save more cats!

[lizbud]

AmberLee,

Thanks for the encouragement !! Yeh I do like to
set (short) attainable goals & take one thing at a
time with kitties. They are Soooo Sensitive !!! . LOL.

Randi,

Thanks for the help & encouragement. I'm going to just
take this one day at a time... I saw a few more good
signs with my four kitties & the "new guy" tonight....

[lizbud]

A little update on the white cat Sugar;

1. He has completely recovered from his neutering &
fixing his claws on the hind paws.
2. This cat is by far the most aggressive male cat I've
ever come across. He is very sweet to people, but seems
to have a need to dominate every other cat, male or female.
3. I have relocated him to the garage with" Momma" &
" Baby" Kitties.(both long ago spayed cats) , but "baby"
is scared to death of him & "Momma" wants nothing to
do with him either. He follows them around & acts like
he is "not neutered" if you know what I mean.
4. Sugar had "the operation" on the 15th, does it take
a long time for a mature male to lose "interest" ?
My other four males were all nuetered at a much younger
age, and they are much more friendly & playful
together. If he does not calm down pretty soon, I will
have to consider other arrangements for him.
I'm at my wits end with this aggression thing. Help !!!

[lizbud]

Thanks Spencer & Tutone,

Last night when I went to feed & "put to bed" my outdoor
kitties,i.e. close up the garage for the night, Sugar was so "in your face" with Momma cat that I was afraid a fight might
break out. It was a mild night weather wise, so I let Momma and Baby kitty sleep outside and locked Sugar up in the garage
overnight... I guess he still needs a few days to sort out his
place in the group with my two other outdoor cats. I thought
since they were female, he would get along O.K. with them.
We'll see... This morning as I was driving away from the
garage, I glanced back at Sugar and he had the saddest look
on his face, like, "Where are you going?".

[lizbud]

Good luck, maybe...

When I came home from work tonight, all three kitties
came running to meet me when they heard the garage door
opener. ( I leave a side door open a little every day for them
to get in out of the weather or have a drink of water or
kibble ). Good news is that the three cats all gathered at
in the same area to welcome me home. Sugar is letting the
"Momma Kitty" enter & greet me first before he comes up
to me. Good sign I think. "Baby Kitty " ,whom I love dearly,
is better, but not totally convinced that Sugar is going to be
O.K. to live with... I think Sugar was just scared & unsure at
first, but I think and hope he will blend in well...

[AmberLee]

Good news, Liz. I agree that Sugar allowing Mommy Kitty to approach first sounds like a good sign.

Baby steps of progress. Fingers and paws crossed.

[Randi]

I'm so glad to hear about the latest development. In a few weeks they will probably have sorted out their rank and will hopefully be playing together. You have been patient and done a good job with them!

Good luck in the future!

[Xena]

Great Job with your new addition Sugar. Sounds like they are going to do well together. Sometimes it seems to take them a little longer to adapt to all the changes but the progress looks great. Thank you for saving another sweety from the streets.

Xena

[lizbud]

Well, there's nothing like a cold rainy day to bring
peace within a group who share quarters...

I have windows on three sides of my garage
(each equipped with inside window ledges) for the
kitties. When I came home tonight, I could see Sugar
settled into the "lookout post" window. All cats seemed
more at ease with each other, even Baby Kitty..
Maybe a coincidence, but all the other stray toms(4-5)
have suddenly left the area since Sugar has been
ensconced into Momma's house. (garage).
Please keep fingers & paws crossed for this to all
work out for all my furkids. Thanks, Liz.

[lizbud]

A small update on Sugar.

He is now ok around Momma & Baby kitty.(They have
sorted things out (not best friends), but they are
showing mutual respect & an easyness around each
other. That's good. However, I came home yesterday
to find Sugar's right ear flap all chewed up & bloody.
It broke my heart. He acted fine with me & the other
two cats, and I think I know who he defended his
food from. ( Big grey/white stray tom ) He must have
been coming into the garage to feed before but never
bothered Momma or Baby kitty. Now Sugar feels he has
to stand guard over the food source.
It's back to the vets tomorrow to check out his ear,
but think I made a mistake in leaving the food down
all day & the door open. There are just to many really
hungry kitties around here. Think maybe I'm making
a problem for Sugar by leaving food out.
Momma & Baby are well fed cats & will be alright
without food until I come home from work, as they
are used to getting their can food only in the evening
before I close up the garage for them.
Any one with advise on a better way to handle this
please tell me. Thanks. Liz.

[lizbud]

Sugar, the "hard Luck Furkid" has healed from his
ear wounds.(no sutures required). He was fine when
'put to bed' in the closed garage last night, but this
morning was limping badly and holding up his left
front paw.There is no blood or discharge that I can
see but he will not use the paw or put any pressure
on it. My garage has rafters where Momma & Baby
kitty love to cavort, and I'm thinking maybe Sugar
fell from there.??
He went to the vet's tonight (as Febuary is National
Spay/Neuter month and the vet has been very busy)
Poor kid. seems like he just gets over one thing &
then something else happens to him...

[TheAntiPam]

Thanks for sharing the news about Sugar as he adjusts to his new life. I hope he gets past this period of bumps and bruises soon and settles into the good life you are providing!

My cat Murf was not neutered until he was at least 2 1/2 years old. He definitely has the ear scars and notches to prove he was "all male" when he roamed the streets. But now he's a mellow loving cat, having learned to accept both new humans and new kitties. Your patience will pay off and in a few months you'll look back and see the changes clearly.

Best wishes for you and all your fur kids!

[lizbud]

Thanks for the kind words & good thoughts for
Sugar. It means a lot .
I called the vet this morning & he told me Sugar
has developed an abcess on his paw.The vet seemed
most concerned that Sugar had a very high fever also.
The vet said Sugar's temp last night was 105; but he
had not yet had his temp checked yet when I called.
Sugar is on antibiotics & will be staying at the vet's
office over the weekend.
Even with all this happening to him, Sugar was still
acting as sweet as ever even thought he must have
been in a lot of pain..I do Love the little guy !!!

[lizbud]

I picked up Sugar from the vet's office on Monday
after work. He's looking and acting good.I've never
had a cat that seemed so comfortable riding in a car
before. When we got home & inside the garage I took
him out of the car but left him in the carrier for a few
minutes so Momma & Baby kitty could come over to
sniff him out. He just sat there like an angel and didn't
complain a bit. Put out everyone's food & let him out
of the carrier. He was more interested in re-orienting
himself to the garage than eating, but all went well.
Sugar seems remarkably calmer than I've ever seen
him act before. One day at a time I guess....

[AmberLee]

Hey Liz,

So far, so good! Hope Sugar is feeling well again soon. It sounds like the three in the garage are getting along fairly well now, good sign! Thanks for keeping us posted.

Regards!

[lizbud]

Thanks Amber,

Yea, Three (outside) kitties in the garage, four kitties
(inside only) and a GSD/Husky who on first meeting my
the 4 indoors thought they were new squeaky toys. LOL.

Life's never dull with these guys, but I wouldn't trade
them for the world. Liz.