Updates on three male waifs

One has turned the corner, another has put it in reverse, a third has left us.

The challenges of the young year that is 2016 continue. The extremely happy news: Robbie, my farm sanctuary reject, has found a wonderful new foster (and hopefully forever) new mom in my friend Gail. Despite his disastrous introduction to being an indoor-outdoor cat on the farm (http://tinyurl.com/zav85jz) Gail decided to give him a chance. And things are going very well in the last two weeks; the main hurdle remaining is achieving a detente with her current cat, who is not happy about the new addition. She had to leave town for work and asked if I could keep him. No problem – I have a very soft spot for this sweet boy. Here he was tonight, reminding us all that he’s not a psycho-kitty after all.

The strange news (tho I refuse to be daunted by it) is that Prince Harry has regressed, even as Robbie has progressed. About two weeks after his trip to the ER for wound care, and looking and feeling much better, Harry got pissed. Every time Caitlin would go in the aviary to feed and take care of him, he would get progressively more defensive and hostile, even hissing and spitting. I went over to see if he would be less hostile with me, but sadly he was just as upset. It made no sense. The kitty I was feeding in the parking lot was a love – rubbing up against me happily.

The problem with his regression was that he had an appointment to be neutered, and Caitlin realized there would be no way to get him in a carrier. So it took two of us, and two different medications, to get him limp enough to transport. I felt terrible for him, but was so puzzled. I sought a reading with an animal communicator I’ve used in the past, and she said Harry wasn’t angry, he was just scared out of his mind. But why now? I asked her. She said animals, like humans, have the ability to block an awful incident out of their minds… until they can’t anymore. And Harry was remembering his attack, and scared to death that in this confined state, he couldn’t defend himself if he were attacked again.

Post-neutering, he is still upset, though today when I visited I was able to feed him off a spoon. I refuse to give up on him – partly because he was NOT an expert feral cat (loud and too visible and clumsy) and putting him back where he was would probably mean he’d be easy pickings for a predator. So I’m a little stuck, but still committed to giving him more time, and more chances for a happy life.

I also have to own that my decisions about Harry are impacted by my grief over the disappearance and almost certain death of one of my favorite colony kitties, Dorian Gray. http://tinyurl.com/hd9g4d5

I kept him for two months last spring when I trapped him and he was so sickly, so of course I got very attached. I released him sadly, but was so thrilled that he was there every day for food, even letting me pet his head. But a month or so ago, he disappeared. I knew almost instantly in my gut that he was no longer with us. Every morning he did not respond to my call I have choked back tears of sorrow and rage that this is the best I can do for these gorgeous beings: patch them up and then throw them back into the wild, where their chances are grim.

So will I give Harry more time to learn to trust and love? Or will I put him back in the ravine? There is only one answer. I can’t lose another so soon.

St. Francis, welcome the spirit of my beautiful gray boy. Bring them into the embrace of Grace, Diego and far too many others I’ve loved and lost. I derive only marginal comfort in knowing they’re in a place of quiet and calm, where no coyotes or speeding cars can hurt them anymore. And send your blessings to Prince Harry! Tell him to open his heart and welcome the life we’re trying to give him.