Thank you, and yes, he is ... not only for his looks! :)
I love how his white bib (goatee) actually starts right at his lower lip and chin and then takes exactly the sort of shape a white dinner shirt under a partially buttoned tuxedo would look like (with one-button-lock right under his chest, very much in style ... all he lacks is a kummerbund!)
Thank you, on Mr. Kitty's behalf as well. Too early to tell whether he knows just how gorgeous he is -- at any rate, he knows his own likes and dislikes very well! :)
You have been missed, indeed! And he's a pretty kitty, although in one of the photos he looks positively morose. Good luck with coaxing him out from under the bed!
Well spotted, if you guys mean the very first photo (top left) -- that was taken in his early days at the shelter, when he was still in utter and total "I don't want to be here" and "leave me alone, stupid humans" mode. That's what very much struck me about that photo as well. I actually marvel at the fact that they managed to photograph him (1) lying down and (2) semi-relaxed, with his pupils widened to something less than a full black disc -- at the time, he'd go into instant alert mode as soon as a human would enter his room, retreat to the very back of his sleeping cave / scratch post, and you almost couldn't see his irises for the dilated discs of his pupils.
The last photo (bottom right) is one the animal shelter's manager sent me back in March, after the first weekend when he'd visibly started to relax and play in his room, even with humans present.
Judging by the time it took for him to get to that point at the shelter, I know I'll have my work cut out for me here -- so I'm just taking it step by step. I actually managed to coax him out from under the bed for a while in the afternoon several times this past week (using a liberal amount of treats, obviously -- though I know he does come out at night, and I am fairly certain he's also exploring my apartment then), and wonder of wonders, earlier in the week he even permitted me to pet his head for a while. The latter hasn't seen a repeat performance as yet, and when he does come out in the afternoon for the time being he definitely draws the line at my bedroom door, eying the hall beyond with obvious suspicion, after having correctly diagnosed that, if any (by definition: unwelcome) strangers are to be expected to enter the apartment, this is the direction from which to expect them. But even coming out from under the bed at all during the daytime is progress ... and most recently, I've even heard a soft "thud" from the direction of my bedroom on one or two occasions in the afternoon, telling me that while I was not in the room he had ventured out and onto a lookout post, probably either the scratch post right next to my bedroom window or my bed. I just have a feeling he'd rather not (yet) admit to this degree of relaxation while I'm around ... it *would* mean admitting that he's beginning to feel at home here, after all! :)
Oh yes, patience absolutely is the watchword with this boy. And I'm truly learning to appreciate every new step that he makes, however small it seems to be ...
He's starting to look like a "William" to me. I should say for the Stratford-on-Avon trip jogging Shakespeare connections to be more highbrow literary -- but, really I'm seeing William Shatner of Star Trek and the Will Robinson expressions from the kid in the "Lost in Space" movie with Matt LeBlanc. William for now but when he gets more cuddly other diminutives? Shatner and Shakespeare don't roll off the tongue plus sound harsh like Horst.
Thanks! I'll be taking my time with the name (have experimented with several, but nothing is a perfect fit as yet) ... and on Mr. Kitty's behalf, thank you for the compliments on his looks -- though behavior-wise, right now we're definitely talking "street fighter" rather than "society gentleman" ...
Hah. That's pretty much it, yes! Or at least, that's what he's very much pretending his true nature is. I have the sneaking suspicion we're actually talking Jimmy in "Rebel Without a Cause" ... I wasn't there to witness it, but they told me at the shelter that for the brief time that he did have a feline companion (another FIV positive cat, who got adopted earlier than him due to better manners around humans), he very much sought out that other cat's proximity. So, obviously he would dearly like to be loved (and show affection in return), but please, pretty please only by someone who's proved to be ironclad trustworthy and not in the least a threat!
Thank you -- it's feeling good to be back already! And I wish I could grab my boy and sit him down in front of the computer screen and show him the love he's getting even after a single virtual appearance from a lot of people he doesn't even know ...!
Virtually throwing myself across the room and hugging you (virtually b/c... boundaries)....WELCOME BACK! We've missed you - I've missed you - but I figured it had something to do with that gargantuan legal thing you've been working on for so long and hoped you'd evenutally see the end of it, and come back. :D
Miezekater is lovely and you're even lovelier for taking him on and giving him a home in spite of the lack of kitten cuddles. That first picture reminds me of an author portrait I've seen somewhere, and I can't think who it was. Poe is stuck in my head, but he isn't right - although looking for portraits that might remind me, I found one of Henrick Heine that's a fair resemblance. :)
Look forward to hearing about your London/Stratford upon Avon trip. :)
Hmm, Poe is actually a fairly good fit, as far as human likenesses go (more so than Heine). Or maybe E.T.A. Hoffmann (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._T._A._Hoffmann)? Who *did* actually write a novella told from a cat's POV ...
Never fear, there will be a post about last weekend's extended trip ... and hopefully also one about another trip to England at the end of July, as I've decided that a single extended weekend was way too short, and taken all in all, late July looked like a good time for a repeat performance (different area then, though).
Welcome back! I hope your new kitty settles down soon so you get less of the monster hissing and razor-sharp claws. Maybe you could read him some books about trusting, well-behaved cats and some of it will rub off on him. ;)
Hahaha, Puss in Boots -- that had me (literally) laughing out loud! Especially since he does, after all, have white socks on his hind legs and white front toes, too ...
And who knows, since talking to him actually *is* the one working inroad into gaining his confidence, reading to him might work as well! :)
"Comfort Reads". Sometimes the world needs them... I sometimes find Beckett comforting (he should be the least comfortable writer to read, but yes, I too sometimes just grab "Waiting for Godot" (Faber edition of course, off the bookshelf and read...) or "Finnegan's Wake". Is it because of how much our takes on the equivalent of reading chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce on top have variety? I'm not sure. "Finnegan's Wake" is composed minutely of jokes, especially puns, and unless your humor is of a Johnsonian hauteur, you smile often as you make your way through the nighttime of the Wake. Similarly with Shandy and Beckett and many writers (and other artists) whose absurdity or whatever is threaded through with playfulness. We need. Life without these writers would be hell...
Thank you! Although ... much as I appreciate Joyce and Beckett, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on our respective definition of "comfort reads" -- not for all the puns in Finegans Wake. (But, yeah, Faber edition definitely, for "nothing happens -- twice." And no question that the world would be a poorer place without their writing.)
Trust me, you don't know what you're asking for, re: "full list." I'm shocked to find what the definition of "frustration purchases" can run to ...
Thank you, and I guess I'll get onto the other post then! :)
I'm planning to include some of the England / Wales borderland in the next trip, btw, as well as (inter alia -- finally) a long-overdue visit to Leicester and Bosworth. I figured I've spent so much time in Plantagenet and Tudor England book-wise recently, it's about time I go to see the two major places I haven't managed to get to yet! ;) Will post on that accordingly as well.
Oh, wow, good for you -- two of them ... I hope they're going to get along with each other! Good luck getting Bill "Junior" to where your other cat is already -- and you're right, special needs cats (and dogs) are so very much worth it.
Those hoarding situations are heartbreaking; regardless whether they're inept and excessive love of animals gone wrong, or whether they've just got plain greed at their core, or whatever else brought them about. -- Our local shelter has recently taken in a lot of dogs and cats from two mass "animal stations" (read: 3000+ cats and, even more so, dogs, confined to small cages with no one to walk them and you don't want to know what sort of sanitary conditions) in Romania and Bulgaria -- many of them feral to begin with, and apparently, the local authorities considered stuffing them into those places a step up from just shooting them where they were found. Every single one of those animals' stories on our shelter's website makes me want to just reach out and wrap them in a lot of love. My new boy isn't one of those poor creatures -- he was found locally, in fact not too far from where I live -- and I know I wouldn't do either cat a favor if I took in a second (necessarily: also FIV positive) cat right now, so he's getting all the exclusive treatment he could ask for, but man, I'm just hoping those poor creatures will all end up with humans who have a lot of love and understanding for their needs eventually.
All in good time! :) As I said above, at the shelter he did seek out the company of another cat, so I wouldn't rule out it would work, but first of all I have to get him more comfortable with his new home.
@Mary: Oh wow, that sounds like a veritable pet zoo ... good for you -- and for them! :)
@Tannat: Yes, compared to what I've seen at the shelter, I'm actually very happy so far. Just now, for example, for the very first time he's spent a few minutes sitting close to my bedroom door during the daytime and with me barely a foot away, just inspecting his surroundings; including the view of my living room (into which my bedroom opens) and the nearby short hallway leading to my apartment's front door. Might not sound like much, but given his trust issues, that was another major step forward. -- I did actually even manage to get him about 6 ft into my living room on one occasion last week, which was another major step, albeit of course one fraught with jumpiness and all in the process of hunting after his favorite treats. Unlike last week, this time around he point-blank refused to go after any treats crossing the bedroom-living room threshold, but he actually did sit perfectly still and just kept looking around and taking in everything he was seeing. If I'd made a rash movement he'd no doubt still have been gone in a flash, but for what it was (and looking at where he's coming from), it was pretty darned good. Sorry if I'm gloating -- I'm just very proud of my not-so-little boy right now!
I was wondering how he'd been doing - so happy to hear he's making progress. It breaks my heart that he has that much fear built up, but when he lets it go he's going to be a huge mushball I suspect (with you, likely not anyone else). Any name inspirations?
Oh, and I just had a thought - the vets here all use a pheromone vaporiser in their offices that are meant to reduce anxiety levels in cats. We've used it here at home with some success (Easter is just naturally high-strung). I don't know if it's an option or available in Germany - it's called Feliway here. Which, as I type it, sounds rather like a repellant than anything relaxing. :P
I've tried Feliway too, to cut down on moving and construction stress. I can't gauge how much it helps, but my cat has tended to hang out near the dispenser...
Hmm, the vets in our area usually offer the most up-to-date treatment options, etc. and yet I've never heard of Feliway. I'll have to ask around about it.
Pheromone vaporisers -- I'll have a look for them, but if they were available here (or recommended by vets and shelters etc.), I'm fairly sure either our shelter would have recommended their use explicitly, or I'd have seen them at the pet store; I do have a look at those sort of shelves every so often as a matter of course. Anyway, thanks, I will have a look again!
And yes, any progress is good ... There was an even bigger follow-up to the above story, btw; that same evening I was crossing my living room on my way to the kitchen, when guess who was suddenly in a hurry to beat a retreat to my bedroom?! So his minute-long "observation session" had actually been in furtherance of a daytime exploration ... First time ever -- AND all the way to the other end of the living room, too, where there is a cat toy all set and ready for his use -- even if he did it all on his own and wouldn't have been caught at it by me for all his life was worth. I was *so* proud of him that day!
He even did one better today, actually -- I got him to go treat-hunting in the living room; tossing kitty treats there, while remaining in the bedroom myself. He was clearly enjoying the hunt! He also took the time to look around and explore ... and at one point, he was so caught up in going after a morsel that had slid under a sort of low-cushioned chair/stool, he had totally forgotten that he was supposed to be wary of this particular room. Hah!! :):)
So, maybe no need to resort to medical / chemical stimulants. And if it's something that needs to be prescribed by the vet, it's likely no option for him anyway, because unless I'd don a suit of full-body armour, I doubt I'd get him into a pet carrier and off to the vet for an examination in the first place, presuming that I'd even be able to manage to dislodge him from under my bed; never mind what this would do to his trust issues ... (and a vet would never prescribe anything without first having examined the animal in question, here at least). Then again, it's not like he should need to go to the vet for any other reason in the near future hopefully; he's had a full check-up before he moved in with me ...
Sounds like good news and good progress all the way around! Yay! Sorta wish you'd gotten a photo of him with his head under the cushion though, lol.
The Feliway doesn't need to be prescribed, but typically it's sold mostly by vets; I've seen it here a few times at a couple of pet stores, but they keep it behind the counter (it's expensive here) and you have to ask for it.
It doesn't sound like you'll need it at the rate you're going, but if you find he gets stuck, or if you have to have people in for any reason - here's the German website; you can read up on it to see if it's a good fit for you and your new family member. :)
No progress on names as yet, but I'm beginning to see his character emerge, and something in the line of names will definitely crop up as we move on.
We're not at a point where I feel comfortable bringing out a camera (or smart phone) yet; it still matters tremendously what I'm holding in my hands -- or how / where / how fast I am moving -- and I don't want to do anything that gets in the way of his building up his confidence. Though I am sorely tempted to capture his treat hunting for posterity, especially when viewed from behind and from an eye level perspective ... forget everything you've ever connected with the notion of feline elegance and sleekness! Talk about galumphing, more like -- it's a sort of series of wide-legged lumbering hops unlike anything you'd remotely associate with a cat's movements. (For the Germans around here, there's one of those terms-that-don't-even-begin-to-translate-into-another-language which pretty much perfectly describes it -- "Schweinsgalopp.") I'd have had many a good laugh about it already if I wasn't afraid it might scar my poor kitty's soul in yet another way forever! :D
That said, he's definitely building up the courage to leave his hiding place more and more. Not only has "treat hunting" in my living room come to be a thing he's downright demanding at this point -- yesterday he blew me over yet again when, upon my returning from grocery shopping, he was actually out there *waiting* for me! In my bedroom at first, peering around the corner of my bed, but then he came as close as the living room door ... and after yet another treat hunting session, spent the rest of the afternoon and evening snuggling on a kitty bed below a chair in my bedroom ... also a burrow-like protected place, but not nearly as much as the space below my bed. So, we're definitely getting there -- it actually feels like we've made a quantum leap in the last couple of days.
And hey, as long as it doesn't actually involve hiding under the bed, burrow-like protected places are just safe nap spots for cats. One of my cat's favourite ones is the the gap behind the cat tree and between the end of the couch and the wall. Not even on the carpet of the cat tree, but behind it.
Yes, so I'm figuring as well -- and he *has* even "tested out" lying down on my living room carpet, too, in the interim (and seemed to like it, except he's obviously decided it isn't an interesting enough place without me around and a chance at some decent treat hunting whenever the fancy strikes him). Well, I'm leaving Hänsel & Gretel-style treat trails as cues for his nightly exploration projects -- so far, he seems to have taken those cues; not only are the treats gone the next morning, he's also demonstrating a growing familiarity with (and interest in) the parts of my apartment where the treat trails have taken him so far. So we'll see how this one progresses!
Say hello to "Horst", who evidently looks like a top cat, just alone for the goatee. :)
I love how his white bib (goatee) actually starts right at his lower lip and chin and then takes exactly the sort of shape a white dinner shirt under a partially buttoned tuxedo would look like (with one-button-lock right under his chest, very much in style ... all he lacks is a kummerbund!)
And welcome to you to, Mr. Kitty. (He's gorgeous.)
The last photo (bottom right) is one the animal shelter's manager sent me back in March, after the first weekend when he'd visibly started to relax and play in his room, even with humans present.
Judging by the time it took for him to get to that point at the shelter, I know I'll have my work cut out for me here -- so I'm just taking it step by step. I actually managed to coax him out from under the bed for a while in the afternoon several times this past week (using a liberal amount of treats, obviously -- though I know he does come out at night, and I am fairly certain he's also exploring my apartment then), and wonder of wonders, earlier in the week he even permitted me to pet his head for a while. The latter hasn't seen a repeat performance as yet, and when he does come out in the afternoon for the time being he definitely draws the line at my bedroom door, eying the hall beyond with obvious suspicion, after having correctly diagnosed that, if any (by definition: unwelcome) strangers are to be expected to enter the apartment, this is the direction from which to expect them. But even coming out from under the bed at all during the daytime is progress ... and most recently, I've even heard a soft "thud" from the direction of my bedroom on one or two occasions in the afternoon, telling me that while I was not in the room he had ventured out and onto a lookout post, probably either the scratch post right next to my bedroom window or my bed. I just have a feeling he'd rather not (yet) admit to this degree of relaxation while I'm around ... it *would* mean admitting that he's beginning to feel at home here, after all! :)
Miezekater is lovely and you're even lovelier for taking him on and giving him a home in spite of the lack of kitten cuddles. That first picture reminds me of an author portrait I've seen somewhere, and I can't think who it was. Poe is stuck in my head, but he isn't right - although looking for portraits that might remind me, I found one of Henrick Heine that's a fair resemblance. :)
Look forward to hearing about your London/Stratford upon Avon trip. :)
Hmm, Poe is actually a fairly good fit, as far as human likenesses go (more so than Heine). Or maybe E.T.A. Hoffmann (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._T._A._Hoffmann)? Who *did* actually write a novella told from a cat's POV ...
Never fear, there will be a post about last weekend's extended trip ... and hopefully also one about another trip to England at the end of July, as I've decided that a single extended weekend was way too short, and taken all in all, late July looked like a good time for a repeat performance (different area then, though).
And who knows, since talking to him actually *is* the one working inroad into gaining his confidence, reading to him might work as well! :)
I'm glad you're back.
NB: Come on. Give us the full list!
Trust me, you don't know what you're asking for, re: "full list." I'm shocked to find what the definition of "frustration purchases" can run to ...
:)
I'm planning to include some of the England / Wales borderland in the next trip, btw, as well as (inter alia -- finally) a long-overdue visit to Leicester and Bosworth. I figured I've spent so much time in Plantagenet and Tudor England book-wise recently, it's about time I go to see the two major places I haven't managed to get to yet! ;) Will post on that accordingly as well.
Those hoarding situations are heartbreaking; regardless whether they're inept and excessive love of animals gone wrong, or whether they've just got plain greed at their core, or whatever else brought them about. -- Our local shelter has recently taken in a lot of dogs and cats from two mass "animal stations" (read: 3000+ cats and, even more so, dogs, confined to small cages with no one to walk them and you don't want to know what sort of sanitary conditions) in Romania and Bulgaria -- many of them feral to begin with, and apparently, the local authorities considered stuffing them into those places a step up from just shooting them where they were found. Every single one of those animals' stories on our shelter's website makes me want to just reach out and wrap them in a lot of love. My new boy isn't one of those poor creatures -- he was found locally, in fact not too far from where I live -- and I know I wouldn't do either cat a favor if I took in a second (necessarily: also FIV positive) cat right now, so he's getting all the exclusive treatment he could ask for, but man, I'm just hoping those poor creatures will all end up with humans who have a lot of love and understanding for their needs eventually.
Just keep your fingers crossed for him to continue making progress -- even if at his very own pace!
@Tannat: Yes, compared to what I've seen at the shelter, I'm actually very happy so far. Just now, for example, for the very first time he's spent a few minutes sitting close to my bedroom door during the daytime and with me barely a foot away, just inspecting his surroundings; including the view of my living room (into which my bedroom opens) and the nearby short hallway leading to my apartment's front door. Might not sound like much, but given his trust issues, that was another major step forward. -- I did actually even manage to get him about 6 ft into my living room on one occasion last week, which was another major step, albeit of course one fraught with jumpiness and all in the process of hunting after his favorite treats. Unlike last week, this time around he point-blank refused to go after any treats crossing the bedroom-living room threshold, but he actually did sit perfectly still and just kept looking around and taking in everything he was seeing. If I'd made a rash movement he'd no doubt still have been gone in a flash, but for what it was (and looking at where he's coming from), it was pretty darned good. Sorry if I'm gloating -- I'm just very proud of my not-so-little boy right now!
Oh, and I just had a thought - the vets here all use a pheromone vaporiser in their offices that are meant to reduce anxiety levels in cats. We've used it here at home with some success (Easter is just naturally high-strung). I don't know if it's an option or available in Germany - it's called Feliway here. Which, as I type it, sounds rather like a repellant than anything relaxing. :P
And yes, any progress is good ... There was an even bigger follow-up to the above story, btw; that same evening I was crossing my living room on my way to the kitchen, when guess who was suddenly in a hurry to beat a retreat to my bedroom?! So his minute-long "observation session" had actually been in furtherance of a daytime exploration ... First time ever -- AND all the way to the other end of the living room, too, where there is a cat toy all set and ready for his use -- even if he did it all on his own and wouldn't have been caught at it by me for all his life was worth. I was *so* proud of him that day!
Here I don't think I've really seen Feliway outside of the vet's office, so you may not see it at the petstore. I'm not entirely sure why.
So, maybe no need to resort to medical / chemical stimulants. And if it's something that needs to be prescribed by the vet, it's likely no option for him anyway, because unless I'd don a suit of full-body armour, I doubt I'd get him into a pet carrier and off to the vet for an examination in the first place, presuming that I'd even be able to manage to dislodge him from under my bed; never mind what this would do to his trust issues ... (and a vet would never prescribe anything without first having examined the animal in question, here at least). Then again, it's not like he should need to go to the vet for any other reason in the near future hopefully; he's had a full check-up before he moved in with me ...
The Feliway doesn't need to be prescribed, but typically it's sold mostly by vets; I've seen it here a few times at a couple of pet stores, but they keep it behind the counter (it's expensive here) and you have to ask for it.
It doesn't sound like you'll need it at the rate you're going, but if you find he gets stuck, or if you have to have people in for any reason - here's the German website; you can read up on it to see if it's a good fit for you and your new family member. :)
Also - names? Any progress?
We're not at a point where I feel comfortable bringing out a camera (or smart phone) yet; it still matters tremendously what I'm holding in my hands -- or how / where / how fast I am moving -- and I don't want to do anything that gets in the way of his building up his confidence. Though I am sorely tempted to capture his treat hunting for posterity, especially when viewed from behind and from an eye level perspective ... forget everything you've ever connected with the notion of feline elegance and sleekness! Talk about galumphing, more like -- it's a sort of series of wide-legged lumbering hops unlike anything you'd remotely associate with a cat's movements. (For the Germans around here, there's one of those terms-that-don't-even-begin-to-translate-into-another-language which pretty much perfectly describes it -- "Schweinsgalopp.") I'd have had many a good laugh about it already if I wasn't afraid it might scar my poor kitty's soul in yet another way forever! :D
That said, he's definitely building up the courage to leave his hiding place more and more. Not only has "treat hunting" in my living room come to be a thing he's downright demanding at this point -- yesterday he blew me over yet again when, upon my returning from grocery shopping, he was actually out there *waiting* for me! In my bedroom at first, peering around the corner of my bed, but then he came as close as the living room door ... and after yet another treat hunting session, spent the rest of the afternoon and evening snuggling on a kitty bed below a chair in my bedroom ... also a burrow-like protected place, but not nearly as much as the space below my bed. So, we're definitely getting there -- it actually feels like we've made a quantum leap in the last couple of days.
And hey, as long as it doesn't actually involve hiding under the bed, burrow-like protected places are just safe nap spots for cats. One of my cat's favourite ones is the the gap behind the cat tree and between the end of the couch and the wall. Not even on the carpet of the cat tree, but behind it.