MSI Press Blog

  his is a series of Caturday posts on the topic of taking in  feral cats .  General information (from previous posts): For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas,  Murjan , the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall, and Intrepid , closely bonded to Murjan, died three years ago from the same kind of cancer), all of whom get along pretty fabulously. Of course, all of that is easier said than done, and the bonding took time -- lots of it. Here are some of the things we did to create our cat family, some of which is not at all typical of what others have done, but it has worked for us. We don't trap the feral cats at all; we win them over and invite them in. We do this by feeding them a distance from the house and walking away, then moving the dish clo

  Bobolink in his kennel at the pet hospital. We should have known there was a problem with Bobolink that related to anemia. A feral cat that we domesticated (over a long period of time, he was always a little skittish until November when he wanted to crawl up in my lap or snuggle next to me all the time, literally all the time. In hindsight, he was cold; he was seeking warmth. Even though I am anemic at times and understand the cold feeling, the thought did not register that cats can be anemic as well. Then, he lost two pounds nearly overnight. Clearly, something was wrong. Worried that his FIV had turned into AIDS, we took him to the vet, who, through a blood test, discovered that he had autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a disease in which the cat's body eats its own red blood cells. Little is known about the causes. The vet suggested some possibilities that seemed not on the mark. I suggested FIV, but she said that was not likely. However, I have since found some vet sites on the In

 Murjan, born in Jordan, traveled to the USA when he was just a couple of years old. He is the only domestic cat among the six cats, but he quickly established himself as the alpha cat. He sometimes thinks he is human and likes soft and warm sleeping spots. Other times, he is certain he is a dog, likes to be walked on a leash, and rolls over to have his belly rubbed.  Murjan loves to communicate, especially having night time discussions with his human.  He will even listen to and obey little ones.   For many months,  Happy Cat hung out in the bushes, waiting for the other feral cats to finish eating the food that had kindly been set outside. Then, one day he became very ill, climbed the 17 steps to the Leaver front door, where he fell, exhausted. Betty Lou discovered him there, scooped him up, and took him to the vet. Happy Cat had a serious lung infection. Once healed, it was not safe to let him outside. That did not matter because he was delighted to have found a home and will not ve

  When our alpha cat, Murjan , died, I thought that Happy Cat, Murjan's best pal and truly a pal to all the cats, would take over as alpha, keeping all the remaining six cats in line. That did not happen. Happy Cat earned his name by his mellowness. Our biggest cat at 16 pounds, he is our gentlest.  Integrating cats into healthy cat families and growing happy cat families is indeed tricky business. But it is easier with a beta. Happy Cat has shown us that again and again and again and again. Simone lived under the bed. She had been afraid of her shadow ever since we rescued her from human bullying on the street. Born a stray, she found houses intimidating, but there was safety under the bed. Of course, she would come out to eat, and we would cheer whenever she chose to spend some time in the sun. Then, a couple of years later, along came Happy Cat. While Simone still finds security in being under the bed, she comes out a lot more often and interacts with Happy Cat, the only cat she

  This is a series of Caturday posts on the topic of taking in  feral cats .  General information (from previous posts): For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas,  Murjan , the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall, and  Intrepid , closely bonded to Murjan, died three years ago from the same kind of cancer, and, most recently, Snyezhka , who had been valiantly fighting three kinds of cancer, died from a saddle thrombus, probably related to her chemotherapy but, of course, no one is going to suggest that and it really does not matter since knowing exactly what caused the reason for her death won't bring her back). All five of our feral cats get along pretty fabulously -- and they also got along well with the three predecessors. Of course, all of th

Bobolink (below) and Wooper (above) are bunked on the catio. We have had two cats lose their fur, each for a different reason.  Wooper licked all of hers off until she had alopecia. Our vet tried one medicine after another. Nothing worked. Another vet suggested it was anxiety, but it turned out it was not. We stumbled upon it by accident when we learned how to give a cat massage. Wooper loved the massage. She would ask for me, and she would want a deep massage. Normally standoffish, she would come and tap one of us on the shoulder. That was her way of asking for a massage. After a few weeks of massaging her, we noticed that her hair was growing up. She now has all the fur she ever had -- but she still wants her massages. Bobolink , a long-haired domestic cat, is sick. He, it turns out, has amyloidosis, in addition to FIV and autoimmune hemolytic anemia. His prognosis is not good. Tonight, I found him lying in a pool of pee, looking up with sad, surprised, and apologetic eyes. I cleaned

  Bobolink, our FIV kitty, has developed the wiles of a strong-willed old man at a nursing home. No matter how I give him his daily pills, I find them later under beds, near the litter box, or, all too frequently, on my bedspread. Pill pockets don’t work. Pill popper does not work. Mixing the pill with treats does not work. So, I stick it in his mouth with my hand. He pretends he has swallowed it, looking at me with big honest (uh, dishonest) eyes and prepped for his morning bowl of food, which he eats assiduously, as if all is normal. Then, when I move away and he thinks I am not looking, he spits the pill out in a forceful arc which lands it in any kind of unanticipated place. Our other cats are much better at swallowing their pills, but we are still looking for a solution for Bobolink. Wondering what other owners of willful cats find successful... For more Caturday posts, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagra

  With rescued street cats (we have 6 of them, mostly older ones), the things inside them that are always unknown in the beginning start to show up as they grow older. Jack is the simplest and healthiest—and youngest. Just missing an eye. Happy Cat has recurring skin cancer. Wooper has IBS and asthma. Bobolink (Boulder) has feline AIDS. Simone si reacting positively to a new medicine, injected once a month, for arthritis; after 16 years she is now jumping up on the bed and snuggling in with me for the night, which she was unable to do with just cosequin. She also has two cysts that cannot be removed without surgery, and the vet considers the surgery at her age too risky so we do at-home management of the cysts. And then there is Snyezhka. Snyezhka survived breast cancer—discovered four years ago and in remission for the past two. We thought she was in good shape until four months ago when lung cancer struck. The immunotherapy did not work, and she has been just on Metacam, an NSAIDS. L

  Blind Cat Rescue has written and shared on its blog a wonderfully helpful article for owners of FIV+ cats. (Our 4 yo FIV+ cat, Bobolink, is pictured above. He gets along well with our other five cats, and in four years, none have been infected by him. It is very unlikly that this would happen -- encouraging for people who would like to adopt FIV+ but are afraid. No fear! Read HERE ! For more Caturday posts, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  X ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. Want to communicate with one of our auth