How Far We Have Come

[Lil Miss]

I was looking through old pictures, and found some of moggy before she was officially "mine" and i cant help but think, how amazing it is, how far she has come in the 6 short months she has been here

missus feral kitty



http://i55.tinypic.com/23msj15.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/2uzxe36.jpg

when i first caught her

nice and pink from my blood



getting brave



not sure what to do with a bed


first venture out the cage

[Lil Miss]

still not sure what a bed is



settled at last




first time she dared jump on the sofa


asking to come out her cage in the morning


first time she discovered mousey (her favourite thing)




fully settled and begging


she loves to steal my dads seat the moment his backs turned

[Lil Miss]

and laying in carriers bedded out for a small fluff



and snoozing on the back of the sofa behind my head




she also sleeps on my bed at night now a days, after eventually finding the courage to leave the lounge, she loves dashing up and down the stairs like a loon

for those that dont know, she lived feral in my garden for close to 18months, i started feeding her when she became skelital, and with the snow we had in winter decided she wasnt staying outside any longer, so caught her with my bare hands (not a good idea) we found out she was chipped, and she came home with me while the vets tried to contact her "owners" i got the news on my birthday (dec 16th) that they didnt want her back, so she stayed

[Gillzy]

Aww what a wonderful story, and fab pics I love her heart pendant, and purple collar. I take it she's figured out what a bed is now

[Lil Miss]

oh yes, she loves her bed (and my bed!) i dont have any pictures of her in her bed though, when ever she is in her cage she will sleep in her bed
unfortunately with her feral background it wouldnt be safe to leave her un attended when we went out, as we have animals in every room, and half the cages she could get her paws in, but she doesnt mind, she loves her cage (its a 48" dog crate) its her safe space and where she gets all her meals

we didnt plan a cat, she just happened

[Womblehands]

aww what a lovely story.. I'm sure with her background her cage feels secure and it's just what she needs.. Would be nice to have a kids book about her..

[Lil Miss]

it really does make her feel secure, it gives her a safe place to run to when strangers come round, she really doesnt like people she doesnt know, they scare her so much
but she is only shut out if no one is home, she used to be shut in at night, until she picked up the courage to come upstairs with me at night, i have fluffs in my room, but they are all up high, and i am a very light sleeper, so i would hear anything, she seems to have some respect for the small furries, i origanally gained her trust by lucking after the rabbits and hens as i normally would, she saw they trusted me and i fed them, so she started to trust me, and i fed her, so i think in a way she sees them as sort of equals, BUT i would not like to tempt fate, as she has had to hunt to survive, its just not worth risking leaving her loose in a room with small furries on her own, i know its the right choice, and i know in normal circumstances i wouldnt do it, but she isnt a "normal" domestic cat, she still has a wild streak, and always will, but i still feel the need to justify the cage at times

we also suspect she was abused in her old "home" due to some of the behaviour she displayed, and the fact that her old home was only on the next road over, 2 minutes away if that, and no cat would choose to sleep in our bushes in the wind, rain and snow, if they had a safe, warm, dry home to go to.
her old owners were asked to write a letter signing over ownership of her, so we could legally keep her and change her chip, their idea of a letter was to scribble on a postit sized scrap of paper "we give permission for Gabriel (what they called her) to be re homed through abbey vets, we hope her now owners look after her" and a signature

[Sammybingo]

It breaks my heart to hear how some people treat (or mistreat) their pets .

What you have done for her is amazing, the sort of thing my cat loon father does - I think he gained Puss Puss (yes, really!) doing this, who became a much loved pet and gave us wonderful kittens.

She is utterly gorgeous, and looks blissed out! I love her collar too hehe wonder what Oli would make of that Mr Housecat would be most cheesed off!

[Lil Miss]

im just a general animal nut, with somewhere in the region of 70 rescues/rehomes
never have a penny to spend on myself, but the animals come first

i dont think your father is quite as nuts as me, when i caught her, she went into panic mode, not only did she scratch, she bit, AND she chewed on my actual fingers and hands, she managed to throw my rings off, i had to go back out and find them when she was safe in a carrier, but i was not letting go, because if i did, the chances of her coming back or trusting me again were slim to nill, so for her life i HAD to hold on
i ended up with a massive infection in both hands, spent my birthday curled up on the sofa feeling very ill and very sore and have lots ov lovely scars............ but i would do it again in a heart beat
shes currently laid behind my legs, curled up round my feet dreaming away
she is worth every ounce of pain

the heart gem is off her expensive pearl and crystal silver plated collar which she has semi killed (scratched a few of the gems out)

its hard to photograph her collars so the pics i have dont do it justice



need to buy some replacement peals for it and repair it, i think she was rebelling that she doesnt want to look posh

the purple ancol collar is nearly dead too, she doesnt like collars, but theres no way she isnt wearing one, if she got out, she does look very much the part of a stray cat (one eye, half an ear missing, terrified of any one she doesnt know)

[Sammybingo]

Lmao, the second picture in your last post is pure comedy. She seems to be living the cat dream! So chilled. I love the collar, but Ols would have that off in minutes. My dad's cat (mine! haha) Prof Tinkelstein would look amazing in one of those, he is the campest looking boy cat ever I'm going to keep my eye out for something equally dramatic for him!