The Socialization Toolbox: How to rehabilitate stray and semi-feral cats.

Socializing feral and semi-feral cats is not as difficult as many are led to believe. So many assume that it is an arduous, time consuming process, there are very few who are willing to try. In fact, it is neither. It can be a lengthy process, but lengthy does not equal time consuming. My semi-feral fosters take up no more of my time than my domesticated cats do.

This guide is mainly geared towards fosters and potential fosters. It's focus is on rehabilitating strays and semi-ferals that have already been trapped. I chose this as the specific focus for a very simple reason. There is a wealth of information available on the net on how to successfully trap a stray or semi-feral, but there is very little in-depth information available on rehabilitating with the intent of getting the cat ready for adoption. 

Photographer tells story of doomed shelter dogs

Photographer Tou Chih-kang has been recording the last moments of canines at the Taoyuan Animal Shelter in Taiwan for two years. He has captured the images of some 400 dogs, most of which were pets abandoned by their owners. To him the work is distressing, but he's trying to spread a message of responsibility. Read more about Tou Chih-kang's story.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/photographer-s-crusade-to-save-doomed-shelter-dogs-slideshow/

Hiro's almost odyssey

It's been a while since my last post. Internet troubles have kept me offline for the last few weeks.
Shortly after my last post, I had a good friend from Toronto contact me about possibly adopting Hiro.

I've mentioned that my partners in crime were housing him at great risk to themselves since their lease stipulates that they cannot have cats. It was coming down to crunch time for them - they weren't going to be able to keep him for much longer without being discovered. But we still needed more time while I negotiated with my friend to make sure he knew what a large project he was potentially taking on. So after double checking with the vet to make sure that I wasn't endangering the health of the brood or my fosters, I made space for Hiro here at the home for wayward cats in the temp sanctuary.


We'd had everything all arranged to transport him to my friend in Toronto. They were completely willing to work with him, even knowing that he would not be an easy socialization. But at the last minute, I made the executive decision to release him. I had been observing him carefully now that he was under my direct care, and had come to the sad conclusion that he was just too feral. He's tolerant of those of us that are caring for him, but only barely. I've been feeding him for months.... one of the other couples has been feeding him for over a year, and he still doesn't trust either of us enough to come any closer than it takes to set food down for him. =/ Not to mention that he'd already proven himself to be difficult to trap and quite the escape artist. I was terrified that he would escape from my friend's place and find himself lost, in a city he doesn't know, with not a tooth in his head and a bum leg. And I knew that if he did ever escape, he'd be impossible to recapture. And so, with an admittedly heavy heart, I made the decision to release him again. 

He was so depressed when we had him inside, all the light had drained from his eyes. The joy and hope I saw in his little face when I finally brought him back outside to release him was almost heartbreaking to see. But it was the light returning to his eyes that told me I was making the right decision in releasing him. 

Those of us that have been caring for him (myself, my partners in crime, and the other couple mentioned above) have all agreed to continue to do so. We will make sure he has plenty of food and water, and will be purchasing a couple of cat shelters so that he has a place that is protected from the elements that he can call home. And should he ever require further medical care, we will make sure that he gets it. We're not giving up on him just because he has proven himself to be too feral for rehabilitation. If anything, we will be working harder than ever to make sure that his life is as comfortable as possible. He is our little hero - we can do no less.

Meet the newest foster!

My newest foster, Shadow, was rescued about 2 years ago and until joining the home for wayward cats, was living with an Italian couple. His rescuer writes "They are wonderful cat lovers and have several in their home. But Shadow basically lived in a back room in the rafters for quite a long time. In the last 6 months he has ventured into the living area with the other cats. He has no confidence and is simply scared of people, except for his foster family."

Fantastic news!

Wee Hiro had his vet appointment yesterday, and it went better than I could have hoped for. He ended up seeing my personal vet, the always amazing Dr. Andréa Bravo. She agreed with my assessment that his leg was either malformed at birth, or when he was a kitten. But most importantly, she determined that it does not appear to be causing him any pain, which is fantastic news as it means it is not necessary to amputate!

He does have an incredibly wicked case of Rhino, complete with lung congestion. But he was given a shot of antibiotics (Convenia) which will last for 3 weeks and should clear it right up. It also turns out the poor bugger has not a single tooth in his head. He was neutered and had what was probably his first bath ever - which was great since he was more than a little ripe. Several of the vet techs came out to the front to see what was causing the smell when we first brought him in, and there were more than a few jokes cracked about his wonderful aroma.

He is currently recovering with my partners in crime. It was a close call, but they managed to successfully sneak him in without notice. He is doing amazing and is responding better than hoped to the love and care they are giving him. I am now hopeful that he can be rehabilitated.

But now the rush is on to find him a longer term foster and hopefully, a forever home. Sadly, this will prove difficult as it is high kitten season, meaning all of the local rescues are swamped. But we've come this far.... we can't give up now!

Trapping success!

Turns out the trapping tips I received were definitely the ticket. In the last 24 hours, I've managed to trap 10 of the neighbourhood cats. And as luck would have it, Hiro was number 10!

Hiro update

Well, I have some good news. Not great news, but it's promising at the very least. He showed up in my yard this morning (almost 5am) and although he didn't quite make it far enough into the trap to set it off, he did go in pretty far. Seems the trapping tips I was given are working. (I also managed to trap 5 different cats throughout the night, so I know the technique is sound :P)

Even though I didn't manage to trap him, this is still a very positive development as it means that he is not linking yesterday's ordeal with my yard (which is where it all began), so we still have a very good chance of trapping him here. And the fact that he was willing to investigate the trap is also positive, since it means I've now got a better handle on what to tempt him with. (Turns out the magic ingredient is catnip.)

So, while it may not be the best news, it's still certainly promising news. And that's better than nothing. 

Jasper update

I think the thing that amazes me the most about Jasper is his genuine desire to be friends with everyone here in the home for wayward cats. Although he is easily the biggest cat here, he is quite content to take a lesser role in the hierarchy and often goes out of his way to look out for the younger cats (Joni and Mina included) before tending his own interests. This is best seen during mealtimes, where he will patiently (and not at all fearfully) wait until the little ones have started eating before he does. You can almost see him doing a mental count to ensure they're all there and that they all have access to their food before he's content enough to begin eating.

I've been promising his rescuer that I would post a video of him playing with the little ones, so I snagged this one of them playing with the laser pointer the other day. You can really see the size difference between them. Even wee Durango, the youngest of the lot, is bigger than my two mini cats, Joni and Mina. But Jasper is huge in comparison. It's so ridiculously cute to watch them playing together, I honestly don't know how I stand it. ;)

His progress is best described as slow but steady. He gains just a fraction more confidence with each day that passes. He's still painfully shy, and unlike Durango, he still runs and hides when the doorbell rings. But he is still making progress, which is the important part. :)

Durango update

Wee little Durango is progressing in leaps and bounds now thanks to the influence of the brood. Although he still runs away if I move towards him, he has gained enough courage to stay in the room when I'm moving around and no longer runs and hides when the doorbell rings.

He's also starting to feel more secure about being in my lap, and we've had a few occasions now where he climbs into my lap and settles down for chin scritches when I'm sitting on the floor. But I think his biggest step forward this week was when he decided to join Kitty and Joni and I on the couch while I was knitting / watching movies.

d'awwww

It took him almost an hour of sitting on the arm of the couch, watching us all, before he worked up the courage to join us, but join us he finally did. Surprisingly there were no complaints from Capt. Crankypants (aka Kitty). Even more surprisingly, Durango was far more interested in settling down for a snooze than going after my knitting. ;)

Update on Hiro

With the help of my new partners in crime, we managed to catch wee Hiro this evening, but unfortunately he escaped again. Turns out he can run quite fast for a cat in his condition. Much faster than the three of us had anticipated at any rate.

The good news in all of this is that we've discovered that he has more caregivers than we originally thought. There's 3 or 4 of us that are doing our best to make sure he stays fed. And our neighbours were surprisingly sympathetic as we raced around the lane trying to catch him. Not one person refused when we asked permission to enter their yards after explaining our goal.

Although it was devastating to lose him after successfully catching him, I am still hopeful that we can catch him again with the trap. Thanks to the tips I received from C4P's more experienced trappers, he finally started showing at least minor interest in the trap earlier this evening. And the three of us have agreed.... we're not giving up. Even if it means we need to stake out that alley every night, we will do so for as long as necessary. He deserves nothing less.

Hiro

Hiro is one of the many cats that comes to visit my backyard. But unlike many of the backyard kitties, Hiro is a stray. And although the photo below doesn't show it, one of his back legs is mangled.

He's willing to sit quite close to me when eating, but if I so much as twitch a muscle, he gets ready to run.
There is a covered trap not inches away from him when this photo was taken. But no matter what kind of tempting yummies I put inside, he avoids it like the plague.

Whatever happened to his leg, obviously happened some time ago as there is no visible wound. The leg itself is bent upwards along his body and is considerably smaller than his other hind leg, adding to my suspicion that whatever happened, it was when he was much younger. It might even have been deformed at birth.

I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to trap him for about a month now as his overall health is taking a turn for the worse. I suspect he may have full blown FeLV based on the fact that he is constantly sick and the lymph nodes in his neck are obviously very distended and are different sizes.

The last few weeks have seen quite a lot of heavy, flash flood type rainfall here in Montreal, and the lane that runs behind my house is so flooded, it's practically a river. In a normal week, there are upwards of 16 kitties that take turns hanging out in my backyard (most are family pets), but over the last few weeks, there's been almost no one. And although Hiro was starting to make daily appearances prior to the rain, I hadn't seen him at all in over 3 weeks. Given that he is in such rough shape, I feared the worst.

But thankfully, he's still with us. He showed up on my back porch tonight, desperately hungry and a little skinnier than I'm used to seeing him, but still fighting to survive. I have promised him that I will do everything in my power to help him. After all, he is my little hero.

UPDATE:
Synchronicity, thy name is .....
By amazing coincidence, another kind soul contacted C4P early this morning about a cat matching Hiro's description. Turns out she has worked with C4P in the past. As if that's not coincidental enough, it turns out we're on the same block & her back yard faces the very same lane way mine does! It's definitely my wee Hiro! She has also been feeding him, and is working to try to trap him as well.
I am so ecstatic to have a partner in crime for helping poor Hiro, I'm almost at a loss for words. Looks like the universe listened to my heart felt promise last night. More as develops!

Señor Fluffypants and his faithful sidekick, Big Foot

All of the cats at the home for wayward cats have silly, affectionate nicknames. Kitty is Kittyboo, Gypsy is Princess, Mina is Monsterbutt & Joni is Little Baby. Jasper and Durango have recently earned their nicknames, and are now known as Señor Fluffypants and Big Foot respectively. ;)

Both boys are positively blooming now that they're back out of quarantine and with the brood full time. And it is entirely due to the influence of their foster sisters, little Mina and Joni. My two mini cats are both incredibly social and outgoing little bundles of love and the boys are now picking up their social cues from them.

Evo cat food - buyer beware

I've been feeding everyone here at the home for wayward cats Evo dry and wet food for just over a month now. The dry, I received as a generous donation and the wet I was purchasing on my own. I felt happy with it, knowing it was a grain free product and that online reviews were overall positive.

However, in the last month, I have been dealing with a lot of mild digestive issues in almost all of the cats. Everything from poopy bum to loose stools to the occasional vomiting. Not to mention poor Kitty and his mouth ulcers. With the exception of Kitty and his mouth, no one cat would show symptoms for more than a day at a time, but all of the cats have experienced at least one of the symptoms over the course of the month. Because it was so inconsistent, and there were no other signs of being ill (no dehydration, activity levels were the same, everyone was bright eyed and bushy tailed, etc) I had assumed it was due to the stress of having so many new arrivals. That is until I randomly found this article this morning.

http://petfoodtalk.com/catfoodreviews/evo/

If you only read the info on the left hand side of the page, Evo gets glowing reviews, pretty much across the board. However, if you take the time to read through the reviews and discussions section on the right side of the page, a different story emerges. Evo was (unbeknownst to me) bought out by Proctor & Gamble about a year ago and as far back as last September, you can find complaints about the visible change in the quality of the food. Most tellingly, many of the posts from that point onward deal with cats suffering from vomiting, diarrhea, and food allergies causing mouth pain.

Hmmm... that doesn't sound familiar at all.

Looks like it's time to switch everyone back to Acana.

ChipIn for Cause 4 Paws

Due to a recent spat of serious health issues in some of their rescue cats, Cause 4 Paws has created a ChipIn to help defray the costs. Please... consider contributing what you can. Every little bit helps!

Cause 4 Paws ChipIn

Weekly update 5.18.12

Whew! Busy times! Its been a week of ups and downs in the home for wayward cats. Since there's something to update for just about everyone, but not enough to qualify for individual posts, I'm combining them into one big post for this week.

My semi-feral boys

Durango's new favourite place to hang out is on the small filing cabinet next to my desk. He is entranced with my computer screens, and watches what is happening there intently. He's still quite shy about being touched, but did jump onto my keyboard earlier and allowed me to hold him and pet him for a few moments before indicating he wanted to be put down.

His progress has been much slower than I had hoped. But he is progressing, so I am pleased.

Jasper has finally reached the stage where he will allow me to hold him still during our grooming sessions. Which certainly makes grooming a little easier to accomplish. ;) We're still getting him used to having his sides touched, which means we haven't really been able to get rid of any of the mats on his sides yet, but he is allowing me to touch him there with more pressure than before. So there's that at least. I don't have any new pictures of him available, since he prefers to show me his bum rather than his cute little face, but we've managed to get rid of a great deal of dead hair from his ruff and upper body, and the difference in size between his front and back halves is quite noticeable now. He's still a big boy, but not nearly as chunky as he initially seemed when he first entered my home. ;)

Multi-cat households - How to effectively introduce your new cat to your resident one.

So you've decided to adopt another kitty. Bravo! All a twitter with excitement, you bring the new little bundle of fluff home, and place him down in the middle of a room so he can meet your resident cat. And lo and behold, your otherwise sweet and pleasant resident cat has turned into a spitting, hissing ball of claws and fangs. Or maybe it's the newcomer that's being aggressive. Either way, you're now stuck trying to play referee between two (or more) very angry cats.

Sound all too familiar? Perhaps you're now regretting your decision to adopt another cat. Perhaps you're even contemplating returning the new cat since it's obviously not working out. 

What if I were to tell you that such drastic measures aren't necessary? That it is possible to successfully, and most importantly, peacefully integrate your cats? Even if initial mishaps were made, and the cats have already come to blows... it is still possible to create peace once more. They may never be cuddle buddies, but at the very least, they can and will live in harmony.

And three becomes four.....

So I know that as a foster mom, the goal is to provide my fosters with a loving, safe space until they find their forever homes. It's not supposed to be an excuse to acquire more cats. :P But I have to admit, I have fallen hook, line and sinker for little Joni. Most importantly, it's obvious while watching them all together that the brood feels the same way.
Mina adores her and the two are rarely apart. Gypsy has taken on the role of surrogate parent and can often be found grooming her or gently playing with her - something she has only ever done with her own babies. Even Kitty, the resident grump has taken a shine to her sweet little face. She is incredibly sweet natured and is adorably patient when I clean her snotty little face (poor baby still has a cold), or tend to her daily grooming needs. All in all, she is the perfect addition to my feline family and it would be heartbreaking for all if she were to leave.

How could I say no to that sweet little face?

And so, Joni has earned herself a place on the Cast and Crew page, in our home and above all else, in all of our hearts. Welcome to your new life babygirl.

Durango's first petting

As predicted, Durango has started asking for pettings. Well... in a manner of speaking. He still hasn't quite figured out how to actively ask, so he does it passively.
He waits until Jasper comes over to be pet, and while I'm petting him, Durango rubs up against Jasper on the opposite side. Then when Jasper moves away, Durango just kind of stands there, as if he's waiting for me to pet him. He lets me run my hand along his back a few times before his nerve wears out and he scoots off again. It may not sound like much, but considering how timid he is, I am pleased with his progress.

He did get up on the bed and snuggle down against my leg the other night, but I'm still not 100% sure he realized I was there. I have a tendency to bury completely under the blankets when I sleep, and my comforter is quite fluffy, so its entirely possible he was just oblivious. Either way, we were both comfortable, and I didn't want to startle him away, so I simply enjoyed the moment until sleep took me.

Jasper is his usual, amazing self. He's started to demand pettings now, often coming over and dipping his head as if he was headbutting me until I sit on the floor with him to give him scritches. He's becoming more and more comfortable with me petting his sides, which is fantastic news. Given that he is such a long haired beauty, I really want him to enjoy being groomed in the sensitive areas as well.

Durango and Jasper - fast friends and boon companions

Durango and Jasper have become best buddies, and it constantly makes me smile to watch the two of them together. Both are coming out of their shells at lightning speed now, and there is very little, if any, diving under the bed if I enter the room unexpectedly.

Jasper worked out another big knot throughout the night and true to form, ran over to the mirror to check himself out after I snipped the last little part that was keeping it connected to him. I am totally going to have to try to catch a video of him doing this. It's utterly hilarious.

Durango has quite obviously adopted Jasper as his surrogate parent and comes to him frequently for affection and grooming. Even sweeter is that Jasper has just as obviously accepted this duty and takes very good care of him - though he does have a tendency to steal Durango's wet food if he is still eating by the time Jasper is done his. ;) Durango is still too shy to ask me for affection, but you can see him trying to work up the courage whenever Jasper comes over to be pet. It's so sweet to watch, it practically puts me in a diabetic coma. ;)

Updates galore!

Whew! What a busy day today was. Sorry for cramming everyone's updates into a single post, but I'm wiped.

Durango makes an appearance

Earlier this morning, while the brood and little Joni were having a snore-fest in the living room, I opened the door to Durango's temporary sanctuary to see if he had any interest in coming out to explore his new environment. He was quite keen on the idea as it turns out, and within minutes, I found him quietly exploring Jasper's haven.

Kitten season - Durango's arrival & a surprise visit from Joni

Kitten season has gotten an early start this year, thanks to the somewhat mild winter we experienced here in Montreal. Coincidentally, it's also the time of year that C4P loses many of it's available fosters since many of them are university students, and the school year is ending.

I believe this is the text book definition of  'stuck between a rock and a hard place'.

So when the call went out for a foster for a timid little semi-feral kitten, who was trying to make his way in the world, seemingly without the benefit of a mom or siblings, I responded. Luckily, the concerned citizen who had contacted C4P about him was able to trap him within a relatively short time, and he arrived at the home for wayward cats this evening after being vetted. Although the founder of C4P and I were both set on calling him Clover, the vet asked if he could be named Durango. And given how invaluable her help has been for C4P, it was a no-brainer to agree to her request.

He is an absolutely adorable, 4 month old golden tabby.  Actual pic coming soon!

As is to be expected, he is quite overwhelmed by his experiences over the last 24 hours, and is thus far reluctant to leave his kennel when I'm in the room. He did come out when I was not in the room however, as is evidenced by his use of the litterbox and empty food bowl. I also managed to convince him to eat a bit more later in the evening while I was in the room, although I had to place the dish in his kennel before he was comfortable enough to do so. Still, it's a step in the right direction - the fastest and surest way to their hearts is through their tummies.

He is currently sequestered, at least until he's gotten a chance to catch his bearings. The last thing I want to do is overstress either him or the brood. And when you consider that the brood is already a little confused by the unexpected (and very temporary) presence of little Joni Mitchell, well, it's a bit much for poor Durango to absorb at once.

Little Joni is a rather unexpected foster for me, and will only be staying with us until her vaccination immunity has reached its peak - approx 2 weeks. Her previous fosters are moving to Vancouver tomorrow, and everything was all arranged to move her to another foster this evening. But it was discovered last minute that Joni was a teeny bit overdue for her 2nd set of vaccinations. Under normal circumstances, this would not be a problem, but her new foster home previously had a case of FeLV, so of course it's extra vital that any new additions to that household are properly vaccinated, especially young kittens who are more susceptible than older cats.

Joni has settled in beautifully and is already fast friends with Mina. They spent most of the night playfighting, then curled up in my recliner, groomed each other and passed out in a cuddle-puddle of love and fur.

Please ignore my ugly recliner. It's ugly as sin but incredibly comfortable, and all of the cats love it.

It's almost too bad that her stay here will be so temporary. She has fit in so well and so quickly, and she's such an adorable little girl. But considering that both Jasper and Durango require extra time and attention while we work through their trust issues, it's sadly just not feasible for me to foster her long term.

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Meeting the brood

Jasper has finally shown an interest in coming out of seclusion, and exploring the rest of the house. I wait until everyone is fed, and until the brood are a little sleepy, then open the door and let him go in and out at will. He's getting braver and braver with each excursion, and they're treating him very gently. They watch him closely, but allow him to wander about and quietly explore with no interference.

Sometimes, they turn the tables, and everyone will come into his room to explore, while he hangs out in his usual spot under the bed and watches. Everyone is well behaved during these times (even Mina!) and while they explore every other inch of the room, they respect his space under the bed and give it a wide berth. 

There was a small incident yesterday where I hadn't realized he had come out and moved from one room to another, scaring the piss out of him in the process. He went barrelling down the hall to go back to his safe space. Kitty came running into the kitchen where I was, trying to determine what had happened, encountered Gypsy who had also run over from a different direction, and immediately assumed she was the cause. Thankfully I was right there to prevent it escalating into an actual fight, but tempers ran hot for several hours after that.

While it was a stressful experience for all involved, and it took some extraordinary efforts on my part to get everybody to unwind after the fact, it does give me hope oddly. It means that while Kitty may not precisely like Jasper, he has at least accepted him as part of the brood and is protective of him. This, of course, will bring it's own brand of issues that need to be untangled, but given his history of aggression with other males, this is a much more manageable outcome. 

Jasper, otoh, thinks Kitty is the coolest thing since sliced bread and follows him around like a little puppy. He got a few warning hisses from Kitty for being too close when he first started doing this, but now maintains a respectful distance. He also adores Mina, and on the few occasions that she will hold still long enough, I have watched him tentatively begin to groom her. Gypsy alternates between being wary of him and being indifferent. But given that she is naturally aloof with other cats, this is to be expected.

Singing for breakfast

My little lovebug

You'd never know from watching this video, that this is the same cat who hid under my bed for two months. Jasper is proving to be, without a doubt, the sweetest, most well mannered, gentlest cat I have ever had the pleasure of working with. It's no exaggeration to say he has completely stolen my heart. ♥

Proud foster mommy

Fantastic grooming session with Jasper tonight. Our first real one (previous attempts were more akin to petting him with the brush to get him used to it). 
I swear, you could see the little light bulb of understanding go off when I started trying to work out the first mat on his neck. He was quite patient with me from that point on, and even started purring as I was working. Considering that up until now, he would only let me pet him for a minute or two at a time before moving away, I was stunned that he let me work for almost 45mins uninterrupted.
Even now as I'm writing this, he's coming back over for more pettings. ;)

/proud foster-mommy

Everyday is a brave day

Now that Jasper has decided that he likes me and that I'm safe, he is showing much more consistent progress. Everyday is a brave day, and we often have several, small petting sessions throughout the night. He has even allowed me to start brushing him lightly, and he absolutely adores having his head brushed. He has also started coming over near me while I'm fixing his breakfast and dinner. In between these times, he likes to hang out in the box I put down for him near my computer (it's got windows so he can feel hidden, yet still see me at all times) or sleep on my bed. 

He's still quite skittish at times, mostly revolving around me moving in a direction that he's not anticipating, or moving too quickly. But I can now go from seated on the floor, to standing, to walking around a few feet, as well as getting in and out of my computer chair without him running away in fear. Or if he does dart off a few feet, I can usually convince him to come back out again very quickly.

He is a very quick learner, and is responding well to both my verbal and hand signals. He knows that if I wiggle my fingers or gently click my tongue, I would like him to come over for pettings (not that he comes over every time mind you, but he at least knows what I'm asking of him), and he's learning that I always indicate the direction I'm about to move towards before walking. (I know this last bit seems like an odd thing to train him in, but it helps to make him feel more secure while he gets used to the idea of me walking around. Once he's had some time to realize that me walking does not equal potential danger for him, I can start weaning him off this training method again.)

It's been so lovely to see his sweet, fuzzy face more often and I love watching his happy paws when he comes over asking to be pet. Which he does frequently.
Turns out, Jasper is one affectionate cat, and he looooooooooves getting affection / attention. I have the feeling that, once he gains more confidence, we're going to discover that there was a lap cat hiding underneath all those knots and mats and fear. ;)

Success!!

Guess who asked for head scritches last night?!? 

This guy did!!

Brave days and Shy days

Jasper has what I call 'brave days' and 'shy days'. On his brave days, he likes to come out and wander around the room while I'm at the computer, and on his shy days, he won't eat while I'm in the room unless I move the food dish well under the bed. 

He had several shy days after my last update, but late last night he had a brave day, and I managed to get a video of it. This video is the result of several hours of coaxing, but it was well worth it, as you can see.

There are a couple of firsts in this video, namely that he came over for treats while I was at my computer, that he accepted treats from me while I was much higher than him (I'm usually on the same level as him) and there's a few times where he's definitely asking for pettings, but was too far away for me to reach him (the sound of the chair moving makes him nervous still, so I didn't want to press my luck my moving closer)

Leap of faith

I have big exciting news about Jasper today! 

In an effort to start luring him out from under the bed while I'm in the room, I had slowly weaned him back onto a wet food / twice daily eating routine. Last night, for the first time, I managed to persuade him to eat near the bottom of the bed (but still under it) while I sat at the computer - about 7-8 ft away. He has no issues eating in front of me anymore, but, until last night, would still refuse to unless I was laying flat on my tummy near him. Anything that involved me being in a seated or standing position still terrified him.

But the incredible leap of faith he made later that night blew my mind. I was laying on my tummy, talking to him and giving him the occasional treat for encouragement, when he decided to come out from under the bed and go use his scratch post. He's done this on rare occasions before..... but last night, when he was done, he hopped up on my bed which he has Never done in my presence, while I was still laying on the floor beside it.

Since I had the treats on hand, I slowly sat up, and when I was able to extend my hand to him, I gave him a treat. Since he accepted that, I tried sitting up a bit more and rewarded him with another treat when he didn't try to run away. And so it went, step by tiny step until I was actually lying on the bed with him about 2 ft away. He stayed with me for about 10mins, gave himself a good grooming, then hopped back down and went under the bed again for a nap. 

I can't even tell you how ecstatic I was that he finally felt brave enough to finally come out from hiding while I was around, although I'm sure you have had similar experiences, and can relate. The next big hurdle will be getting him comfortable enough to do this regularly. But I am so so So proud of him right now. That was a very big leap of faith for him to make - especially considering how long he has felt the need hide. I thought for sure there would be many more baby steps before he was comfortable enough for that.

Although he still will not allow me to touch him really, he has been naturally shedding many of the mats in his fur. And now that I've finally had the chance to really look at him while he was sitting up - wow! He's a big, handsome boy! I thought he was much smaller than he actually is since he spent so much time curled up into the smallest ball possible under the bed. 

F.I.V. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Although I have lucked out with all of the cats I have fostered and adopted over the years, and none were found to be FIV positive, it is a very real concern when dealing with strays and ferals/semi-ferals. Most people don't really understand what FIV is though, and given it's close association with HIV, there is a very definite and misplaced fear of FIV cats.

This link was shared by C4P on Facebook some time back, and I think it's important enough to share here as well. Not only is it a fantastic explanation of FIV, but it's a realistic one.

F.I.V. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Treat games

I know its been a while since my last update, and I apologize for that. It's been a busy week.

Jasper is still making slow and steady progress. I have been continuing our treat games, and he has built up a great deal of trust as a result. He has now progressed to the point where I can put the small pile of treats right in front of my face (close enough that he ends up inadvertently  headbutting my face when he's eating). I am now working on being further and further away from him when I do this, thereby slowing convincing him to come out from under the bed while I'm in the room. 

He has, on a few occasions now, gone over to his food bowl after this game, and while I am still partially under the bed where he can keep an eye on me. Any movement on my part still sends him ducking for cover again, but I am pleased that he at least feels comfortable enough to do that much. 

I think the most gratifying thing about his current progress is that when I give him slow blinks, he has started to return them. :)

First picture!!

Somewhat blurry, somewhat pixelated photo of Jasper. Apologies for the incredibly craptastic quality, it was taken with my phone. He's still very wary, and I figured he would find the phone less threatening than my actual camera.

Greedy guts

My goodness. My little Jasper (henceforth nicked named greedy guts since he has come to loooooove the treats) is going to be quite a rolly polly bundle of fur at this rate.... but our success continues! 

After a few weeks of watching his somewhat unusual eating patterns, and working on a tip from the woman who had been feeding him, I realized that although he is definitely eating enough during each day, he is still very much sticking to the feeding times he got used to with her, despite the fact that he now has food available 24hrs a day. (All of the strays I've worked with previously ate obsessively for the first week or so, until they realized that there was food available all the time, whenever they wanted.) On a hunch, I decided to alter my tactics once again. I still go about my business during the day, sitting at the computer etc, but now, I get under the bed with him for a while, specifically around the times he's used to being fed. 

I started back at ground zero since I know I had previously made him uncomfortable doing this. Over the course of a few days, I was, once again, able to get my hand close enough to him to put treats directly under his nose. But it was this morning that we saw our first major successes of the week. First I tried making a small trail of treats between us, with a small pile of treats at the end, in front of me. Then I closed my eyes and waited. 'lo and behold, he inched his way forward along the trail until he was close enough that his eyebrow whiskers were tickling my face while he was eating. I'm so proud of him that he was willing to get that close! Even if he was heavily bribed to do so. ;)

But the big excitement of the night was this: he voluntarily (and rather daintily I might add) ate treats directly from my fingers!! And as long as he was still in the process of taking the treat from my fingers, I was allowed to gently pet his cheeks with a finger from that same hand. He continued to take the treats from my fingers for as long as I was willing to give them. (I eventually stopped since he'd had a rather large number of them by that point and I didn't want to upset his tummy)

But... huzzah!!! 

You can't see it, but this is my happy face. :D

Holding pattern

Jasper and I have been in a kind of holding pattern since my last update. He let me know one day, in his quiet, subtle way, that I was trying to be too friendly too quickly and that it was making him uncomfortable. So now, I'm trying a different tactic. Instead of joining him under the bed and feeding him treats, I lay down on the floor near the bed and tell him how beautiful he is and how much I love him. Then I put down a few treats for him, and either go to work on my computer for a bit, or curl up and read on my bed for a while.

He has come out a few times while I was on the bed to watch me, but still scurries back under again when he sees that I see him. He has thus far, shown no interest in coming out when I'm at the computer. I'm not sure if this new method will be successful, as I suspect that he is the type of cat that does not ask for affection, but instead needs to have his person seek him out to give it to him. But since he does, at least occasionally, come out from under the bed while I'm in the room, I'm hoping that he will start to feel more secure about doing so if he doesn't feel as though his every move is being watched.

He still comes out to play with his mousie when I'm not around - I know because he sings relentlessly when he does. ;) And overall, I have to say I am beyond impressed with how polite and well mannered our little guy is, especially considering he is a semi-feral. Since he leaves a trail of fur where ever he goes, it's been pretty easy to see where he has been in the room. He has not jumped up on any of the furniture, except for my bed. He has amazing litterbox skills. He's a tidy eater (no crumbs on the floor). And most telling... no matter how nervous he has been, I have never heard him hiss or growl. For example, if he feels uncomfortable with having my hand too close, he simply moves slightly out of reach. Whereas most cats would, quite naturally, hiss or growl in warning. He seems to try his very best not to be a bother at all (which is what leads me to believe that he is the type that needs to be shown affection, and will not ask for it - although that behaviour can certainly be modified with time and love).

Bitter-sweet news

It turns out Gamine belongs to my upstairs neighbour. She got out 2 days before he had to leave for a trip to France. He tried knocking on my door the day after she went missing, hoping she was with me since he knows I have cats of my own, but I wasn't home at the time, and then he had to leave the country. He just got back this evening and the first thing he did was come and knock on my door to check again.

On the one hand, I'm glad that I was able to keep her safe and reunite her with her family. It was obvious how much he loves her and how relieved he was that she was safe and sound all this time. But I'm sad that she's gone. I'd gotten really attached to my little snugglebunny, and she had become a lovely addition to my little cat family. Even Kitty liked her, and he notoriously hates everything. She's only been gone a few minutes and already the house seems emptier without her. =/

Identification

Oh wow! More Jasper updates already!

He's definitely gaining confidence in me and in his surroundings. He still needs a minute or two between when I shimmy under the bed with him, and when I can start moving around again, but that necessary moment of stillness is getting shorter with each visit.

Today, while feeding him treats, I left my hand near him to see if he would bat at my finger again. He didn't, but he did let me gently pet his toes for almost a good minute before he decided that was enough of that and pulled back out of my reach.

And as if that wasn't exciting enough, this evening we played together for the first time! One of his toy mice happened to be within my reach, so on a whim I decided to bat it around a few times. And suddenly whoosh! He completely forgets that he's nervous, and is 100% fully engaged, complete with ears pricked up & facing forward and whiskers bristling with excitement. We even took turns batting it back and forth between us which was super cute! 

I finally got a good look at the pads of his feet while we were playing. I've been waiting patiently to see them as they are a fairly classic identifier for Russian Blues. And the answer is nope, not a Russian Blue. Although he does have the silver tipped double coat that Blue's have, both his eyes and the pads of his feet are the wrong colour for a true Blue. Regardless, breed cat or no, he is one stunning boy once the fear fades from his eyes. Can't wait to see that little happy face of his more often!

Jasper begins to show a bit of spunk

A small but significant bit of news regarding Jasper. He still hides under the bed whenever I'm in the room (although he's quite comfortable with the space now, and regularly sleeps on my bed when I'm not there - he leaves little tell-tale grey fur balls where ever he goes which give away his movements) however, this evening we had a small breakthrough.

Not only did he let me lay under the bed with him, less than a foot away, but he ate the treats I gave him in front of me (he's always eaten them, but until tonight, never while I was still in the room)  AND best of all, he not only sniffed my finger, but then rolled over and playfully batted at it. :)

As long as there were treats involved, he was quite content to have me that close and moving, but he still retreated out of reach if I tried to touch him. Still, now that I've finally got him engaged, I am fully confident that I shall have a new friend very very soon. :) He may end up being a slightly chubby friend from all the treats it's taking to convince him that I'm friendly ;) but I am ecstatic about his progress.

I haven't been able to get any photos of him yet as the lighting under the bed is terrible, and the flash would scare the piss out of him, but hopefully I will be able to soon. He really is breathtakingly beautiful, despite the knots and matted fur.

Baby steps

A small bit of exciting news to relate about Jasper. Last night, while I was laying on the floor near him reading, he flopped over on his side and watched me sleepily for a few minutes before falling asleep. :) He may not yet trust me enough to come near, or to let me near, but he's at least *starting* to get used to my presence.

Then later that evening, while I was reading on my bed, he came out to go to his food dish twice while I was in the room. He did end up skulking back under the bed both times when he realized I was still in the room, but his body language was more embarrassed at being seen than fearful. Once I saw that he is still not comfortable having me in the room when he's eating, I moved to the living room for a few hours to allow him time to eat in peace and quiet.  

He was also singing at my bedroom window at around 6am this morning. ;) Thankfully, I'm used to my boy cat doing the same thing, so I knew what was happening instead of waking up thinking he was distressed somehow. I quietly said good morning to him, and the singing stopped immediately. I can only presume he scooted back under the bed at that point (it was still too dark to see anything).

They may only be baby steps, but I am nonetheless pleased with his progress. And I feel that a breakthrough is on it's way. :)

Jasper arrives

About a month ago, I made a random FB find of a local cat rescue group called Cause 4 Paws. After considerable agonizing (kitties need homes! but I have my own to consider as well), I decided to contact them to volunteer as a foster.

Fast forward to very early last Tuesday morning. I get an email from Cause 4 Paws asking if I'm still available for fostering, and would I be willing to take on Jasper if the lady feeding him can manage to capture him. "Of course" I reply, and I start getting everything set up for my new incoming house guest.

Fast forward to about 10ish that night. I'm flopped on my couch, 1/2 passing out while watching a movie, when Kitty starts singing at the glass doors - his way of telling me there is a cat outside. I got up to check in the hopes that perhaps the injured cat who showed up out there a week ago might have returned. What I saw was a teeny little kitten peering in through the glass. I got some food and opened the door to put it out for her, figuring that she would dart away as most of the neighbourhood cats do. But no.... bold thing that she is, she just walked right inside. 

Well, %&*#.

Those of you that know me well know that I am categorically unable to send a cat back outdoors, especially in the middle of winter. It's just not in my nature. That's how I ended up with Gypsy. I brought her inside, believing she belonged to a friend (she's followed me home from a friend's place), but when that turned out not to be the case, I was incapable of sending her back out into the streets. 

So now I have this sweet little Tortoiseshell girl kitten whom I have named Gamine. Not sure if she's an escaped pet or an abandoned one. She's pretty well socialized and seems to enjoy being picked up and snuggled.


Gamine is a sweet little bundle of fluff and love. She follows both Gypsy and I around endlessly and seems to feel safest when we're both near.
She's a little afraid of Kitty. And Kitty is thoroughly unimpressed with her. He has been sulking in the bedroom since her arrival. But I know my boy.... he just needs time to get used to new things.

Jasper, the foster cat, arrived last night and is thoroughly traumatized by his experiences yesterday. He spends most of his time hiding at the very back of his kennel. Which, given his story, I can't say I blame him. 
Jasper was previously a 'catch and release'. Meaning he was caught, sterilized and released again due to lack of available foster space. And although it was done kindly, humanely and with his best interests at heart, seen from his eyes, his experiences with humans have been confusing at best, and traumatizing at worst. So we (I) have a long long way to go in teaching this boy to trust. But I'm positive it can be done with time and love and patience. :D