I’ve had some emails asking how Radar is coming along. If you aren’t a cat lover, I won’t feel offended if you leave this page and go onto something else. ;o)
Well it’s been 2 months and he’s doing just great. To say he’s good to go wouldn’t be true, but he’s so much improved. To date these are the changes that have happened.
When he first came back, he was about as wild as wild could be. The first night, to invite him to sleep on the bed was a complete disaster. The claws and teeth took their toll and I had to banish him to the sunroom. No problem, his food, bed and box were in there, so all his comforts were met. This went on for about a week to 10 days, slowly allowing him more time at night with us before going to the sunroom.
After a couple of days, he got the hang of it and went willingly. In the meantime though, I also kept a water bottle handy and a short little burst in his direction, told him to stop his bad behaviour. I only had to use it about 3 times and he learned. The water only reached him once and that was enough…lol After that, at the first sign of the ears going back and that “look” that cat owners recognize came over him, all I’ve had to do is show him the bottle and he either runs for cover or settles down.
He wouldn’t leave my side for more than a few minutes during that first week. At one point I got a small blanket and put it on the floor under my computer desk. When he first saw the blanket coming and I guess the way I was carrying it, spread out, he bolted. That told me immediately, that someone had tried to catch him by throwing a blanket over him. That’s the only explanation I could come up with.
We now realized we were dealing with an extremely fearful cat and this was going to take time. Long story short, I used the Calming chewies I talked about in my other Radar post, for the fist 6 weeks or so, giving him 2 at night. In the last 2 weeks, I switched to a spray. I’ve only used it a few times. It’s meant to imitate the Pheromones a mother cat gives off to her kittens to calm them and reduce their anxiety. They also have a collar type and infusions.
Check with your local pet store. It’s available for dogs as well as you’ll see in the picture below. There is a line of these products for different needs. The first time I sprayed it in a couple of places in the bedroom, I made the mistake of doing it while he was in the room. He heard the spritzer sound and was gone… Ooops, the opposite reaction.
Coming forward to today. We are now in a new phase. I’m still not ready to take him to the Vet, he’s doing great but still not quite ready to meet and greet and not fair to take him to the vet unless he’s a bit more relaxed and not going to be as difficult for the vet to check him over. I realize that very few cats enjoy a trip to the vet but I would like to at least work more with him before subjecting him and her to that experience…lol
Now we are working on setting boundaries for in and out time. He has a bad habit of going down the street to sleep in the neighbours shrubs, and that would be okay except that she hates cats more than anyone I’ve ever known. So now, we’re working on keeping him in during those hours that he normally goes there. By the time we let him out, that time frame has passed and he seems to stay close by. In the early morning he starts to get restless to go out, so now I escort him to the hallway and close the bedroom door. He cries a little but then goes and sleeps under my computer desk until we get up to let him out at a reasonable hour.
Long update, sorry. But on the plus side he so much improved. He arrived back here so stressed, anxious and fearful. Like this picture shows. You can see the ears kind of pinned back, the crouched position and maybe you can see that his spine is showing a bit due to needing food and hydration. Around his hips and shoulders, he was sunken in. The facial expression speaks volumes doesn’t it. His fur was so coarse and almost feeling brittle. This was in the first few days of being back.
And now this 2 months later. He’s relaxed, filled out and pretty content. He’s not fat, he’s a good solid weight, I call it having his body cavities filled in. He was what my neighbour called a rat cat when he first came back. Now he’s lean and muscular and his proper weight for the size of cat he is. His fur is now soft and silky, his eyes are bright, his ears for the most part stay upright unless he sees a cat he doesn’t like. He’s even attempting to make friends with our neighbours lab. What an improvement. So we will continue to develop his routine. Just a little more to read below. ;o~
And finally, we’re also looking at option of a raw meat diet. It’s what cat’s are inclined toward. I watched a video by Jackson Galaxy regarding nutrition and in that video he also speaks to a nutritionist who believes in a raw meat diet for cats. Here is the link to the Jackson Galaxy video, and here is the link to the site for Feline Nutrition. Now to take some times to read and understand the benefits of this diet. Tons of information on the website.
Thanks for taking the time to read, especially if you aren’t a cat lover or owner. Bye for now.
