Ebony sunning himself!

Ebony is just now trying to get my attention by pulling on my chair and shoulder while I sit in front of the computer.  He also squeaks at me.  He is sitting at my left on the floor close to the chair, looking at me very intently with his golden eyes. 

Ebony squeaks, he doesn’t really meow.  More like an erk sound!  I was told I am a bit unusual because I talk to my animals and they answer. 

When he pulls on my shoulder and chair it means he wants me to pay attention to him, so I go sit on the living room rug and pet him or go and get catnip, or give him some more food.   Unfortunately, I hear my hubby moving around and Ebony has disappeared.  He is still a little skittish about our walking around but he has, in the last few months, become so brave in other ways!  I think we have had break through!!!

Ebony has slowly adapted to us and it has been two years since we adopted him and I would say that we are finally getting to a place where he is trusting us more and more and relaxing.  He is now 11 years old and it has taken awhile for him to adjust.  My other cats of long ago chose me.  Ebony was different, I chose him.  They were strays and came to me at various places I lived in and I took them in.  Ebony didn’t have that choice.  I know this because Puffer and Minx my two gray tabbies, White Kitty a short-haired white cat, Breezy my Calico and Ciara my German Shepherd all chose me.  The others were either lost and confused or kittens when they found me. 

Ebony’s personality is less brave. His former owners called him “Spook!”  I kept the Humane Societies name for him “Ebony.”  I thought it was more positive.  

Just the other day we gave him his flea meds.  This is usually a traumatic event for all of us. 

My hubby tried to pick him up once but he ran away and hid under the bed.  So he waited awhile and went into the bedroom and lay on the bed.  He knew that Ebony would come back up on the bed thinking he was going to go to sleep again.  When Ebony did that he picked him up and I gave the flea meds quickly.  Of course, Ebony disappeared for the morning but this time he went to the head of the bed and later he did come out and spent time on the chairs near on the other side of the dining room table where he was protected.  If I tried to go near him he would be able to get away.  I was very surprised to find him there next to the heater?  I figured he would spend the day in the bedroom.  I didn’t bother him all day letting him have his time and waiting for him to come to me. 

We also gave Sneakers his flea meds and he was just fine and continued on like nothing had happened.   I wanted to see if they would cuddle and they did, even with the smell of the flea meds.

Later that night Ebony had a petting session with my hubby on the living room rug.  That was Good News!  The smell of the medicine goes away after 24 hours according to the vet.  

The next day Ebony was asking for food and walking with me to his breakfast and even later in the morning he came out and had some catnip and let me pet him.   He is asking for food, love and attention more and more.  This is so exciting!

This behavior is a far cry from when he first came to be with us.  I held him down on the floor while hubby gave the meds and he would not come near us for weeks and I was just sick with feeling terrible that I was a bit too overbearing and miscalculated terribly.  The vet told me he would come around.   That happened a couple of months after he was first with us.  From that point on I have been very slow and gentle and with Ebony and I never scold him or chase him. 

Other things we have noticed is he was playing with this large twisty tie and it was fun to see him jump and romp. I know there is an awesome cat in him! This went on for at least 3-4 minutes, very unusual behavior.  These two cats don’t play unless you initiate it??  He turned and looked at me very intently and then he stopped.  It is like he is expecting to be punished.  So I guess next time I just look out of the corner of my eye and try not to giggle. 

My hubby reported that Ebony started to lick his hair, forehead and then nibbled on his forehead and noise a little, while he lay on the living room floor and they had their petting session a week ago.   When a cat starts to wash you it means you have been accepted.   He licked me one time very briefly.  He puts his nose to my hand and now looks at me directly instead of being closed down. 

Lots of patience is the key!  I am looking forward to what other behaviors will enfold with Ebony!

http://becomingcliche.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/im-making-a-wish/

Here is a link to a video about over the top dog lovers.  Now Sneakers and Ebony have known dogs in their past lives so they thought this was so much fun and since the featured star is a member of their extended family they felt it was a great idea to share the link here. 

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b78316758e/doggie-me

Have a great Christmas and New Years!

Cat Tree Christmas Style!

Ebony and Sneakers APPROVED!

The cat tree that is decorated in the picture, was donated to Ebony and Sneaker’s human’s grand niece in 2011.

http://littlemiao.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/bow-ties-for-my-miaolings/

Happy Holidays and New Year from Ebony & Sneakers

HO HO HO!

The Seattle Humane Society has a program to give food to the animals. They have a Pet Food Bank:   http://www.seattlehumane.org/services/services/lowincome-senior

Grocery stores have bins that you can place pet food into.  This is a little more convenient and easy to do.  Just buy a little extra that day and then find the bin before you leave. 

On the right of this blog is a list of links titled: Ebony & Sneakers Favorites.  You will See Alley Cat Allies, Feral Cat Project, World Wildlife.  Just click on the link and it will take you to that organization. 

I have added Tiger Haven, Shambala, Turpentine Creek, Panther Ridge as possibilities.  Take the time to investigate the charity or organization before you give.  Be prepared to then get a lot of mail afterwords, unless they tell you they don’t sell your name?

For evaluating the quality of an organization or charity try this link to Charity Navigator.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=628

We had to adopt them both as a pair because they were bonded and they were 10 years old.  It is believed that after 8 years a cat doesn’t learn as easily.  I think they have done well for two older cats. They were raised as indoor cats which has presented challenges for me.  I was very use to cats that were street smart, played a lot, were adventuresome in and out doors. 

It is my belief that maybe the cat parents of Ebony and Sneakers didn’t know the streets?  It is also my belief that Ebony and Sneakers behavior was restricted severly.  Inspite of that they are doing well and healthy and that is what matters most.

Observing Ebony:

Ebony had Giardia when we first brought him home and it took awhile for him to recover.  Eventually his fur became soft not oily.  Apparently 4 months at the Humane Society had taken their toll on him and it took awhile for us to get him back to better health and that slowed down the process of his learning to trust us.  When he doesn’t feel well he hides out and won’t let us get near. 

Ebony

Ebony is getting braver and braver but still has problems with us walking around the house. He thinks he has to run and hide.  His behavior is bolder in the mornings but in the evenings he is less so.  He sleeps in the bedroom or on the Futon most of the day and is not as active as I would like. I had hoped that going outside might reach his “inner kitten,” but he has not taken to it and prefers to stay in the house.  I actually did lock him out once not realizing he was outside.  Fortunately I figured it out quickly so he was only out in the backyard a few minutes.

I learned that Ebony can’t eat fish and it seems to be in almost all cat food.  If he does he has bathroom issues.  I had been feeding it to him and when I took fish away from him he started to respond.  I was also giving him probiotics which I do periodically now.  

Ebony doesn’t do change well and I was on several very long and short trips this last year and we had been cuddling on the futon but after those two trips he isn’t doing that anymore.   He comes up to me by the Futon but then I move and he panics.  Late night he cuddled with me for about 10 minutes on the futon so there is hope.  We do have cuddle fests on the living room floor and that keeps the bond going. 

He is responding to catnip and asks for it now.  At first he wasn’t interested.  I think he was depressed.  He eats it now which gives him some greens since he will not chew the wheat grass I bring home. 

Because he doesn’t like the idea of being trapped in the kitchen I feed him in the living room.  Lately he has been coming into the kitchen and walks behind me while I prepare his food and may even go into the utility room where the kitty litter is.  This is a big thing! I do have to move carefully in the kitchen while he is there so as not to scare him.  Once the food is prepared we  walk together me slightly behind him to his feeding spot in the living room from the kitchen.  He asks me for food by sitting in the living room or whacking me at my office chair by reaching up and touching me.  It does scare me sometimes.  Or he sits by the chair and waits!

As I write this I realize he has come a long way from the cat I brought home.  He is communicating his wants to me and my hubby by meowing or whacking us. 

I was concerned in the beginning and thought that he couldn’t hear because he wasn’t responding to us but I think he can.  My hubby and I think his spirit was broken by his former owners, which makes me more determined to encourage him in anyway to be more bold.  He is a very powerful cat so more physical behavior would help a great deal.

There is hope however, I caught Ebony playing with a twisty tie that was on the floor the other day.  He was jumping around, whacking it and just having a few minutes of great fun all by himself.  This is a very big milestone!   Now if I look and watch him he stops and goes away.  So we are learning to ignore him yet try to notice out of the corner of our eye what he is doing.  

I have noticed that Sneakers and Ebony are playing a little more with each other.  Sneakers will take a whack at Ebony and was playing with his tail the other day?  These two cats don’t play with each other or seem to play by themselves very rarely.  So any form of play is encouraged.

Is Ebony happy?  Hard to say.  My hubby is putting in more time with Ebony and he is responding.  Ebony goes into his office and meows for attention.  I am trying to get Ebony use to me from different heights by sitting in my office chair and petting him while he is on the floor.  I try hugging him on the floor to get him use to being held. 

At the moment he is on the floor at my right shoulder waiting patiently for me to play with him.  I think I best take that opportunity.  He wanted some catnip!

Returning to this post after spending time with Ebony and Sneakers…

Observations of Sneakers:

Sneakers was great right from the beginning and took to us.  He had to learn trust as well but he is so amiable and he just loved my petting and giving him smoogles (hugs).  I occasionally pick him up in the bathroom and hold him on my lap.  He wants down like any cat but once down he comes back for more!!!!  We do a lot of bonding in the bathroom.  HA!

Experimenting with grass!

He ended up having surgery on a lump on his back about six months after we had adopted him.  I posted about the surgery on this blog.  He has recovered very well.  So far the lump has not returned. 

Sneakers is one of the sweetest cats I have ever known.  He will come up to me on the Futon and gently reach with his paw.  He wants to get closer.  Or he will line up his paws perfectly a little ways away from me and lay down.  I pat my lap to let him know he can come closer.  He does.  My other cats would just take possession of my lap, not Sneakers.  It is like he is asking for permission? Sigh!

He has taken to going outside into our backyard and he is doing very well.  He will never be an outdoor cat like my other cats for he is too naive.  I check on him regularly to make sure he is okay.  So far no close encounters with raccoons or other neighborhood cats.  He actually comes when I call him.  He is very curious about the front door and front yard.  I do not think it is wise to teach him that.  It is too dangerous for him we do not have a fence in the front yard and that is where the scarry things are like cars and people and dogs.  It is probably time to check the backyard for escape routes just to be safe!

Sneakers loves to cuddle between us in the bed in the mornings. Sometimes he likes to go under the covers by my legs.  He wants to know what is I am cooking and then see what we are eating.  He isn’t like Minx who would knock the food out of my hand.  Sneakers waits patiently for us to share.  He seems to like pork which is a little odd, not fish or other foods but pork.  He really like some sausage we had which I thought might be too spicy for him?  He cuddles with me on the Futon at night while I watch TV.  He likes to hit his fuzzy ball around the living room on occasion.  Made my hubby laugh the other day.  He has taken to running around the house when he wants me to open the backdoor, HA!  He gets into his wheat grass and really likes it tossing the whole carton around. 

He likes my hubby who gives great chin rubs.  He will sit on his lap on occasion and even let him lift him up onto the rocking chair with him.  He is letting my hubby cut his fur mats which shows that he is learning to trust us. He lets us know when it we pull to hard.  He has very fine hair and we have to be diligent with the brushing. 

He is getting better with me at my full height reaching down and petting him and not shying away in the kitchen.  I have to knell on the floor to reassure him but now he is getting better.  My hubby is working on it as well. 

Sneakers walks around with his tail up 99% of the time.  He is a happy cat.

Now that the first two years have come and gone I am looking forward to more wonderful adventures with my two Gentlemen Cats!

As you know I have blogged about how to recover an existing cat gym on several occasions on this blog.  It is a pet project of mine to help others save some money.

I have recovered the cat gym that I purchased Ebony and Sneakers 3 times and about to do the 4th.  It takes about 2 hours to do this and lasts about 3 months with two very large cats.  They aren’t using the other furniture so I am happy and willing to recover this cat gym which costed $139.00 initially.  I have no intention of buy a cat gym every three months. 

This article I found is how to make a cat scratching post and I think that is great! 

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Cat-Scratching-Post

Since Ebony and Sneakers are both 12 pound cats they can knock things over and that concerns me with some of the models I see at the pet stores.  I did buy one thing that did that when Sneakers tried it and I took it back!

Here they are adding weight to the bottom base.  It might be a good idea to make it larger?  I would be very careful about using a staple gun and make sure the staples are set deeply in my tapping them with a hammer.  You don’t want kitty to get his claws caught.

 My sister has one that is slanted and leans against another straight post.  I was thinking of copying the design and make one of my own because I cannot find it anywhere. 

They even have a video of how to do it at wikiHow.  Just scroll to the bottom.  It is a riot.  The cat is making the scratching post!!!!

So check it out!

Sneakers and Ebony Enjoy the Bed!

Yesterday they had to shoot and kill most of the big dangerous animals because the man released them from their cages and then shot and killed himself. 

In my last post I talked about these exotic animal preserves and that they need our help, but mostly that you really needed expertise to care for or have these types of animals and not to take then on as a pet!!   This sounds like this man was keep these animals in his back yard?

 Then I saw this news in my iGoogle top stories and I was shocked and stunned.  Here are the links to these articles.

Yesterdays article:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-10-18/exotic-animals-loose-ohio/50821092/1

Todays article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576642850939091690.html

Apparently they tried to use tranquilizer guns but a big cat went berserk and they had to put it down anyway.  They were fighting the darkness.

Jack Hanna who is a well-known animal expert and with the Columbus zoo said it was a tragedy.  He talks about the issue of tranquilizers and their use on animals!

I have checked the category to the right of this post “Looking out for the animals!”  Apparently no one was!  49+ animals were killed.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/10/jack-hanna-on-zanesville-ohio-animals-we-would-have-had-carnage/

Ebony and Sneakers sleep peacefully in the bedroom today, safe and comfortable.  Sigh!

So organizations like “Shambala” take on these animals and care for them. 

Just recently another charity sent me a plea for support called “Tiger Haven.”  I know about this organization and have checked in on them occasionally.  They seem to have endless problems with the unhappy neighbors.

I am sure there more of these large animal sanctuaries that take care of these large exotic animals.  Somehow they made it to the United States and some are even born here because they belonged to a roadside circus?

Another big cat preserve is Panther Ridge Conservation Center.  Still another Turpentine Creek. 

This is just a 10 minute session on the internet and I find four of these sanctuaries in the United States!!! There are more!

Please do not acquire a large cat or animal as a pet.  They are not pets!  Ebony and Sneakers want you to know that they are dangerous and require special handling. 

Siegfried and Roy the Magicians who used large cats in their show are an example of the danger that is involved.  Roy defends his animal and says the animal was trying to save him for he had a stroke.  Maybe?  Both Roy and Siegfried have to spend hours with each big cat to keep the bond alive.  Since the accident they have turned their attention to conservation and preservation of these great animals and dolphins too.  You Tube has several videos on this attack. 

NOTE:  I am not suggesting that these charities or organizations are perfect.  This kind of care requires special knowledge and handling, please investigate them like any other charity organization before you give support. 

I did visit the Secret Garden of Roy and Siegfried and it was pretty amazing to see the big cats behind a wire mess and no glass to separate me from them.  One of them was pacing and spraying..yes he was spraying his urine and you could smell it, feel it and see it.

http://wordythirties.com/2011/09/14/a-cat-tree-grows-in-norman/

It can be done and she didn’t know what she was doing either.   Ebony and Sneakers approve!

A little Sunshine!

Ebony and Sneakers were searching the internet the other day and found this great group of images of their fellow wild cats, funny cats and more….So if you are feeling a little blue or sad clink on the link below and explore and just enjoy!

Cat images

Sneakers licking Ebony!