Chris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Not that I'm an expert or have much experience or anything like that... but just an observation. When I brought Big Boy in (adult male who I had been feeding outside), he really was wanting to be anywhere but where I or anyone else was! Circumstances (his + status) forced me to confine him to a large dog crate in my bedroom (I put the crate on top of some boxes so he was off the floor & I wasn't towering over him). I do some computing work at home & my desk is in my bedroom. I had the TV or radio on at various points. This sort of forced him to look at me for many hours per day and at night. Once I figured out I wouldn't have to 'fumigate' the house if I let him out, things went very quickly from there. First, he made his way to the litter box in the bathroom off my bedroom (slinking the whole way & usually waiting until he thought I was no long! er in the room). Then he started jumping out of the crate if he knocked one of the small toys I had put in there to the floor. Then I moved his food & water dishes to a tray just below the crate. He managed that OK. The final step was one day I was working away & out of the corner of my eye, I realized he had jumped up on the bed & had fallen asleep there (until I moved). That was it--he had discovered the good life! All this occurred in about 2 weeks. It took a couple more weeks for him to work up the courage to jump on the bed while I was in it but then we got over the big hurdles quickly. I think that because of this almost constant forced contact, he realized he had some 'decisions' to make and that I wasn't so bad after all.
I had read a lot of info that said isolation and gradual intros were the way to go. Luckily, circumstances forced me to take a totally different route and I am ever so grateful. By contrast, a friend took in one of BB's buddies that I had also been feeding. He was a lot more friendly but she followed the standard advice. Months later, he was living in the lap of luxury in her guest room & guest bath. He ate, played, slepton the bed, etc. but would let NO ONE come near him! She had to give him up & luckily I found him another home who took a whole different approach. She put him in her closed off living room where she & her family & dogs & other cats spent much time. She made sure he found some good hiding places when he needed him. Its been less than a week now & when I last talked to her, he was being brushed! by her husband, had met the dog & other cats and was about to be let out into the rest of the house. She does a lot of rescue & boards dogs & it is her belief & experience that 'immersion' into daily life is always better than slow isolation techniques. In retrospect, it makes sense to me. Most of the little guys are pretty shrewd if they survived outside--they are still alive because they knew how to figure out the safest way to go--Inside, I think if we can force them to realize that we're the safe way, well--then the rest sort of follows!
Last year, I found a young kitten in the group of strays (had been dumped I�m sure). I took him to local shelter as I knew they could get him adopted (he was about 8 weeks). A week later, they asked if I could put him back as he was too �wild�-would retreat to back of cage if someone tried to pick him up! I fostered him for about 3 weeks & then made a deal with shelter to bring him during the day so potential adopters could see him & bring him back with me at night. That lasted 3 days & he was adopted in part because he was such a friendly, spunky little guy!
Finally, my Prince story. Prince was a 1+ year old who had been living in my complex his whole life. A neighbor would leave food out for him but he would let no one come near him. Due to a really horrendous snow storm, she & I worked to trap him & I also kept him in my bedroom for a couple of weeks while he got spayed, shots, etc. End of story is that a friend adopted him. Took him home on the train to his house with 2 kids, 2 cats, a dog & hamsters. Put him in the boys� room that night and Prince was sleeping on their beds within a week. He managed to get out of the house about a month later and after making his owners do various song and dances (trying to lure him back in in all the ways only we humans can think of), he finally sauntered back in when he figured out they had had enough torture! Prince is happy & thriving now tha! t he made sure everyone knows who is the real boss!
Again, I don't have that much experience but this sort of worked for me. The only problem I�ve had is something entirely different and I�m always looking for advice on that one�one of my older cats can�t stand BB & is so brutal with him that I have to keep them seperated. Any ideas on getting her to just let him be is always more than gratefully accepted!
Chris
