Semi-feral: Bring Them Inside Or Not?

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Avery

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Good point, the vet WAS very calm and matter-of-fact about Lucky's diagnosis. Not worried at all.

I do wish I hadn't been such a big baby during the exam, but they put a drop in his eye to numb it and then they used some kind of Q-tip thing to poke around in his eye and push the third eyelid out of the way to see the eye behind it! It made me so squeamish, I couldn't look! I wish now that I'd overcome that feeling so I could see what they were looking at. Oh well, maybe next year!
 
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Avery

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It has been a few months since I posted a message, so I thought I’d update the adventures of Ruby and Lucky! The original resident kitties, Palmer and Rosie, have done well accepting their new roomies, and I am so happy to have all four cats safe inside now.

Lucky is doing great. From my initial encounters with him, when he seemed to be a feral cat even to the vet who neutered him, to realizing he was probably a scared stray cat, he has become the most affectionate cat I have ever known! He wants to sit on my lap all the time and he sometimes gets very silly, rolling around upside-down to be petted on his belly. He is a very active boy and plays hard. Having only one good eye does not stop him one bit.

Ruby, originally feral/semiferal, is doing great, too, but isn’t at the lap-sitting stage yet. While she still spends time on the cat perch in her former safe room, she usually joins the others downstairs looking out windows and taking naps. She won’t let me pick her up and I usually can’t pet her unless it is meal time or treat time, but she is allowing much more frequent and extensive petting at those times. Progress is slow, but it is happening and if it went no further, it would be just fine as she is comfortable throughout the house and around me and content to be indoors.

Lucky and Palmer have become buddies. They chase and wrestle and just a few days ago, I saw Lucky holding onto Palmer and licking the top of his head! Lucky and Ruby get along very well most of the time, with the occasional swat between them as they wait for a meal to be served. Ruby does not seem to like Palmer and while there haven’t been any fights, there have been hisses from Ruby and she will sometimes chase him away if he is too close. This situation is improving as Palmer, still a bit nervous around her, takes her attitude in stride, watching her from a few feet away as if he can’t believe she doesn’t want to be friends! My fourth cat, little Rosie, is older and keeps to herself, sleeping on the bed with me at night and pretty much being ignored by the others.

Lucky acts as kind of the “cat buffer” in the house, as he is the cat everyone gets along with. Yesterday, Ruby was on the window sill watching a big bunny outside. Palmer was dying to jump up to watch, but knew that Ruby would chase him off. Then Lucky jumped up next to Ruby and, with that, Palmer felt comfortable jumping up, too, keeping Lucky between him and Ruby. The three of them stayed there for quite a while watching the bunny.

I am so grateful to everyone on TCS who helped me make the decision to bring Ruby and Lucky indoors and continued to provide advice and encouragement every step of the way. rubysmama rubysmama was my first responder and provided great articles and support, while shadowsrescue shadowsrescue and KrisinOhio KrisinOhio were two special advisors whose own experiences made me feel that this whole thing was do-able! And it was!

Here are pictures of Lucky and Ruby sitting together on the window sill, followed by individual photos of them.

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shadowsrescue

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What a fantastic update! I love the pictures with Lucky and Ruby and their ear tips! All of them have come so far! Lucky and Ruby were just waiting for you to rescue them! I am so happy that all has turned out so very well for them all.
Kudos to you for sticking with them and giving them all a wonderful life!
 

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This is all wonderful to hear! I’m so glad you were able to save them all and integrate everyone into you home. You’ve done a wonderful job. I love the pictures and the story of the “ bunny watching!” I have a buffer cat too and he is my peacemaker. Thank you for such a great update and happy news!
 

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So, so happy to read that Ruby is now spending time downstairs with you and the other cats. She'll always hold a special spot in my heart, since she shares a name with my girl. :hearthrob: Happy too that Lucky and Palmer continue to be buddies. :catrub: And that none of these changes has affected your older lady, Rosie. :lovecat4:
Thanks for the update! I love happy endings. :catlove:
 
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Avery

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Oh, rubysmama rubysmama , thank you for asking! Well, nothing horrible is happening, but a little role reversal with Palmer and Ruby! Even though Ruby is Palmer's mother (they spent months together outside and when I captured Palmer and kept him in a bathroom for a few weeks, Ruby would sit outside the bathroom window all day and Palmer would sit on the window sill to see her and Ruby would sometimes jump up to try to get in the window -- it was SO sad), since they both have been inside (Palmer is four and has been inside since he was only a few months old and Ruby has been inside almost a year now!) they don't seem to know each other OR like each other!

Luckily, they co-exist fairly well, with Ruby initially hissing at Palmer if he got too close and occasionally chasing him, but just a short distance. Palmer seemed a bit afraid of her. Suddenly, and I don't know why, for the past weeks, Palmer has become the more aggressive one. No fights, just a little bullying. I wasn't sure initially that it WAS bullying because Palmer would just sit nonchalantly in front of the cat tree when Ruby was underneath. Ruby would start to growl, and I realized he was blocking her! Or Ruby would be on a window sill and Palmer would sit on the chair right next to the window and just stare at her, again kind of blocking her, maybe intimidating her, too.

I am having some luck, at least keeping things from escalating, with Jackson Galaxy Bully Solution for Palmer, spraying Feliway in "hot spots" where they have encounters, and doling out treats when they are near each other. (Lots of treats!) I also bought a few new cat toys to give them more to do, ordered another cat tree for more vertical space, and am considering buying some Composure liquid to help them stay more relaxed, but can't seem to decide about that. Lucky is still the "buffer" cat and is always welcome when Palmer and Ruby are together because he distracts them both and sometimes will get Palmer to play.

Honestly, I feel lucky that things are going as well as they are, but it would be so wonderful if they still had the loving bond from years ago when Palmer was young. I have to do more reading about bullying to see what other ideas might come up and, of course, advice is always!
 

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The kitties do like to keep us occupied don’t they? :alright:I was wondering if this really isn’t role reversal though. What may have looked like bullying before could have been an attempt by Ruby to keep her son under control. The males do tend to become dominant and this would probably have played out eventually outside if you hadn’t intervened and saved them. You gave Ruby a place to remain a little ahead of the curve but Palmer finally feels like he can make a step forward. The roles of Alpha do shift :seesaw:but I find that when the cats find their place in line things to settle down so hopefully Palmer and Ruby will work it out. I know Palmer is four but becoming the assertive young man may have been delayed by needing Mom outside and then the adjustments to being socialized. He is still fairly young so this could just be them finding their balance. You’re doing all you can to keep things calm and Lucky plays a great role as peacemaker. Just hang in there because they may still return to being affectionate when they get past this. Having a clowder here I have seen the balance shift more than once but the kitties do work it out. I found that , as I added kitties things got a little active but even if they have a disagreement now, it is over quickly and the ones that fussed can be found snuggling later. It just took each cat time to establish their place and each one did it at a different pace. Hoping for peace there. :vibes:
 

dustydiamond1

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The kitties do like to keep us occupied don’t they? :alright:I was wondering if this really isn’t role reversal though. What may have looked like bullying before could have been an attempt by Ruby to keep her son under control. The males do tend to become dominant and this would probably have played out eventually outside if you hadn’t intervened and saved them. You gave Ruby a place to remain a little ahead of the curve but Palmer finally feels like he can make a step forward. The roles of Alpha do shift :seesaw:but I find that when the cats find their place in line things to settle down so hopefully Palmer and Ruby will work it out. I know Palmer is four but becoming the assertive young man may have been delayed by needing Mom outside and then the adjustments to being socialized. He is still fairly young so this could just be them finding their balance. You’re doing all you can to keep things calm and Lucky plays a great role as peacemaker. Just hang in there because they may still return to being affectionate when they get past this. Having a clowder here I have seen the balance shift more than once but the kitties do work it out. I found that , as I added kitties things got a little active but even if they have a disagreement now, it is over quickly and the ones that fussed can be found snuggling later. It just took each cat time to establish their place and each one did it at a different pace. Hoping for peace there. :vibes:
:clap::clap2::goldstar::hearthrob::sunshine::redheartpump:
 

rubysmama

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since they both have been inside (Palmer is four and has been inside since he was only a few months old and Ruby has been inside almost a year now!) they don't seem to know each other OR like each other!
That's so sad. :( I am, however, glad that Ruby is no long holed up in her room. Wonder if that's part of it too. Ruby's in Palmer's spaces, and he's feeling territorial?

However,

Having a clowder here I have seen the balance shift more than once but the kitties do work it out.
Jcatbird Jcatbird , and her clowder, has probably seen it all, so she definitely would know more about cat interactions than me, with my Ruby, who's an only cat.

Good luck. Hope they get the roles settled soon. :catlove:
 
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Avery

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Thanks for the support, everyone! Jcatbird Jcatbird , you make a lot of sense! I have already read your reply twice and I'll read it a few more times, too! I am hopeful that, in time, Palmer and Ruby will work this out! This morning, in fact, Ruby came out from under the cat tree to accept her treats! Usually, I have to reach under to hand them to her with Palmer and Lucky (of course, Lucky has to get into the act!) sitting a few feet away. When she came out, she was less than 2 feet away from the boys and everyone did fine. I SO look forward to a time of their snuggling together, but I will happily accept any kind of progress!
 

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That is a great step in the right direction! As rubysmama rubysmama mentioned , some squabbles are about territory. Just keep that in mind too. Sometimes I rearrange things to stop squabbles and sometimes rearranging things can start a debate over who gets which spot!:lol:
It’s kind of like having two little kids in the back seat of a car on a long trip. “She touched me! He has his elbow on my seat!” Giving them both their own space makes the journey much quieter.
 

NY cat man

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For what it is worth, there have been disagreements each time another cat joined us, with the sole exception of when Prancer was introduced to Burdock. Digger, Stretch, and Bashful are littermates, but Digger, being the more gregarious, came inside about 2 weeks before they did. She acted as if she had never seen them before, hissing and swatting- with malice- for quite some time before things got sorted out. There was a repeat, on a lesser scale, when Miss Eleanor came in, but things have since settled down to where each has a territory of its own, plus the common areas that they share.
It will take some time, to be sure, but I believe that Ruby and Palmer will, if not become friends again, will come to co-exist with each other.
 
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Avery

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Thanks for sharing your experience, N NY cat man ! It is always SO helpful to hear what others have gone through. Gives me hope for a successful future with these guys!

I have ordered a new cat tree, but it turns out it is on back order until October from quite a few vendors so I'm on waiting lists. It is a different-looking tree and I hope that the cats will like it and take advantage of more options for spreading out! I'll add a link:
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/merry-products-modern-folding-cat-tree
 

rubysmama

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That cat tree is really different. It's like a ladder. Hopefully it'll come in sooner than expected, but since tomorrow is Sep 1, October isn't all that far away now.
 
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