Cotton's Tale - Day Twelve - 1/28/2010

Hurray! He let me pet him today ... and ... he liked it!
And yes, there was even purring....
hurray, hurray, (happy dance)

Cotton's Tale - Day Nine - 1/25/2010

It's been a full week now. Cotton is showing signs of interest in what's happening outside his glass enclosure (or else he's plotting his escape).

Still the occasional outburst of angry swipes at my hand (always safely on the other side of the glass). Lots of growls & hisses, but that seems to be his regular tone of voice.

He now approaches the glass when I enter the room to visit. Still not really reaching out like a 'normal' cat, but he is significantly better than when he got here.

Oh, and whatever pitch or tar or engine gunk he had on his ear has finally come off. Guess it wasn't a wound after all. That's good, at least.

Cotton's Tale - Day Six - 1/22/2010

Good news... he's spending more time out of the crate.
Bad news... he's still hissing & spitting, striking & clawing.
This is one unhappy cat.

Cotton's Tale - Day Five - 1/21/2010

Cotton has now taken up residence behind the crate. I can pet him with the cotton bat toy and even touch him with my hand IF I have the toy strategically placed to catch the teeth and claws!

I'm adding Calm Down to his food (now that he's eating again). Don't know if it helps him, but it would help me... it's 13% alcohol.

Yesterday, he seemed interested in what might be going on outside the bathroom door. I think he's just plotting his escape. I heard him banging on the shower door last night. I'm sure he'll figure out he's heavy enough to open it if he tries hard enough.

Mostly, he sits behind the crate and occasionally growls & hisses when I come in to talk to him.

Cotton's Tale - Day Three - 1/19/2010

Third day in the crate... although he was out on top of it this morning when I checked in on him, he went right back inside. Still not eating much.

Cotton's Tale - Day Two - 1/18/2010

Well, it took more than 24 hours, but he finally moved! Not much, but he apparently came out of the crate & picked at the food a bit. Cotton now lets me touch him with a long pet toy without reacting. I think he's just gone more into his shell. Poor thing, his world has been turned upside down and he doesn't know what to do yet. Wait 'til he has to go to the vet. Since he has lived outside for most of two years, he'll need to be tested before I even think about introducing him to my girls.

Anyway, here's a picture. You can see he's not a happy camper.

Cotton's Tale - 8pm Day One

Rather than come out of his crate & move 1 foot to the litter box, Cotton decided to pee all over his crate & then cower in the corner. Drew first blood when I tried to change the towel, but I've had worse scratches from kitten play. He sure is scared.

Cotton's Tale - Day One - 1/17/2010

Sadly, a favorite cousin of mine passed away suddenly last week. Since we are a small family and she had no children, I offered to take her cat.

I knew he was an 'outdoor' cat, and that he's nearly feral (make that really feral), but I like a challenge, so here goes. This is Cotton's Tale. Hopefully, he will learn to like living indoors and learn to like my two girl kitties (Lorenza and Colleen).

He's been beat up a bit recently. Got a bloody ear and some scratches on his nose. Much too angry for me to try to fix him up now.

Took three of us to wrestle him into the carrier for the ride up from San Diego. He was nearly climbing the walls and I had no feral gloves! Such wailing & hissing & growling!

Finally got him with a beach towel & stuffed him in the carrier. He didn't make a peep all the way home.

Now he's hiding in the box (although the door is off) and it's in the shower of the downstairs bath. Maybe he'll peep out later. He'll have a quiet house for a while because I'm late for a birthday party!