Lucas

[Gwenoakes]

I would imagine the move to another pen would totally unsettle him, LL.
He is a lovely looking cat though and those eyes look quite kind in the piccies.

[sandy]

Excellent idea with the blanket LL
have you ever seen my cat from hell? the gent who rocks at night but is a cat behavourist by day works magic with cats , his emphasis is much like yours, patience. He really is good unlike a dog person i wont mention patience, toys and food....

[Cheshire Chick]

He looks absolutely adorable and I am sure he is going to make a marvellous companion when he has settled in with you. Looks like he has really landed on his paws with a lovely lady like you to take him home and care for him. If he has been overlooked in the past, he must have been waiting for you - I believe in fate. Good luck with the new addition to your family. By the way, my mum's cat only ever eats biscuits and turns her nose up at any type of meat and one of my cats mainly only eats biscuits. She just licks the juice off any meat I give her. My older male cat has a special biscuits that I get from the vets - Royal Canin Urinary as a few years ago he couldn't go to the loo and the vet said it was normal cat biscuits that had blocked him up. Ironically it is these 'special' biscuits that keep him well. I would just take the advice from a vet and if he is happy and healthy on just biscuits there wont be a problem. A lovely start to 2020 for you and Lucas.

[lancashire lass]

Excellent idea with the blanket LL
his emphasis is much like yours, patience. He really is good ... patience, toys and food....

I think also reading cat body language is very important and most definitely comes with experience (and punctured skin, infection requiring antibiotics from bites and deep lacerations from the back feet) but yes, definitely patience, time and food will be needed first

[Freeranger]

He must be very confused and frightened by the whole experience of being where he is and peered at/pulled around by so many different people. I'm sure that your instincts will work just fine, and when it's only the two of you you'll work out the house rules and settle into a routine before you know it. A nice, slow, gentle introduction sounds just what he needs.
Let us ow how things progress.

[lancashire lass]

Lucas is now home I collected him from the animal shelter this morning and so far seems remarkably stress free. I had set up the far corner in the dining room with his bed, food and litter tray at the other end and cordoned it off with a sheet over chairs so that it looked like a wall so that he wouldn't feel overwhelmed by the rest of the house, and had the Feliway plug in switched on a few hours earlier. During the journey home, he curled up in the carrier and looked like he was sleeping and didn't seem in any way worried ... very different to what I was expecting.

Even when we got inside the house, I opened the carrier near his litter tray (recommended so he would at least know where it is) ... he cautiously peered out of the carrier then casually sauntered to his new igloo bed at the other end as though he knew it was there all the time. Of course I didn't see him for the rest of the day but I just left him alone while I watched some tv in the living room. By late afternoon I went to the kitchen to start preparing my dinner and he was on the windowsill. He was a little wary when I approached but didn't run away and I was able to give him a little stroke and instantly he relaxed as though it was something I'd always done. While in the kitchen, I could see him still looking out of the window so clearly a good place to have set up his new living area. I put some biscuits in his bowl but he took no notice. By the time my dinner was cooked, Lucas had decided to go back into his igloo bed but a couple of hours later I could hear the biscuits rattling in the bowl.

So overall a good first day in his new home

[Gwenoakes]

I am really pleased his homecoming was uneventful, LL
Cats especially will do their own thing as I know you are well aware. I look forward to hearing how things progress, I am sure given time you will fold nicely around one another and it will seem like he has always been with you.
Psst…..piccies would be lovely when you have time.

[Cheshire Chick]

It sounds like a very successful first day indeed. You have definitely done all the right things and made his homecoming very comfortable. He is a lucky boy and I am sure you two are going to be the best of friends in no time at all.

[lancashire lass]

thank you - I think the key to gaining his confidence is to let him do his own thing at his own pace and take cue from there. I haven't managed to take photos yet as he is still very wary so anything in my hand might seem like a threat but I think any day soon ...

Start of Day 3 and what a transformation. Worryingly he spent the entire day in his igloo yesterday until early evening when I heard the bell on his collar and saw him peering at me from the shadows behind the middle door. As soon as I said "hello there" he ran off but before long was back again. So I slowly got up to retrieve the treats on the fireplace and put some on the floor in the living room just out of reach of the door ... cautiously he did a giraffe impression stretching out to the first treat then decided they were safe to eat and scoffed the rest. As it was time to start dinner, I got up and instantly he ran off to hide under the dining room table. I put some biscuits in his bowl and went to sit in the living room.

After he'd eaten he was back at the door but this time decided to investigate the room - much of it was sniffing the floor and nearby furniture then suddenly he relaxed and started to rub himself against the door and armchair. After a while, he sat and stared at me for a while - not wanting to rush in and stroke him, I tried to engage him with a little play using a feathered wand that I'd got. Instantly his eyes were attentive especially when I swished the feather quickly but he didn't join in. Soon it was time for bed so I put a few biscuits in his bowl and retired.

This morning I woke to find him looking intently at me and when I said "good morning Lucas", he meowed and started to strut towards the dining room. As I got up and put the kettle on, Lucas decided to tell me about his overnight adventures and then wolfed down the biscuits I gave him. Soon after, he casually went into his igloo so I bent down to try and look inside when he popped his head out to see what I was doing then curled up. As I was about to get back up, there was a distinctively loud deep rev of purring ... hopefully that is a good sign that he has approved of his new home and the staff to look after his needs LOL.

[Gwenoakes]

Slowly, slowly catchy monkey. Sounds like everything is going very well.

[wendy]

Aww what lovely positive posts.

This is the way with older newbies. Let them be and find things out first.
Unfortunately people want to smother them with love, which is understandable. But not necessarily the right way.

Things are all going the right way and he will be a lovely friend for many years,

[Freeranger]

So pleased it's all working out. It seems the two of you are going to get on.
I completely agree with the approach of letting him do his own thing and come to you when ready. You've obviously had cats before.
On the body language front, I wonder whether one of the things that un-nerved him in the rescue centre was people looking directly at him. Not everyone realises that cats - like dogs - find it quite threatening, and he would have had a lot of that with potential re-homers and everyone else trying to decide what mood he was in. Half-closing your eyes when you look at a cat is perceived as a friendly/non-threatening gesture and can help enormously with a nervous one.

[albertajune]

Just caught up with the saga of Lucas. I am so sure that once he finds his confidence you will be the best of friends. When we first got our Sophie who is long gone, she spent the first week behind the sofa. I put her bed nearby and put her food in reach for her so that she could do things in her own time. She ended up being a cat who never left my knee and was so affectionate. We don't know what their life was like before being rescued so as you are doing, they need space and calm.
Hope it doesn't take too long but you will get there.

[lancashire lass]

After posting the update yesterday, I thought we had taken a few steps back as he never ventured out of his igloo until well past 5 pm and even then he was very reserved and stayed in the shadows of the dining room until about 9 pm. He does have a bit of a runny tummy (well, BIG soft poos rather than diarrhoea - cor, they really smell too and worst, Lucas doesn't bother covering them) but at the moment I think it might just be due to adapting to a new home and also a change in the water (the biscuits he eats are the exact same brand that he was eating at the shelter where I bought them. For all I know this is normal after eating them. I know a change in water supply can upset animal tummies until they get used to it but I'm keeping an eye out for now) His demeanour changed after he'd done his toilet and he seemed to be a lot more adventurous thereafter and we had a moment when he came to where I was sitting and initiated the request for a stroke. His attention seeking however, seemed to be peaking at about the same time I really need to go to bed so I feel as though I'm the one limiting this precious time.

This morning it was back to work as I could only book a day off so my "routine" had changed a little but Lucas had other plans. Instead he decided he wanted to carry on with the attention seeking from the night before and after breakfast, spent much of the morning purring and asking to be stroked though just slightly out of reach so I was stretched over from my seat. I stopped and dropped my hands and told him to work with me so he came forward and nudged my hand and did figure 8's so that he would get maximum body strokes as well as lying on his back. I'm not ready to attempt picking him up yet as that could undo everything we've gained so far, so I have to bend over to the floor level. Alas, I really did have to get ready for work but not before I took a photo with the phone camera (sorry it's not a good photo as I haven't sussed out how to use the flash - my proper camera needs the battery recharging and while clearing & tidying up the house to make sure it was cat safe, I can't remember where I put the charger ...) Lucas was lying just a foot away from my feet where I was sat and was relaxed - you can see he has a bit of the "lord of the manor" look about him.



You can see his "short" bushy tail which I think IS "shorter" than a normal cat tail but my other cat did have an exceptionally long one so if Lucas's tail is normal I find it odd.

One thing I did notice is that Lucas "smells" - it could well be I am not used to it but I'm sure my other cat didn't smell so potent. Having saying that, Blackie was neutered while still very young whereas Lucas is an adult male (neutered last week) so maybe it's normal. The animal shelter said that Lucas didn't like being groomed so I may (much later on) try stroking him with gloves on (just normal gloves) and then see if those grooming gloves are worth trying (though they do look a bit clunky in the online photos)

I was running very late (I really need to set off between 7.15 and 7.30 am and it had now gone past 8.00 am!) I have been putting the soiled litter down in the garden under the trees - I have decided not to grow veg there and when Lucas is allowed out, he should be able to recognise his own scent as I imagine he'll stop using the litter tray soon after. Plus, I found a rat hole on the garden side of the (empty) chicken run and took great pleasure putting the wooden pellets with cat scent on it down the hole (perhaps not the cleverest idea especially if there isn't an alternate hole for the rats to escape from ....) As I was running late, I just had time to scoop up the poop and put a bucket just outside the back door, then also give the pond fish a little feed. When I came back inside, there was no sign of Lucas - not in his igloo bed, I glanced under the table and round the living room ... first panic, then logic - no, he didn't follow me outside so he must be hiding somewhere. I had to grab the torch and spent the next couple of minutes trying to find him and eventually found him under the dining table. Phew. Now why haven't you gone into your igloo bed Lucas? After 3 days of sleeping all day you decide not to do that when I'm off to work? I checked he had plenty of water, topped his litter box up and put a few biscuits in his bowl before leaving. I'm currently sat at my desk at work wishing I was at home and wondering what Lucas is up to ....

[Gwenoakes]

All sounds very positive, LL.
Have you thought about the amount of biscuits he is having? You may inadvertently been giving more than he had in the rescue centre, hence an upset tummy, or it could be that he was worked up about the move, either or, his tummy and him will settle very soon I am sure.
Very nice piccie and yes the tail is a lot shorter from what I can see than any cats we have had, but not to worry, what length does a tail matter...…….none.