Homeless Cat -- Now Spotacus' Legacy
On 18 Dec, a very large cat showed up at our house. It was late and cold, and he looked in the door and made it clear he wanted inside. Well, since we have two cats already and he was a stranger, we...
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Harley was not particularly happy on the ride up, but she adjusted to RV life nicely. She was very happy to be with her human (and me) without being locked in a bedroom. She had the run of the entire RV at will. The ride home, she was pretty quiet, just chatting with Spousal Unit occasionally. Then she spent the night and most of the next day running freely throughout the house, until I had to bring Czarny home.
It was Czarny's first time in boarding, and the vet techs said he just hid under his binkie and stayed nervous the whole time. So when we got home, I let him out of the carrier outside. He shot out, ran about 10 feet, turned and called me names, then ran into the trees to his favorite potty stop. That night, he kept waking me up, wanting to be in direct contact. Took him about three days to stop clinging.
Harley and Czarny have met several times now and it did not go well. We've put Feliway all around the house so the aggression can lessen, hopefully. The anti-stress "treats" I've researched are so expensive, and so many cats refuse to eat them, that I don't want to spend the money and find out neither will eat them. I'm wondering if a little CBD oil on the fur for them to lick off might help.
We were stunned to realize yesterday that Harley was declawed on her front paws, leaving only her dew claws. Now we really, really despise her previous owner. I understand now why she hates having her paws touched. I'm sure she's in pain from those amputations -- wonder if there's something out there that will help ease that pain.
At the moment, Czarny is on his tower and Harley is on top of Spousal Unit's chest of drawers, curled up on a bunch of tee shirts. We monitor them during the day, and sleep in separate bedrooms with our respective cats. As they become used to seeing each other, we hope the aggression will lessen. Last thing Harley needs is to be attacked by a clawed cat.
It also means when she's finally adjusted to living with us and Czarny, we'll have to teach her to wear a harness, for her safety. Her fight or flight (mostly flight) reaction is so touchy that if someone accidentally leaves a door open and she gets startled, she could be out the door before she realizes it. That could be disastrous.
Nothing like some excitement around the old home place, eh?
It was Czarny's first time in boarding, and the vet techs said he just hid under his binkie and stayed nervous the whole time. So when we got home, I let him out of the carrier outside. He shot out, ran about 10 feet, turned and called me names, then ran into the trees to his favorite potty stop. That night, he kept waking me up, wanting to be in direct contact. Took him about three days to stop clinging.
Harley and Czarny have met several times now and it did not go well. We've put Feliway all around the house so the aggression can lessen, hopefully. The anti-stress "treats" I've researched are so expensive, and so many cats refuse to eat them, that I don't want to spend the money and find out neither will eat them. I'm wondering if a little CBD oil on the fur for them to lick off might help.
We were stunned to realize yesterday that Harley was declawed on her front paws, leaving only her dew claws. Now we really, really despise her previous owner. I understand now why she hates having her paws touched. I'm sure she's in pain from those amputations -- wonder if there's something out there that will help ease that pain.
At the moment, Czarny is on his tower and Harley is on top of Spousal Unit's chest of drawers, curled up on a bunch of tee shirts. We monitor them during the day, and sleep in separate bedrooms with our respective cats. As they become used to seeing each other, we hope the aggression will lessen. Last thing Harley needs is to be attacked by a clawed cat.
It also means when she's finally adjusted to living with us and Czarny, we'll have to teach her to wear a harness, for her safety. Her fight or flight (mostly flight) reaction is so touchy that if someone accidentally leaves a door open and she gets startled, she could be out the door before she realizes it. That could be disastrous.
Nothing like some excitement around the old home place, eh?
