The Three Mouseketeers

Chapter Three – Reunion

Jul 2, 2005
1:46 AM

It’s 1:00 a.m., and I am still so jazzed that I can not sleep! So I will tell the story of tonight’s events. First I should mention that Tasha treed NC again last night, and again I tried to get to him before he jumped out of the tree. Again he was more afraid of me than of Tasha and jumped out of the tree and ran off before I could reach him. At least I was more successful at calling Tasha off the chase that time, but I did figure that another treeing was pretty much going to assure neither I nor Tasha would ever get near him again.

So I was pretty surprised when I put horses out this evening just before dark, and I spied NC lying on top of a gate at the far end of the pasture. I started to walk toward him, but one of the horses cut me off and got in front of me, walking toward NC as well. I figured either the horse would help keep NC calm as I approached (since he’s been spending a lot of time in the horse pastures), or the horse would spook him off. I got about 1/2 way to NC before Tasha figured out what was going on and ran up behind me. I turned around quickly and admonished her strongly, backing her up and putting her (only marginally successfully) into a sit-stay. She stayed behind me, alrighty, but the proportional distance didn’t change as I continued to approach NC. I had to keep telling her to back up and sit down to maintain a comfortable distance between her and NC.

Once I had Tasha staying put (for the most part), I kept moving toward NC, talking to him all the way. When I got close enough, I could hear that he was talking to me, too. He was speaking softly, but I understood the meaning. I have heard that sort of cat-speak before when BooBoo got spooked by Tasha and Pippin shortly after they joined the family. BooBoo didn’t mumble as NC did tonight, though. BooBoo wailed and cried loudly her fear and worry and distress. She pleaded for help. All of that was in NC’s voice tonight. He wanted help, but he feared it. He pleaded with me, and then he jumped off the gate and walked slowly away.

I followed him, and Tasha followed me, looking for an opportunity to chase NC. Once again I turned to her and put her strongly into a sit-stay, which she miraculously held. NC continued to call plaintively to me even as he walked away, so I continued to follow him until he stopped a few steps later. When he turned to look at me, I crouched down and did my own sit-stay, talking to him in soothing tones as he tried to figure out his next move. I told him how Footsie loved being part of the family and how even Phantom was finally starting to lose his fear and come around. I reminded him that he would never, ever be hungry again and never spend another night alone in a storm if he joined us in the house.

As I spoke to him, he turned and cut across the pasture in front of me at a relatively short distance. He passed me and continued on. Then he turned and walked back toward the fence line again. He walked a few steps toward me and then a few steps away, continuing his sad pleading. His tail started to stand up, which I recognized as a sign of greeting, and then it would descend again. Tail up, tail down, walking here and yon, telling me of his great need, looking at me with those eyes that were once again filled with unbearable sadness, finally allowing my voice to draw him near, he tentatively walked up to me and let me touch his head briefly. He startled back a few steps, then approached again and pushed his head into my hand. I maneuvered my hand down onto his neck and firmly but gently grabbed his scruff with one hand while picking him up with the other.

To my utter amazement, he allowed me to carry him all the way back to the house with no objection or struggle, even with Tasha at our side, until we reached the door. He panicked at that point, but I got him in and let him loose in the master bathroom/bedroom. He made a beeline for the food dish and didn’t take his mouth out of it for quite a while.

Poor baby looks very gaunt and has clearly lost weight in the month since he was last under my care. Neither he nor Phantom are at all happy about sharing space at the moment, but they haven’t actually come to blows. With any luck they’ll make peace quickly, because it would be detrimental to either one of them to be restricted solely to the bathroom at this point.

Now I am hearing angry howling in the bedroom, so I’d better go make sure the boys don’t hurt each other.

Another sleepless night at Shadowood … but a happy one, all the same.

Jul 2, 2005
9:26 AM

Sure enough, there wasn’t much sleep here last night. NC felt the need to say nasty things to Phantom throughout the night, and I think Phantom may have reciprocated a bit. They never actually came to blows (of which I am aware), but the nastiness continues today. I’m not even sure poor Phantom made it into the bathroom to eat, drink, and use the litterbox – all activities he normally restricts to dark hours. I think I’ll bring him some food and water in the bedroom, then lock NC in the bathroom for an hour so Phantom can eat.

I’d forgotten what a squirrel NC is. He hisses at me in one breath and smashes his head into my hand for rubbing the next. He’s understandably stressed at the moment, so I won’t put too much stock on his current behavior, but there has definitely been a shift in his attitude. If he was a female, I’d be calling him Sybil cuz there’s obviously more than one personality expressing itself in this cat! I don’t know if it’s the last month he spent taking care of himself outside or if it’s having to share the bedroom with Phantom, but NC is not nearly the scared boy he used to be. He walked around the bedroom with relative ease and even came into the bathroom while I was cleaning the litterbox to demand attention. He also swiped and growled at me a couple of times … something he never did before.

NC has got the strangest set of expressions I’ve ever seen on a cat. Eerie, really. It’ll take a little time for he and I to get comfortable with each other again. I think he’s seriously conflicted about what he wants right now. Time will sort things out for him, I’m sure.

I do feel bad for Phantom, though. Just when he is starting to come out of his shell, NC returns and intimidates him into submission under the bed again. It’d be nice if I had a few more bedrooms in this house to accommodate the newcomers.

Oh well. We do the best we can with what we’ve got. Things will work out. They always do … eventually.

Jul 3, 2005
1:55 PM

I am about ready to rename NC Psycho! Now, I realize he’s been through an awful lot over the last 5 weeks since his first capture, and I’m willing to make all sorts of allowances for unpredictable behavior, but COME ON!

NC has apparently been working on getting in touch with his inner, man-eating tiger. Yesterday he retreated back into the bathroom, though he was willing to lie opposite the door to the bedroom so he could look out. All was quiet until nightfall last night when NC came out under cover of darkness and decided to attack poor Phantom under the bed. So I had to put a litterbox in the bedroom for Phantom (which I hate) and lock NC in the bathroom overnight. This morning I reopened the bathroom door, hoping the daylight would contain NC to the bathroom while still giving him the opportunity to continue his slow socialization process. So far so good, except as of this morning, Phantom still hadn’t used the box in the bedroom. I don’t even want to speculate where his eliminations are ending up at this point.

NC’s behavior toward me is bizarre at best. Every time I enter the bathroom, he hisses and growls and runs up to me for attention. If I have a food bowl with me, he’s all but climbing my leg to get to it, even though he has access to free-choice dry food at all times. He acts like he hasn’t eaten in the month he was outside.

This morning I sat on the floor in the bathroom with him, and he couldn’t get enough of me. He rolled and rubbed and purred. After a while when I got up to leave, he attacked me violently and bit my hand quite substantially. This seems to be his current routine – greet me aggressively, visit with me adoringly, and respond to my departure with viciousness. He’s almost got me afraid to leave the bathroom now. He hisses, growls, and charges me when I get up and start toward the door. I’m suddenly feeling the need for armor. So are the other animals. Anytime any of them sniff at the gap at the bottom of the door between the bathroom and utility room, NC attacks them viciously.

I’d rather be stuck in a small, confined space with Phantom at the moment than with NC. At least I’m fairly certain Phantom wouldn’t attack me as long as I left him alone. NC is way too mentally unbalanced for my comfort right now. The thing is, I’m pretty sure he’s glad to be inside again, getting regular meals and having human interaction.

Someone tell me this is just a particularly unpleasant stage of resocialization he’s going through. I don’t care if you don’t believe it; just tell me it’s true. A big fat lie will do just fine at the moment.

This is the first time I’ve ever seriously considered putting a cat on mood stabilizers. I think I might talk to my vet about this. As much as I hate the idea, I think it might be what NC needs to get him over the emotional hump of all the upheaval he’s experienced lately. If drugs could calm his nerves and stabilize his moods for a few weeks while he adjusts, this transition may be easier and safer for all of us.

I do have a little bit of Rescue Remedy left. I’ll try that and see if it has any effect. It’s never proven to be very useful here yet, but maybe this time.

I’m wondering what sort of combat gear they sell at the local army surplus store

Jul 3, 2005
2:17 PM

I have been known to handle a feral cat with long leather welding gloves. Works like a charm. I might also have to start wearing my knee-high rubber barn boots into the bathroom when I visit NC. When he comes after me as I leave, he’s at leg level … unless, of course, he decides to leap up at my jugular like the demonic cats in fright night movies.

Isn’t it ironic that the only cat here who can actually scare me is by far and away the most diminutive feline of the bunch?

Jul 3, 2005
2:44 PM

I do understand how traumatized NC has been and still is. It doesn’t help his stress level that he has to share space with Phantom right now, either, but I simply don’t have enough room to give him his own bedroom. He’s way too aggressively unstable to allow him access to the rest of the house and other animals.

That’s why I didn’t want to automatically seclude him in the bathroom. He needs to be able to watch the household function and know that he’s not alone here. I turned on the bedroom TV yesterday to give him some soft background noise and visual diversity, but it just scared him. He does need physical interaction with me, and he’ll get it, but I can’t be in there with him all the time. I just need to make sure I can get out of the bathroom in one piece after our visits.

Jul 3, 2005
5:57 PM

I think confining NC to a crate or cage would be very counterproductive at this point. It’s the separation that seems to push him over the edge. He’s much more relaxed when he has more room to move around, esp. if I’m there with him. In my experience, a cat is far more stressed in a cage or small room (like a bathroom) where he doesn’t feel he has adequate escape routes and hiding places. The more room I can give him, the more relaxed he will be. It’d just be so much easier on both NC and Phantom if I could give them separate rooms until they’re ready to join the rest of the household.

For now, I’ll just have to confine NC to the bathroom at night until he adjusts enough to relinquish some of his aggressiveness. If I do use a tranquilizer short term, that might even allow me to leave the bathroom door open at night without NC trying to kill Phantom. As ravenous as NC is at this point, I don’t think he’d bat an eye at eating a pill crushed into canned food.

I just visited the little psycho boy again, and the visit went much better. I sat on the floor in the doorway between the bathroom and bedroom. He came over and asked for petting for a minute or two, then walked to his bowl to eat. After he ate, he laid down a few feet from me and rolled around on the floor, kneading the carpet, looking happy as a clam just to have me nearby. I kept him company for a while as he napped. When I slowly got up to leave, he also got up and went over to his bowl again. I left while he was eating, and he didn’t even bother to hiss at me. That’s progress.

Unfortunately, Phantom is backsliding. He didn’t come out to play at the baby gates at all today. Poor guy. At least he did eat today which I’m not sure he did yesterday.

Jul 4, 2005
9:24 AM

Things are better today. I confined NC to the bathroom again last night so there wouldn’t be any fighting with Phantom, and Phantom had a great time playing with the other cats through the baby gates and with his Turbo Scratcher in the bedroom all night. This morning he still wanted interaction, so I spent quite a while sitting on the floor by the gate playing with him with a wand stuck through the gate. Footsie, Noddy, BooBoo, Weasel, and Mew all hung out with me by the gate, which made Phantom very happy. So happy, in fact, that he started rubbing on the gate and didn’t even panic when I stuck my fingers through and rubbed his head!!! He’s starting to act like a regular cat! Of course, he still runs under the bed anytime I get up and move around.

I also moved his food, water, and litterbox against the wall on the other side of the bed so he could do whatever he needed to do out of sight of NC and the rest of the household. As a result, he has started using the litterbox again and is eating and drinking normally. I’m breathing easier about Phantom now.

I opened the door between the bathroom and bedroom first thing this morning for NC, but he’s still disinclined to come into the bedroom during daylight hours. He does like to lie opposite the door, however, so he can look out into the bedroom and beyond the baby gates into the living room. That’s fine with me for now because it prevents him and Phantom from confronting each other as long as they voluntarily stay in their own spaces. It’s only a matter of time, however, before NC will find the courage to come into the bedroom during the daytime. Hopefull,y by the time that happens, he will also have figured out that Phantom poses no threat and that fighting him is unnecessary.

NC is still anxious about my leaving the bathroom, but if I distract him with food, I can slip out while he’s eating. He did show a little progress this morning by not attacking Wookie when he sniffed at the bottom of the bathroom door while I was petting NC. NC just laid at my side, purring, staring at that silly puppy nose under the door.

Everything’s going to work out fine as long as I can keep NC and Phantom from doing battle with each other. The rest will just take time.

Jul 4, 2005
3:34 PM

Phantom kissed me. 🙂

I just spent a long time sitting on the floor next to the baby gates with Footsie and BooBoo on my side and Phantom on his. I started out with wand play, as usual. Eventually, Phantom came and laid down close to the gate so I could stick my finger through and let him touch it with his nose, which he did. Then he got up and moved a foot or two away. He came back to the gate several times, and several times I poked my finger through. Sometimes he touched it, sometimes not. I allowed the other cats and Wookie to draw my attention while keeping my finger hooked through the gate. Before long, I felt Phantom rubbing against my finger while I was looking the other way. I stuck a couple more fingers through the gate, and he started rubbing his face all over them. I’m pretty sure I even felt the rumble of a purr under his neck.

Then it happened. Phantom licked my finger very gently.

One more first kiss I’ll never forget. 🙂

Jul 7, 2005
9:59 AM

There has been mostly progress here, though we did have one very inconvenient setback. A couple of days ago, NC got up the courage to come into the bedroom during the day when I was in there watching TV on the floor by the bathroom door. All was well until Phantom ventured out from under the bed at the other end of the room, at which point NC violently attacked him. I had to yell loudly and clap my hands to get them separated, then try to lure NC out from under the bed before he attacked Phantom again.

Once I got ahold of NC, I reluctantly acknowledged that I would have to keep them separated for Phantom’s safety, so I put NC back in the bathroom and shut the door. But that wasn’t going to work for NC because there were no windows in the bathroom for entertainment and no ability to view and interact with the rest of the household to socialize him. So I did what I really didn’t want to have to do – I opened the door between the bathroom and utility room and gave him that space, as well.

The utility room has three doors: one to the master bathroom, one to the kitchen, and the back door to the outside. Without a cat in the utility room, we were able to use the utility room as a “safe” zone to make sure we could get in and out of the bathroom without any of the resident animals getting in or the newbies getting out. Now it’s waaaay too easy for NC to slip out into the kitchen or for one of the residents to slip into the utility room every time we open the door. Major potential disaster any way you look at it.

But I don’t have any other choice. At least with access to the utility room, NC can now look through the large vent at the bottom of the door between the utility room and kitchen, watch the goings on, and interact with the animals who walk up to the door to check him out. I have also opened the main door to the outside and placed a chair in front of the storm door so he can lie there and look outside, which he seems to be enjoying. Like I said, very inconvenient, but workable.

On the plus side, after hiding under the bed for the rest of the day after being attacked by NC, Phantom finally emerged again after dark and spent some time letting me stroke him through the gate. Each day since, he’s come to the gate several times wanting interaction with the other animals and myself, though he does still spend most of his time under the bed, and he does usually still retreat to the bed when I get up and move around (but he is getting braver about staying put sometimes, too).

I went into the bedroom early yesterday morning after Joe left to see if I could lure Phantom out from under the bed with me in the room by sitting on the floor next to the gate and teasing him with the wand, but it was a no-go. He just couldn’t make himself come out with me on his side of the gate.

This morning I did the same thing, and after considerable coaxing (and Footsie and Wookie helping from the other side of the gate), Phantom did actually slink out from under the bed for a moment with eyes wide open, looking at me like I was some sort of alien. He even walked nearly up to me, trying to figure out how to get to the gate to visit Footsie, but at the last moment his nerve failed and he retreated to the bed. A little while later after I had returned to my “proper” side of the gate in the living room, he was there, rubbing against my fingers through the gate.

I have a feeling he’ll muster that last bit of courage to come out with me in the bedroom in the next day or two. Right now I think he’s still associating me with NC’s presence and the attack. Each time he comes out from under the bed, he keeps looking toward the bathroom door to see if that demon white cat is there.

Speaking of NC, he’s really not a demon at all. He’s an incredibly sweet, incredibly needy little boy whose “love bank” is so bankrupt that he’s trying desperately to fill it up any way he can. He’s really just heartbreaking. I wish I could spend all day with him to reassure him that he’s safe and loved, but I have too many other responsibilities and too many other souls here who demand my attention, as well. Even so, NC is starting to relax a bit and not be quite so frantic about letting me out of the room after our visits. He’s also no longer attacking the bottom of the door every time another animal approaches the other side.

I put the harness on him this morning to give him a chance to get used to it in anticipation of his first excursion into the rest of the household. I don’t know when that’ll happen, but I can’t put it off forever. The sooner I get one of those boys into the rest of the household, the better, and I think NC is the likeliest candidate to be first. I did get some tranqs for him and put his first dose into his food this morning. I was sure the little glutton would gobble it right up, being as maniacal about canned food as he is, but he rejected it. Ugh. If there’s one thing I hate doing, it’s pilling a cat. I may have to rethink this strategy.

So it goes here at Shadowood on 7/7/05.

P.S. For those curious about my baby gate setup, here’s a pic … and I didn’t even notice Phantom down in the right hand corner when I took the shot!

Jul 8, 2005
10:24 AM

Phantom is so funny. I sat in the bedroom by the baby gates for a long time this morning, trying to lure him out. I finally gave up and just sat quietly. Eventually, Lamie (who I don’t think has decided to visit with Phantom yet) came up to the gate on the other side and was quite vocal about wanting to know what I was doing in the bedroom. That REALLY got Phantom’s attention. He quickly emerged from under the bed and desperately tried to figure out how to get to the gate to meet Lamie. Oh boy, did he EVER want to get to the gate, but with me sitting right there, he just didn’t quite have the nerve. He circled and paced back and forth and walked hither and yon like a little feline yo-yo, getting pretty close a couple of times before he finally bit the bullet and walked right next to my leg to the gate to touch noses with Lamie. Of course, my intolerant girl hissed at him, which made him retreat to the bed once again. I just sat quietly through it all.

Then I went back into the living room, at which point Phantom instantly appeared at the gate, crying for attention! I went and sat on the floor by the gate on my side, and he laid down by the gate on his side just 2″ from me … 2″ AND that danged gate, of course! I stuck my fingers through, and he rubbed all over them, even holding them softly between his paws, purring all the while.

One of these days he won’t need that gate to feel safe with me. Can’t happen soon enough.

Jul 8, 2005
2:30 PM

I’ve never been so glad to be wrong. I just couldn’t stand leaving NC in that bathroom anymore. He looks so lonely and is acting more and more depressed. He craves and needs attention so badly. But I was sure that it was too soon to try to bring him into the rest of the house, seeing how aggressively he responds to Phantom and how he has attacked the door when the resident animals come up to the other side (though he hasn’t done that in a few days).

Still, it just breaks my heart to see him so unhappy in the bathroom. So, I got up my courage, put the leash on his harness, and opened the door to the kitchen. NC cautiously ventured through the doorway a step or two. Wookie had followed me into the kitchen and was still there, and when Tasha heard me open the door she came into the kitchen, too. Faced with two dogs, NC hissed and retreated to the utility room. End of first excursion.

A little later after I had put Wookie on a tether in the living room, I went back to try again. This time the only animal in the kitchen was Weasel (cat) who just laid on the floor while I drug NC a little ways into the kitchen (note that cats usually don’t “heel” on leash). I sat on the kitchen floor with NC in my lap and Weasel a few feet away. To my happy surprise, NC didn’t panic or turn aggressive even when Weasel got up and walked over. When Weasel got bored and walked off to lie down again, Footsie jumped down from on top of the kitchen cabinets and peered down at NC from the counter. NC wasn’t so happy about having a strange cat looming overhead, so he reared up against the cabinet under Footsie and said something unpleasant under his breath. Footsie didn’t respond, so NC relaxed and came back to my lap.

After a few minutes, I got up and carried NC into the dining room where I sat on the floor with him again. This time he was more interested in exploring, so I followed him as he walked around the dining room and back into the kitchen. I thought he was going to head back for the utility room, but he didn’t. Since he looked like he might be up for more, I carried him into the living room where 4 of the 5 dogs were scattered around the floor and furniture, and held him on my lap in the rocking chair. He was a bit overwhelmed by all those animals and jumped off my lap to slink off into the guest bedroom which is where most of the cats hang out during the day.

As soon as he got in the doorway, Noddy, our 24 lb Lion King, appeared from around the end of the bed. Poor NC froze, laid down, and growled, not sure what the immense beast might do to his little self. I sat on the floor again picked up NC and placed him on my lap just outside the bedroom doorway. To my complete amazement, as I sat there with legs extended and NC lying stretched out between my legs, Noddy came and laid against the length of my right leg, almost touching NC. In fact, I had to use my arm as a barrier to prevent Noddy’s very muscular tail from beating against NC as they briefly napped side by side. NC never said a word. I couldn’t believe he didn’t completely freak out! When NC got up a minute later to continue his explorations, I gave Noddy a big kiss and thanked you for being so kind and comforting to NC. What a wonderful, benevolent King our Noddy is.

By this time I was getting a little tired of following NC around and I wanted to end the tour on a positive note, so I took him back to the bathroom for a break.

I still can’t believe how calmly he took that visit, even without the benefit of tranqs. I guess that’s just how badly he wants to be part of a family. I will continue to bring him out for visits on leash throughout the day until both he and I feel comfortable with his family interactions. Once I feel he won’t aggress toward the other animals, I’ll allow him to drag the leash around on his own for a few days … just to make it easier for me to make a quick grab in case of trouble. From there he’ll lose the leash but keep the harness, and ultimately he’ll lose the harness and be part of the household.

Such a big first step my little scaredy boy took today! I’m sure he’s responding to all the positive vibes and love that have been coming to him through cyberspace, as well as what we’ve been giving him here. Thank you all for helping our little NC find his way home.

Jul 9, 2005
1:07 PM

Footsie (previously known as Ginger Boy and GB) is a silly goofball. He’s been fully integrated into the household since about 5 mins. after he was first let out of the bedroom. He gets along with everybody … well, everybody who wants to be gotten along with. Dogs, cats, people – we’re all just playthings to him. His mantra is “Enjoy every minute to the fullest”.

Footsie has a particular fetish for feet (thus his name) and will charge out of nowhere to attack my feet as I walk from room to room. That’s just what I needed, a cat who thinks he’s a heeler. I already have an Aussie mix who feels she has to heel-nip everything that moves, including toads in the yard. Footsie doesn’t restrict his antics to daytime, either. I’ve been attacked by a raging Footsie many times in my sleep. He just can’t resist pouncing on anything that moves under the covers, and he doesn’t bother to sheath his claws, either!

Footsie also loves to run between my feet and flop himself over on the floor right in front of me while I’m walking, hoping to grab my feet as I step over him. It’s a miracle he hasn’t been flattened into a carpet stain by now. Not that you’d really be able to tell the difference. He is the leanest cat I’ve ever seen. Loooooong and lean. He looks even skinnier by virtue of the fact that he has a large bone structure. His ancestry must be heavy on the cheetah side. Sometimes I drape him across the front of my neck and over my shoulders like a necklace.

Footsie has been instrumental in advancing my relationship with Phantom. Footsie spends a lot of time with Phantom by the gate, and Phantom has come to depend on that relationship. If not for Footsie hanging out with me by the gate, I’m not sure Phantom would have ever gotten up the nerve to approach the gate with me sitting on the other side. Footsie is a very special cat with a talent for making friends. I could learn a lot from that boy.

On a different note, NC (who I believe would now like to be called Feather) is apparently feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of yesterday’s interactions. I took him out of the bathroom several more times yesterday. He spent a couple of hours napping in the guest bedroom with several of the other cats. Well, not actually with them, but at least in the same room as them. He also had more nose-to-nose interactions last night as I was sorting through a box of irises and cats kept coming and going out of the utility room.

Today Feather doesn’t want to come out of the bathroom in spite of the fact that I’ve had the utility door open for him most of the day and have tried to talk him out several times. I even carried him into the living room where he stayed for only a few moments before heading back to the bathroom. I think he just wants to rest and regroup today, which is fine. He’s still pretty psychologically fragile, so I’ll let him take things at his own pace. At least now the decision to keep himself separate from the family is his.

Jul 9, 2005
6:40 PM

I did something I think was very good for Phantom today, in spite of the fact that he didn’t respond to it. As usual, he refused to come out from under the bed while I was in the bedroom this morning, though he’s right at the gate mewing for attention as soon as I get back into the living room. However, it occurred to me this afternoon that I might be going about this incorrectly. Since it is the other cats who Phantom most enjoys visiting at the gates, I decided to bring Mew into the bedroom with me this afternoon while I sat and watched TV for a while.

Phantom’s only non-gated physical contact with a cat in this house has been the attacks he’s suffered at the claws of Feather, so I thought having a non-aggressive cat in the room for a while might start to teach him that he needn’t fear being attacked even when he’s not behind his protective gate.

It took a while before Mew even realized Phantom was in the room, but when he finally did see him under the bed, he went under there with him and laid down nearby. Mew stayed there for a few minutes, then came out and spent the rest of the time playing with me. Phantom never came out, of course, but I think this must have been an important lesson in peaceful family dynamics for him. If I keep taking Mew in for visits each day, eventually Phantom is bound to start trusting that neither Mew nor I intend him any harm. With luck and time, hopefully, Phantom will even be convinced to join us in play.

In case you’re wondering why I chose Mew instead of Footsie for the “Peace Ambassador” job, it’s because Footsie is very boisterous in play and likes to chase his buddies around the house, bonking them on the head whenever the opportunity presents itself. I don’t think Phantom is up for that sort of behavior yet. He needs quiet interaction to build trust. I may invite Noddy to join me in the bedroom, too, though Mew really seems to enjoy his position as a family diplomat. Besides, Mew understands the fearful feral mindset, having been there himself not so many years ago.

I’ll find the strategy that knocks down that last wall (or gate) that stands between Phantom and the rest of us. Trust me, I will.

Jul 13, 2005
2:35 PM

Hah! I’m a sneaky little devil. I just tricked Phantom into letting me do a full-body massage with my whole hand. He is still stubbornly refusing to come out from under the bed when I’m in the bedroom, and rubbing him with a few fingers through the baby gates just isn’t cutting it anymore. I WANT MORE, and I just figured out how to get it!

I spied him lying on his side of the gate, so I sat down next to him on my side, as usual, and stuck my fingers through the gate to rub his head. After a minute or so (or after a month or so, depending on how you look at it), it occurred to me that if I loosened the gate and moved it just enough so I could stick my arm through one side, maybe Phantom would hold his ground as long as the gate was still essentially between us.

As unobtrusively as possible, I moved the gate out to allow my arm in the side. It surprised Phantom to see so much of my hand inside his territory, so he moved off a few feet to check things out from a safer distance. After a minute, he decided the gate was still keeping me adequately at bay, so he moved to my hand and started rubbing. In no time I was stroking his entire body, scratching him in places I hadn’t been able to reach with my fingertips through the gate. Ultimately, I had him rolling around the floor, grabbing my hand and gnawing on it gently while I tickled his belly. He finally decided he’d had enough rubbing and tickling for one session and moved back under the bed for a nap. I’m ready to go take a happy nap myself. 🙂

On the Feather front, he is slowly getting more comfortable with his freedom … very slowly. He still spends a lot of the day in the bathroom, though that may be because the bathroom is the coolest spot in the house during this obnoxiously hot spell with no AC. Feather is also spending some time lying on the linoleum floors of the utility room and kitchen, and even occasionally venturing into the dining room for short stints to see what’s going on in the rest of the house.

I know Feather is feeling better about life because he’s starting to play. In fact he got downright silly this morning, racing back and forth between the bathroom and kitchen while I was doing dishes, peeling out across the floor. It was a sheer delight watching him enjoy himself for a change. I’m not sure he’s ever actually had fun before. It’s about time.

Footsie now spends a lot of time in the bathroom with Feather, again, I assume, because of the relative coolness of that room. It’s wonderful to see Feather relaxing with other cats. He did, however, try to challenge Lamie this morning when she wandered into the utility room. I was in the kitchen watching little Feather try to puff himself up into a tomcat stance and advance toward Lamie, at which time I warned him that my intolerant queen was NOT the cat to try that with. She just sat there with her “Who are you trying to kid” glare, and Feather quickly backed down. He may be foolish, but at least he’s not brain-dead. LOL!

Feather would be more comfortable if he could just make the dogs disappear. Wookie, of course, is too young and inexperienced to know how and when to approach cats. Feather keeps hissing at him, and Wookie just keeps coming. I think Feather is figuring out that Wookie presents no real threat, though.

He’s less sure of Tasha’s intentions, and justifiably so. After all, Tasha is the one who kept throwing him outside. Tasha is very curious about Feather and REALLY wants to check him out, but she’s cautious because she remembers the attack she suffered at the claws of Annabelle when she first arrived. Tasha gets as close to Feather as she can before he hisses, and then she backs off. She’s just trying to figure out whether Feather is going to be one of the kitties who allows chasing. He’s not, but she’ll keep testing the waters till he bloodies her nose.

How crazy is this? Now that things seem to be progressing nicely with Feather and Phantom, I’m beginning to wonder what happened to the long-haired black stray Joe saw on the driveway a while back. Like we really need a fourteenth.

Jul 17, 2005
7:50 AM

It’s GRADUATION DAY for Mousketeer #1!!! That’s right, folks, little Feather no longer wears a leash (taken off the day after I let him out of the bathroom), no longer wears a harness (taken off a couple of days later), and as of last night now has FULL house privileges (including the basement!). The opening of the basement door signified Feather’s graduation to FIFM status (Fully Integrated Family Member). He is no longer restricted to the bathroom/utility room overnight. Let’s hear it, folks – three cheers for Feather! HIP HIP HURRAY!!!

I’ve been worried about taking that last step to full integration by giving him basement access. He’s such a timid soul that I was afraid once he got down there, he’d get spooked, go into hiding mode, and refuse to ever come upstairs again. But Feather surprised me last night when we had company and he laid out in the open in the dining room with strangers in the house. He obviously has found more courage and comfort here than I realized. After the company had left, Joe had gone to bed, and all was quiet among the ranks, I decided that it was time to let Feather explore the lower depths in peace under cover of darkness while the rest of the household slept. As soon as I opened the basement door, the cats who had been down there came up, and Feather embarked on his first trip down the stairs. I hoped I’d see him again in the morning, and then I went to bed.

Sure enough, Feather greeted me in the dining room this morning. Apparently, the basement wasn’t all that intriguing after all … or maybe he just really likes being a part of our family. 🙂

Welcome home, Feather.

Two down, one to go … ON TO CHAPTER FOUR