Will my pet wood pigeon survive the winter?

Mista h,

Glad to hear he found the way out of the air duct!

The trick now, is too give him a quiet and safe place to hideaway for the time he needs to work out his situation to come around to being more sociable. Every cat is different, and rescue cats have histories that can differ greatly.

Once he’s established his ‘safe place’ he will gradually become more confident but it’s a case of he needs time to feel secure before getting to know you.

Don’t worry about his reaction of retreating behind the sofa which seems to be his chosen HQ for now, it’s very early days yet, and generally a cat that takes a long and careful time to bond can eventually become an extra faithful friend.

Do use one of your old sweaters [unwashed] with some of your scent on it within his safe-place so he will learn to associate safe with your scent, that means just a slight wear sweat by the way - not deodorant, and it doesn’t have to be pongy!  

Debs and Fat Cat thank you both for your replies,much appreciated.

I will keep you posted if I may on how things go.

Mista h

Mista H -

Debs gave some great advice.  All I can add is:  be patient.  Our cat Smudge was a rescue who had a pretty tough life -- the smallest of a litter of six found at a construction site with the mother dead. Taken in by a foster mom, she escaped and lived on her own for two years before winding up under our deck about ten winters ago. Once we caught her, and brought her in from the cold, it took almost two years for her to become sociable.

I may not have thought so at the time, but now I realize it was worth the wait. Best of luck with Cooper.

Hook

Thanks Hook........2 years to settle in.Jesus.

Fatcat

how is Cyril this morning. Presume you and your good lady take it in turns to feed him !!!

Mista h

This little fella nearly made me late for my train this afternoon. My wife called me to the kitchen where the bird was sitting on the floor. He wasn't distressed or injured, just a fledgling that had lost his way. He (or she) came onto my hand and my wife took the picture. I then tried to put him into a hedge but he gripped my finger for dear life. I eventually managed to coax him onto a branch and he immediately flew back onto my arm. My next attempt was successful and I was able to run to catch my train. I hope he makes it and doesn't meet up with a bird murdering feline. 

A blue tit, looking very chirpy too, what a fantastic picture!

Debs

Great picture your wife has taken steve.

Do like the shirt,bet it sent all the nurses at your hospital wild.

+1 with Debs, what a fantastic picture Steve.

Graham.

It’s obviously the rare ‘Singing the Blues Tit’ attracted to nuts with a good supply of blues music 

Debs

Now you just need to make sure mista h's new cat doesn't find it!

Some great comments here but that is priceless Debs. LOL. 

Are you enjoying you new freedom? 

Steve

OMG that is sooo cute.

I like the little bird as well.

Oh yes!, enjoying my new freedom thanks very much,

though at the mo’ it only feels like leave from work [...until the reality checks].

But i’m keeping busy and will get busier when my body-clock fully adjusts to getting up in the morning and going to bed at night - looking forward to that after 25+ years of night-shift!

Debs

Kevin

I think its also available in Lime green,purple and Yellow to special order.

Mista h

Debs

Not up to speed on this,but have you just joined our retirement club??

If your anything like me you will soon find yourself so busy,you will wonder how you ever managed to fit work in.

Mista h

Steve don't listen to them a great shirt, do you have the table cloth to match? 

Only real men can wear pink.   Trust me to be wearing the only pink shirt I own. Looks good with a navy jacket.

Debs/fat Cat

One more question if I may. We are leaving Cooper alone all thru the day. He come out from behind the sofa when we have gone to bed,eats,drinks and uses his litter tray,then its back behind the sofa again.

My question is how much longer do I let this go on for? a day,a week,or a month? before I get him out from his hiding place.

Thanks again to you both

Mista h

Mista h,

Leave him be, until he decides to come out and get to know you.

It may take a day, week, month or more, who knows?, but he won’t stay behind the sofa forever.

A little cat treat a couple of times a day may help soften him up [such as one little cat food biscuit passed to him by hand].

Another thing that may help is; if you or misses h were to sit on the floor near him [but not touch him or invade his space] and read to him in a softly spoken voice. Sounds a bit bonkers I know, but a friendly human voice communicating with them can calm them and make them feel relaxed and more trusting.

I suspect what Cooper has experienced with humans, is unreliability and sudden loss of past carers [for whatever reasons] so it’s what he has come to expect. In other words he may not want to bond a friendship in a hurry - in fear of more hurt from getting rejected and dumped all over again.

One of my past re-home cats [going back over 10 years] took to living under a bed in the spare bedroom. She came with a sister, both 9 years old been living with the same couple since kittens, they were dumped into the Blue Cross Centre when their carer couple stated having babies, and didn’t want the cats around anymore.

Anyway, Molly was fine and settled in quick, but sister Freya was angry and volatile, came out to feed and use the litter-tray and to return to her HQ under the bed.

I put a cat basket and a blanket under the bed for her to snuggle up in, but after a few weeks I took to reading her a chapter of a Harry Potter book every day, by chapter 3 she was sitting a few feet away from me watching and listening, by chapter 6 she was a lot nearer, by chapter 10 she was sitting right next to me, a few days later at a point half way though chapter 13 she put a paw on my leg and said, “i didn't quite get that, could you repeat that last paragraph please”…

Hi Mista h,

I have been made redundant, although this was voluntary the options were very grim - transferring to a neighbouring office which would mean a 2 to 3 hour car-commute every day to get there and back, totally unreasonable imo.

There was a show of paws, and the vote was unanimous.

I now work full time at home as a Domestic Feline Servant.

Debs

Mista h,

As Deds said leave him in his hiding place. It's no skin off your nose if he sleeps under or on the sofa, eats at night or during the day.

Treats is a good idea, my suggestion would be pork scratchings. Our present cat goes into a frenzy if I open a packet. Don't forget to lick the salt off and break into small pieces.

You may have more luck enticing him out if there is only one person in the room, it's probably easier for one person to gain his trust than two. Women are better at this kind of thing, I'd suggest you keep out of the way, spend the next 5 nights at the pub not forgetting the pork scratching while your there.

Winky joked that maybe he doesn't like you. He may be right. My in laws cat is very very scarred of men. If a man enters the house, it hides, then bolts out of the house at the first opportunity. They've had the stray for over 2 years and I haven't managed to stroke it yet.

Some cats can't resist sitting in a box, try putting a shallow box upright or deep box on it's side in a corner.

Is it possible Cooper can smell the scent of Mogs. If so, Cooper may think he's in another cats territory. For all he knows there may be a huge cat lurking behind the living room door waiting to pounce on him.

Thanks for your replies Debs/Fat cat. Just gonna leave things as is for now.

Wonder what shirt Steve will be wearing today!!

Photo please Mrs Steve

Mista H

It's the lime green shirt today. Unfortunately mummy Blue Tit turned up this morning. She doesn't look very pleased. Sadly, I don't suppose Steve'll be posting on here for a while.

LOL

Graham

Brilliant Tony. You have too much time on your hands.  I do have a light blue version of that shirt but not that colour green. I'll have to see if Lewins have one. Mrs Blue Tit was very pleased how well her little offspring was cared for and gave me a little peck on the cheek.