Black cat in a hay barn

[Tiddlypom]

It’s blimmin cold and snowy here atm - it took 12 minutes to defrost the yard tap with a hair dryer this morning.

I was looking at cat caves online, with a view to buying one to give the black cat a snuggle area. Then I remembered that cats like boxes, and we happen to have a few lying around.

Think that I woke her up from a nap .



She is eating the Orijen cat kibble, but not with the same enthusiasm as she did with Go Cat, so I should be able to leave some in her bowl for her to pick at in between her twice daily wet food meals. That should be better for her daily food intake, I think.

 

[gallopingby]

Not good at attachments - a few months ago aged 8 months ish!

 

[Tiddlypom]

Another black cat update .

Her tum is, if anything, a bit smaller than it was so I don’t think that she was pregnant. She had become very settled in her new routine, but there‘s a bit of an upset now as another cat (not sure where it’s from) has started to muscle in to the hay barn and might well be stealing her food. She gets very twitchy when it’s around, so I don’t think it’s a pal of hers.

The interloper. I can’t get very close to it.


So I think I must stop feeding her in the hay barn, which is a nuisance as the hay barn is dog proof, and I had been able to safely leave her food down there.

I‘ll have to feed her in the horses’ feed room instead, and can guard it as I feed the neds so that the interloper doesn’t chase her off. Though I’ve not seen it round the yard yet.

I have cautiously started to introduce the small furry chasing resident JRT to the black cat, always on a long line. The JRT was woofing her head off through the garden fence at the cat, but I think this cat is used to dogs. She took up position on the stable yard and dares the dog to come close. The dog did come up for a rather bouncy sniff, and the black cat stayed put but growled and raked out with one front paw, sending the dog into retreat. I’m keeping this up for a few minutes daily for a while, so that the cat gets confidence and the dog becomes fully convinced that this cat is not for messing with.

’Cat? What cat?‘ Dog studiously ignores the cat! This is very promising.





Black cat is very happy to be picked up on occasion, it makes me even more sure that she has been a pet before, not just a yard cat.

Attempt #2 at worming did not go well. Cat was still very hungry first time when wormed and did eat the wormer eventually, but completely refused to this time.

Am thinking ahead that if the dog/cat introductions continue as well as they have, that we could try the black cat as a house cat. We’ll see .

 

[Marnie]

Another black cat update .

Her tum is, if anything, a bit smaller than it was so I don’t think that she was pregnant. She had become very settled in her new routine, but there‘s a bit of an upset now as another cat (not sure where it’s from) has started to muscle in to the hay barn and might well be stealing her food. She gets very twitchy when it’s around, so I don’t think it’s a pal of hers.

The interloper. I can’t get very close to it.

View attachment 67611
So I think I must stop feeding her in the hay barn, which is a nuisance as the hay barn is dog proof, and I had been able to safely leave her food down there.

I‘ll have to feed her in the horses’ feed room instead, and can guard it as I feed the neds so that the interloper doesn’t chase her off. Though I’ve not seen it round the yard yet.

I have cautiously started to introduce the small furry chasing resident JRT to the black cat, always on a long line. The JRT was woofing her head off through the garden fence at the cat, but I think this cat is used to dogs. She took up position on the stable yard and dares the dog to come close. The dog did come up for a rather bouncy sniff, and the black cat stayed put but growled and raked out with one front paw, sending the dog into retreat. I’m keeping this up for a few minutes daily for a while, so that the cat gets confidence and the dog becomes fully convinced that this cat is not for messing with.

’Cat? What cat? Dog studiously ignores the cat! This is very promising.

View attachment 67612

View attachment 67613

Black cat is very happy to be picked up on occasion, it makes me even more sure that she has been a pet before, not just a yard cat.

Attempt #2 at worming did not go well. Cat was still very hungry first time when wormed and did eat the wormer eventually, but completely refused to this time.

Am thinking ahead that if the dog/cat introductions continue as well as they have, that we could try the black cat as a house cat. We’ll see .

I've got 2 terriers who have always chased any cat off if they had the chance. I then adopted 2 cats about 18 months ago after my friend died and thought that I would have to keep them separate. This is what I came down to yesterday...

 

[Tiddlypom]

^^^^ Thanks for posting that, Marnie. That’s what I’m hoping for too, one day .

I’m sorry for the loss of your friend .

 

[Marnie]

^^^^ Thanks for posting that, Marnie. That’s what I’m hoping for too, one day .

I’m sorry for the loss of your friend .

Thank you.

It was amazing how quickly the cats and dogs got used to each other - Initially I kept a gate on my stairs that the cats could get over so they could go upstairs and get away from the dogs and a gate on my bedroom door so that at night when the dogs slept on my bed, the cats could come in but also get away from the dogs. I then started to leave the gates open when I was around and after about 3 months, I came in to my bedroom one day and found 2 dogs and 2 cats all asleep on the bed

 

[Branna]

Another black cat update .

Her tum is, if anything, a bit smaller than it was so I don’t think that she was pregnant. She had become very settled in her new routine, but there‘s a bit of an upset now as another cat (not sure where it’s from) has started to muscle in to the hay barn and might well be stealing her food. She gets very twitchy when it’s around, so I don’t think it’s a pal of hers.

The interloper. I can’t get very close to it.

View attachment 67611
So I think I must stop feeding her in the hay barn, which is a nuisance as the hay barn is dog proof, and I had been able to safely leave her food down there.

I‘ll have to feed her in the horses’ feed room instead, and can guard it as I feed the neds so that the interloper doesn’t chase her off. Though I’ve not seen it round the yard yet.

I just did a double take at your first photo, your interloper looks a lot like our other yard cat! She is a complete princess and just about tolerates our Black Cat, putting him in his place.

We have to have multiple sleeping spots set up as he follows her around every now and then to steal her bed. They have a caravan, a hay shed, and the living and separate horse compartment (straw store) of an old lorry between them and he still wants to sleep next to her! It's been a few years and they have the occasional spat but do seem to quite like each other really ?

 

[gallopingby]

Tiddlypom have you not taken your black cat for a vet visit? We thought ours were much younger than the vet, they are now coming up to a year old and are definitely changing from kittens to cats. they enjoyed the sunny weather we had last week and lazed about between spurts of play fights. Happy ? cat enjoyed assisting with tack cleaning last weekend and her friend Angry cat is getting less angry ? they’re still known as the feral cats though and def won’t get in the house ever!! But they’re very friendly cats and are wrecking my wooden loose boxes by climbing up the side onto the roof, hopefully they’ll dispatch some of the pigeons up there. My dogs are getting more tolerant of them and the youngest managed to turn a blind eye when they were sitting on the garden wall sun bathing she still barks from inside the house though.

 

[Tiddlypom]

No, still haven’t taken her to the vet, but would do straight away if she was ill or off colour. We are still trying to isolate as much as possible (Covid), but by mid June we should both be at least 2 weeks post jab#2, so will let up then and get her checked out and ask about jabs etc.

Mind you, had to have an OOH vet call out to one of the neds who was suddenly unwell on Sunday evening with a spiked temperature - all good again now.

Black cat loves being involved in whatever is going on in the yard.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I've got 2 terriers who have always chased any cat off if they had the chance. I then adopted 2 cats about 18 months ago after my friend died and thought that I would have to keep them separate. This is what I came down to yesterday...

View attachment 67614

I had the opposite situation and had to introduce a dog to my two cats. Dog was crated overnight and I had stairgates on the lounge and stairs to keep them separate and for the cats to have a safe space. All good.
One day in the first few weeks my black cat who normally snuggles with me every morning was nowhere to be seen. I went downstairs to let the dog out of the crate and out came the cat followed by the dog looking a bit sheepish. Somehow I’d managed to shut them in together ?. Fortunately all was well. However my ginger cat whom I adored moved out to live with an old lady he’d already been visiting and I think he just couldn’t stand the dog even though he’s good with the cats.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I decided to ramp up the dog/cat interactions, which have up to now been on lead.

The black cat decided that breakfast was late yesterday, and came into the garden and hopped onto the garden seat which is just outside the kitchen window to meow her disapproval at me . Luckily, the dog didn't see her.

Realising that if the dog sees the cat in the garden there might be much woofing and chasing which would set everything back, I brought forward the off lead introduction to today. Carefully orchestrated so that the dog was pottering around the stable yard ignoring the cat, and I unclipped her lead. All carried on smoothly.

Then the dog joined me at the muck heap, and the cat decided to walk across the field away from shelter, eep. The dog spotted the cat, raced over, but thankfully in a playful way, and zoomed round in circles. The cat sat down and glared at her.

I captured the end of the encounter on video. Cat stalks off back to the stables, but the dog doesn't follow.

Phew. We'd ramped up from beginners to advanced rather too quickly, but got away with it.

Then the cat sat around for the rest of the morning looking as smug as a cat can look.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I imagine that the initial race over to the cat affected your heart rate a bit, but it seems to have gone as good as it possibly could.

Fingers crossed you will soon be able to give us some more similarly positive updates like this one.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Another black cat update .

We have some history! I finally took her to the vets today for a microchip check, and she is indeed chipped, and by them. I indicated a possible very local address where I may have seen her around before, and the vet said that while due to GDPR she couldn't give details, she recommended that I go and knock on the door of that address!

I've had a very friendly chat with the gentleman of the house. She was a stray that they took in and then had a litter of kittens. She'll be at least 10. She's moved here from all of 200 yards away. He thinks she's been spayed.

He's been in ill health, and his wife is coming home tomorrow after a lengthy stay in a care home, so no decisions made on what to do long term, but he's very happy that the cat stays here with us looking after for now. I'd like to take on full ownership and responsibilty if they decide that's best, but that is down to them.

No proper health check done yet as she isn't mine to authorise the vet check, but she seems to still be in good health.

Quite a lot of cat loading practice went on before the vet trip, I feed her in the travel cage. She was good, but rather vocal.



She helps me poo pick the field.



The dog would have been gutted if her feline friend had not come back.



Oh, and her official name is both Little Bear and also Church.

 

[Berpisc]

Another black cat update .

We have some history! I finally took her to the vets today for a microchip check, and she is indeed chipped, and by them. I indicated a possible very local address where I may have seen her around before, and the vet said that while due to GDPR she couldn't give details, she recommended that I go and knock on the door of that address!

I've had a very friendly chat with the gentleman of the house. She was a stray that they took in and then had a litter of kittens. She'll be at least 10. She's moved here from all of 200 yards away. He thinks she's been spayed.

He's been in ill health, and his wife is coming home tomorrow after a lengthy stay in a care home, so no decisions made on what to do long term, but he's very happy that the cat stays here with us looking after for now. I'd like to take on full ownership and responsibilty if they decide that's best, but that is down to them.

No proper health check done yet as she isn't mine to authorise the vet check, but she seems to still be in good health.

Quite a lot of cat loading practice went on before the vet trip, I feed her in the travel cage. She was good, but rather vocal.

View attachment 73281

She helps me poo pick the field.

View attachment 73282

The dog would have been gutted if her feline friend had not come back.

View attachment 73283

Oh, and her official name is both Little Bear and also Church.

She is lovely! I hope a satisfactory conclusion is reached re her care. Can I just point out that she is not helping, she is supervising ?.

 

[Emilieu]

I have just discovered this thread and so enjoyed reading about how this lovely little cat chose and trained you. What a clever girl.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Nice to hear that you've finally found out who she is. Thing is, I think it's pretty clear that she's decided where she wants to live, so even if you tried to return her, next time they let her go out, I think she would just try to find her way back.
Fingers crossed her owners decides to let you keep her.

 

[Rumtytum]

As any and every human involved in a cat’s life is always ‘staff’ I rather think she decides who is going to be her servant ?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Can I just point out that she is not helping, she is supervising ?.

Haha, that is indeed correct !

Going back to the title of this thread, it is not only in hay barns where it is difficult to spot black cats, it is also in the interior of cars with black upholstery! This is OH's car, I'm training him to frisk it for stowaway cats after each use in case he accidentally shuts her in there.

That is the dog's travel cage, I think that Black Cat thought she ought to be coming too.



She's a bit easier to spot if she tries to hitch a lift in the motorhome.



ETA And extra thanks to the vets. There was no charge this morning for the microchip check, though all the phoning round took them a fair old while.

 

[brighteyes]

I have just discovered this thread and so enjoyed reading about how this lovely little cat chose and trained you. What a clever girl.

Me too - isn't it heartwarming?

Another black cat update .

We have some history! I finally took her to the vets today for a microchip check, and she is indeed chipped, and by them. I indicated a possible very local address where I may have seen her around before, and the vet said that while due to GDPR she couldn't give details, she recommended that I go and knock on the door of that address!

I've had a very friendly chat with the gentleman of the house. She was a stray that they took in and then had a litter of kittens. She'll be at least 10. She's moved here from all of 200 yards away. He thinks she's been spayed.

He's been in ill health, and his wife is coming home tomorrow after a lengthy stay in a care home, so no decisions made on what to do long term, but he's very happy that the cat stays here with us looking after for now. I'd like to take on full ownership and responsibilty if they decide that's best, but that is down to them.

No proper health check done yet as she isn't mine to authorise the vet check, but she seems to still be in good health.

Quite a lot of cat loading practice went on before the vet trip, I feed her in the travel cage. She was good, but rather vocal.

View attachment 73281

She helps me poo pick the field.

View attachment 73282

The dog would have been gutted if her feline friend had not come back.

View attachment 73283

Oh, and her official name is both Little Bear and also Church.

Don't know where to start as not seen the thread before - but how absolutely lovely - I love your JRT, too. I think an agreement (or several, really) has been reached and I would be chuffed to bits how it has worked out.
What an unusual name for a cat - 'Church'.