After 3 plus years I can officially claim that Georgie, the FORMER neighborhood feral, is an indoor only cat with access to the whole house and not just the den. Shadowfax, his main tormentor, is to his left. They still have their moments but he doesn't immediately retreat to the den where he has a number of "safe" places. This is going so much better than I anticipated. Until these past few days he has been a loner so to see him with the others just makes me so happy! The 2 cats not in the picture accepted him quite easily. The other 4, who are in the picture, were not pleased at first but they are adjusting.
To get to this point has taken months. The last couple of weeks I left the doors open from the den to the rest of the house. He would stay by the doors but would not cross over. So when he finally began to walk into the kitchen other night I held my breathe and hoped for the best. The last couple of nights he stayed in the living room with some of the others. He has come so far!
Very impressive work and persistence RetiredKat! Now he can enjoy a safe, comfortable life among other cats. I wonder if he could talk, would he tell you how silly he was to take so long to come around!
Georgie is the one who spent 3 cold winters and hot summers outdoors. Now when he looks out the window during thunder storms I don't hesitate to remind him how lucky he is! He still not comfortable and still quite defensive but he's coming around. At other times he doesn't hesitate to jump on my lap and purr and insist on being petted. Just when you think you understand cats, they prove you wrong!
Eliza4one, I'm so sorry for your loss. Each pet is special and each loss is heartbreaking.
So is this like an orphanage that you've started? Or a foster home? Half-way home? How about a Cat Sanctuary? He must have heard the news on the streets and it took him a long time to realize that it might actually be better living with humans than running from them. I'm happy for the two of you.
Not able to call it a foster home or halfway house...they never leave! But they are all strays from one place or another. Georgie is the first adult cat that I introduced to my other adult cats...very tricky. Watching him eat with the others gave me the same feeling when he allowed me pet him the first time. Can you tell the cats are in charge?
What I discovered is that he's not combative just terrified. And then he has that look in his eyes that can melt your heart even as he's hissing at you.
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01-01-2021, 06:55 AM
. Last I heard, we were both at 6. However, 2 of ours passed away this year, so we are at 4. You have me beat by 3. 
