Tag Archives: pet

Update on Pierre

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Look at that beautiful boy! So, we’re closing in on me having owned Pierre for three months, which is the tail end of the 3-3-3 method. For those that don’t know it’s:

3 Days to decompress

3 Weeks to learn the routine and settle in

3 Months to feel fully comfortable, bonded and secure

Him being a formal feral, it made me worried that he would never get to know me. We would just be roommates forever and you know that would have been fine. I would keep him safe and he would just be the cat that lived in my house, not a pet. But things have changed since the last time I talked about him.

He’s started hanging out in my room with me. He started rubbing up against my legs when I walked through the house. Because he was willing to touch me, I started reaching down and giving him a pet here and there. He would often zip away from me. But then he started zipping less distance each time. Finally, on Saturday, I gave him a pet and he didn’t move. I pressed my luck and he let me pet him fully. Now, if he’s in the mood, I can pet him and give him scratches. I go by the way he reacts. I don’t force him to be pet. It’s all about consent between the two of us. Such as all things should be.

However, if I sit down somewhere, he won’t let me pet him. I have to be bent at the waist to do so. He also won’t accept churus from me. All in good time.

I love him so much. Not because he lets me pet him just because he exists. He’s sitting near my bed as I write this and I love him so much. My good squeaky boy.

Update on the little man

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It’s been hard to not make this blog solely about this little man. I’m obsessed with him and he’s just kind of middling on me. There are updates.

The main thing that I knew about former feral cats is that you have to take your time with them. I’ve been doing so, every morning, I spend an hour just quietly being in his presence while he sits in his cat tree. I got some churus and put them on a plate to draw him closer to me. I don’t reach out yet because I’m sure that would freak him out. But he is now willing to eat the churu in front of me within inches of me.

I took him to the vet on Monday and I can’t be sure if I told them that he was a feral but I do remember asking for Gabapentin. I had prepared myself for getting him into the carrier by putting on safety goggles, gloves, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf over my mouth. Turns out I didn’t need all of that as after not feeding him for an extra three hours, he was desperate to get at his food, which was in the carrier. I snuck up on him and closed the door.

I brought him to the vet, he got taken back and I was brought to see him after five minutes. Turns out he was buck wild in the room, running around, hissing and being scared. The vet though was a champ and offered me a later appointment that day where they would sedate him so they could examine him. Turns out he’s in perfect health with good teeth, clean ears, good weight, clean coat, no flea dirt, clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose.

That brings me to the other thing that’s happened, in which on Thanksgiving, I came home to find out that he had vomited worms on the carpet. It was gross but beneficial that I was able to tell something was wrong. He has to take a powder in his food for the next few days to clear them. This is the benefit of having a cat that lived in the trash. He will eat anything that I put in front of him. He’s two doses down and hopefully he’ll start shitting worms.

I’ve also bought him a pheromone diffuser and that’s calmed him some, so that feels good.

In conclusion, I think that he has the makings of being a snuggle bunny. I think that the main thing is to have patience and give him time. I revel in the little victories like yesterday where unprompted he hopped on the couch with me. He didn’t stay long but it was still more than he had done in the last thirty days. I love him so much and even if we end up being roommates and not best buds, I’ll love him anyway. He’s my little man and nothing will change that.