How can I find my old pictures?

[Olly]

Well I've been thinking about getting another cat for a while, and last week I collected Invisible Cat from a vet in Crouch End, having been put in touch with him via an animal charity. I'd love to post a picture, but since last Tuesday I have only seen one ear! He's gone into hiding behind the desk in my spare room. Food bowls are emptied and the litter tray is used, and he's even (when I'm not around) slept in the tartan cat-bed that every other cat has spurned! But I can't see him properly and can't get near him.

 

I specified that I wanted a submissive cat, as Welly needs to be Top Cat, but I wasn't expecting one quite as shy as this! He's not feral but has been living rough for a while, and was an entire tom until a few weeks ago which suggests he wasn't a house-pet. Anyone got any ideas for tempting him out?

 

PS he hasn't got a name yet, because I haven't seen enough of him to know what he's like!

Edited August 29, 2008 by Guest

[smudgley]

He needs some time. Cats can not cope with change well at all. Unlike dogs who adapt well to a change of circumstance / routine / environment / handler. cats don't like it & when they go to a new place with new suroundings & new people it really takes time for them to adjust.

If he's been entire until recently I would make sure he has been FIV/FeLV tested and if not I would get him done just to be on the safe side.

 

how old is he?

 

Do you know his history?

 

If he's a stray that's had little contact with humans it will take him a long time to settle and will probably never be a cuddle-cat. But if he's just shy & wary... he'll come round soon & I bet he'll be sitting on your lap before you know it..... But it really does depend on his background / history.

 

HTH

[Seagazer]

Have no words of wisdom about making him less shy really apart from taking time over it. My brother recently got an older shy rescue cat and he was quite reticent to do anything apart from hide but now he's lovely and wanders around the garden, sits on their laps. Just takes time.

 

Good luck and keep us updated.

[Olly]

He's about 10, the history is that he'd attached himself to a feral colony, but he's such a wuss-cat that they wouldn't let him eat with them, and he had to be fed separately. The charity caught him and took him to the vets where he had some minor things treated (and a more major op!) - and yes, he was FIV/FelV tested and it was negative, thanks for pointing that up though smudgely.

 

I will have to get hold of him in a week or so, because he needs to go to the vet for the second part of his vaccinations. He's not aggressive at all, and I'm sure he's been a house-pet at some time but he could have been living rough for quite a while. Not many people will tolerate an entire tom in their home!

 

To be completely honest, I'd agreed to take him BEFORE they mentioned the age, and the fact that he'd only recently been neutered, I probably wouldn't have said yes if I'd know all the facts. I'm sure he's happier living behind my desk than he was living rough in North London, but I don't feel I'm making any progress with gaining his trust. I've had a lot of cats over the years, but never one as shy as this. Thanks for your thoughts, anyway.

[SAB]

Having been in similar postion, I would say you just have to let him make the moves and hopefully he will come round. I had a East London feral move in with me when I was living there as she was injured and she eventually became what we in Scotland call "a big sook"!

 

We currently have a feral visiting cat who will now rub is nose against my hand but still (after months) not tolerate being touched and won't come into the house unless door left open.

 

Well done you on taking the old boy!

[Lynn]

One of our cats, Jack, is very shy and nervous. We've had him since a kitten and only now, three year's later, does he appear to be making more progress

 

We have the advantage that one of our older cats became a surrogate mother to him and he is a brave boy when Benny is around, but not when he's on his own.

 

We get to handle and stroke him when we sit down on the floor and ignore him. We place some treats beside us and let him come and eat them - we've moved them closer and closer to us each time so now he is eating them from our hand.

 

I'm afraid it takes a lot of patience but it is worth the effort - just means a sore bum from sitting on the floor all evening rather than a comfy sofa!!!

[little chickadee]

Good luck Olly. Our first two boys lived under a kitchen cabinet for a couple of days when we got them. We just tried to ignore them and let them come out in their own time.

[Tessa the Duchess]

Hi Olly, just found this thread. I agree with others who advise just leaving him to feel brave enough to look around his new home. I do think the animal rehoming people were remiss in not giving you the full details of his age and background though. The fact that he is eating, drinking and using the litter tray is a good sign that he is domesticated, he is probably very scared and bewildered after having a rough ride for a time. I live in Crouch End btw, pity I didn't know you were over this way, a lost chance for a cup of tea Do keep us up with progress.

 

Tessa

[Olly]

ooh, I'd have popped in, Tessa, if I'd known! Very nice vets, Hills, where I collected him from.

 

I decided that perhaps I should push things a bit, so every night and morning I get on my hands and knees (no mean feat!) and crawl under the desk to say hello, and give him a stroke. He remains absolutely rigid, whilst backing away as surreptitiously as possible, but I have noticed that when I stop stroking he turns his head to look at me, so some connection is being made, and he will now make eye contact.

 

He's restricted to one room at the moment, I can't let him have the run of the house because I don't want a close encounter of the furred kind with my large, confident tabby just yet!

 

He's got a very runny tum, I've tried withholding food for 24 hours and then introducing just chicken, but it hasn't improved much. I need to take him to the vet shortly for the second round of his vaccinations, so I'll ask for some advice. The poor old thing is quite skinny, I suspect that he's not used to eating so much or eating regularly, maybe it's all a bit rich for him.

 

Thanks for all the support and advice above. I think it's just going to take time. Still trying to choose a name, but Custard keeps popping up as an appropriate one!

[chickencam]

How are you getting on with him?

[Olly]

weeeelll .... as you may have spotted from my other post on the Nesting Box ("furious with animal charity"), there was a substantial set-back when he became unwell last week and had to spend two nights at the vet on a drip.

 

I'm delighted to say that he is eating faster than I can cook turkey, chicken and fish. I have just been under the desk to say hallo, I keep stroking those bits I can reach and he doesn't resist although there is no response.

 

I am a bit worried that I can't see what condition he's in. Also, since being at the vets, where he refused to eat at all, he has not done a poo. This is starting to worry me! I need to know if they are, er, firm again before I move him onto something cheaper than his current high-protein diet! And I can't help feeling things should be moving through by now ... if there isn't anything by tomorrow morning, I'll call the vet.

 

I can see he's been sleeping in the bed, when I'm not in the room, and he is a bit less hidden, so I feel I making very slight progress. Thanks for asking!

[Tessa the Duchess]

Glad to hear he is eating well Do you think the no poo situation could be caused by the antibiotics he is on? I may have got it wrong but I think some can cause constipation.

Just a thought, hope he poos soon

 

Tessa

[Olly]

luckily I feel quite uninhibited about writing (talking) about poo on this forum, since it's such a frequent and popular topic of discussion under Chickens, Chicken Health and so on!

 

Maybe it deserves a special smiley symbol of its own ... good point about the antibiotics Tessa, they can do all sorts of things to the digestion.

 

I'm hoping something will happen overnight!

[Joojoo]

If he is constipated, get some liquid parafin and a syringe from your local chemist. It's exactly what the vets will give you but a lot lot cheaper. I think my last lot cost about £1.50 for a decent sized bottle and the syringe.

 

Good luck with him Olly. I hope he picks up for you soon You are doing such a good job with him.

[Paola]

How is he today Olly?

[Olly]

Well since Monday he's eaten six coley fillets, four (free-range!) chicken drumsticks, and four free-range turkey fillets - my other cat has had a little bit of each of these, just so he doesn't feel left out, but Custard has eaten most of it. So that's all good.

 

Nothing has come out at the other end yet, though. I rang the vet tonight, and they rang back eventually and said if nothing's happened by tomorrow, I should take him in 'because he might be constipated'. No kidding! I could be a vet ....

 

I'm praying for something to happen overnight, because (a) I can't afford another vet's bill and (b) he finds it so traumatic. However I spoke to a friend tonight and she said her cat has gone 3-4 days sometimes without a bowel movement. She also mentioned liquid paraffin, thanks for the tip JooJoo. Because of his generally poor condition though, I'm a bit scared of dosing him myself in case he has got anything else wrong with him.

 

Fingers crossed ... I'll be leaping out of bed in the morning to check the tray for poos, and I don't think I've ever said that before! He is still hiding behind he desk but I have seen a little face peeping out once or twice. As soon as I know his tum is working normally, he'll be back on to Whiskas I don't eat meat more than twice a week myself!

Edited August 29, 2008 by Guest

[Joojoo]

Liquid Paraffin is very gentle and certainly won't do him any harm. I'd be inclined to ring the vets and just say you have got some in the house from dosing another cat and is it worth trying it on him? They might be more inclined to say "yes" if they think you have already got some rather than dragging the poor little devil all the way over there and putting him through more stress.

 

You might have a bit of a game getting him to take it though. You can try the slow or quick method I'd probably go for the latter as it's the less stressful and you are less likely to end up scratched this way. You will need to have a good grip on the back of his neck then using the end of the syringe gently push it in the side of his mouth and just squirt the lot in It's quick and, as they don't seem overkeen on the taste, it won't give him time to decide he doesn't like it.

 

It will probably take 2 days or so of dosing 5ml x 3 times a day to get things to start moving but it should definitely help.

 

As another thought it might be worth trying to mix it in with a small amount of coley which might mask the taste.

 

edited to say: If he's been on a drip he would have probably been dehydrated which may be what's caused the constipation.

[Olly]

Very sorry to say that Custard had to be put to sleep this evening. Despite eating well, he really didn't look a well cat, and a return trip to the vet led to a diagnosis of renal lymphoma.

 

There's no real treatment, steroids might have perked him up for a week but this would only have been palliative, and given his extreme timidity and the distress it caused him to be handled, it was not difficult to make a decision.

 

I won't go into my feelings about the animal charity here, I've already posted that elsewhere. I think I'd rather forget about the last three weeks, but of course I won't forget the kind and generous offers of advice and help that I received from the forum. Thank you all so much.

[Joojoo]

Oh Olly I'm so sorry I can't imagine how you must be feeling. You did everything you could for Cuztard

[Paola]

I am so sorry Olly You gave him the best chance. Poor Custard

[Chickvic]

So sorry Olly

[bellekatz]

So sorry to hear about Custard, Olly. I know exactly how you feel - I used to help at a local rescue centre and brought a cat home from there. After a few days it was apparent she was ill and they did blood tests - when these came back she had FeLV and had lost so much weight I had her put to sleep. I then had to payover £200 to have my other ctas bloods done to make sure they were ok and hadnt caught anything from her. They were fine and we took the decision to get cats form reputable breeders after that. The centre must have known she was ill but they still let me take her. Anyway, I always think that at least the last three weeks she had were in a warm comfortable house and she died with dignity - you have done the same for Custard. If you hadnt taken him he wouldnt have had the last few weeks in a normal environment and someone who cared enough about him to say goodbye. Well done Olly.

[SAB]

So sad for you that Custard had to be put to sleep, but glad for Custard that he found someone like you to care for him in his final days.

[Beauty-Box]

So Sorry to hear about Custard. Sending lots of hugs your way.

[Yorkshire Pudding]

That's very sad, poor Custard.

 

I'm glad that he had such a well-cared-for end to his life.