Semi-feral Drop Offs

Talien

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I had noticed a pair of Kittens roaming around my yard, usually near the corner of my shed where there are some large bushes that provide ample cover, I remembered my Dad had said he saw a pregnant Cat late spring so I figured they were probably from her. I borrowed a live trap from my neighbor and set it near where I had seen the Kittens and caught the mother, and one of the Kittens a few days later.

The mother was missing her right eye when I caught her but was in otherwise good condition so I suspected she had been a dropoff, and most likely abused as even after I had socialized her she was still afraid of hands and would regularly attack mine. She was an absolute nervous wreck when I brought her inside and put her in my foster room, she literally climbed straight up one wall and launched herself horizontally off of it. She then rather viciously attacked her reflection in a mirror, tried to jump through a closed window, and ran headfirst into the glass paneled door. She would hiss, spit, growl, and charge at me whenever I went into the room to feed her or clean the litterbox and it took several days for her to calm down enough to where I wasn't expecting to be attacked whenever I was in the room. I caught one of the Kittens a few days after and that seemed to help her a lot.

I named the mother Patch, and the Kitten Pipsqueak.
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I had not seen the other Kitten for several days and started to wonder if it was still alive since there are Coyotes everywhere in the area I live. I saw it in my Asparagus patch but it ran away after noticing me, and it was close to a week later when I finally manged to catch it. It was just as much of a nervous wreck as Patch was at first, and I noticed a bare spot with a wound in the middle of it on it's neck. I knew what that was right away as I'd seen Botfly infestations before and made a trip to the Vet right away, but it turned out the larva had either died or had already left on it's own.

I named this one Zorro after the vet said he was male.
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Zorro and Pipsqueak are inseparable, every time I looked into the room they were either playing together or curled up sleeping together. Patch had calmed down to the point where I no longer felt I needed my coveralls and leather gloves to handle them, but I still had to be careful near her since she would still swipe at my hand if I got too close.
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Zorro eventually calmed down enough to where he would no longer run away as soon as I entered the room. He still would try to get away if I picked him up, but he would tolerate me petting him and would sit still unless I moved too quickly or made too much noise.
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I eventually got to the point with Patch where she would greet me at the door in the morning when I would go in to feed them.
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About a week after that I brought them to the rescue I volunteer at for spay/neuter day at one of the larger rescues, they get picked up by a transport truck and taken there, stay the night, and get brought back the next morning. I learned that Zorro was actually female, but we had called her that for so long nobody wanted to change the name. Zorro was also about 4 weeks younger than Pipsqueak so she was not Patch's Kitten but Patch hadn't cared in the slightest and took care of her anyway when they were all running around outside.

They're now at the rescue waiting to be adopted. Patch is doing great and has gotten over her fear of hands, now she loves all the attention she can get and is VERY patient and tolerant with other Cats even if they just want to hiss and swat at her, she will sniff and rub against (or at least try to) any Cat that comes near her. The Kittens are still inseparable and I'm really pushing for it to be required that they go to the same home, Zorro is still skittish and relies on Pipsqueak for emotional support. She doesn't seem comfortable with the other Kittens that are in with them, she will curl up next to Pipsqueak but when the others join in she will get up and move away to lay down by herself.
 

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Norachan

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What a wonderful story! Thank you so much for everything you've done for them. I hope they all find nice homes soon.
 

shadowsrescue

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I love stories like this. They warm the heart. Thank you for all you did for these 3. I hope they find wonderful homes and Zorro and Pipsqueak can stay together.
 
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