I appear to have cats

[ZestyDragon]

Hi all, I am posting here for some advice please. I moved into a small country cottage three weeks ago and it appears that the previous owner left their cat behind 😮 One of the neighbours told me a few days later that they had left him behind. He had mostly been living outside but is slowly moving in - actually maybe not that slowly seeing as he is asleep on the sofa beside me right now.

So....do I just try and get him to a vet for a check up? I am assuming that he has been neutered but actually I don't know. Also will he need vaccinations etc?

Secondly - there are a LOT of cats around - the neighbour down the road is a farm and have 14....so when a mummy cat and baby were hanging around I assumed that they were from the farm. Turns out that they do not and now they seem to live in my shed.

So I have gone from no pets to one house cat and two ferals that basically appear to have moved in. I'm feeding them all but I am worried about the mummy and baby - the mum let me stroke her once and her belly seems kind of large. Could she be pregnant again?

I have wormed and flea-dropped the indoor boy (Apparently his name is Kevin) - should I do the same for the others?

First pic is the baby - he likes to hiss for attention at dinner time.

Second is Kevin - who is in the bad books for stealing a piece of chicken.

Third is mummy - I am worried about her potentially being or getting pregnant again.

BTW I am in NI.

@ZestyDragon
So glad you're back.
One of our cats is a big fan of our vet and just drapes herself over the vet's table, stethoscope, whatever else she can appropriate and purrs when we take her. She purred so loudly last time the vet couldn't hear her heartbeat properly. Vet called her a 'bundle of purrness'.
Never had a cat that can open a fridge door though!

We’ve had a pre-light tree since for years, it’s the way ahead.

How are things going @ZestyDragon ?

We all need some cat updates please!!

How are things going @ZestyDragon ?

We all need some cat updates please!!

Happy New Year everyone!

I thought I would give you all an update and look for a little advise please 😀

So first a few photos to show you how everyone is doing:

Ooops I posted too soon.

So Mummy is still very wary and shy and nervous when I am around. She has taken to sitting by the radiator so I need to get a little bed for that spot. It should be here tomorrow.

Perry has grown loads and has become quite friendly, likes to nibble my fingers and will perch on my lap sometimes.

Kevin - well I keep telling people he has his winter coat on but actually I suspect there is a double chin developing.

Food is the issue. They have constant dry food all day which they sometimes eat (but actually I have seen the occasional other cat pop by for a snack). They get a pouch of wet food every morning and evening and a "snack" at night. The snack is a chicken breast. All three start following me around for this from about 7pm and when I finally give it to them its like a feeding frenzy. I had been chopping it up and feeding them pieces but this is leading to Perry leaping into the air and I currently have a band aid - Kevin basically tries to get on my lap and help himself. Mummy is far more polite but in general I am coming off worse. They will also try and go through the bin in hope of extras. Kevin literally stands on me until I give in or throw him out.

Yes, I am very aware that I am a walk over. How do I fix this?

Happy New Year Zesty! Your little tribe look very at home now and they are all beautiful.

Chicken every evening! They have you well-trained.

Try a different dry if they don’t eat it. Arden grange is good.

Our girl has one tin of gourmet split into 3 meals, about 40g Arden grange and half a chew stick.

Not much helpful advice re the feeding frenzy - I throw pieces of chicken for my one to chase after, catch and 'kill' but they are freeze dried pieces so don't leave any trace on the floor, plus I don't have any carpets anyway. But many thanks for the update, this is my favourite thread and it's great to see them all looking so well and content!

Yay, you are back!! Happy New Year to you and your beautiful tribe ❤

You could try a different dry food but they are eating two pouches a day each (plus chicken supper) and probably not moving far from the sofa in this miserable weather so they might just be satiated. In Spring they might want extra once they spend more time outdoors.

However...never, ever start something with a cat that you aren't prepared to continue every single day for life. They won't let you stop. You could use the chicken as training pieces, ie sit nicely until you give it, or even give paw like a dog. My daughters cat does this, but you would need to only have one cat in a locked room until they've had their portion/training. Our cat used to run and sit nicely on a chair in other daughters bedroom every bedtime for her cat yoghurt treat even though we were still climbing the stairs with it.

Happy New Year!
Great treat for 2023 to see you all back!
Have no advice re the food as am shamelessly blackmailed by my two into giving them chicken, salmon or whatever!

You don’t fix it. It’s hopeless. All you can do is go with it, the cats are in charge no matter what you do.
fwiw, I have five cats and three of them will mug me for catit treats and dreamies. The other two stand by for the easy picking after I’ve been mugged.

The snack is a chicken breast
🤣🤣🤣🤣
They might prefer a higher quality wet food. Look at katkin (if affordable).
Also, try reducing the amount of chicken they get every night.

Thanks everyone!

I know I have made a rod for my own back here with the chicken (though they don't mind ham as a substitute).

At one point just before Christmas we had -7 for most of a week and the roads up here on the hills was icy. My main fear was running out of cat food and the trouble that was going to cause - they could eat me....

My problems are:

1. Yes it looks like I have created a habit of feeding them something tasty every night. I feel guilty if I don't have something for them.
2. The bleeding - my bleeding obviously when I get scratched. I am covered all the time (and currently wearing a plaster)
3. I wish I could train them but I don't really know how to manage that with three half wild cats.
4. They eat so so much. I am buying huge amounts of dry food - 15 kilos at a time from Amazon and I suspect that, yes, they don't like it. But is that because it isn't nice or because they get fed nice food from me?
5. I buy 120 pouches of Felix each month from Amazon. It isn't actually enough so I buy more when it runs out.

What is good quality food that won't break the bank? I have just replaced a shed roof, I have windows to replace and insulation to get fitted in the next few months. But on the other hand I spend a lot of money on chicken....

I was away for 2 weeks at Christmas visiting family. The farmer very kindly fed the monsters whilst I was away. But obviously there was a lack of chicken. For the last two days after I came home I have been followed EVERYWHERE! If I don't lock the bathroom door they bust it open.

Also they still sleep in the shed at night. This is due to toileting - they really need outside access. I have thought about a cat flap but this leads the "bird incident". I leave the door open during the day - it has been cold. I was in my office on a video call and could hear a commotion but forgot about it till Kevin came in and jumped on my desk. He had a tiny feather on his face. You know what's coming right? The hallway was full of feathers and I had a game of "hunt the dead bird". It was a little Robin 😟I threw it into a hedge. Late that night I walk outside to find Perry eating it!

Honestly, I should trade them in for mittens or a quiet dog.

Substitute the chicken for dreamies or the Felix treats. Start off as half and half, then just cat treats, then gradually reduced the treats to perhaps 3 bits each.

Try looking for small bags of dry food and see which ones they like. I have known several cats that only like the yellow boxed purina one from supermarkets . Its not great by itself imo but you are doing wet food as well so it won't matter as much.

This one. If they actually eat it, how would it compare financially to the one you buy online?

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/292631912

If I don't lock the bathroom door they bust it open.

That isn't the chicken, that's life with cats!

As are the birds. I'm not convinced you can get away with calling them half wild tbh, they sound like normal country cats!

Katkin is expensive, especially for 3, but the real meat content will keep them better satisfied. Do some research as to other brands with good meat content and get some trial packs. You'll find the right balance for them eventually.

When they play with claws, put them down, walk away, turn your back. No attention is better than bad attention. Although having said that, you may need to reinforce the message with a water pistol lol

However, I've had success with a combination of withdrawing all attention and a squeal of exaggerated pain each time a claw or tooth catches you.

They need to learn that without fur you're more vulnerable than they are. Might take a few goes to get the squeal pitched right, but it worked for me.

Some good advice so far- nothing to add from me other than just some heartfelt platitudes to say you’re doing brilliantly, and I’m in awe of your dedication, compassion, commitment and patience. You’re doing a really good thing, even if the cats don’t always show that they appreciate it.

No advice to offer re the food, sorry, but this is one of the loveliest threads I’ve read in ages! Bless you, OP, for fully embracing cat life. What a change to your circumstances.

I love my boy, but this thread has reiterated how much I miss seeing more than one cat spread around on the soft furnishings. I must resist!

When I was fostering a teenage boy cat who seemed to have a bottomless stomach I swapped to big tins of Butchers cat food, he loved it (not that he didn’t love all food) and it was much cheaper than sachets and better environmentally. I know that high quality food is better for them, but generations of cats have thrived on standard cat food and yours will be supplementing with fresh, wild food, no matter what you feed them. With three it will cost a lot to feed premium food. I think the PPs recommendation of swapping the chicken breast for Dreamies is a good one.

15kg is loads. It’s probably mainly carbs that cats don’t need anyway, they’ll eat it if it’s nice. Honestly try the Arden grange, the small bags pricey but the big bag lasts me all winter for my girl and she’s a little dustbin.

They can have frozen chicken breast if it’s cheaper, I used to boil them for our Bengal.

A little bottle of tea tree oil from the pound shop takes the sting right out of cat scratches. Your not hand feeding them are you?

You mention training...

Sorry OP but that ship has sailed. They got in there first and trained YOU and there's no going back now. The status quo and pecking order has been established

Pouches are more expensive than tins, and cat food from Amazon is quite expensive too. Have you looked at eg zooplus or viovet websites for cat foods? Or just supermarkets?

I love this thread as I love cats too.

My little donation to the feeding question is there is a website called Feline Fayre that make this tuna stuff in tins! Its about 60% meat I think.... the pouch range is quite expensive but these particular tins are really compactly filled and my 4 cats can be fed once a day from one tin! Bargain! And they love it too. Worth a look.

Please keep us updated, the cats are adorable.

Have you got a local cat rescue who would be prepared to "sponsor" you with some of the cat food they get donated to support you taking in these cats? It's worth asking I think.