the cats . . .

[chelseagirl]

So people have asked about how the cats are doing and I have not really wanted to talk about that, because.

Scorpy, Aeryn, and Sid Vicious have been doing reasonably well. They spend more time sleeping under the bedcovers than is usual, but they've been eating, exploring, asking for petting, etc. Aeryn is my darling kitty, per usual. She's at the computer side as I type.

Gracie, our feral cat, was a problem. There was a day we didn't see her at all. Then another day when she let me play with her with a fishing pole toy at a great distance. We think she's mostly been living *inside* the couch, as we've seen her scoot under it and then not be visible when you look underneath. (She's very slim and lithe so this is not as absurd as it sounds.) But then two nights ago she was sitting on the couch back when I woke up from an inadvertent nap and let me pet her very much. Last night she was out a great deal more.

She's also been terrified of M., who had to capture her. Those of you who are friends with him on FB know he rescues all kinds of animals, from swans and a heron to snakes and iguanas, to injured raccoons and abandoned cats and dogs. Gracie scratched him up like I have never seen, when he was catching her to bring her over here. (This is our cat who is not neutered because we've never been able to get her to the vet -- cancelled three appointments at the last minute. Luckily all our cats are 100% indoors and the other three are neutered. Spayed. Whatever.)

She still won't let M pet her but she is beginning to not-hide when she sees him. And this morning for the first time since we moved, there were four cats, not three, crowding around when I gave them their morning wet food.

Comments

[raqs.livejournal.com]

The hormones contribute to feral cats' leeriness and inability to relax. If you can manage to get her spayed she will calm down a good deal.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I know -- we've never failed to get a cat neutered before -- but since my husband is the animal rescue person for Prospect Park, handling injured and terrified mammals, birds, and amphibians, and yet he got totally savaged getting her into a container to get her over here (something that terrified raccoons and injured swans have failed to do) -- it's an uphill battle.

[trouvera.livejournal.com]

When Minnie and Jones moved in here, Jones as alpha adapted very quickly. Minnie, on the other hand, found two or three hidey-holes and I saw very little of her for not just weeks, but months. Not to mention several instances of peeing on my bed - once while I was in it. :( !!!! So, if hiding in the couch is the worst, I think you're probably ahead of the game. :)

Also, my sister the holistic vet recommended a feliway diffuser, and it has seemed to help Minnie be a bit less anxious.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I've heard about feliway. I'll have to look into that.

Gracie's doing better and better. She even let M pet her a little yesterday, and she's been terrified of him since the capture and transport. And she has a new favorite windowsill.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

How did you even catch Gracie to move her?

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

M got her in the bathroom. But seriously, terrified raccoons and injured swans have done far less damage to him -- she savaged both his arms and the top of his poor (bald) head. She actually let him pet her a little yesterday, so that's huge progress because she's been afraid of him all week.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

And in totally unrelated news...

I was looking into that NYCAAZK photo contest (see my lj) and there's a separate category for visitors' WCS photos, plus everyone's up for the People's Choice category. M took some great shots that day we went to the Bronx Zoo, so at $5 to enter 5 photos, I thought he might be interested. He can go here: http://nycaazk.org/ for more info.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I'll tell him -- I'm not sure what he has access to right now, but his external hard drive is out and set up.