Lilly Blind Kitteh

[Deleted]

My cats don't meow much. They snuffle and grumble, purr, whine, hiss and talk to their toys.

[kritter]

Well, Petti, not much to report. She is eating and drinking fine and using the litter box which is really all I ask from these guys here.

No progress in our bonding. When I go in during the day she is usually on the floor shelf of one of the cat trees and out of my reach for any meaningful petting.

When I go in to ready at night she comes out and turns in circles around the room before she settles down usually on the cardboard circle of the turbo track. Last night she stumbled on to one of the toys and played with it for about 10 seconds. If she passes by the couch and I reach out to pet her, she moves away.

Some of the toys were moved this morning from last night so she either played with them or stumbled over them.

I think she is still coming to terms with her blindness and they could take awhile. At least she doesn't run from me in fear like Augie does.

[kritter]

Now that Holly is getting her blind bearings, I think she might also be going back to her stand offish side. I hesitate to call her feral because I don't she is a true feral but more of a colony cat that has no use for human contact.

When I went in to open her window this morning, she was out on the rug so I tied to pet her. Talking sweetly to her and letting her smell my hand met with hisses and then growls. sShe was probably only tolerating me before and I think she actually enjoyed the contact before but apparently, that is changing.

Thank goodness she is not in with the Missy family. I learned a hard lesson with that plan from Augie and never again will I go there.

OK, I get the message.

[Deleted]

I think you have to keep trying her, though, Kritter. Not to the point of getting injured, of course, but just imposing yourself on her. "I'm here and I love you and I'm not goin' away. Suck it up, buttercup!"

She might have been a colony cat for years, but that was before she was blind. Her world is totally different now and (no offence to you) probably much more boring. (Because it's safe and she doesn't have to scrounge for food etc.) So the talking to and touching (when possible) are at least INTERESTING things to happen in her day.

And she eventually has to realise that having her head rubbed feels nice. Every animal (except reptiles and things as far as I know) likes to have its back or head scratched or stroked or whatever. Look at cows out in the fields. How often would a cow in a herd get pleasant human contact? Hardly ever. But when they do, they like it.

I think it's a waiting game. You have to be like a mighty glacier carving its way to the ocean. Slow and steady wins the race.

[kritter]

It is pretty boring around here for sure. I don't figure I have much choice in this case but to keep on keeping on with her. Even if she never gets friendly, I can't put her outside again even in the cat pen. So, she is here to stay whether she likes it or not.

I will still keep reading to her at night and let her know that I am there.

[Shirley U Geste]

Time will tell Kritter.

She needs to adjust to her blindness and may decide thats its on OK thing to have a keeper around who provides for her.

Shes probably never going to be a really affectionate cat, but as long as she is not a wild crazy like Augie she will slowly start to fit in.

[kritter]

Definitely it can't be any worse than Augie. I doubt she will ever go in with the Missy family but maybe someday Sabrina can go back in there with her.

We are pretty laid back around here. No pressure to be cuddly, playful, or even sociable. If she decides that she wants some contact, we will do that. If she doesn't want to be touched , we will do that.

[Deleted]

Some cats are good little things who give in quickly, and some are more determined to have their own way. It sounds like Holly's one of those. In a way, if that's her true spirit and it's coming back, that's a good thing because it means she feels more comfortable.

Now you just have to bend that spirit to your will, lol. She has to be touchable to get her Revolution on and go to the vet if necessary, so she has to be patted regularly.

We don't know how old she is - maybe she's old enough to be regularly cranky? Like over ten?

[Shirley U Geste]

Thats why shes in the purrfect place, no expectations to live up to and she can just be the cat that she is and live out her life in peace.
Bless you for taking her in. 

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2017 14:46:00 GMT @fashionboulevard said:

My cats don't meow much. They snuffle and grumble, purr, whine, hiss and talk to their toys.

But how do they tell you when they're bored or hungry or lonely or just feeling at a loose end?

[kritter]

Thats why shes in the purrfect place, no expectations to live up to and she can just be the cat that she is and live out her life in peace.

That is how we roll here. 

I went in a few minutes ago and she is on the cat tree by the open window.  She did let me pet her and was rubbing around on the cat tree and seemed to be enjoying the contact.

So, I guess it is her call on whether she wants to be petted or not and I just have to guess and she will let me know one way or the other.

She is definitely an older girl.  Probably past 10 years for sure. 

Revolution time is coming around again pretty soon so I will have to have a loaded syringe ready to does her when she lets me near her head.

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2017 22:36:40 GMT @misspettigrew said:

Jan 19, 2017 14:46:00 GMT @fashionboulevard said:

My cats don't meow much. They snuffle and grumble, purr, whine, hiss and talk to their toys.

But how do they tell you when they're bored or hungry or lonely or just feeling at a loose end?

Hungry

Chloe: Sits by the bathroom door where we keep the dry food dish she prefers (even if she doesn't want the food, she feels compelled to let me know if the dish is empty); Whines and scratches at door frames, pushes things off dresser, scratches at fridge or bangs kitchen cupboards open and closed when she wants wet food or snacks - when I get up she'll tell me which she wants by either sitting under the dining room table where she gets her treats or running back into the pantry where her wet food dish is.  She's very smart. And manipulative.

Kitty follows me around in case I'm going near the kitchen. Quincy doesn't care about food one way or the other. Orrie will plop his 22# self on my chest at 5 am and knead and purr in my face until I'm annoyed and can't breathe.

Bored - they pick fights with one another; C. whines and begs for treats

Lonely/Loose Ends - Q. head butts and prances and rolls around and won't let me stop petting him; C. whines and begs for treats; O. repeats his hungry routine; K. is just happy to be in and really doesn't ask for anything

[Deleted]

So Chloe has a thing for treats, I'm thinking. lol.

I love cats.

Since her mouth problems in July, Bubby has been more spoilt than ever.  When she wants a treat she jumps up on a kitchen chair and meows.  I open the fridge door and take out the things she likes, one by one, to show her.

If she doesn't fancy it, no reply.  If there's nothing better, she'll eat it - she says "meh".  I'm not joking, she actually makes a little noise like "meh".

When I strike the thing she actually wants she meows and meows and meows like a mad thing until she gets it.

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2017 23:59:45 GMT @misspettigrew said:

So Chloe has a thing for treats, I'm thinking. lol.

I love cats.

Since her mouth problems in July, Bubby has been more spoilt than ever.  When she wants a treat she jumps up on a kitchen chair and meows.  I open the fridge door and take out the things she likes, one by one, to show her.

If she doesn't fancy it, no reply.  If there's nothing better, she'll eat it - she says "meh".  I'm not joking, she actually makes a little noise like "meh".

When I strike the thing she actually wants she meows and meows and meows like a mad thing until she gets it.

I so wish i could get Chloe to tell me which of the four flavors of food she'll eat she's in the mood for. I always pick the wrong one. She loves the snacks so much she'll do doggie like tricks to get them. It's ok, the pet doctor was happy she'd gained a bit of weight since she is now considered a senior.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2017 0:53:23 GMT @fashionboulevard said:

I so wish i could get Chloe to tell me which of the four flavors of food she'll eat she's in the mood for. I always pick the wrong one. She loves the snacks so much she'll do doggie like tricks to get them. It's ok, the pet doctor was happy she'd gained a bit of weight since she is now considered a senior.

I tried it with Bubby when she was a kitten, lol.  I'd hold the tin and say, "Fishy-wish?"  Or "Yummy turkey?"  But she used to just meow at them all.  The fridge thing works because all the offerings look different - milk, cheese, yoghurt, egg, chicken...so she really can tell the difference and choose.

Now they all just get happy when they see the tin of wet food in my hand.  There are about five flavours they think are nom, and others are nom once every three weeks or so.  If I'm going to be away overnight I leave them an extra tin of food they don't really nom.  My theory is they'll eat it if they're starving but they really shouldn't because it's extra.

I have to sneak extra little bits to Lamington to keep his weight up.  He's a long pussy cat and it's awful when he gets skinny.  Plus he needs the energy to scale the fence when visitors come.

[Deleted]

So, kritter, what's my pretty cat doing today? Has she been letting you pat her? Is she still interested in the life and times of the Tudors?

Eating? Sleeping? Gaining any confidence?

[kritter]

Definitely she is moving in the right direction. we just finished a book last night about Henry and Eleanor of Aquitane that started right after their marriage and ended right after Thomas Beckett was killed.

Holly still doesn't particularity care for me that much but that is OK. Sometimes she will let me pet her and sometimes she reaches out and smacks me with claws out.

The good news is that she seems to be getting used to her blindness. The other day I was in with her and she was playing with the toys that I put out for her plus giving the turbo track ball a beating. I line up the toys every night before I go to bed and after I clean her litter box in the morning to see if she is playing with them and they are always moved around.

Still eating, sleeping and using the litter box. She prefers to sleep on the second level of the cat tree for some reason. I was going to say so she could look out the window but I guess not. Left the windows open today so all the cats could get some fresh air.

[Shirley U Geste]

She probably likes to sleep up on something as a carryover from her days on the street. On the ground it was easier to sneak up on her, up higher she is more likely to hear someone coming.

Im glad she is adjusting, baby steps will get her slowly to a new life and more happiness.

[kritter]

She has come a long way since she first arrived. She will sniff my hand and sometimes will let me pet her but other times I get a claw in my hand.

She likes to lay/sleep in the little house on the cat tree. I think she knows that she is kinda hidden.

I was really glad to see her playing with the toys and catching on to the turbo track. That was the best thing since she has been here.

[Deleted]

Kritter, that's all great! You've let her move at her own pace and she's coming along in a positive direction. Who knows how much further she'll get?

Please don't stop patting her. I doubt it's dislike of you - probably just Old Kat Krankies.

She might like to sit near the window because glass is warmer than normal wall? Or maybe she can hear things through it?

She would definitely know she's enclosed in the tree house.

All of this means she's using her other senses, which is what she has to do if she's ever going to have a full life again. It's wonderful that she's safe and warm and fed and not lonely, but if she could have some fun too it would compensate a little bit for all the hard years. I hope she's getting a kick out of the toys.

Does she turn her head when you talk to her, and stuff like that?

[kritter]

She mostly ignores me even when I am talking to her.

She was really going to town on the track ball the other night. I had suspected she was playing with toys but wasn't sure until I placed them in a certain way and then they were moved.

Not to fond of Old Kat Krankies when they draw blood. Between her and the bougainvillea my hands and forearms are taking a beating.

I think she is definitely developing her other senses.

Sometimes when I get near her she talks to me but I am not sure if it is a nice greeting or a "Don't even think about touching me".

[Deleted]

She's started talking? See, that's great too! Yay Holly and Kritter!

But you should have long sleeves and tough gloves for the bougs. It's winter, you won't drop down dead from heat exhaustion.

[kritter]

Its not winter down here, Petti. Yesterday we hit the low 80s.

I don't like gloves because they are too bulky. I did have on long sleeves but those thorns go right through them and then I get all hooked up on a branch.

Its all good. Not like something that I have never done before plus the worst one is down but just needs to be cut up to garbage can size.

[Deleted]

I had one called Scarlet O'Hara. Ravishingly beautiful deep red but the thorns were thick and nearly two inches long. She was incompatible with my small side yard so I got the mowing man to chop her down. He swore a blue streak for two hours while he did it then insisted on showing me the scratches. lol. He was a bad mowing man but I gave him cotton balls, antiseptic and a beer anyway.

The one out the front's just as beautiful but the thorns don't actually reach out to grab you.

[Deleted]

Okay, Kritter, two months have passed. Time for a Holly (Lily?) update!

Is she more settled in? Doing anything new?

[kritter]

She is doing pretty good considering. I dig out her toys every morning from wherever she has scattered them. she loses them under furniture but doesn't seem to want to find them on her own but at least she plays with them.

Still won't let me touch her but she does wander around me when I am in the room with her. Usually I leave the door to the hall and bathroom open to her room during the day while Sabrina's door is closed. She does go out into the hall and seems to be interested in what is going on behind the door to the other living area where the Missy family hangs out.

At least she is not hiding. I think I will start reading with her at night again. maybe half the reading time with her and half with Kenya.

[Tabby]

As I've suggested before, Kritter, we need to clone you, so that all of the kitties can have more time with you!  

[kritter]

Definitely need more of me around here if you asked the kittehs.

There is just not enough time in the day to make them all completely happy. Maybe I need to make a schedule.

[Deleted]

I read somewhere that each cat needs 40 minutes of attention per day. My four cats don't get that much, and Kritter, how many have you got? lol.

But I've only read it in one place once so maybe it's just an asshat theory. With mine the 40 minutes would have to be broken up throughout the day, otherwise there'd be trouble.

I blindfolded myself the other day when I was thinking about blind cats. It was horrible. You lose more than sight. It seemed harder to hear and because I didn't know where anything was I was afraid to move at ALL. My burly friend was over, moving stuff around for me and talking, and every sound was a surprise. If I was a cat and didn't understand the noises I would have been scared to death. Like when he stopped lugging boxes and came into the kitchen for a beer it was really disconcerting.

(((Lily)))