Friday, January 04, 2008
Ferals in the Bathroom
There are two feral cats in one of my bathrooms. Both cats are female and now have been spayed thanks to my cousin. Her husband took them to a local organization that provides low cost spay and neuter services after my aunt managed to lure them into carriers. These two were born on my aunt's farm, but never tamed. Because I was home for the holidays and my cousin was not, I kept the cats until time to spay. Now, they are with me until they are healed and the weather is better.
One is gray with white markings, the other is a faded tortoise shell like her mother. I have decided to call the gray one Greenmist and the tortie Rosefire. Greenmist was the first to arrive and spent several days alone in the bathroom. She was not happy. She literally climbed the walls even managing to turn on the bathroom heater by tripping its wall switch. After Rosefire arrived Greenmist relaxed a great deal. However, one of them managed to turn on the hot water in the sink one night.
I had no problem getting Greenmist into the carrier to go for spaying. Rosefire was a different matter. I spent a half hour trying to get her into the other carrier. I finally used an old wool blanket to throw over her so I could pick her up. I did get her in the carrier but included a soap dish, too. I had only a couple of bad scratches and one small nip. All bled freely and are healing without incident. I have been badly bitten by cats so am very aware of the danger. Interestingly, all the bad bites came from pets, not feral cats.
Both cats are recovering well and seem to have forgiven me for putting them in carriers. Both were in season when spayed, even though they are only seven months old. If my finances improve, I might keep them as house cats. If not, they will return to the farm. Ferals make very good house cats, but lousy pets. Most never become comfortable with human touch. Rarely do they become lap cats. If you would like to support Greenmist and Rosefire, please use the donate button.
One is gray with white markings, the other is a faded tortoise shell like her mother. I have decided to call the gray one Greenmist and the tortie Rosefire. Greenmist was the first to arrive and spent several days alone in the bathroom. She was not happy. She literally climbed the walls even managing to turn on the bathroom heater by tripping its wall switch. After Rosefire arrived Greenmist relaxed a great deal. However, one of them managed to turn on the hot water in the sink one night.
I had no problem getting Greenmist into the carrier to go for spaying. Rosefire was a different matter. I spent a half hour trying to get her into the other carrier. I finally used an old wool blanket to throw over her so I could pick her up. I did get her in the carrier but included a soap dish, too. I had only a couple of bad scratches and one small nip. All bled freely and are healing without incident. I have been badly bitten by cats so am very aware of the danger. Interestingly, all the bad bites came from pets, not feral cats.
Both cats are recovering well and seem to have forgiven me for putting them in carriers. Both were in season when spayed, even though they are only seven months old. If my finances improve, I might keep them as house cats. If not, they will return to the farm. Ferals make very good house cats, but lousy pets. Most never become comfortable with human touch. Rarely do they become lap cats. If you would like to support Greenmist and Rosefire, please use the donate button.
Labels: Feral cat
# posted by January Cat @ 1:04 PM 
