MacTheKnife
Gold Member
- Jul 20, 2018
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I had a himalyan cat for years...fantastic pets but I had to put him to sleep a few months back...he had kidney disease. I was very attached to him and did everything I could to keep him alive...but the day came when I saw that he was having too much pain thus I put him to sleep.
He trusted me completely and it was exceedingly difficult for me to do what had to be done and not wanting to ever have to go through that again I said I would never have another pet of any kind or sort.
Then...........a little beggar kitty started coming to my back door....I had seen him out in the woods behind where I live and there is a long wooden fence back there and I would often see him walking along the top of the fence but for some reason he never came looking for food. I think whoever was feeding must have moved or something and he was forced to look for someone else to feed him.
So I began to feed him...and gradually he became more friendly...would brush up against me when I was giving him his bowl of food and thus I began to pet him. And on cold or rainy days I would let him into the kitchen to feed him. I had to leave the door open and not get between him and the open door or he would scamper away very quickly...obviously fearing he would be trapped.
Now though he comes in and makes himself at home and quite often does not even want to leave. I have bought medicine for him to get rid of his fleas and given him food grade diatamacious earth to rid him of any parasites.
My neighbor has also started feeding him and we sort of jointly take care of him now...she even got a little house she put outside for him to sleep in. Thus he is getting tamer and tamer.
Now I wonder if it is really a good thing to take the wildness out of a cat? Feral cats usually live short lives....but I kinda think wild cats may really enjoy their existence more than tame cats...especially the housebound ones that are completely dependent on their masters.
He trusted me completely and it was exceedingly difficult for me to do what had to be done and not wanting to ever have to go through that again I said I would never have another pet of any kind or sort.
Then...........a little beggar kitty started coming to my back door....I had seen him out in the woods behind where I live and there is a long wooden fence back there and I would often see him walking along the top of the fence but for some reason he never came looking for food. I think whoever was feeding must have moved or something and he was forced to look for someone else to feed him.
So I began to feed him...and gradually he became more friendly...would brush up against me when I was giving him his bowl of food and thus I began to pet him. And on cold or rainy days I would let him into the kitchen to feed him. I had to leave the door open and not get between him and the open door or he would scamper away very quickly...obviously fearing he would be trapped.
Now though he comes in and makes himself at home and quite often does not even want to leave. I have bought medicine for him to get rid of his fleas and given him food grade diatamacious earth to rid him of any parasites.
My neighbor has also started feeding him and we sort of jointly take care of him now...she even got a little house she put outside for him to sleep in. Thus he is getting tamer and tamer.
Now I wonder if it is really a good thing to take the wildness out of a cat? Feral cats usually live short lives....but I kinda think wild cats may really enjoy their existence more than tame cats...especially the housebound ones that are completely dependent on their masters.