Ini betul-betul projek yang tidak dirancang dan tidak disengajakan!
It is a totally serendipitous project!
Gerald did not come for breakfast this morning, only Misty was in the porch. I know that when Gerald isn’t here, Misty will not eat wet food but she might eat some kibble, so I poured her some kibble and I think she ate some. I know Misty cannot function without Gerald. Misty needs Gerald; Gerald may not need Misty.
Another side story is that yesterday, we saw a lot of bird feathers in our porch. Husband says the feathers were that of an adult bird. There were only feather and a lot of it. I know, it’s so sad, but that is the circle of life, isn’t it? There are carnivorous and omnivorous animals (including humans) and meat is food for them.
This is such a imperfect world. And there is nothing we can do about it but just to accept it.
Hunting is a natural instinct for survival for cats. It is not an evil intention; it is just a natural, primal, instinctive action because they are carnivores.
Yet another side story is that the firecrackers has been really, really loud in our neighbourhood. I think it’s also because there is a park and playground in front of our house. I worry for Gerald and Misty, but it looks like they have places to hide from it. Tabs has been so terrified.
So, back to what happened this morning now…
Gerald didn’t come to the porch but was calling like crazy at the upstairs window sill. I was so afraid of neighbour would complain, so I quickly went up, opened the window and let him in.
Ooh….Gerald is in now. What about Misty?
Quickly, I sprung into action and went downstairs to open the front door. I quickly also caught Riley and put her in Bunny’s Place, caught Tabs and put in our upstairs bedroom.
All ready now, for Projek Misty yang tidak dirancang.
Misty was in the porch, being serba salah, as usual because her mentor, Gerald, isn’t there.
I open the front door and left a bowl of food inside the house, just a short distance away. No, this was unplanned and so I did not tie the door handle with a raffia string.
What do you know, Misty came into the house, to the food bowl, but how could I close the door???? Arrrgh….
I couldn’t, I know.
Never mind, let this be just an orientation of getting Misty to come in.
By then, Gerald was exploring the whole house and making himself very comfortable. I know Gerald will be comfortable anywhere, he’s just a very vocal cat and loves to “talk” nonstop. That is the problem – the nonstop “talking”, which is really loud.
I went towards Misty with the totally impossible task of trying to close the door, but of course that was a total failure and Misty went back out to the porch. She was totally suspicious now. Who wouldn’t be, right?
She didn’t want to come in anymore.
I know, I know. This was unplanned. I didn’t tie my raffia string to the door handle.
So, I went about my business with Gerald, who wasn’t giving any problems at all because he was busy and quite happily exploring the whole house.
Then Gerald wanted to go into Bunny’s Place, so I let him in. He first went to pee in the litter box. Hmm…clever boy, or marking this territory? The Blondies were all so excited….Papa’s here!!
For new readers, Gerald IS the the Blondies’ true-blue-without-a-doubt father because I caught him mating with Samantha on the street (and sent him for neutering on that day itself). When cats mate, it is an almost “sure jadi” event because the female ovulates after being mated upon. I read somewhere that the ovulation might even happen 1-2 days later (that’s something I didn’t know earlier).
Cats are induced ovulators, which means that the act of breeding stimulates the release of eggs from the ovaries. Most females require three to four matings within a 24-hour period for ovulation to occur. It only takes a minute or two for cats to mate, and cats may mate multiple times in a short period of time.
This is why you get a litter of differently-coloured kittens. They come from different fathers.
At that time, Gerald and Creamy were going after Samantha. All of them were street cats in the neighbourhood. New ones too. Luckily I caught Riley before anything happened to her. Samantha had already lost one litter on the street. I could not catch her earlier. It’s not as easy as some people might think. Talking is easier than doing.
So, anyway…
After settling Gerald in Bunny’s Place, I went to look for Misty. She wasn’t around. She wasn’t in the porch at all so I went to call her. I guessed she had gone. Too much excitement for her, I’m sure.
So I came back into the house and would you believe it? I saw Misty coming down our staircase!! She had quietly come into the house on her own as I was busy with settling Gerald in Bunny’s Place!
So I quickly but calmly closed the front door….quietly, gently, nonchalantly.
Misty is in the house!! Misty is in the house!!
This is totally serendipitous. Unplanned.
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves now.
It’s coming to two hours now of Gerald and Misty being in the house. Is this “it”? Am I going to let them out again? Is this just an orientation? It all depends on how they respond through the day. If they are too stressed, I might let them out again and do another orientation until they are comfortable being inside.
Getting them in isn’t an emergency because there is no clear and present danger outside for now. I will list the pros and cons of letting them be indoor cats below, after all the photos.
Here’s Gerald in Bunny’s Place while Misty was still outside in the porch.
   
Even Riley accepts Gerald. I mean, who wouldn’t, right?
 
Only Akira decided to play it safe, but she later also came down and joined the celebration.
Is this being a clever boy or just marking territory? We will never know!
I hadn’t fed Gerald this morning, so everyone had a feast of their favourite (and most likely to be eaten) food, Cindy’s canned Tender Chicken. What a feast for the Blondies (“yay, we don’t have to eat raw food this morning!”).
I didn’t take any photos of how Misty got into the house.
Misty is IN the house now!! I didn’t even have to slam the door as I was right there, having just come into the house and she had already come in and gone upstairs all by herself.
Today’s episode is so much calmer than when I caught Riley, Samantha and Misty for spaying more than a year ago. That was total pandemonium where all hell broke loose. Riley was so scared she stayed behind the door for hours; Samantha tore all my curtains (yes, totally destroyed) while Misty also went crazy. But that had to be done to prevent them from getting pregnant on the street. That was to get them spayed.
   
I opened both doors to Bunny’s Place, so Samantha and the Blondies all came out.
Let them all mingle, I thought, so that I can gauge how they respond to Misty.
Misty isn’t entirely unfamiliar to the Blondies because she walks on the ledge with Gerald and visits the Blondies too. Misty is basically a follower of Gerald. She cannot do without him.
  
Misty went out to Bunny’s Place on her own. But didn’t stay.
Gerald was happily socialising with his family upstairs.
Samantha was out of Bunny’s Place and I did wonder how I would get her back later. But never mind…she cannot escape out of the house. We have screen doors and windows. The only way is for someone to open the front door and for any cat to sneak out. I had already put up a big cardboard sign on the front door that said: DO NOT OPEN.
 
Upstairs is where the Blondies were born, so they love going upstairs. The only thing is, despite being females, the Blondies mark territory. Yups, they are alphas and they mark. All three of them too!
Why do I always raise alphas, I do not know. They just somehow become alphas.
   
I had decided that if Misty gets too stressed, I will let them out and do another orientation at another opportune time.
But so far, Misty seems to be reasonably okay. I only worry that she might want to pee and poo and she won’t know where to do it. From my own untrained and unprofessional observation, I think Misty has never been a house cat. She is not an abandoned pet, she was born feral and grew up on the street. Or, thrown out as a kitten and left to fend by herself, perhaps. She grew up on the street. Her behaviour looks that way to me.
Also, from my observation, I think Gerald is welcome at the other RYABKs (Rumah Yang Ada Banyak Kucing) on my street and the back street. He probably gets fed in several houses – I’m just guessing.
No stressed behaviour for now.
If only it was Gerald alone, I would be 100% let him stay in Bunny’s Place with the Blondies and the family will be together. But now, it’s Misty whom I have to consider too. Misty cannot do without Gerald.
The other big question is: What do Gerald and Misty actually want? Do they want to live indoors or will they be happier being free outside. I think the answer is obvious, isn’t it? Of course they would be happier outside.
But there will be dangers outside. Definitely.
Exploring Jayden’s toys.
  
Gerald has absolutely no problems being “anywhere”, I know.
 
Riley is okay. Of course Riley is okay, she’s probably the most easy-going cat we’ve ever had.
  
Is Gerald teaching Misty what a litter box is? Gerald marked in Tabs’ litter box too. I quickly scooped it up and washed that spot with soap. Tabs might not be happy.
If Gerald and Misty become indoor cats, they cannot live in the Safehouse (this means the rest of the house where Tabs and Riley live). The reason is Tabs is not cat-friendly. She had a history of getting so stressed when the Monsters were born until she lost weight and shed fur very badly.
Today is also not exactly the best day to do Misty’s orientation because Tabs has just started on the AIM food and her first check-up after the stem cell therapy is this coming Sunday. So the timing is pretty bad if Projek Misty Sessi Orientasi 1 stresses Tabs up. I want Tabs to be as relaxed as possible so that we can get fair enough readings for her blood test on Sunday.
I don’t worry so much about Ginger because Ginger is as cool as a cucumber. Nothing much affects him. Tabs is the direct opposite.
 
Misty went up to the table and sniffed at Tabs’ tail. Tabs hissed back.
There was also hissing between Misty and Kai. But it wasn’t anything serious.
It’s also good enough that Tabs did not run her for life and hide upstairs. That is what she normally does whenever anyone “new” comes into the house, human or animal. Even when Jayden comes and gets too excited, she hides upstairs most of the time.
Misty tried to go to the Monsters’ catio too. Oh dear, that is an absolute no-no. You do not want to go near the Monsters, Misty. Ginger is okay. Not the Monsters. Their sheer weight will overpower you. And our Monsters function as a wolf pack, not as lions, tigers or wild cats, but wolves. They move in a pack.
 I tried Mr Galaxy’s idea of putting food at both sides of the door. The Blondies went for theirs but not Gerald and Misty.
Finally, after more than two hours, Gerald was mewing nonstop. He wanted to go back out or perhaps he had some appointments to attend to at the RYABKs. I know, because Gerald doesn’t live in our porch anymore. Maybe he has several eating places and now is snack time elsewhere.
So I opened the door and he went out. He didn’t leave in a hurry too. Just strolled out nonchalantly.
Surprisingly, Misty did not follow him. I think she’s still a little scared with the whole orientation today. So she remained near me at my computer.
The front door is open, Misty. You may go out if you wish.
Nope, she’s staying.
 
I think she doesn’t know that the front door is open and she still wanted to go the catio thinking it’s a way out.
Then she tried to get out through the window and the curtains got scratched. That’s okay. Our curtains are already scratched since time immemorial. Mr Zurik was a curtain scratcher too. Scratched but not torn.
Finally I went out to show her that the front door is open. Misty stepped out, also not in a hurry.
Then I offered food. Looks like she was hungry and hadn’t eaten enough for breakfast.
She wasn’t in a hurry to go away since our porch is her abode.
I hope I can do Orientasi Sessi 2 again soon, but it would probably be after Tabs’ check-up.
Now, for the pros and cons:
The pros of letting Gerald and Misty be indoor cats:
- Safe from outside dangers (road accidents, poison, abuse, etc.).
- I can monitor their food intake, what they eat, etc. Now, I really don’t know what they eat outside.
- I can quickly see to their medical needs, if any and would be able to give the vet a better history since they live indoors.
- Stop neighbours from complaining about me feeding cats and “attracting” more cats.
The cons:
- Will Gerald and Misty be happy?
- If I do let them stay indoors, the only place for them would be Bunny’s Place. Can Misty and Samantha be friends? No other cat can stay with Tabs. No other cat will be accepted by the Monsters too, so that leaves only Bunny’s Place for Gerald and Misty.
- Misty is FIV+, will there be a danger of her biting or scratching the others? FIV spreads through deep bites and scratches. Older cats have less receptors to be infected (information from a vet). If Misty turns out to be aggressive, that would be a risk for the other cats. Cats can change their personality when placed in a different environment. I have seen this happen before.
- I would have to find a godmother for Gerald and Misty. The rest of my cats already have their godmothers. For new readers, the godmothers will take over my cats should I fail to outlive them. The godmother arrangement comes with a financial provision, already stated in my will. And it isn’t about age, as death can happen anytime. It is about responsibility to one’s dependents. My will was written the moment I had dependents (my two children) and it has changed many times through the years.
I can probably think of more pros and cons but I think the most important question is: Will Misty and Gerald be happy being indoors? It boils down to that.
For now, I will let Gerald and Misty decide for themselves. If they willingly come in again, we will do that as Orientasi Sessi 2 and so on and so forth.
The post The serendipitous “Projek Misty” (1st orientation)! appeared first on AnimalCare.
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