Mooch's first at home test

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Thanks for sharing Mooch's photo Vicky! He is such a beautiful boy. So when are we going to have a naming party for him?

I am crushed though - I was saving Dillon, my newest foster kitty for you! LOL
 
I just let him out of the bedroom to wander the house for the first time. All 3 other cats present. Leahpold stayed on the couch where she'd been sleeping and watched. Tigget, the 20 yr old, hissed at him because he stood on his hind legs to look behind the curtain draped over the window seat she was sleeping on and Sammie was on a chair that he walked under and she just watched him. None of them bothered him, he walked around each room, except the bathroom, then was happy to go back in the bedroom. I think he was saying, "Too big for me right now." :lol:

Leahpold is the one who has to accept him. She is alpha cat right now. She loved Gandalf so much. I gave her lots of praises after he went back in the bedroom.
 
That sounds good. That was the way mine were when I got Jeddie. But I think everyone growled or hissed at him, just for good measure. There wasn't any real energy behind it.

Maybe give Tigget some extra attention too right now.

I do NOT think they are seeing him and thinking , "Oh that cat looks like the other one that hasn't been here in a while, so maybe it's him". For sure he smells different and that is the big thing with cats - hence the hissing when one comes home from the vet looking exactly the same as he did a few hours earlier :roll: And my mom had her one cat get a lion cut last year and the other one freaked out when she brought her home. Besides, Moochlin has all that white fur.

There will probably be more hissing when they get to the butt sniffing stage :o :lol:

PS - he looks so much like a gray version of Jeddie - except he has Leanne's spot on his nose.
 
Yeah, I don't believe they would recognize Mooch as looking like Gandalf. Smell is #1 with cats and thats why I let them sniff my hands last night after I brought him home. And again this morning.

Another thing is not to force them together. They will get to know one another on their terms and not before!

Interestingly Mooch is now lying on the bed and being quiet. Lisa explained how I have to fix his food. he is so fussy he won't eat but one freeze dried salmon treat! I've never known a cat to not like salmon treats. She said she tried several varieties.

I am going to see if I can get him his own cooking reality show. The potential chefs have to make something he likes every time to win! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Vicky & Gandalf (GA) said:
I am going to see if I can get him his own cooking reality show. The potential chefs have to make something he likes every time to win! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Shouldn't there be one for EVERY picky cat? At least they would be interesting to watch rather than be so stupid the droolers would bury it :lol: .
 
First of all: freeze dried salmon treats!? What brand/where do you get them?

And second: I bet you have him retrained to accept multiple treats in no time! But if not, make sure that cooking show (really, it should be called a reality show) is on a broadcast network (not cable) so I can watch it :mrgreen:
 
Wildside Salmon treats are the best!

http://www.thecatconnection.com/cats/wildside-salmon-freeze-dried.html

You can get them from the manufacturer too, but they only sell them in case bulk there.

They are very light, so even the 1.5 oz packages have quite a bit in them. get the 6 pack even though they don't lower the individual cost, it makes the shipping worthwhile.

Mooch and I took a nap. I went in the bedroom and couldn't find him! I discovered he was napping under the head board. The cats had torn up the cheesecloth under my box spring, so I cut it off. He crawled up through the box spring and over some under the bed boxes I keep under there which in the past prevented the cats from getting up under the head board but I guess that's ridiculous now. I was going to get more cheesecloth to staple back under the box spring, just didn't have time. I guess he felt safest under there.
 
Sounds like Mooch is settling in more and more. I love that he gets up on his hind legs to investigate what is behind the curtain. :cool:

I had to smile when you wrote about him getting under your headboard. Cappi (BigMac's sister) used to do that when she was smaller. She went under the bed when I was sleeping and if my hands were under the pillows or slightly edging toward the headboard, she would stick her little paw up between the mattress and headboard to play. It scared the crap out of me every time. :shock: BigMac would be on top of the bed and he'd try to play from above. It was hard to get any rest when they did that. :lol:

Maybe some kitties like being near us but prefer to be safe in the dark under the bed. I'm sure Mooch knows you are right there and feels secure.
 
I've let him explore the house again, since I put the other 3 outside for a bit. I would like him to be more comfortable with all his surroundings before allowing him full run of the place. I let them see one another through the patio doors. Leahpold hissed at him. I expect that for a while though.
 
Ah, my dad's cat did that when she was staying with us and we were cat sitting. My dh (ex) thought she got out of a hole in the screen door because he couldn't find her anywhere in the apt. I came home from work and looked too, then we went all over the neighborhood looking for her. I can't remember when we found her, but I saw her either coming out from the box spring or going back into it. They're sneaky little devils, that's for sure.

BTW, I think you want "dust cover" fabric to recover the hole under the box spring. Cheese cloth is like gauze and rips really easily. Dust cover fabric is what you use to finish off an upholstered furniture bottom. It looks just like non-woven, non-fusible interfacing (if you sew at all, you know what I mean).
http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/up...es-white-elite-upholstery-dust-cover-200-.htm
Or frost blanket fabric.
 
Glad to hear Mooch is settlings in well and had a good glucose level this morning. Did he eat the Fancy Feast when you prepared it like I suggested? He really is Mr Picky :-) But all the smooches more than make up for that!
 
Sheila & Beau & Jeddie said:
BTW, I think you want "dust cover" fabric to recover the hole under the box spring. Cheese cloth is like gauze and rips really easily. Dust cover fabric is what you use to finish off an upholstered furniture bottom. It looks just like non-woven, non-fusible interfacing (if you sew at all, you know what I mean).
http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/up...es-white-elite-upholstery-dust-cover-200-.htm
Or frost blanket fabric.
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Thank you so much for giving me the name of the stuff! "Cheese cloth" was the closest name I could think of for it :lol: Now I won't feel stupid going in the fabric store to get it!

Mooch is now exploring the house on his own, with the other cats cautiously avoiding him! He walks around mewing, right now he's lying in the catroom window which has a lot of birds because of the hedge in front. All 3 cats still hiss at him, but are calm about it and nothing has erupted. He lays down like a dog when they hiss if they're close, so he is non-confrontational, which is so awesome. Tigget is the only one who could be a threat. She doesn't like the other 2 either, so it's doubtful she will ever like him. I would like to say that a 7 lb 20 yr old isn't much of a threat, but that would not be correct. The fur flies when she & Leahpold go at one another.

The great news this morning is that he ate raw food I left for him overnight and he was so good all night. He only woke me up a couple times. He ate all the raw food, but won't eat what I gave him this morning. I suspect he just has to get really hungry. I am going to try him on a timed feeder today.

He also drinks water more than I expected. Lisa, did you notice he drank water occasionally? The condition of his coat is pretty good - in some older pictures his hair has that spiky look of dehydration. He may just be a water drinker. His pee balls are normal and compact.

He loves looking out windows and goes immediately to my patio door, so I can tell he loves the outside. There is no going outside for a while though. He has to understand this is his home before I let him out. It's always very nerve-wracking to let a cat out the first time. I will put a harness on him.

I am in the process of changing his name. I love "Mooch's smooches," but the name "Mooch" not so much. So he will eventually be Murrlin. Seems ridiculously fitting that I have another wizard cat.

Lisa asked me to link to her post about his housemate, Sparkle, who needs a home too. Now there's a cool cat name! http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=71818 I wish I could take her, hopefully someone in CA can give her a good home.
 
He was still drinking some water with his wet food but not huge amounts. I wonder if he just got a bit dehydrated on the flight as the air always has such low humidity? When I first got him his sugars were high and he was dehydrated and drinking/peeing loads and his fur was a bit matted.

Watch out with the eating. I kept getting excited because he liked something and then he'd turn his nose up the next time. I'll keep my fingers crossed he'll keep eating the raw for you. Is he eating thd Fancy Feast for you? He had got pretty enthusiastic about it as long as you prepared it how he likes it.

Murrlin is a cute name :-D
 
Mooch said:
He was still drinking some water with his wet food but not huge amounts. I wonder if he just got a bit dehydrated on the flight as the air always has such low humidity? When I first got him his sugars were high and he was dehydrated and drinking/peeing loads and his fur was a bit matted.

Watch out with the eating. I kept getting excited because he liked something and then he'd turn his nose up the next time. I'll keep my fingers crossed he'll keep eating the raw for you. Is he eating thd Fancy Feast for you? He had got pretty enthusiastic about it as long as you prepared it how he likes it.

Murrlin is a cute name :-D
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I don't know if the FF I have has enough liquid in it. I forked it out and drizzled the liquid that was left over the top. He just seems to lick at the food though. It's like he doesn't know he can bite it. I am considering stirring it up with more water to make it soupier. Didn't you try that too?

His food behavior may be because of the dry food still. He does not seem to be a very food driven cat, at least not with wet food. He does not sit and mew "Feed me!" like the others do. So while we think he should eat right when we put the food down, maybe that's just not his style. I was very surprised to see all the raw food gone this morning. He even licked the plate. And he was shut in with me so I know it was him. :smile:

That's a good point about the water drinking. I had forgotten that about air flight.
 
Let me send you a quick video showing how I prepped thd Fancy Feast. My cats thank for the extra can of food they'll get this morning! I originally didn't think he likes FF but I was preparing it "wrong". Because you say he is just licking it that sounds like what he did at first with me as he'd just go after the gravy. Once he had me trained to do it the Moochie approved way he got fairly enthusiastic and he'd eat about a quarter to a third of a can to start with and then nibble through the day/night.

I'd give him 2 cans in the morning and he'd usually eat just over half and then 2 cans in the evening and most would be gone by the morning.

He never did the feed me dance or any obvious begging for food but he gets extra smoochy when his food was due and he was hungry. So sweet.
 
Here's how I prepped thd FF. Hope this helps!

The other thing is that he preferred eating wet food off a flat plate, like in the video, rather than from a bowl but I think you knew that already.
 
Mooch-lin is eating raw food pretty well now. He wanted Tigget's leftovers last night. He is now roaming the house, but this morning he and Leahpold swatted at one another. Leahpold has a tendency to stare and the other cat gets defensive because of it, as it appeared to me that Mooch-lin struck first. This happens between Tigget & Leahpold all the time.

Here is a funny picture - he has pantaloons! One is grey, one is white. His name should have been Jester.

CIMG2304.jpg
 
I'm sure Marcy wanted a photo of his butt! Impressive pantaloons though. Ariel has ones like that. Poor Jeddie's have always been bedraggled because of his curly fur on his "undercarriage".

Good news about the raw. Is he still drinking a lot of water?
 
Sheila & Beau & Jeddie said:
I'm sure Marcy wanted a photo of his butt! Impressive pantaloons though. Ariel has ones like that. Poor Jeddie's have always been bedraggled because of his curly fur on his "undercarriage".

Good news about the raw. Is he still drinking a lot of water?
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Marcy wanted a photo, she didn't specify a photo of which end :razz:

Yes, he's still drinking water. He's not going to the box repeatedly though and pee balls appear normal. I don't know how long it would take for him to rehydrate after the plane trips. Lisa said he didn't drink water excessively. But it's been 3 days now.
 
Well, no provocation on Leahpold's part and Mooch-lin boxed her. In her defense she came up alongside him, but he knew she was there. Just a quick swat, but I was not expecting to see this after 2 days. He may be setting boundaries. Or may be asserting dominance already. I didn't scold him. Leahpold is still lying here, about 6' away from him. She's not the kind of cat who would go hide in a corner.

So I can see he may not be the shrinking violet I first thought he was.
 
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