• Subject: Re: It's a girl!
• From: &* <d*@comcast.net>
• Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 10:08:46 -0500

I don't know what to do. She so much wants to be outside.

d

To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] It's a girl!

Until this afternoon, I would have said yes. I've been looking for her for the last 2 hours, walking around and around in the house.

d

----- Original Message ----- From: <Aplfgcnys@aol.com>

To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 1:56 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] It's a girl!

How has the new cat settled in?  We have finally got the one who has
adopted us.  When our vet, who makes house calls, came yesterday to
give our two indoor cats their annual checkups and shots,  she helped me
wrestle the new one we call Mackie (she's a mackerel tabby with white

feet) into the cat carrier, and took her back to the animal hospital to be

checked, vaccinated, and a whole list of things she felt necessary before
we could integrate her with our other cats.  We picked her up late in the
day, and put her in the downstairs rooms with food and a litter box.  She

seems to have settled right in, used the litter box, eaten part of the food,

and found a bed to sleep on.  I ws so glad - it was 19 degrees here last

night. She has been sleeping in our garage for the past couple of months, which wasn't too bad until it got so very cold. I would lie awake thinking of the poor creature. It has made me very sad to think of this cat who is

so hungry for affection, without a home.  She has wanted to come into the

house all along - stood at the door and cried. She loves for me to pet her,

but is still very wary of Chet, which leads us to think maybe she was
abused by some other male person.  Anyway, though it cost a bundle, I
am so glad to have her inside in this cold weather.  The other two cats

haven't dealt with her yet, though I think they know she's there. Just the fact that the door into those rooms is shut is an alert. They will probably

have a couple of hissy fits, and then settle down.  I hope.
APL


In a message dated 12/21/2010 12:38:24 PM Eastern Standard Time,
dp2413@comcast.net writes:

We were quite sure this was so, after we finally were able to touch stray
cat

Blackie a little, but the vet confirmed it yesterday. Brief backstory: She arrived here in May of 2009 and we couldn't get anywhere near her. We had to put food in the shed and then back away at least 25 feet. A slight scratch

of

foot on gravel sent her scrambling into the woods or under a chicken coop. I

was first able to touch her this spring - a year later, and then only
briefly
until recently.

The morning started with a tranquilizer for her, and then a drive to the
vets

after much howling on her part. I could have used a tranquilizer by then! The howling was ok for me, but I was so afraid she'd hurt herself in panic,

or

secrete herself behind the washer or something where we couldn't get to her

while waiting for her to be calm enough to get into the crate.

The best news is that she's FIV, FeLeuk and heartworm negative. She's also been spayed. They had to shave a bit of her belly to get past the thick fur

to
find the spay scar, but the tattoo is there. That gives us hope that she
also
has had at least a rabies vaccination. Now let the introductions begin!

Question for you cat people. We had her indoors (in a crate, sedated for a while after I brought her home from the vet) and the other cats mostly were curious, not hostile. What do you think the odds are that we can integrate

her
into the household without hostilities? The other 4 cats are all neutered

males. She's been spending the night in the utility room, and the other cats

have been aware of her, as she has been of them.

We had a terrible time when we adopted E.T. He tore most of the screens on

the
porch trying to get to two of the other cats, and we finally had to put
harnesses on all of them, and keep spray bottles at the ready when we
brought

him into the house. Of course, the two cats in the family then were male,

and

he was a street smart Tom (neutered first thing, but still trying to fight

through the screens after 4 months) with the scars to show it. The kitten
was
no problem, once he was big enough not to be chipmunk (prey sized).

Any suggestions?

d

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