Cat Sanctuary and a Birthday . . .
A very happy birthday to dear i_o_r_h_a_e_l!!! For your birthday, I thought you might enjoy a tour of the cat sanctuary where I brought Brigit, so a good time to post it. (-:
So I've been talking to T once a week to check up on how Brigit is doing in Gettysburg, PA. And, flisties, it sounds like she is doing great. Within a week, she bonded with a cat named Socks, who she cuddles with and they are inseparable, like she was with her sister. I hope Socks is happy with that, because Brigit is a fiercely possessive little girl. She used to hiss at the other cats who came round me when I was filling the feeders. This was before she'd let me pet her at all, but still she wanted the other cats to know this was HER human feeding resource, and I think my company mattered to her as well, if my understanding of cat eye contact is to be relied on. It got so that I made sure not to be friendly with the other cats. Yes, I know, isolating you from your friends is a sign of an abuser in a relationship--I'm working on my kitty codependency. (-; I'll tell you a little more about Brigit's relationship with Socks when I explain T's methods below.
Brigit would hiss at any cat who came near her in Warwick when I was around. It's possible she did have cats she hung out with away from me who didn't accompany her when she'd come to me, but I don't think it was likely. So her having a cat she could bond with and cuddle with on cold nights, like she did with her sister, was beyond what I was hoping for her. I'm so overjoyed about this! And this happening is due to T's methods and her having the kitty assistants to put them into action. I don't know if there is anyone else out there who has this grasp on colony dynamics and could have done this for Brigit, so I'm feeling very good about having brought her up there. She's got the best life a feral cat could have now.
Here's the welcoming committee at the cat sanctuary. Look,
claudia603!!! Siameses and tuxedos together! And a siamese who looks like Saki's and Helo's lovechild. :-D
This is Boots. He is the greeter kitty--that's his job. He's a friendly guy and doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, so T locks him in the shed with a new feral to introduce her to the colony, and this was done with Brigit. And since Brigit was OK with him, T then put in Socks.
Socks is the bonder kitty--that's her job. I think of it as the kitty courtesan. I didn't meet her because she's shy with humans she doesn't know--Socks is a cat-centered girl. Brigit was supposed to be locked up with her for 6 weeks, but since Brigit bonded so quickly and tightly with Socks, T shortened that period to 2 weeks. Also, one night there was a bad wind storm, and the pipe to the wood stove T has for the sheds blew out, left a hole in the shed and Brigit got out. However, she returned for dinner, because she is a Baggins through and through, so T was able to close her in with Socks again. It's a rickety shed and I suspect if the pipe to the wood stove can be blown out, it may be a fire hazard, but humans have lived among fire hazards for eons, and more than not have survived it. And not many farm cats have a wood stove provided for their warmth, so it's a great quality of life she has now, and provided she doens't die in a fire any time soon, I'll call it a win.
T says Socks and Brigit had been spending most of their days together off in the woods, but lately they've been coming around the porch of the house more. When T first let them out, the kitty who Socks had last bonded with before Brigit, Little Bit, came up to Socks, but Brigit hissed her away. That's my girl. I don't know how this working girl gig is going to work out for Socks now. T still intends to use Socks as a bonder kitty. We'll see what Brigit has to say about all this. I'll keep ya'll posted on this little lesbian kitty potboiler in the making. (-;
And here's that siamese again. His name is Smoke. I crouched down to pet him and he put his front paws on my knees and so sweetly nuzzled my nose. Now, why isn't a sweet and beautiful little boy like this safely ensconced among pillows indoors, a happy house kitty, but is instead fated to be a farm cat?
Because this beautiful little boy likes to pee on walls, that's why. Which is kind of tough to live with and why he wound up here. If you lined the walls with little kitty urinals, maybe the problem would be solved, but I guess no one would give this great idea a try, even for as winsome a kitty as Smoke. Poor Smoke. You did it to yourself, fella.
So there were 32 cats there when I brought Brigit up last month. I'm not sure what the count is now. I know T took some to an adoption fair a couple of weekends ago, and I think placed some. Others she adopts out to farms when she finds a suitable situation for a cat, once she knows their personalities. She probably won't be adopting out Brigit to a farm, due to her age, but she says she would tell me and invite me to check out the place if she did. I do hope and believe if Brigit remains attached to Socks, she won't send them away and apart.
It's treat time on the porch--woohooo!
Better make sure no one is getting better treats than you!
Oh, Mamma Feeder Human, we loooove you!
There's treats? Hoy, I'm coming, too!
This is Sneezy. At least, that's what I'm calling this kitty because she was sneezing all the time, poor thing. One downside of being at a cat sanctuary, is that cats come in from the shelters on a regular basis, and that means with respiratory viruses. So that means there are a lot of diseases circulating among the population. So keep your fingers crossed Brigit's immune system can keep up with it. It's a risk, like being shut up in a rickety old shed that is a fire hazard at night. They are planning improvements, and I hope those happen sooner than later. But she's away from traffic there and crazy and crabbed humans who would harm her, has wet food and some one checking in on her on a daily basis, and now, kitty companionship she might not have achieved anywhere else, so it's a good trade off.
I've been browsing websites for cat sanctuaries. I had called one that was nearer to me in Maryland before T agreed to take her, but they had no room. There's one in Virginia, nearer to me, but their site says they work on socializing the cats by swaddling them in blankets and holding them until they get used to human contact. Yay--Stockholm Syndrome for kitties! They say it doesn't work for all of them--I'm imagining the trauma. I'm glad Brigit is in a place where she can be accepted as she is and socialize with humans at her own pace, and not have to be any more socialized than she is now.
And here's one I dub Dopey. Yes, this wasn't just a moment. This kitty sits around with tongue hanging out. As they say, every family has one.
I'm hoping to go up there next week. We'll see if Brigit is still willing to come when I call or if she and Socks are hanging around to be seen at all. I'll keep you updated.
Also posted at http://lavendertook.dreamwidth.org/132052.html with
comments
So I've been talking to T once a week to check up on how Brigit is doing in Gettysburg, PA. And, flisties, it sounds like she is doing great. Within a week, she bonded with a cat named Socks, who she cuddles with and they are inseparable, like she was with her sister. I hope Socks is happy with that, because Brigit is a fiercely possessive little girl. She used to hiss at the other cats who came round me when I was filling the feeders. This was before she'd let me pet her at all, but still she wanted the other cats to know this was HER human feeding resource, and I think my company mattered to her as well, if my understanding of cat eye contact is to be relied on. It got so that I made sure not to be friendly with the other cats. Yes, I know, isolating you from your friends is a sign of an abuser in a relationship--I'm working on my kitty codependency. (-; I'll tell you a little more about Brigit's relationship with Socks when I explain T's methods below.
Brigit would hiss at any cat who came near her in Warwick when I was around. It's possible she did have cats she hung out with away from me who didn't accompany her when she'd come to me, but I don't think it was likely. So her having a cat she could bond with and cuddle with on cold nights, like she did with her sister, was beyond what I was hoping for her. I'm so overjoyed about this! And this happening is due to T's methods and her having the kitty assistants to put them into action. I don't know if there is anyone else out there who has this grasp on colony dynamics and could have done this for Brigit, so I'm feeling very good about having brought her up there. She's got the best life a feral cat could have now.
Here's the welcoming committee at the cat sanctuary. Look,
claudia603!!! Siameses and tuxedos together! And a siamese who looks like Saki's and Helo's lovechild. :-D
This is Boots. He is the greeter kitty--that's his job. He's a friendly guy and doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, so T locks him in the shed with a new feral to introduce her to the colony, and this was done with Brigit. And since Brigit was OK with him, T then put in Socks.
Socks is the bonder kitty--that's her job. I think of it as the kitty courtesan. I didn't meet her because she's shy with humans she doesn't know--Socks is a cat-centered girl. Brigit was supposed to be locked up with her for 6 weeks, but since Brigit bonded so quickly and tightly with Socks, T shortened that period to 2 weeks. Also, one night there was a bad wind storm, and the pipe to the wood stove T has for the sheds blew out, left a hole in the shed and Brigit got out. However, she returned for dinner, because she is a Baggins through and through, so T was able to close her in with Socks again. It's a rickety shed and I suspect if the pipe to the wood stove can be blown out, it may be a fire hazard, but humans have lived among fire hazards for eons, and more than not have survived it. And not many farm cats have a wood stove provided for their warmth, so it's a great quality of life she has now, and provided she doens't die in a fire any time soon, I'll call it a win.
T says Socks and Brigit had been spending most of their days together off in the woods, but lately they've been coming around the porch of the house more. When T first let them out, the kitty who Socks had last bonded with before Brigit, Little Bit, came up to Socks, but Brigit hissed her away. That's my girl. I don't know how this working girl gig is going to work out for Socks now. T still intends to use Socks as a bonder kitty. We'll see what Brigit has to say about all this. I'll keep ya'll posted on this little lesbian kitty potboiler in the making. (-;
And here's that siamese again. His name is Smoke. I crouched down to pet him and he put his front paws on my knees and so sweetly nuzzled my nose. Now, why isn't a sweet and beautiful little boy like this safely ensconced among pillows indoors, a happy house kitty, but is instead fated to be a farm cat?
Because this beautiful little boy likes to pee on walls, that's why. Which is kind of tough to live with and why he wound up here. If you lined the walls with little kitty urinals, maybe the problem would be solved, but I guess no one would give this great idea a try, even for as winsome a kitty as Smoke. Poor Smoke. You did it to yourself, fella.
So there were 32 cats there when I brought Brigit up last month. I'm not sure what the count is now. I know T took some to an adoption fair a couple of weekends ago, and I think placed some. Others she adopts out to farms when she finds a suitable situation for a cat, once she knows their personalities. She probably won't be adopting out Brigit to a farm, due to her age, but she says she would tell me and invite me to check out the place if she did. I do hope and believe if Brigit remains attached to Socks, she won't send them away and apart.
It's treat time on the porch--woohooo!
Better make sure no one is getting better treats than you!
Oh, Mamma Feeder Human, we loooove you!
There's treats? Hoy, I'm coming, too!
This is Sneezy. At least, that's what I'm calling this kitty because she was sneezing all the time, poor thing. One downside of being at a cat sanctuary, is that cats come in from the shelters on a regular basis, and that means with respiratory viruses. So that means there are a lot of diseases circulating among the population. So keep your fingers crossed Brigit's immune system can keep up with it. It's a risk, like being shut up in a rickety old shed that is a fire hazard at night. They are planning improvements, and I hope those happen sooner than later. But she's away from traffic there and crazy and crabbed humans who would harm her, has wet food and some one checking in on her on a daily basis, and now, kitty companionship she might not have achieved anywhere else, so it's a good trade off.
I've been browsing websites for cat sanctuaries. I had called one that was nearer to me in Maryland before T agreed to take her, but they had no room. There's one in Virginia, nearer to me, but their site says they work on socializing the cats by swaddling them in blankets and holding them until they get used to human contact. Yay--Stockholm Syndrome for kitties! They say it doesn't work for all of them--I'm imagining the trauma. I'm glad Brigit is in a place where she can be accepted as she is and socialize with humans at her own pace, and not have to be any more socialized than she is now.
And here's one I dub Dopey. Yes, this wasn't just a moment. This kitty sits around with tongue hanging out. As they say, every family has one.
I'm hoping to go up there next week. We'll see if Brigit is still willing to come when I call or if she and Socks are hanging around to be seen at all. I'll keep you updated.
Also posted at http://lavendertook.dreamwidth.org/132052.html with
comments