Of course we are joining The Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies. The highlight today is on Two-y, my newest, and yet not new, family member.
Today is the first anniversary of Two-y’s second gotcha day!
Last year at this time he broke my heart standing out in the frigid cold
shivering and alternating holding up one paw at a time. I just had to bring him
inside. But let’s go back a few years so I can tell you how it all started.
I may have told this story before so I apologize if you’ve
heard it but here goes: Two-y showed up one day with three other cats. Two were
obviously female because they were a calico and a tortoiseshell. The other two
had male characteristics but were black and white tuxies. I could tell right
away they were feral because they were extremely wary of me but also very
hungry.
I started feeding them on my front porch. As a group they
were my third colony. After a couple of weeks, with winter winding down, I
decided I should take responsibility for them and get them all neutered. I
began the TNR procedures.
I caught them all in a matter of a few days. The females
were both full-term in their pregnancies so I set up two very large cages for
them to deliver in. They settled in and within a week of each other delivered
nine kittens between them. I took the males in to have them neutered and
vaccinated. The cat, who would be Two-y, was labeled as Stray number two. After
an overnight recovery in my home I released them but continued to feed them
regularly.
Stray number one disappeared after a time but Two-y stuck
around. There were times when he didn’t show up for food and that always
worried me but he eventually returned. Finally, after 11 years, Two-y began to
warm up to me. It started when he would touch his nose to my finger before I
fed him. Then I started holding my hand over him without him running away. Soon
I was able to pet him but I still had the feeling that he wouldn’t appreciate
any more.
Then came the frigid temperatures we had last year and I
just couldn’t take it anymore. He came up one day shivering violently and
constantly picking up one foot after another. That had to be the day. I brought
a carrier out and set it beside him with the door open. He didn’t budge so I
went ahead and stroked his fur. He still didn’t budge. Something told me that
it would be okay to scoot him in so I did it. I put my hand beneath him and
moved him gently into the carrier and shut the door.
So once again I set up one of the cages and placed the carrier
inside it. He’d already been through enough so I just removed the top of the
carrier and placed a towel in the bottom. He eventually moved onto the towel
and made himself at home.
We went through my routine for introducing new cats into my
family. I took him in for vaccinations, FeLV/FIV testing and fecal check (for
intestinal worms) then kept him isolated in the cage for 60 days. Before
releasing him into the household I rechecked him for worms and FeLV/FIV. He was
clear of both and I moved him into another cage in the living room. Only one of
my other cats complained about him but after 60 days of smelling him the rest
of them didn’t even seem to notice him.
He spent some time in that cage before I opened the door and
he made his way out in his own time. We’re still working out the feeding
location and Gooseberry is still not happy but otherwise Two-y is part of the
family. Every day he takes another step toward being a normal domestic cat.
