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- Thread starter BananaHands
- Start date
I actually converted an old worn-out roasting pan into a litter box. An excellent travel accessory - it even had a lid!
And yes - big-ass bags of litter. It doesn't go 'bad' per se, and is a way better price point.
The stray cat that I brought home one winter spent most of his time under the bed for the first 2 months or so, but it was already a multi-cat and dog household, so he had a bit to get used to, but regardless, don't worry if you don't see him much for a while. He'll get over himself eventually.
And yes - big-ass bags of litter. It doesn't go 'bad' per se, and is a way better price point.
The stray cat that I brought home one winter spent most of his time under the bed for the first 2 months or so, but it was already a multi-cat and dog household, so he had a bit to get used to, but regardless, don't worry if you don't see him much for a while. He'll get over himself eventually.
I had a cat named Shadow that I got from a friend who couldn't afford to keep him. He wasn't a black cat though. He was a big tabby that was as dumb as a box of rocks, but was a sweetheart of a pet.
GasBandit
Staff member
Managed to coax Shadow out from under the bed last night with a squeaky-mouse-on-a-string toy, and introduced him to where the litter and food is. However, he doesn't seem to have partaken of either. Mostly stayed hidden behind the living room blinds. I haven't found any poops. Wondering if I should move the litterbox and food over into the corner of the living room where he has seemed to stake his claim.
GasBandit
Staff member
I guess he'll find it when he gets hungry enough.
No eat = no poop. I wouldn't worry about it unless you notice that he's not drinking. A healthy cat can live for 10+ days without food, so long as it has access to clean water. Leave the water out, make sure there's a spot he can call his own OR if he seems to have already claimed such a spot, try to give him space. Cats are curious animals, he will come exploring eventually.
--Patrick
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
Cat's been in the apartment for 18 hours now... can't find/smell any surprises. That makes me nervous.
Previous owner confirms when they first adopted the cat from the PREVIOUS previous owner (poor guy's only a year old and has already been handed off twice?), he just hid for 2 weeks.
Previous owner confirms when they first adopted the cat from the PREVIOUS previous owner (poor guy's only a year old and has already been handed off twice?), he just hid for 2 weeks.
Maybe this will help. I know when I got my cat I kept him in the bathroom for a few days so he would slowly get used to the condo and me, plus that was where I was planning to permanently keep the litter box. I left the door open after about three days so he could start exploring. It seems mean to keep a cat in a small room, but it does overwhelm them to get thrown into a new environment with a new owner. The small space is less intimidating.
GasBandit
Staff member
Believe you me, the worst way to make a cat less horrified by its surroundings would be to lock it in my bathroom.
Maybe you should be the one getting the toilet paper ads! lol
I'm rehabilliatating a feral right now (my fifth) and have found that the way that works best for me is to put them in a quiet room with their food, water, and litter pan and let them get used to their surroundings. I close the door while I'm at work because I don't want them near the ferrets but open it as soon as I get home so they can hear me go about my daily business and get used to my presence. For the first couple of days, I sit outside the door and either talk or read to them so they get used to my voice. Each day after that, I will slowly inch my way closer to where they hang out (usually in a closet). I also offer treats and/or moist food while I'm doing this. My most stubborn/fearful cat took four weeks to turn into a sprawling, lap-sitting slob. The rest took only a couple of weeks. Patience, gentleness, and bribery are the keys. Good luck!
GasBandit
Staff member
Well, I must say I don't see how tonight could have gone in a more congenial manner on this front.
It started off same as before, even with Shadow hissing at me when I first walked in the door. He was still hiding behind the blinds, so maybe he didn't get a good look at me. I was distressed to see he had not eaten nor taken water, nor even relieved himself anywhere I could find. I let me concern get the better of me slightly, and put some water in a frying pan and set that over in his claimed area of the living room.
He didn't drink, but after I sat down in a chair across the room and stayed there for 5 or 10 minutes, he relocated to the arm of the couch, and sat there yawning for another 10 minutes. Then he moved on top of one of the boxes I'd set for him, and sat there yawning for a bit longer. Then he jumped down on the floor and started meowing at me repeatedly.
I lowered a hand down to his eye level near my chair and beckoned him vocally, and he came over and let me stroke him, then walked away, sat down... and meowed again.. then came back. I stroked him a few more times and thought to remind him of where his amenities were located - first placing him in the litterbox.
He left the litterbox as soon as I sat back down, and went back over to his boxes. I moved to my end of the couch. He started meowing again, I "replied," and he came back over and let me pick him up again. This time I showed him his food and water again, and returned to the couch. He ate one or two nibbles, then moved back to me. I used the feathery dingle-bopper thing on the top of the scratching post to entice him, and he seemed to enjoy scratching very much. After a few seconds of that, he went back to the food and ate quite a bit. Then wandered around exploring (with me staying on the couch in his sight so as not to startle him back into hunkering down), and then he went to the litterbox. And I tell you it was like that scene in "A League of Their Own" where Tom Hanks just pisses... and pisses... and pisses... and pisses. Holy cow. I didn't think a cat could hold so much liquid.
Anyway, after that he was feeling much better apparently, because he came up on the couch with me and let me stroke and scratch him for a while, and purring.
So. I'd say that's pretty good progress.
It started off same as before, even with Shadow hissing at me when I first walked in the door. He was still hiding behind the blinds, so maybe he didn't get a good look at me. I was distressed to see he had not eaten nor taken water, nor even relieved himself anywhere I could find. I let me concern get the better of me slightly, and put some water in a frying pan and set that over in his claimed area of the living room.
He didn't drink, but after I sat down in a chair across the room and stayed there for 5 or 10 minutes, he relocated to the arm of the couch, and sat there yawning for another 10 minutes. Then he moved on top of one of the boxes I'd set for him, and sat there yawning for a bit longer. Then he jumped down on the floor and started meowing at me repeatedly.
I lowered a hand down to his eye level near my chair and beckoned him vocally, and he came over and let me stroke him, then walked away, sat down... and meowed again.. then came back. I stroked him a few more times and thought to remind him of where his amenities were located - first placing him in the litterbox.
He left the litterbox as soon as I sat back down, and went back over to his boxes. I moved to my end of the couch. He started meowing again, I "replied," and he came back over and let me pick him up again. This time I showed him his food and water again, and returned to the couch. He ate one or two nibbles, then moved back to me. I used the feathery dingle-bopper thing on the top of the scratching post to entice him, and he seemed to enjoy scratching very much. After a few seconds of that, he went back to the food and ate quite a bit. Then wandered around exploring (with me staying on the couch in his sight so as not to startle him back into hunkering down), and then he went to the litterbox. And I tell you it was like that scene in "A League of Their Own" where Tom Hanks just pisses... and pisses... and pisses... and pisses. Holy cow. I didn't think a cat could hold so much liquid.
Anyway, after that he was feeling much better apparently, because he came up on the couch with me and let me stroke and scratch him for a while, and purring.
So. I'd say that's pretty good progress.
It's kinda important for you to know where your cat's hiding spots are, just in case it's somewhere they really shouldn't be. My late kitty found a place in our back bedroom where she could burrow into a pillow. Only problem was, the fibers got caught in her fur, causing her to itch and bite - and she ended up with nearly bare fur on her legs.
Which kind of purr? Just a standard rumble, or the wheezy/whistle purr that means, "I want you to do something for me?"
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
... I didn't know there was more than one kind. It sounded regular to me.
Anyway, I checked on him at lunch, he was still doing well. So I removed a cardboard box from the living room. At first he wasn't a fan of that, but then I think he decided he likes the box for the new TV better.
GasBandit
Staff member
I see. Well, no, these seemed standard purrs. When he wants something he's not shy about meowing very loud about it.
GasBandit
Staff member
Because my phone is a Droid.
No, not a Droid razr or a droid 2 or 3 or 4 or whatever. The original. Motorola. Droid. Aka the Motorola Milestone. The second phone to ever use the android operating system after the Google G1. Its camera does not function well outside of direct sunlight.
I was surprised the first picture I took of him was as clear as it was, really.
Does he kick the crap out of it or lie there and drool on it?
GasBandit
Staff member
Picks it up, bites it, drops it, bats it around, picks it up again, gets all 4 claws into it...
If your cat does show he likes catnip, you may want to watch out and make sure he doesn't steal your gum or the like. (Catnip is a type of mint, so I know a lot of cats that will steal mint gum and eat it, and steal it out of purses even, which isn't good for them. Just, in case you didn't know.)