Adopted world's most frightened cat

[Guineveretoo]

I am glad that, having read the rest of the thread, you have not only got the cat inside, but are planning to keep him!

Do take him to a vet though - it is quite likely that he has been bitten or scratched by something, as you suggested, and such cuts can get infected if not treated. He obviously had a horrid time when he was out for those weeks!

And keep being patient - don't let him out yet!

 

[lizzieloo]

Eh, not sure what you mean.

We've noticed though that the bottom half of his back leg is pink - you can see this in the photo - as if he's been in a fight. He walks absolutely fine, and doesn't seem in any pain, but it does look like something must have happened to him when he was outside.

Also his right eyelid seems a little lower than the other, and the bottom of this eye is a little bit red, so I wonder if he got something in his eye.

There's a vet a mile from here, so we'll take him there later this week or early next.

Were they ticks on his head?

 

[stuff_it]

I don't think he is the world's most frightened cat any more:

OMGZ, do you think your cat posts on Urban and read this thread?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I don't think there's anything wrong with his front leg, might just be trick of the picture.

FFS!! Do I have to spell it out for you?!

Why does it look like you might be a bit excited?

 

[lizzieloo]

Minnie wants to know if you have a stiffy i'mnotsofast

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Minnie wants to know if you have a stiffy i'mnotsofast

Well obviously you can see what I'm talking about

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Were they ticks on his head?

My housemate unwisely let the cat out on Sunday, but later in the day managed to get him back in. (We tied together every piece of cabling we had, and tied them to the conservatory door, so we could shut it the moment the cat walked in).

When he came back, the things were gone from his head. So yes I think they were ticks. There was a little one on his ear which looked like it hadn't managed to get any blood, so it didn't look like a gooseberry, just like a small dark thing. We knocked this one off.

I also bought some tick/flea-killer drops from a pet shop, and rubbed it on his scalp just to be sure.

 

[i'mnotsofast]

We're not going to let the cat out again for some time, because whenever he goes out he gets fucked-up.

I think that makes him a true U75er!

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

My housemate unwisely let the cat out on Sunday, but later in the day managed to get him back in. (We tied together every piece of cabling we had, and tied them to the conservatory door, so we could shut it the moment the cat walked in).

When he came back, the things were gone from his head. So yes I think they were ticks. There was a little one on his ear which looked like it hadn't managed to get any blood, so it didn't look like a gooseberry, just like a small dark thing. We knocked this one off.

I also bought some tick/flea-killer drops from a pet shop, and rubbed it on his scalp just to be sure.

Frontline? (Not even sure if Frontline works on ticks)

 

[i'mnotsofast]

I also bought a collar and put it on him. And I got some catnip spray which I've sprayed on quite a bit of the furniture.

Minnie wants to know if you have a stiffy i'mnotsofast

No that's just how the blanket is folded!

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I also bought a collar and put it on him. And I got some catnip spray which I've sprayed on quite a bit of the furniture.



No that's just how the blanket is folded!

Course it is. It looks like it's restricting the cat from relaxing his elbow. A blanket wouldn't do that

 

[Guineveretoo]

Glad he is settling in, but I would still take him to the vet for a checkup, if he were mine...

 

[lizzieloo]

Has he still got his tackle?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Has he still got his tackle?

that's what OP is trying to stablish under that blanket

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Course it is. It looks like it's restricting the cat from relaxing his elbow. A blanket wouldn't do that

It's actually an old double-duvet without a cover on it. I said blanket because it sounds nicer.

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Has he still got his tackle?

No, he's had the snip. Apparently he sounds like a she, I'm not sure if as a result.

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Glad he is settling in, but I would still take him to the vet for a checkup, if he were mine...

Yes going to do that.

 

[twentythreedom]

the cat's up to something, deffo.

 

[i'mnotsofast]

It's really funny coming home to a cat, when all my life I've been used to dogs. Instead of leaping up at me like a dog, the cat quickly finds somewhere to hide.

It's only when I've stopped banging and clattering that I'll hear a distant miaowing from behind the sofa or underneath the armchair.

Some time long after that, the cat might dare come out.

 

[toggle]

the cat's up to something, deffo.

its a cat.thst is stating the obvious

 

[Puddy_Tat]

the cat's up to something, deffo.

a cat?

up to something?

surely not...

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Also, even though I realize that in time he can become a lot more comfortable around humans, he is never going to become an adorable lap-cat, is he? There's only so far that he can be domesticated, right?

Update, a month later: He has become an adorable lap-cat!

Seriously, who knew cats could be so nice?!!? He rubs himself against my ankles when I walk through the room, and spoons my leg when I'm laying on the sofa. And he never minds being picked up.

I obviously didn't know much about cats, because he's become so different to how he was at first. I guess what I describe at the start of this thread is a cat in shock, and he's now settled in.

I've bought a cat-friendly laser pointer, and a big tub of catnip.

We leave the window open a lot so he can come and go as he pleases. It's fun to see him climbing in the tree, walking on the roof of the conservatory, or peaking at me through a hole in the neighbour's garden fence.

One morning he brought in a toad, which was injured but still able to hop around. He was chasing after the poor thing. It was horrible! Perhaps we shouldn't leave the window open at night if we don't want him to bring us gifts?

Also, the guy in the flat upstairs has a huge tabby cat which accesses the garden through the first-floor window overlooking the conservatory. This cat has come in through our window a few times, and I don't think our cat likes it much. Should I shoo this cat away if he comes in again? They are both sharing the garden so I think they had better get used to each other, but this cat coming inside our flat is maybe a bit much from our cat's perspective.

 

[quimcunx]

Good work imnotsofast.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

Awww. So glad!

 

[DotCommunist]

you leave your window open at night?

*grabs swag bag*

 

[Guineveretoo]

You're doing really well with the cat, and I delighted that you have become such friends!

But yes, I would chase out the other cat, because you want your cat to feel safe in your house. It's a bit different about them having to share the outside - it's important that your cat has somewhere for themselves, though.

I would get a cat flap, if I were you. That should discourage other cats.

 

[gaijingirl]

although not all cats... we have a cat flap and two cats. In our previous flat it was one of those fancy magnetic ones that's only supposed to let one's own cats in - however, we regularly had three cats and a few times I came home to find FOUR CATS in a big bundle asleep on my bed. The cat hair situation was out of control.

Very clever are cats!

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Also when I come in through the front door, the cat doesn't run and hide behind a chair any more, crying in fear until he's ready to come out.

Instead when the door opens he stands in the middle of the room and stares straight at me, like a fucking boss.

 

[butchersapron]

Don't say 'like a boss" - but he's steadily teaching you what responsibility is. He's doing great.

 

[i'mnotsofast]

you leave your window open at night?

*grabs swag bag*

Nothing worth nicking, tbh, and you would have to walk through the garden of one of the other houses to reach ours. But anyway I've been closing the window at night since the toad incident, because my housemate would flip if he saw some dead thing on the kitchen floor.