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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / January 2008New housemate for Merlin (long)
Hello catfolks, we hope you and your furry friends had a bright and thougtful christmas and you can look forward to the oncoming change of the year with a serene mind. After our Blacky crossed the bridge in October my wife and I agreed to get a new mate for our lonely Merlin. We are home until 3rd January and therefore have the time to care for a "newcomer". Since Friday, December 21st tomcat "Marko" lives at our home. We got him from the shelter of "Tiere in Not Chemnitz e.V.". he is about 7 month old, white with red markings and a red tabby tail. He was born wild and - apart from his stay at the shelter - have had not much human contact so far. With his roommates at the shelter he got along pretty well. At our home the situation is a bit strange at the moment. During the trip home he was absolutely quiet. I had the impression, he slept at least part of it. After we arrived he quickly found a hiding place in the anteroom of our staircase - he is now lodging under our ventilation system. This is his domain - a nice cat cavern. The moment we come near we receive a good spit, sometimes more formally, sometimes more in earnest with flattened ears and bared teeth. I'll try to get some pictures - if he is willing to leave his cover. In spite of that he uses his toilets in a well-behaved manner and accepts his food without problems - as long as we are not near. He has some toys and uses them - as long as we are not near. If he believes himself unwatched, he patrols trough the house. House cat Merlin has already discovered, that there is "something" in the house. So far we had three "alien" contacts. The first time Merlin chased Marko through the corridor for a short time (Merlin's horrent tail - at about 200% - was remarkable!). Next meeting was on the stairs with not much action from both sides. At the third meeting Merlin stood right in front of Markos "home", both heads about 4 inches apart. They stared at each other for several seconds, but then Merlin bashed at Marko. Normally Merlin is mostly ignoring the presence of Marko. The shelter team advised us, to approach Marko more actively. Their opinion is, that he will not move toward us by himself. We should "bait" him with his food. Maybe someone from you can give us some more tips how to approach "feral" Marko best. Kind regards Michael  SignatureSquare Dance is friendship put to music Andrea and Michael with tomcat-cats Merlin und Marko > Hello catfolks, > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > Square Dance is friendship put to music > Andrea and Michael with tomcat-cats Merlin und Marko Hi Micha, so good of you to take Marko in. It might need a long time before he will allow you to touch him. My first step always is to throw 3 or 4 little pieces of ground meat (Hackfleisch) into the hiding space and then leave. Just ignoring the presence of the new cat. This gives her the feeling of not being pressed to do something. If he likes the meatballs (hopefully), I offer them two or three times a day. So he learns where the goodies come from. If you want to, I could email Andrea and you my phone number to have a little chat about things. Good luck, I am sure everything will workout fine. Bettina Hello Bettina, >> Hello catfolks, [snip] >> Since Friday, December 21st tomcat "Marko" lives at our home. We got >> him from the shelter of "Tiere in Not Chemnitz e.V.". he is about 7 >> month old, white with red markings and a red tabby tail. [snip] >> The shelter team advised us, to approach Marko more actively. Their >> opinion is, that he will not move toward us by himself. We should [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > so good of you to take Marko in. it is always amusing when two Germans chat in an english speaking newsgroup ;;--)) > It might need a long time before he will allow you to touch him. > My first step always is to throw 3 or 4 little pieces of ground meat [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > a day. > So he learns where the goodies come from. There is some progress, so I'll post a general update for everyone. > If you want to, I could email Andrea and you my phone number to have a > little chat about things. Yes, it would be nice to have a little chat about cats (and more?). Reply-To is working or use privat_m [at] curschmann-sachsen [dot] de You can visit us at www [dot] curschmann-sachsen [dot] de as well. The site is due for a major overhaul, but something might still work. > Good luck, I am sure everything will workout fine. > > Bettina Many greetings Michael SignatureSquare Dance is friendship put to music Andrea and Michael with fluffy-cats Merlin und Marko > Hello catfolks, > [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > Kind regards > Michael Awwww -- I'm so glad to hear you have a new member :-) I trapped and rescued a feral cat several years back. With several cats here, and with the cat being rather scarily noisy about his displeasure, I kept him in a separate room in a large (dog-sized) cage while I worked with him. So most of my ideas won't help you, since I did it so differently. However, the idea is to build trust, and the food-baiting is a great way to do that. With Brando (my former feral), I put a little canned food on my finger, and fed him through the cage (and still have all my fingers, thank you -- lol). I don't know if you can get that close, but one thing you might be able to do is to sit at whatever distance from the dish he will tolerate while he eats. And each day or couple of days, move the dish a little closer to you. Sit still, don't stare at him, and don't move. In other words, pretend you are part of the furniture. You may eventually get him close enough to you that you can gently put a hand near him, then pet him, as he eats, or feed him from your hand. Remember that Marko is probably just scared, not angry. Think about fear, and about how you might be able to make him feel more secure and less afraid. My Brando went from a hissing, spitting, growling feral to a huge, lovable lap-cat, and I would not trade him for the world. Best of luck to you on your new addition! Ginger-lyn SignatureHome Pages: http://www.moonsummer.com http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy) http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against Animals in Movies Website) > ventilation system. This is his domain - a nice cat cavern. The moment > we come near we receive a good spit, sometimes more formally, > sometimes more in earnest with flattened ears and bared teeth. I'll Awwww... I love a hissing kitten. :) > The shelter team advised us, to approach Marko more actively. Their > opinion is, that he will not move toward us by himself. We should > "bait" him with his food. Maybe someone from you can give us some more > tips how to approach "feral" Marko best. I don't have any tips, except to be patient and give both cats lots of attention. Good luck! Keep us posted. SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> ventilation system. This is his domain - a nice cat cavern. The moment >> we come near we receive a good spit, sometimes more formally, >> sometimes more in earnest with flattened ears and bared teeth. I'll > > Awwww... I love a hissing kitten. :) Especially a poofy, hissy kitten with a bottlebrush tail. ;) I don't have a lot of experience taming ferals, but was successful with one, Rocky. It sounds like you should have much less trouble than I did. For one thing, Rocky was a feral approximately 7 years old while Marko is 7 months. Another positive in favor is that you've already have him confined in a house, while I was dealing with a cat who was outside and may not show up to eat for two or three days. As a couple others have already suggested, food was the key. I'd put out food, and sit on the patio, several yards away, and ignore Rocky. At first he'd gobble up the food and be gone as fast as he could manage. After he started taking his time eating, I started moving the bowl closer to where I was sitting on the patio, and he followed along. It took a great deal of patience, and several months, before he was eating within a few feet of where I sat. Even then he'd run as soon as it looked like I was going to get up. He pretty much took up residence on my patio, and eventually became a cat who loved taking naps in my lap. Sending purrs that you are successful in your attempt to tame Marko and make him a part of your family. Anyone who has been successful can tell you how special it makes you feel as you watch the progress from wild feral cat to a tame lap fungus SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit, Spot, Princess and Furby with loving memories of Rocky (RB) > The shelter team advised us, to approach Marko more actively. Their > opinion is, that he will not move toward us by himself. We should > "bait" him with his food. Maybe someone from you can give us some more > tips how to approach "feral" Marko best. First of all, congratulations to your new master! I've never met a feral cat, so I don't have any experience in the matter, but instinctively, I would leave Marko in peace and let him come to you. I may be completely wrong, of course. Purrs for Marko to calm down soon and settle into your household - and for Merlin to accept his new housemate. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. > Hello catfolks, > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > Square Dance is friendship put to music > Andrea and Michael with tomcat-cats Merlin und Marko I had major results with a christmas garland, a golden chain composed of a lot of tiny little balls. As I am on one end I can make the other end moving. All four kittens love to chase that thing. They even entered my sofa to get the end of that chain. Even the older cats are still impressed and play with it. In a few days when he has learned that you will not do any harm to him maybe you could try to get his interest with a chain like that or even a long thread witha fake mouse on the end. 7 month is still playing age. Have fun and success Bettina >> Hello catfolks, >> [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > Have fun and success > Bettina I don't know when the playing age ends, Snoopy is nearly 18 and she still plays, I love the look on her face when she chases the red dot greebling. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) Cats leave pawprints on your heart http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk > >> Hello catfolks, > [quoted text clipped - 71 lines] > > - Zitierten Text anzeigen - You are so right. Yesterday evening Julius, who is a very respectable and grumpy old guy lost control and started playing with that chain. It was so funny to see how first he seemed to be totally uninterested but then a flicker came into his eyes and then he moved one paw. Very majestic. And then he lost it and played like a little one.<g> > Hello catfolks, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > him from the shelter of "Tiere in Not Chemnitz e.V.". he is about 7 > month old, white with red markings and a red tabby tail. <snip> > The shelter team advised us, to approach Marko more actively. Their > opinion is, that he will not move toward us by himself. We should [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Kind regards > Michael No ideas unfortunately, but lots of hopes that Marko becomes approachable really soon, Polonca and Soncek |
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