Feral

Monkey does her signifying way up outta the way

October 26, 2007 – 10:09 am

Monkey & Shoehorn chillaxin'

Another week of kitten training comes to a close, some progress has been made. Ira finally let me pet him, and Monkey seems braver. Still, she prefers to hide in the kitchen cabinet; a drawer is missing so she hops into the opening and hides among the pots and pans. The weird thing is when we look in there for her, we can't find her! I don't want to move things around too much for fear of smooshing her, but there don't appear to be that many places to hide. I suspect she's hiding under the wok.

Not sure exactly when we'll start trying to adopt these guys out, Gladys is on the auction block now but we're only getting scam responses so far. It's always gonna be easier to farm out kittens over adults, which is really too bad. Truth be told, I don't think I like kittens all that much, they're too small to pet satisfyingly, they have trouble comprehending the intricacies of the litter box, you're always this close to stepping on them, and their personalities can be summed up in the thought, "Is that string moving? OMG!!!"

But they're cute and deserve a chance to make it. But since most people out there looking for cats seem to think kittens are better because they're somehow fresher or something (like bread!) I gotta get on the adoption circuit right quick or the older kittens will be too cat-like to get anybody's attention.

Then again, if there really was a market for adult cats, people who wanted one could do what we did: open the window and watch them stroll inside like they own the place!

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Cats, kittens, Strays | Comments Off

It ain't a crime to be good to yourself

October 22, 2007 – 12:28 pm

Last week was rough. We were both sick to varying degrees, and the addition of the new kittens was really weighing heavily. At first we were afraid to let the kittens into the cellar so we closed the door and brought the litter boxes upstairs. This had one major positive effect: after months of sleeping in the basement, Decatur was forced to come up to our bedroom (though she slept in the closet most of the time). But most of the kittens had diarrhea, the litter boxes were beyond gross, and we started thinking that even crazy cat ladies are better prepared than us.

But we got things under control eventually. A pal of mine works for a rescue group and was kind enough to give us some dewormer for the kittens. A better brand of cat litter helped control things in between cleanings (which I now do twice a day, with patrols throughout the day). The kittens have settled in and are all quite happy to be here. Well, all except Monkey.

Monkey, the lone female in a sea of boy kittens, she's still pretty skeptical of her human hosts. She's getting better though and spent a good deal of last evening playing with the other kittens.

Rusty, the orange kitten, has almost totally been tamed. The only thing he doesn't like is being picked up. But hey, a lotta cats don't like being picked up. His two brothers (Baby Bones and Ira) remain standoffish, which bugs me since they're getting really big and I am dubious of the market for full-grown cats who don't like people.

Chester, the Russian Blue kitten, is also super tame. He is darned cute and will be difficult to part with. I wish his sister (Monkey) would come around, as they really should be adopted out together.

Shoehorn, the gray tabby kitten, is also doing very well. He's a bit skittish, but will accept petting and has been sleeping on the couch next to us.

Ira, the darker of the gray tabby brothers, soooo wants to be a housecat. I can see it in his eyes when we're playing with the other kittens. But alas, he has a psychological block he has been unable to overcome that prevents him from allowing us to touch him. Still, he has been pouncing on our toes while we're in bed, so I think his defection is imminent.

Baby Bones, named for his resemblance to Mr Bones, has been the slowest to progress. This is odd since he was the first of Gladys' kitten to come into the house over a month ago. Perhaps he's too self-sufficient, or maybe he's just too smart for us. He knows that eventually I'll put out food for him, and he gets a lot of attention from the other cats. So maybe he thinks there's no reason to make nice with the humans. I'll think of something!

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Cars, kittens, Strays | Comments Off

Who might leave you where I left off?

October 15, 2007 – 11:15 am

Flossie Napping, originally uploaded by Jimmy Legs.

Over the weekend, we brought in Gladys' kittens for a heart-warming family reunion. WRONG. Gladys is totally sick of her kittens and growls at them whenever they come near. Apparently this is part of the process, she has to cut the apron strings for fear of making them mama's boys. But it's sad seeing them call to her and see her hiss like they were a pack of wolves.

There are 3 kittens in all, I fear the 4th kitten didn't make it as we haven't seen it in weeks. They appear to be about 3 months old, they're getting big but have had very little human interaction, so they're jumpy and distrustful. Except for the orange kitten.

He's been making great progress, he loves being petted and even jumped into my lap last night. His two tabby brothers, however, are not getting the idea just yet. I'm trying to get them to understand we're not a threat it's slow going. But they aren't cowering in the corners or anything; they are as underfoot as any house cat, they just scatter faster.

Flossie (pictured above impersonating a hard roll) has been hanging around a lot, prompting me to think it was time to take her to the Fixin' Station. But she went out one night and brought back two kittens to visit. One was a mostly-black calico, the other was a Russian Blue. Wow! They are about 6 weeks old and total badasses (they let me pet them but growled the whole time). They didn't stay but I'm hoping she keeps bringing them back, they should move fast off the adoption shelves.

Which is what we intend to do with Gladys' kittens as well. But I'm wondering if I should start pimping them out now, while they're still somewhat young. Are there people out there who want the challenge of taming semi-feral kittens? It's kind of a pain, but it's been rewarding, at least with the orange kitten. I fear that their chances for adoption drop significantly when they get to be full grown, so I'm keen on getting them out of the house toot sweet. This would be better in the long run anyway, since my taming might not stick when they have to go to a new house. I wish cats could understand English, so you could just explain why it's in their best interests to get with the program now!

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Cats, kittens, Pets | Comments Off

Once more with feeling

October 12, 2007 – 10:48 am

Pre-Op Gladys

The weather is starting to change and the local stray cat population is starting to go nuts. Maybe these events aren't related, but the cats I know around here have been getting goofy lately. Gladys is recovering nicely from her surgery/vaccinations, she's gone outside a couple of times but seems to be content to stay indoors (what a surprise). The resident cats know not to mess with her, lest they be subjected to piercing screeching. She may not like the other cats, but she rarely has to tell them twice to keep their distance.

But the otherwise-outdoor cats have all but built one of those things you put up against a castle wall to storm the gates or whatever. Flossie, who still is believed to have a litter in the parking lot across the street) comes to eat and never wants to leave. The gray tabby who we always mistake for Decatur has become bolder as well, and Gladys' 3 remaining kittens are getting especially intrusive.

Flossie

The orange kitten crossed a behavioral threshold the other night, suddenly not only tolerating being petted, but coming up and asking for it. He's still skittish, but otherwise he's ready to be a house cat. His brothers are less advanced, but they see him getting scratched under the chin and are probably thinking about it. I feel bad for the most fearful of the three, he sits on the windowsill and cries at Gladys. But Gladys seems to have forgotten she ever had kittens, she barely looks at him. Luckily he has the companionship of his brothers to assuage his woes. I keep trying to explain to them that it's in their best interest to get tame right now since the younger they are, the better adoption-fodder they are. Even Gladys may be a hard sell, since she's an adult more or less, and Flossie will probably only appeal to people who have a soft spot for special needs cats, or old ladies (I mean, Flossie would be good for an old lady, not people who are into old ladies).

Anyway, I need to begin construction on some bad-weather cat shelters. Lucky for me, I live in a neighborhood literally surrounded by 99 Cent stores, so it shan't be hard to pick up some big storage bins. But I gotta relocate some of these cats to the back yard; I get enough needling from the neighborhood kids as it is without having the areaway full of cat condos (lately I've been getting "Dude! Kitty, kitty, kitty!" in my direction.)

I'm also doing other stuff, including but not limited to preparing for Motico's first shows since last year! Basically we're practicing a lot and I'm trying to find new stuff to add to my rig to cover up for my lack of proficiency.

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Cats, kittens, Neighbors, Pets, Weather | Comments Off

That's about the size of it

October 9, 2007 – 10:03 am

all sorts, originally uploaded by Jimmy Legs.

Columbus Day unexpectedly aided in my dream of getting neighborhood cats fixed, I had planned to take the day off yesterday so I could take Gladys the stray cat to the Mobile Spay Unit, but it turned out I had the day off anyway! Hooray for imperialism and whatever they had that parade for!

Things went smoothly, I got there at 7 to make sure I would get a spot; I signed on as #16 on the list (max is 25). Gladys was very well-behaved, even in the presence of an excitable German Shepherd on line. When we arrived, the van hadn't arrived yet, so when it showed up we all had to follow it until it found a place to park. It took a good hour to get Gladys dropped off, but they finished quickly and I was allowed to pick her up at 12:30.

She was super loopy, wobbly head and falling down in the carrier a lot. I moved her to a small enclosed room, she seemed to be taking things well considering she had just had major surgery. She's been sleeping heavily since then, but is still very affectionate and demonstrative when we come to see her. She so wants to be a house cat, she's acting like getting locked in a room with nothing but a ratty old futon in it is the pinnacle of her life's work; she doesn't seem interested in leaving at all. We're trying not to be swayed by this attitude.

Next on the list will probably be Flossie (calico pictured above), but as you can see there are still lots more cats to deal with around here. This new kitten showed up the other night, we assumed it's the offspring of the gray tabby, but the kitten stuck around the house, sleeping under our stoop for the next couple of days. I don't think the kitten is more than a month old, I'm surprised it's being left alone like this. But maybe now negligent mother cats know they can abandon their children here with no consequences. I feel like Kevin Federline.

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Cat Fixin', Cats, kittens, Strays | Comments Off