MY GARDEN IS PROTECTED !

She will be ok in time. You must give her time. But redbert is right, don't let her out of the house for a couple of weeks. Because she was older when she was spayed, she will behave differently than a young cat.

Let her see that you are there for her, and she will eventually come around.

As far as the carrier goes, when I have to put a cat in, I always do it backward, holding them so that they are facing me, and put their back end in first. Don't try to put their head in first. This makes all the difference.

I think everything is going to be OK, susie.

Best Regards, Les
 
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She will come around, she will trust you again. Animals sense emotions. If she is still hanging out in the bathroom spend 15 mins in there every couple hours (as you can) and just talk to her in a soft soothing voice. Strangely, they respond to "baby talk" too. I know that sounds completely ludicrous but in my experience, it works.

Is drifter eating, drinking, and using the litter box? adding water to wet food can help get extra water in her if she stopped drinking milk like she used to. Those are key especially drinking and using litterbox as cats shut down easily which can be dangerous. Even though they seem tough, they are actually very sensitive creatures. Ferals too.

I have never had a feral hate me for getting them fixed, and some of them were older too. After I release them, they might run away for a couple days but they always have come back and are not fearful of me, though sometimes I do have to show that I am only going to feed them and take care of them. They always come around.

Please do keep them in the house until you know Drifter is doing better, and agree with Redbert that 2 weeks would be best if possible. They will smell from their incision initially and predators (yotes) will be able to pick that up.

I really hope Drifter is doing better, and you too. You made their lives better. You honestly did. I am not saying that because I am trying to push a spay/neuter agenda. I am saying that because cats die in childbirth just as humans do. They get reproductive cancer etc. Now they can focus on living and not on kittens.
 
i'm not sure if dritr's eating. she did drink her milk tho.
it's her fav.
once again, i have no idea where she is.
once i find her hide out, she finds another.
i have lost all the trust we had built up.
cud is completely back to normal.
i'll probably let him out soon. he's fighting to get out.
i'm not worried about him.
out there by himself, he won't leave the garden.
he thinks the house is home.
the house is just one possible den for drifter.
she has a comfy home outside.
she has spent a long heavy storm outside, with heavy rain, but came in dry.
 
Drifter is also feeling your stress about thinking you let her down. There is one way that Jackson Galaxy (who understands cats more than anyone I have ever seen) recommends to reinforce mutual trust. You can do it while talking softly or do it while remaining silent. Open and close your eyes slowly and repeatedly while facing in her direction. Do it for a couple of minutes every time you are in her presence. It's cat body language for "I love you and trust you". She will eventually return the gesture and you will know that that feeling is reciprocated. It may take a while but it always works ( try it on cud first, he may do it right away) If you are able to watch "Cat from hell" on TV or on the internet, that is Jackson Galaxy's program. If I find his site, I will send it to you.

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as of now, drifter refuses to be in my presence long enow for fancy ploys.
i'll keep her in for a week or two, but thats all i can do.
she lives here by choice.
she has always been free to go.
i can bend this for a while, but i won't betray her again.
 
susieqz said:
as of now, drifter refuses to be in my presence long enow for fancy ploys.
i'll keep her in for a week or two, but thats all i can do.
she lives here by choice.
she has always been free to go.
i can bend this for a while, but i won't betray her again.
Click to expand...
On You tube, there is an episode "4 ways to tell your cat I love you". It is the one where Jackson Galaxy demonstrates the gesture I was talking about. It says "the slow blink" across the picture of a cat... Watch it if you can get.. You tube.

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thanks linda, but those are get acquainted things.
drifter already knows me well.

the vet just called. she said 4 days inside should be plenty, except for drifyter;s psychological thing.
 
YAY! Things are getting back to normal/
cud is being a cud.
we cuddled thru the night.
i now understand why cats are supposed to be kept away from new borns
every so often, i woke with a cat covering my mouth n nose.
don't like that much.
the great news is that drifter strolled thru the living room while i was there.
i didn't push things.
i stayed away, just getting up to pour her a bowl of milk.
milk is a great training aid for cats that can tolerate it.
she never passes it up.

i'm wondering if cats can make a mess on purpose.
i have shelves built into the junk room.
every 2' from the floor n 2' deep.
3 shelves.
she hides behind stuff on the 4' shelf.
i see that every single thing that a cat can move has been moved, tumbled onto the floor.
there is a huge debris field on the floor.
if drifter did this, it was an attack.
she has spent time there for months, with noting ever out of place.
it might have been cud tho.
he's clumsy enow to knock something down by accident.
this was no accident tho.
i have lots of stuff stored in wine cases, that hold 12 bottles of wine.
too big to move unless someone was having fun.
these were on the floor.
 
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Over 30 years ago, Squeak (she did not really meow; weaned too young), aka the Squeaker of the House, Evil Demon Kitty, etc., knocked a bunch of my wife's import 45s (vinyl, not guns) on the floor, and her dog, Tiny (rott X Springer, and somewhat odd from that mix and her upbringing) chewed them all up. I am sure it was a joint effort, as Tiny had bad hips and could never have jumped up there. It was because they were annoyed at being left alone.
 
They do let us know when they are annoyed with us! Glad drifter came out and seems to be normalizing her mood. Your shelving area demolition probably was a team effort... Maybe cud invaded drifters hiding place that started it.. Are you letting her outside today? I don't think she'd leave permanently, just might take a break from recent captivity. Good luck... I'll be thinking about you all.

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cud has been going out for a few minutes at a time.
unless drifter or i are outside, he gets worried n wants to come in.
drifter just asked to go out.
they are both investigating the garden in the morning cool.

i had planned to let drifter out soon, but our deal has always been based on freedom of movement, so i couldn't refuse her.
they were out only 15 minutes as i typed this when i heard cud scratching to come in.
they were both ready to come in.
drifter now knows she can leave if she wants so she can relax.

once the weather moderates, i'll explain to them that cats need to be outside during the daylight hours.
they can't do their work indoors.

you know, if i could have trained the other kits to stay outside all the time i might have kept them.
i still need outdoor only cats.
 
Happy Fourth of July to you, Drifter and Cud as well as all the folks on this thread [emoji178]🦅[emoji488][emoji511][emoji481][emoji482][emoji562][emoji610][emoji565][emoji322][emoji92][emoji324][emoji954]️[emoji469][emoji631]

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7 DAYS POST OP
14 DAYS 2 CAT HOUSEHOLD
things are more or less normal. cud cuddles,
drifter watches movies with me.
she just likes my old B movies.
she leaves if there are bursts of laughter or gunfire.
neither cat will spend much time outdoors during the day.
they are not doing their jobs/ they like going out at twilight tho.
i have to coax drifter in at bedtime.
i won't coax cud.
he spends the night outside, nopefully hunting.
cud is sometimes stupid. i called him in n he was on the roof crying because he couldn't get to me.
that;s too high to use rge step ladder like he wanted.
i had to walk back to the big ladder so he could see he could come that way.
on the other hand, he uses the bathroom cabinets as a cave.
when drifter hid in there, i thot i had left the door open.
not so.
these doors are spring operated . if not fully open the spring closes them.
but i just watched cud open a closed door enow to get in. the door closed behind him.
that's a great hiding place for people that can operate spring doors.
i think drifter is staying in because of the 100 degree days.
i hope she will soon be on her normal schedule.
i'll keep cud working nights to give me 24 hour/day day garden coverage.
thing is, grapes n figs will ripen soon.
i need a cat out there days to deter birds.
 
susieqz said:
7 DAYS POST OP
14 DAYS 2 CAT HOUSEHOLD
things are more or less normal. cud cuddles,
drifter watches movies with me.
she just likes my old B movies.
she leaves if there are bursts of laughter or gunfire.
neither cat will spend much time outdoors during the day.
they are not doing their jobs/ they like going out at twilight tho.
i have to coax drifter in at bedtime.
i won't coax cud.
he spends the night outside, nopefully hunting.
cud is sometimes stupid. i called him in n he was on the roof crying because he couldn't get to me.
that;s too high to use rge step ladder like he wanted.
i had to walk back to the big ladder so he could see he could come that way.
on the other hand, he uses the bathroom cabinets as a cave.
when drifter hid in there, i thot i had left the door open.
not so.
these doors are spring operated . if not fully open the spring closes them.
but i just watched cud open a closed door enow to get in. the door closed behind him.
that's a great hiding place for people that can operate spring doors.
i think drifter is staying in because of the 100 degree days.
i hope she will soon be on her normal schedule.
i'll keep cud working nights to give me 24 hour/day day garden coverage.
thing is, grapes n figs will ripen soon.
i need a cat out there days to deter birds.
Click to expand...
It looks like much of your life has gotten back to normal except for the cats going out that much but that will probably resolve when cooler weather comes.

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cuddles has made a place for himself here.
he wants to be outside nights, inside days.
this is a bit dangerous but he seems to mostly stay in the garden or on the roof.
i'm very happy to see him killing to eat. i saw him chomping on a lizard yesterday n today i found half a mouse.
this was his kill. drifter eats the whole mouse but cud eats just the front half, probably because i feed him well.
i've had to adjust around him.
drifter has been going out morns n afternoons.
it's hard to coax her in when cud is out there.
she likes his company n doesn;t see him that much since she hunts mostly outside the garden.
i put them back on twice/day feeding.
breakfast is at 7am n they get nothing til t gets dark, so they will come in
for supper.
cud leaves immediately after. drifter stays in til morn, as she has always done.
as the weather cools, i think drifter will be out all day, so my garden will have 24 hours/ day coverage.
that means there is always one cat inside, but they tire themselves outdoors, so they mostly sleep. sometimes with me, sometimes hiding somewhere.
this is working.
 
Sounds to me like everything is working out pretty good out there on the high plains!! So glad to see that drifter and cuddles have made an apparent complete comeback from their surgery. I sure wish all of you guys the best of everything!!

Now....we need to see a couple of pictures of the family!!

Best Regards, Les
 
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i'll try for a pic.
cud is growing fast. already bigger than drifter.
you know, i'm glad neutering costs so much.
if it was cheaper, i might have tried to keep 3 cats.
that would never work for me unless one was exclusively outside.
drifter needs a playmate sometimes.
i cuddle, but i do't play.
the best part is she lets me feed cud.
i tried feeding cowboy n stripes.
she wouldn't allow that.
she always has plenty, but she didn't care.
 
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