THE NEW CAT ROOM! (or the Cat Room #2)

Knock on wood! I'm so thankful that we had our youngest girl spayed last month. Egads! She could have escaped at any time and came back preggers!

how is Ms Poppy/Flossie doing? any decision on going out or naming?

I think she probably has settled enough to go out with you - but it isn't me with the nerve racking task ahead! It is worrying I know.


Paddy the Bad caught a young rat somewhere outside yesterday - and of course brought it into the garden to play - so, cruel as it felt we left him to it as we certainly don't want rats around. Now the weather is milder he spends hours outside and then just eats and falls asleep when he comes in - Rosie pounces on him ready to play but he hasn't the energy after all that hunting

Ms Poppy/Flossie has me a bit worried, Vivien. I thought I would have felt more confident about her venturing outside by now (start of week 4). It's just that she's so jumpy (when not smoochy, or playful) There's something a bit unpredictable about her that worries me. Still, she'll have to venture out before too long. Last night there was a cat noise outside & she was very determined to get out there! Hmmmm ....

Paddy the hunter! At least it wasn't a BIG rat! <shudder> And poor Rosie! Her best playmate is too tired to play!
You'll just have to get a third cat, then! :wink:

third cat? these 2 are more than enough!

The jumpiness may be a blessing - it may mean she won't wander far and always stay where she can dive back home like Rosie does - Paddy wanders quite a distance and that's much more worrying because of traffic/strangers etc. Just so long as Ms Poppy/Flossie knows to run to home but I'm sure she will. Rosie rarely goes beyond our small garden and flies back in at every noise or gust of wind

Olga

What about taking her outside on a leash - at least in the backyard? One of those long leashes would give her some room to explore - with you still in control! She sounds timid - but mat brave up.

I had a cat whose name started out as Flossie - unfortunately, though, this ended up as Floosie - she did display some rather loose morals!

I think a leash could be a good idea - but if she doesn't already wear a collar it could really freak her out.

I'd never thought of using a leash on a cat before! For a minute there, margo, I thought: Why not, even if she doesn't like it, at least she can't bolt! But after a bit of thought, I think I agree with Vivien. It could well make her panic. She definitely seems interested in what's going out outside. I just wish I could confidently predict how she'd react! (And no, she's not wearing a collar yet.)

My cat Gracie was almost leash-trained before I relocated to this condo (now she can only go as far as the balcony). She took to it fairly well, but I learned very quickly to get a harness not a collar. It was far too easy for her to slip out of the collar, and harnesses take much of the strain off the cat's necks.

I often had difficulty getting the harness/leash on her but only because she would get so excited about the promise of going outside as soon as I reached for the leash. To focus her, I would wedge the door open a crack. She would be so interested in sniffing the air that she stood still long enough for harnessing.

Walking a cat on a leash, though, isn't like walking a dog. You get very little aerobic exercise and a lot of branch scratches. For Gracie, anyway, it was all about the journey and nothing about the destination. Every blade of grass needed sniffing, every shrub needs to be gone through, every insect needed careful scrutiny, every stone or twig needed pushing, every squirrel needed studying, and if we were so lucky as to see a bird, well! She just couldn't decide whether to go into stalking mode or purr from sheer happiness. Somedays it took half an hour to advance halfway down the backyard.

On a practical level, the first few forays didn't get off the back deck. I wanted to imprint it on her mind as a safe haven. I learned that Gracie (and I think all leashed cats) is more secure, and therefore calmer, walked in areas of brush and tall grasses. IOW, open skies seem to make them nervous. Gracie was also learning to respond to some simple commands. I'm sure there are standard ones codified somewhere, but I just used ones that came naturally (and used them consistently). Also, I left the back door open a crack, which was lucky because one day she managed to slip her collar and I lost her for a short time -- but she came back on her own and scooted to safety through the door while I was still searching.

Interesting, Tico.
Ms Poppsie/Flossy will, like all my other cats, be an indoor/outdoor feline - with access to the house via her own cat door & with her own garden.. It's just that initial move outside that worries me. There's no way I can predict how she'll react. (I suspect this would be a much more predictable process with a kitten that you can teach from a very young age.) What if she just makes a run for it?

You certainly take a lot of effort to make Gracie's life interesting! I can't imagine walking a cat on a leash. Imagine if you met a dog!

the one time that I took our previous cats on holiday I bought leashes - and had the same problem as Tico, great care was needed that they didn't simply slip their heads out of the collar. I'd thought they could get a bit of fresh air that way.

A harness definitely if you go for that.

There's a hilarious clip that constantly crops up on those 'out take' shows of a cat on TV on leash that got spooked and it just became a whirling blur of claws and teeth, whirling round the cowering presenter! you couldn't see the cat it moved so fast - just this spinning leaping demon! that's what made me mention caution!

if you do that, see what she makes of it indoors and if she hates it then give up! I'm sure she'll be ok now you know - she'll probably be very very cautious and only go a little way from the door before running back, checking her escape route to home is always there and only venturing further slowly.

Well, not quite, Vivien! This morning (Good Friday holiday) I decided that I'd finally let her out for a bit (it being almost the end of week 4) to see how she'd cope. Yes, she proceeded cautiously alright, but she was pretty determined in her exploration, too! What concerned me was that she kept looking up at the fences, like she wanted to jump up onto them! Anyway, she finally did jump up onto one after about 20 minutes of me following her around & talking to her. At that point I decided that that was enough for today & took her back inside! My friend, A, whose rescued many a misplaced adult critter, told me later that she would have almost definitely have come back, even if she had jumped over the fence. But me, I wasn't in the mood to take the risk! (Especially since she doesn't yet have a collar & tag with phone no., etc. Tomorrow I'll get one.) Hmmmm, this is rather a worrying business. I wouldn't forgive myself if she just jumped the fence & vanished!

Well, our Louis came down with a case of tapeworm at a very bad time - I noticed it just before I was leaving for several days on business, and my family was out of town for at least two days. I found an over the counter remedy that seems to have worked without any side effects. It is called praziquantel, and works with just a single tablet. I mixed it with his favorite wet food and he ate it without complaint. Now, five days later, he's (as far as I can tell) worm free!

This can be found at better pet stores and are sold as "tape worm tabs". I hate worms.

Good to know, cjhsa.

msolga ~ my cats have also been indoor/outdoor cats, via the cat flap, until the-cat-of-my-heart was killed by a passing car. I had Gracie only a month or so when that happened, hence the leash and an indoor life for Gracie and Babu. I probably should never have let Gracie outside at all (there seems to be an element of sadism since I had no intention of allowing her out on her own), but she just so keenly craved to be outside that I succumbed to the leash compromise.

As for meeting a dog -- well, we only walked in my very large, fenced backyard. But part of Gracie's education was to learn to judge friend vs. foe. She thought all living things, except human, were her friends. Without the fence between her and the neighbour's dogs, she would have bounded right up to them, expecting to cuddle. The fence gave her enough time to observe and determine for herself that maybe they weren't happy to see her for the same reasons that she was happy to see them. We also needed to work on skunks, raccoons, squirrels and other cats.

MacDuff had been an indoor/outdoor cat for over 10 years by that point. There was no way that I would be able to make him into an indoor cat in that house. So I had quite a cat management problem for a time.

Now we're all in a condo apartment, and they have become indoor cats by necessity. Gracie & Babu adapted well. MacDuff wouldn't even look at me for the first week after the move, but has since come around.

More info on praziquantel. There are several OTC dewormers available, but this is new, with few side effects, and apparently quite effective.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_praziquantel.html

I suspect Louis ate a flea or animal during one of his previous escapes into the woods. We do not have a flea infestation, Louis does not have fleas, plus he wears a flea collar for extra protection.

cj, how do you tell when they have worms?

It's kinda gross. They leave little "golden sesame seeds" behind in their bedding areas. You may also notice white rice grain like things in their litter or hanging in their fur around their butt.

Well, not quite, Vivien! This morning (Good Friday holiday) I decided that I'd finally let her out for a bit (it being almost the end of week 4) to see how she'd cope. Yes, she proceeded cautiously alright, but she was pretty determined in her exploration, too! What concerned me was that she kept looking up at the fences, like she wanted to jump up onto them! Anyway, she finally did jump up onto one after about 20 minutes of me following her around & talking to her. At that point I decided that that was enough for today & took her back inside! My friend, A, whose rescued many a misplaced adult critter, told me later that she would have almost definitely have come back, even if she had jumped over the fence. But me, I wasn't in the mood to take the risk! (Especially since she doesn't yet have a collar & tag with phone no., etc. Tomorrow I'll get one.) Hmmmm, this is rather a worrying business. I wouldn't forgive myself if she just jumped the fence & vanished! [/quote]

Worrying! at least she didn't freak out but was quite calm, inspecting her new domain

mmm I'd have been worried about her jumping on the fence just yet too. A collar and name tag seems a good idea though I'm sure your friend is right and she would have come back.

OK, I decided that today (Easter Sunday) was the big day. Having become semi-hysterical after being locked inside for a month, (& attacking my bedroom curtains yesterday!) poor Poppy was driving me crazy! So out we went this morning! I'd figured she was going to jump that fence whether I let her out today, or in two week's time, so why not just get this nerve wracking business done with? Sure enough, after about 10 minutes of sniffing everything, lots of squeaking (her version of a meow) & running around, she was up, over the fence & gone! Uhoh! The good news is that something like 20 minutes later she returned! Clever Poppsie! This performance was repeated about 5 times & I'm pleased to report that she responds to being called! So, phew, the worst is over. Tomorrow I'll be home the whole day, so she can explore to her heart's content! She is so much happier & calmer tonight after her big adventure. Me too! Phew!

<applause>

Good going, msolga and Poppsie! :-)