Thursday, November 3, 2022

Decisions made.

Tim has a habit and it is something that really does bother me. He's forever accumulating stuff. I say, 'so why are we keeping this? Why can't we just get rid of it?' He patiently tells me that it's worth money. I tell him to do something with it then. He tells me that he will. But he doesn't. 

It doesn't help that he's got stuff stashed all over the place. 

Last week, he decided that this was the week: he was going to get his stash of stuff all cleared out. He had enough for a dump truck load, which would make it worth his while. So he made the rounds of the various garages and he collected his junk and brought it all home.

Having all the junk here didn't please me, much, but he had a lot of copper pipe to cut up, and he had to separate the copper, aluminum, brass, cast iron and steel. 

He has been loading his truck for 2 days and he headed off to the scrapyard after lunch. 

He called me on the way home. "Just heading for home now," he said. 

I said, "Good." 

Tim hesitated for a few seconds. "Aren't you going to ask me what I got for the scrap?" 

"Buck-98..." I guessed being goofy. 

I could hear him smiling through the phone. 

"Nope. I got a little over $900." 

(Gobsmacked silence on my end)

I decided that I needed to shut up about his junk.


Look who showed up today:

 

I fed him outside, half a can with a dose of his medication and he gobbled it down. He immediately came to me, rubbing against my legs, meowing loudly. 

I studied him. 

You know when he first showed up here, he would not come close enough to be petted. 
Now he seems almost desperate for the contact. I want to bring him inside. I have a four foot long dog kennel waiting for him in the basement. I bought litter for him last night. My idea is to keep him confined until his mange is cleared up again. 

A friend who has done multiple cat rescues thought this was a very bad idea, because a feral cat can go nuts when it is confined. I imagine. But the thing is, I don't want him all over the rugs and furniture with active mange. I just told her. "Listen, I know it is not ideal, but it is what it is. If I took him to a vet, he'd be kept in an even smaller cage. He's sick." 

That conversation went through my mind today as I petted that poor cat, 
staying away from his 'patches'. 

He meowed and meowed and rubbed against me over and over. 

I took an old kitchen rug I'd stashed for outdoor use and put it down in front of the door. It's warm out today and he could sit in a sunny spot while I figured it all out. 

This summer, I couldn't touch him. 
Now he seeks out the attention.
So.
He trusts me, at least that much. 
I decided the thing to do is to build on that trust. 

I went into the kitchen and gathered up all the kitchen rugs and set them out into the hall.  I shut all the doors so that he could not go anywhere else in the house. I left the outside kitchen door open and let him make up his mind what he wanted to do here. In very short order, he walked into the kitchen. He came over to where I was sweeping and once again, he began to meow loudly, staring with those big unblinking eyes. 

I shut the kitchen door and he showed no sign of panic.

I went to the fridge and got out the rest of his can of catfood, and I grabbed one of the clean 'cat dishes" on the counter; I scraped the rest of the food into the dish as I talked to him. He sat silently with big eyes and waited. I set down the bowl on the floor and he went to work on it. 

While he ate, I continued sweeping and I cleaned the stovetop. 

Once his bowl was clean, he licked his smackers a few times in a satisfied way and then walked to the mudroom door and sat down. Tim walked into the kitchen from the livingroom with the mail. "What are you going to do with him?" he wanted to know.

"He's asking to go back out. I think we should let him out. If he comes and goes regularly, it gives him a chance to build up some trust. It also gives us a chance to get some regular doses of medication in him. Now that he's letting me pet him, I can even get some topical medication for him. Maybe this is a chance to get that mange under control before he moves inside full time." 

Tim went to the door and asked him if he wanted outside. 

When the door opened, Mangey quietly sashayed out the door. 

BUT: 
We left the mudroom door open to the back yard and he has spent the entire afternoon there, having a bath in a sunny patch on the old rug that I put down for him. 

It is getting dark. He is there still, folded up on his old rug.

He came back inside for a bit of milk and then sat at the door waiting patiently.

He nibbled on some dry food, arranged himself comfortably on his rug. 

I think that Mangey has decided to stay.

I got an old heating pad and an old sheet and used a crate to make a cozy place for him to curl up. We will leave the door of the mudroom ajar so that he can go outside if he wishes. 
I wonder where I will find him tomorrow.

 

40 comments:

  1. It sounds like you're going to need a better name for him.

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    1. Oh I think so, too. He will be such a beautiful cat as soon as he is healed, and deserves a name to be proud of. May I suggest Obsidian, Obby for short?

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    2. I tried to rename him Mr. M, but Mangey just rolls off the tongue, and it is just what I've gotten used to. Maybe I'll have a name that cat contest. I was thinking of Onyx, Nyx for short.

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  2. Your friend was right about putting feral cats in cages. When I went through the exercise of catching feral cats for neutering, they went wild once trapped. Mangey is sorting you out very gently, just go with it would be my response.

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    1. Well, he's let himself out in the night, so I don't know where he's gotten to. this morning. He doesn't come to my call. Cats will cat, won't they?

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  3. https://catwomanflix.blogspot.com/ is your person to go for advice on ferals. As I have learnt from her, and I really hope this is correct, feral cats don't mind confinement. They feel safe and secure. But it seems you aren't doing too badly yourself with your own instinct.

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    1. I think it depends on the cat, really. Some are a little more inclined to be domesticated. Mangey is agreeable. Other cats, like Harry, want food and nothing more.

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  4. He learns fast. Good food and a warm bed for the winter. Lovely jubbly!

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    1. He's not a dumb cat. He's probably a master of manipulation, and I may be the slightest bit manipulatable.

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  5. Sounds like there might be a happy ending for Mangey !

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  6. Mangey seems to like his new mum and home.

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    1. The little fuzzy houdini has pulled a disappearing act this morning.

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    2. Maybe he has other kind hearts to visit 😉

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    3. You mean...Mangey might simply be taking advantage???? No...i am sure I am special! Lol.

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  7. Milk isn’t good for cats. You can purchase cat milk.

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    1. You're right. But they love it, and I'm trying to get him to associate me with good food. He gets the tiniest bit.

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  8. You made me laugh out loud with "buck ninety eight"! I laughed again when I saw Mangey, nonchalantly sitting there at your door. How funny & sweet. :^)

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    1. If you laugh at buck 98 you'll fall over at buck-fiddy.

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  9. I know copper is worth a lot of money, it's why catalytic converters get stolen. Well done Tim.

    Mangey looks like such a sweet cat. You seem to be the cat whisperer. I'm glad you're watching over him. I looked up mange in cats and got itchy just looking at the photos and reading about mange. It's like when we get a patient with lice, all the nurses start scratching.

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    1. I know. His one ear has been scratched bloody again. I get squeamish about stuff like that, but keep reminding myself that he really healed up quickly the last time I started him on Ivermectin. And if the little stinker comes back, I can start topical treatments.

      Tim had quite a pile of copper from burst pipes he took out of renovations and replaced with PVC. Catalytic converters contain platinum, actually.

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    2. I thought it was copper, oops. Thanks for letting me know:)

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    3. Don't you run out and start swiping catalytic converters now!

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  10. Long ago I learned the value of scrap metals. Any old farmhouse that sits vacant too long will soon be stripped of all things copper. I've even seen them pull up copper pipe between the house and the propane tank. If I had to guess, the fate of many farmhouses were sealed by copper and aluminum thieves making them unfit and not worth fixing up again.

    Mangey knows a pushover when he sees one!

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  11. Our stuff was all from renovations. Tim just stashes stuff. He actually came home last night and remembered where he had another pile of copper. No stealing here.

    There are worse things in the world than soft hearted suckers. That's the story I tell myself, anyway.


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    1. Sorry about that! I wasn't implying you were stealing. I knew where your supply was coming from. I just meant that because others steal it, I knew it was valuable!

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    2. No offense taken. I didn't want anyone else to think that.

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  12. Wow! That's amazing! Bravo to Tim for knowing what that stuff would be worth. Now you have even more money in your Mangey care fund. :)

    (It's great that he's developing trust with you. Mangey, I mean, not Tim!)

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    1. Oh dear. Let's just not mention Mangey in the same breath as $900, okay?

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  13. He's going to be a beautiful cat and I think he's got a good setup for now. My best friend does the same thing (propping up the laundry door with a brick) for their cat. They can't keep him inside since he terrorizes their very old Bichon. Hopefully Mangey won't terrorize Tim.

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  14. Bravo, Tim!!!
    Several years ago I was fortunate to earn the trust & affection of a feral cat, complete with propping the back door open so he could come & go at will. He's solid black like Mangey, and has a clipped left ear (identifies him as having been neutered as part of the county's trap-neuter-release program). Didn't take him long to decide being a housecat really suited him.
    Wishing you, Mangey & Tim the very best!

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    1. My sister stopped in and yelled from the back door, "Hey, is this cat allowed in?" I walked out into the kitchen and there was Mangey. He got his supper and is curled up out in the mudroom on his heating pad.

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  15. Congrats to Tim and his junk haul. That is a nice reward for all of his stuff. I can't wait to see how things went with Mangey but it sounds like you got a new furry friend.

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    1. I have learned that Tim knows best when it comes to his junk.

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  16. My heart is bursting with joy. Yay for Mangey. And yay for Tim for selling his junk (that sounds a bit odd) and for accepting that beautiful black beast.

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    1. Even worse? His wife has been advocating for him to sell his junk for quite some time! 😜

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  17. He has had his second nice supper and is curled up in his warm bed.

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  18. $900?!? Wow! That is awesome. As a matter of fact, in Hawaii, they were having a problem with thieves stealing copper wires from street lights. Now I see why.

    You are a cat hero!

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  19. I hope he is still coming around!!

    My husband is a bit similar to yours. I think $500 was his best haul many years ago lol.

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