Update on Wellington

[LAJennifer]

He is doing very well. He is getting a little chubby, so I have put him on a diet and he is NOT happy about it. I was free-feeding him, and I think he was just eating too much. Now, in the morning, he gets a small can of Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets and 1/4 cup Nature''s Variety Prairie Chicken. In the evening he gets another 1/4 cup of the dry food.

I am amazed at how affectionate he has become - I thought it would take me at least 6 months to get to where we are now. I can completely "handle" him, though he doesn''t like being picked up off the ground (so I don''t do it). He loves to have his ears rubbed and his neck scratched. He is such a cutie - his eyes are Paul Newman blue. His coat is amazing and his eyes are nice and clear.

He is outside and semi-feral, so he does occasionally get into cat fights - however, I think he wins most of them. I''ve never seen bite marks, but everyday he has a new scratch. He has a lot of self esteem.

PROBLEMS:

1) He scratches himself more than usual. He doesn''t have fleas and is treated with Advantage topical. Maybe he itches from rolling around in the dirt, or maybe his cat scratch wounds itch. Is it possible he has a food allergy? He just scratches - though he doesn''t irritate his skin or fur.

2) His shelter is the crawl space under the building next door. Last week I noticed a handyman closing the crawl space holes. He didn''t close the main one, because he didn''t have a grate to fit the opening. I made him aware of Wellington''s presence and gave him my number. He will call me when he comes back to close the hole so we can make sure Wellington isn''t underneath. Also, he said he would make it so that it can be easily removed (not nailed or screwed in). City Inspectors were doing random checks a few weeks ago and cited the owner for the openings.

I placed a large carrier/kennel, with the front gate removed, next to the opening and placed Wellington''s towel in it. It took a few days, but every time I go out to see him he is hanging out in the carrier. I''m going to lean a large piece of plywood against the wall to enclose the carrier, so that he will have some more privacy and security once he can no longer go under the building.

3) I plan to bring him inside and make him an official member of our family - however I will be traveling for the first 3 weeks of June, so he has to stay outside until I return. I cannot risk bringing him in and then leaving him and my other 2 cats unsupervised for 3 weeks. A neighbor that he likes will be looking after him - but I know I''m going to worry myself silly while I''m gone.

Just a little update - any comments or "tips" are certainly appreciated (especially tips on integrating with Seth and Electra, and advice on making him an indoor kitty).

 

[Lynn B]

Oh Jennifer, what happy and exciting news! BLESS YOU for loving him and taking care of him! You are WONDERFUL! xoxoxo!

I have no real advice for you beyond what I know about integrating new kitties into a family with resident kitty(ies)... take it slow and keep them separated at first. When we brought Bentley home, we set him up in a "safe room" (our guest bedroom)... a room with a door that closed, food, litter, bed, toys, etc. He and Boo could smell each other and they played pawsies under the door (for a couple of days).

Wellington''s integration may be a bit more of a challenge, as he has been on the streets for who knows how long... but I have every confidence that if you take it slow and steady, your 3 babies will be good friends in no time!

There''s a WEALTH of information on the internet on how to best introduce a newcomer for the most successful results. It CAN be done!!!

 

[yssie]

How wonderful!! He's a lucky, lucky boy to have you

One of our three (Mina) is an ex-feral. We found her about 9mo ago, and she's been with us since

It was definitely an adjustment. We live right off a highway so we didn't take the time to make friends - we just caged her and too her to the vet as soon as we could catch her (she was pregnant and the vet aborted), then took her into the apt, so her transition was (hopefully!) more traumatic than Wellington's will be. When we first brought her in we kept her in the bedroom (separate litterbox, food, etc.). She had fleas and a URI that we didn't want Greta and Garet catching, but she was also completely unpredictable - the smallest things would suprise her, and her first reactions were to scratch & bite her way into a corner, and she'd glare and hiss at us. It took about a week of petting/gently talking to her to get her comfortable with us, and when that happened it was like someone had switched cats - she wouldn't leave us alone! She constantly needed attention, petting, rubbing, brushing, more petting... she'd howl when we left the room, and our other two practically lived by the bedroom door, sniffing and scratching trying to get in.

We stopped changing clothes/washing our hands after petting her about a week after that, and Greta (she's incredibly laid-back) would just sniff and come for cuddles. Garet, on the other hand, was much more ornery - it took a good couple of weeks for him to even come near us without spitting if we smelled of Mina. He did get used to it eventually though, though I was impatient and worried the whole time! We brought them into the bedroom one at a time to introduce them but that was a disaster - Mina got protective and decided to fight for her territory, even though she was all of 8lbs and garet is easily 16

, so we started letting Mina out into the main rooms instead. For the first few days they just avoided each other but at least they didn't fight.. Somewhere along the line over the next few weeks they got closer and closer, and now we usually come home to find them all sleeping together or in a three-way lick-fest, and they share food/water/litter/toys without issue. Well, except one specific big squishy ball Garet won't share with either of them

I think the most important thing we did was not rush the introductions. We made sure we weren't going anywhere for the next couple of months, and it took about that long for us to feel comfortable leaving them alone together. It helped that Greta is so easy-going - I think Garet found Mina less objectionable if she also smelled like his sister, and Mina was just happy to have playmates and more freedom than the bedroom afforded! Mina has really adjusted wonderfully: she's still skittish and unexpected touches make her jump, but she's happy to cuddle, and we've finally got her to stop biting. She does try to steal food from our plates, but that may just be ingrained behaviour at this point and it's not a problem so long as we're careful not to leave anything out. She's the smallest of the three by far, and we think our two trained her into playing fair with them... She meows now instead of hissing, and refuses to set foot outside the apartment. We made a long thin wooden box with an opening at one end as a hidey hole just for her (neither garet nor greta can fit or reach all the way to the back), but she hasn't used it since the first couple of weeks and we're tossing it when we redecorate. I also think it does depend to some extent on the cats involved - how high-strung are Seth and Electra? It also sounds like Wellington is more assertive than Mina was, maybe someone else will chime in with experiences with that dynamic.

What I love most is that they've all picked up some of each others' behaviours. Mina will lick me when I'm petting her, which she definitely picked up from Greta and Garet, and now Greta will roll over for tummy rubs like Mina. Some habits are less cute, like the nipping, but it's a work in progress. She's an active cat and keeps Greta on her toes, and now Garet has a playmate when Greta would rather snuggle with her humans

Good luck, and I have my fingers crossed for a smooth and quick transition for all of you!!

 

[TooPatient]

He sounds wonderful.

Have you had him checked out by a vet? If not, you should -- just to be absolutely positive he doesn''t have anything that will harm your indoor kitties.

Introducing new cats to a home is ... fun.
When we adopted Sven, we put him in the guest bedroom with his litterbox, food, water, scratching post, and toys. He stayed there for the evening (the adoption center suggested 2 weeks) and then DEMANDED to be let out to explore the rest of the house. We put the other cats in a separate room and let Sven wander around the house. He found the room with Lilly and, again, told us to open the door. (I don''t usually let cats make all of the decisions, but he said he was ready so I followed his lead). There was a bit of hissing, but not much else.

I did insist that Sven sleep in his own room for the first few weeks until I was certain there wouldn''t be problems leaving the cats together for an entire night.


The adoption place suggested 2 weeks in a separate room (visits by people) and then a gradual introduction to the house and an even more gradual introduction to other animals.

 

[Blackpaw]

LaJen im so happy to hear Wellington is doing so well - thank you so much for looking after him

looking forward to hearing more of his progress

 

[tyty333]

You''re a good kitty Mom. Thanks for giving him a home!

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 5/18/2010 6:23:54 PM
Author: Lynn B
Oh Jennifer, what happy and exciting news! BLESS YOU for loving him and taking care of him! You are WONDERFUL! xoxoxo!


I have no real advice for you beyond what I know about integrating new kitties into a family with resident kitty(ies)... take it slow and keep them separated at first. When we brought Bentley home, we set him up in a ''safe room'' (our guest bedroom)... a room with a door that closed, food, litter, bed, toys, etc. He and Boo could smell each other and they played pawsies under the door (for a couple of days).


Wellington''s integration may be a bit more of a challenge, as he has been on the streets for who knows how long... but I have every confidence that if you take it slow and steady, your 3 babies will be good friends in no time!


There''s a WEALTH of information on the internet on how to best introduce a newcomer for the most successful results. It CAN be done!!!

Thank you so much, Lynn. It means so much to me, coming from you. I will definitely keep them separated at first. I think they will be friends in a short time - with his biggest challenge being learning to like living indoors. I don''t think he is very old - certainly under 2 years. Also, I feel that he may have had human contact before. When I first met him, he was very skittish and wouldn''t let me get close. However, he was eartipped (indicating tnr), but he still looked like he had testicles and they were black. Now, they have molted and shrunk and his white fur has grown over what is left of his scrotum. I feel confident that his skittishness was/is related to his experience of having been trapped and neutered. He is still wild, though. He hissed at my husband yesterday.

 

[LAJennifer]

Yssie, hearing of your Mina gives me great hope. Thank you, for taking her in.

Electra is 11 years old and Seth is 10 - though you would never know it (they both still run around and play like kittens). Electra is the dominant one (being a female Abyssinian) and Seth is overly friendly (he doesn''t understand the concept of personal space). When I come inside from petting Wellington, I let them smell my hands and tell them "it''s Wellington". Then I pet them while my hands still have Wellington''s scent.

Electra will take to a neutered male much more than she would take to a female - so I hope things won''t be that difficult for them. She WILL be nasty at first, but will turn sweet as pie as soon as he "hits her back". Hopefully Wellington will stick up for himself.

I''ll have to keep Seth from getting "beat up". He loves to gaze in your eyes and is unaware that eye contact is considered aggressive with outside cats.

 

[LAJennifer]

Too Patient - yes, I will definitely take him to the vet before bringing his in. If he tests positive for FeLV or FIV then he won''t be able to come in. Fingers crossed that everything checks out ok. I think it will - he is very hearty and I''ve never seen any "bite wounds", just scratch wounds.

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 5/19/2010 4:07:56 PM
Author: Blackpaw
LaJen im so happy to hear Wellington is doing so well - thank you so much for looking after him

looking forward to hearing more of his progress

Thanks, Blackpaw. I''ll definitely keep you posted.

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 5/19/2010 4:18:20 PM
Author: tyty333
You''re a good kitty Mom. Thanks for giving him a home!

Thank you, tyty333. How could I say no to his sweet face?

 

[yssie]

Your Seth sounds like such a sweet kitty

and what''s not to love about a dominant female

Please do keep us updated