Oh yes, and I forgot to mention another little kitty that was dumped @ my feral
colony recently, that now is living in my home.
She used to show up to eat occasionally, sporting a very pretty pink collar w/
rhinestones on it.
She was obviusly someone's pet, but very shy.
One day she showed w/ no colllar to eat, and the hippie neighbors told me that
her owners had moved over the weekend and put her outside after they removed
her collar.
Obviously they knew I fed the cats, and that "she would be fine".
Well, they hadn't bothered to spay her, of course, and after a few days I saw
discharge coming from her "bottom" area....
Discharge as in green pus.
I put her in a carrier and took her to my vet, of course, and she had such a
bad case of pyrometria that her uterus had burst and her bladder was partially
necrotic.
They were not sure if she would ever be able to pee normally again.
After about 10 days she was able to come home, and being as young as she was
(about 1 year or so) she fit right in to.
Of course, it helped that she purrfurred cats over people.
She will "cow" if you get to close to her, but within days you could find her
sleeping w/ one of my older cats.
I named her "Octavia", and she is a beautiful all black kitty w/ gorgeous green
eyes.
So, what is it w/ people again that think a feral colony is a dumping ground
for their unwanted cats?
Fine, she is much better off w/ me, she has a good life and she doesn't ever
have to allow me to pet her if she does not want to.
It's not required in this household.
Apparently her former owners had "children" that were pretty rough w/ her, that
is why she is handshy.........
It's been an expensive year @ Chez Mew........
Susan J. DuBose >^..^<
www.PetGirlsPetsitting.com
www.Tx.SiameseRescue.org
www.shadowcats.net
"As Cleopatra lay in state,
Faithful Bast at her side did wait,
Purring welcomes of soft applause,
Ever guarding with sharpened claws."
Trajan Tennent
----- Original Message -----
From: Susan Dubose
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 7:04 PM
Subject: Re: Need help ASAP with a kitty
You are a very good purrson.........
I just took on 2 new clients that have "house ferals"..... :)
It just warms my coal black heart to see what hoops they will jump through
for those cats.......
I am in the process of relocating one of my feral colonies to my backyard,
which is HUGE.
There is a cottage in the the back, w/ 2 other buildings also.
This colony is small, only 12 cats, they are losing their home due to
"progress", of course.
They have lived on the same greenbelt in Austin for years, and it was sold
last year to built "single family dwellings"...... Gag........
The poor deer are being displaced too.
Anyway, I have moved 5 to my yard, and one was tame and came to live inside.
"Thomacina" is a huge orange tabby that was not feral, he was dumped @ the
colony as a kitten and remained friendly.
I noticed that his ear was draining constantly, & full of pus, so I took him
to my vet who said he had 3 types of very nasty bacterial infections going on,
plus a growth that needed to be removed.
After we got the infections cleared up, Dr. Samon stepped in and removed his
growth, ear canal and stitched him up.
So far so good, it was cancerous.
I put him in a foster home for 2 weeks so he could recoup and finish his
meds, and then introduced him to my motley crew of rascals & hooligans in fur.
I have never introduced a kitty that old to my gang (he's maybe 3 yrs?) so I
wasn't sure what would happen.
he fit right in, and now sleeps on my bed every night.
It's funny when you take a kitty outta a bad situation where they are living
on hand outs and move them inside, you can really see appreciation in their
eyes everyday.
He just LOVES sleeping in a soft bed......
I still have 6 more cats to move over to my home, I got sidetracked w/ the
houston 14 from the rescuer / collector situation (felv+ exposure cats)
But for now, I have trained the colony to eat in a good Sam's yard on a
deadend street.
Nice people, young hippies that have "rock art" all over their yard.........
So, kitties are somewhat outta harm's way for now.
The main thing to remember is that you need to crate them for no less than 2
weeks in their new environment.
That way they can see, smell, hear the comings & goings in their new home.
They HAVE to get familiar or they could try and find their old home.
Very important.
I put my 5 in a big "walk in" type pen that was inside my out building, for 6
weeks.
One day I just left the door opened so they could be free in my yard.
I didn't see then for 2 weeks, I was so upset.
They just reappeared one day, probably had been hiding the whole time.
Now they are fed @ 6am after I tend to the house cats.
Spoiled, spoiled, little brats...........
Susan J. DuBose >^..^<
www.PetGirlsPetsitting.com
www.Tx.SiameseRescue.org
www.shadowcats.net
"As Cleopatra lay in state,
Faithful Bast at her side did wait,
Purring welcomes of soft applause,
Ever guarding with sharpened claws."
Trajan Tennent
