant thought. I guess we’ll have to see how it goes.

Well, that’s probably enough for now…but I have to leave you with this cat song video. It's the best! Super funny and should make your day if you like cats and music.