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Oh, God bless you Lola4 and StarlaJane for your encouragement! And yes, I do have a gift with animals and have worked hard for 15 years so the feral cats will trust me, plus all the wild animals here. Lola4, you are right! The word is out about me, and the animals here say......go to the Garden of Eden! It is so very humbling and it is an HONOR that these animals, who otherwise shy away from humans, allow me to get near them. Even the birds follow me when I go out to feed them....and they talk to me as well. Yes, I also do speak with the animals. The animals and birds are my life and my driving force to find a better way to heal the sick and injured!!!!
I do NOT appreciate the negative responses I have received here. I am a very serious healer, and if you cannot say anything that you think might help me in figuring out my "mysteries" here, I would appreciate it if you keep those comments to yourself. I did not come here to do war, but came here looking for real answers to real dilemmas I am experiencing with two of my precious animals. If you want to know the truth, even my vet is baffled regarding the two cats that I have posted here, writing about. He is as clueless right now as I am. And for the last piece of information about all this, I do have a background in medicine, and have educated myself in alernative methods of healing such as acupressure for cats, among others. I no longer work outside of my home, for I am putting in up to 15 hour days caring for the sick here, and doing constant research....and of course all the cleanup work involved in taking care of animals. My time is precious, and I don't have it to do battle here. Please, I am looking for real answers to help improve the health of my animals.
Thank you for those who have shown your support. My heart is touched!
Have you considered a Vision problem?? Years ago I had a male cat that had some genetic abnormalities...among them were problems with his eyesight.
He always walked lower to the ground and very cautiously even though he had been in the same house his entire life. He wasn't totally blind, because he could see bright lights and he knew when something was very close to him. (I think he could see things as large shadows)
He was never very *bouncy* and playful like his littermates, but he loved to be cuddled and petted.
Last night, I spotted Whiskers, Whispers' biological brother below the window in the room Whisper is staying in. Without thinking twice about it, I quickly and gently scooped him up in my arms, though he protested. I brought him to the window and kept saying....."Look! There is your brother. See? He is OK!"
Ever since this moment, Whispers is coming out of hiding more often (without me seeing him though). Every time I open the door before getting to his room, I hear the birdie go off, one of the toys he has with him in his hiding place. AHA! Caught you! AND, he is more open today, and wanting to play with me. And I swear that I actually caught a glimpse of a smile in his eyes!
The most exciting news of all, when I sang him my good-night song that I sing every night to him, and to all of my cats, my hands were in his space. He very regally backed up and stood up STRAIGHT on his front legs, looking at me and saying....."Hey! You are in my space!" I immediately complied and backed away. BUT, to see him standing! Holy cow!
I think he has been in freeze mode this entire time, and really upset that his brother wasn't with him. He's unfreezing! He still will not eat until I am totally out of the room, which again is a feral trait, but boy, I just don't know. His brother acts feral, but again.....if they both were abused and dropped off at the barn next door, he would act like a feral.....scared stiff.
Just wanted you who have supported me to know the good news. When a break through like this happens, I burst out singing! Oh what a feeling!
I've also been picking Whispers up to watch the birdies outside in my feeders. The last time I held him today, he finally relaxed and he knew I would neither drop him, nor hurt him. Success again.
LadyRobin, no I had not thought of that possibility at all! That would explain why he was so near death to begin with, and why he keeps so low to the ground. THANK YOU! I will mention this possibility to my vet when I take Whiskers in.
I am making progress with this beautiful cat. I've been picking him up, playing with him, surrounding him with stuffed toys that I believe he thinks are his friends. Today, for the first time, he extended all four legs while laying on his side. I am sitting right now as I am typing this in the room he is in, hoping he will eat while I am here. NOPE. That's my cue....I am leaving the room right now so he will eat.....K! In my bedroom...
I am so excited about this, because I was so worried he had something wrong with his legs. AND, he is actually beginning to talk to me! (telepathy) Wow! He is feral! BUT! His mentality is a kitten and he has no clue how to hunt or to make it on his own. I am estimating he is about 1 year old, but his mind and the way he communicates is that of a very small kitten. In fact, he has communicated that he wants me to sleep with him, and stay with him more because he loves to cuddle. And that is exactly what he is doing right now with his stuff animals. He is also treating me as his mom! I am so blown away by all that has transpired in the past two days, I have tears in my eyes. If this cat had stayed outdoors, he would have been one of those who did not survive. I still cannot figure out how he stayed alive as long as he did. Amazing tenacity this one has!
When these ill animals end up here, they usually have special needs, and this one is no different. Oh, you should hear him talk, soft so soft and in a very high tone.....like a small kitten. When he plays with the toys or my finger now, he is so gentle, that he just pats things and never extending his claws. Wow! Again! Tonight, when I picked him up to look out the window (he hasn't figured out how to get up to the window ledge), I was so touched, I started to cry. He kept pushing up on my chin with the top of his head, and rubbing along my face, rubbing, and head-bumping me, and then looking up with such tenderness in his eyes. Oh. This is almost too much to even assimilate in my mind. He has accepted me as one of his own! How unbelievable is that?
I wanted to tell all of you the miracles that are unfolding right now! Someone pinch me for I myself cannot believe this! I don't understand what is happening here, but more and more now these animals talk to me to the point I think I am loosing it.
Now.....if I can communicate with animals......I MUST make it clear to that red fox to leave this sweet cat's brother alone, who is the feral I am feeding and caring for right now. For those of you who did not read my other post, a red fox almost got my Whiskers (Whispers' biological brother), who was smart enough to run in the open. AND I opened the window and yelled as loud as I could. That fox heard my voice and boy did he turn and run in the opposite direction! Now for him to stay away!!!
I just hit myself over the head with this one, for it has been staring at me in the face for days! My Whispers is just like my Charlie, who is now 3 years old, and who never came out of the nest! I rescued Charlie last March when his biological mom was killed by a car, for I knew he would never survive outside.
Anyways, Whispers has made himself a nest, and has every single little soft toy, ball, and even a hair brush that I have used to brush him with, in the nest with him. All the larger stuffed animals that I have with him, he is pretending they are his siblings, and that is why he is snuggling with them for security. His mind is still nest orientated, not realizing that he is older than he thinks he is.
Oh man! For this to be happening twice is mind boggling. Charlie is the sweetest, gentlest male cat I have, and now Whispers is right up there with him. Charlie just now is coming out of hiding and not running from me, even though he has known me from outdoors all of his life. With the help of flower essences, essential oils, the best frozen raw food that I call "mousies", and a ton of love and patience, he has adapted. If Charlie can do it, who was originally a wild barn cat for three years, Whispers can adapt as well. There is no way I am releasing him now that I know the truth. That red fox will be on him in moments.
I hope you who read this understand the odds of this happening. Not only did he weigh in at 4.8 upon rescue, but he was frozen as well. Today he is up to 11.2 pounds and still growing. How did he survive so long outside???? And how did he know to come to me? Sorry if this is such a long post, but I am mind boggled at the impossibilities of this precious cat being alive, given the facts that are beginning to come in! WOW!
I've had ferals in and out of my life for about 10 years and in my experience, wild animals do go into a freeze mode. From what I've observed with animals (horses, dogs, cats, etc), is that with wild animals there is an aspect to their personality that seems to be in hibernation/undeveloped if they haven't had interaction with humans. it is not at all uncommon for wild animals to freeze when their own logic tells them there is no escape.
I once saw a Discovery programme where the reporter climbed into the den with a wolf and she absolutely froze. I think her thinking went this way: if he could get past the alpha male wolf and the rest of the pack, there is nothing I can do except to try and make myself as invisible as possible.
It is also possible that an animal who had trouble surviving in the wild, acts kind of like people who have been deprived, for example, of food and therefore hoard it, even though 'common sense' tells them that there is plenty of food. A lot of older people who went through the Great Depression can't bring themselves to throw anything away. No reason that I can think of that cats can't think the same way. Even though you are feeding him/her, he remembers the lean times and wants to feel safe. And it takes some animals longer than others to trust.
I spent last spring and summer trying to get a female feral cat tamer since she had a bad ear infection - it looked like the inside of her one ear was coming out. I eventually got to the point where, with a lot of time, I was able to wrap her up in a towel so that she couldn't scratch or bite me, so that I could get an antibiotic down her throat.
I discovered I could not simply throw a towel over her like a net - catching her involved sitting outside with tasty food for hours, waiting for her to come to the food and then very gradually putting the towel over her. Once I had her claws wrapped in the towel, it only took a second to get the pill down her throat and I would let her go.
Unfortunately, a wild animal, presumably a fox got her even as her ear was improving and I then had to look for her kittens. I found them and they acted much differently - far more in the freeze mode when they were separated then they did when they were together, and had each other's panic for moral support. But it took months before they would show themselves to me - their response to the stress and unknown factor of my presence was to hide and be completely quiet.
They will tolerate my presence in the barn as I am the lady who brings them food, and they will even come when I call, and eat with my hand inches away from them but I have not been able to touch them since the day I caught them and put them in the barn. Forcing the issue before they are ready, simply amplifies their mistrust.
All the same, I do agree that there is always the possibility that the cat has some sort of infection that is causing it to be unusually lethargic. The weight gain you describe seems to negate that but only a vet can tell you for sure. Animals, like people, have unique personalities. Some are more outgoing than others, some are shyer than others, and some I do believe are prone to depression when they are without others of their clan.
Good luck.
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Hope revived
Another piece to the puzzle
