<p>Thanks for sharing your ongoing kitty story. Sounds like Jackie O. got a taste of freedom, and has decided the she likes it. When I was little, we had to turn an inside cat into and outside cat after the doctor determined I had cat allergies :(. My inside cat took to the wild as if she’d been raised outdoors, but she would occasionally come in for a quick visit :).</p>
<p>Late to school: it HAS been suggested that Psycho-cat is part bobcat. It would make sense. He is enormous and very muscular. Even his claws seem longer and sharper than the average cat. We got him from the humane society, at about one year old, when he weighed a scrawny and underfed 10 pounds.</p>
<p>As for getting him to the vet, he’s actually a sweetheart at the vet, but it does take a good-sized carrier.</p>
<p>Just bumping to check on LTS and Jackie O…How’s it going?</p>
<p>Orchestramom, you’re so kind to ask, I wish I had something positive to report, but, I don’t. Usually I’m the first person to say that we don’t “get” frustrated/upset/depressed but rather we “choose” those reactions but this situation has me nearly defeated and no idea what on earth to try next. </p>
<p>Bottom line, Jackie is still “living” outside on the covered deck. She sleeps in the deck chairs and basically never leaves except to go into the foilage to go to the bathroom. Several times I have closed our first cat in a room, and convinced Jackie to come into the house, and, she will explore around a bit, then, get skitish and run out the back door again. </p>
<p>I have tried exposing the two cats in various ways, with the end result that Jackie hisses and spits at our first cat, however, our first cat continues to just remain curious, and does not recognize any threat - it almost as if he wants a playmate. He has however unfortunately started using a couple of rugs in the house as a bathroom, which is driving me crazy. I am guessing that this is his way of expressing frustration, fear, or something. Bottom line there has been no progress getting these two cats together. </p>
<p>I cannot simply leave the back door to the deck open, because our first cat would literally wander outside and get lost, or hurt. </p>
<p>My daughter is away at her job in another state about 2,000 miles away; I asked her for advice because sometimes she sees solutions I do not see; she is adamant that there can be no risk to our first cat. I do not blame her for her position - this is her pet that I brought home to her as a kitten 10 years ago and so I think I have to respect her opinion in that regard. She also does not have the emotional attachment to Jackie that I do - or at least not to the same level, as Jackie more or less appeared right at graduation and then she left for her job within days. Therefore her position is that Jackie can live outside on the deck forever. She loves our first cat dearly and she cannot imagine anything happening to him (she even obsesses about him getting old) so I really do not want to do anything that she is not comfortable with. </p>
<p>Last weekend, I did send email to my landlord - he is a tenured professor of architecture (sp?) and I figured that he just HAS to have lots and lots of peers - nice families I am imagining where perhaps there are children and a husband and wife and where a nice, two year old cat would be a lovely addition. If not within his peer group then certainly in his social life he must know a lot of people who would be appropriate candidates for Jackie. I laid out the entire situation in email, including the vet’s clean bill of health, and asked him to please forward it to any interested parties. But he has not responded to my email - I suspect he is on international travel somewhere - finals were two? three? weeks ago; I checked my bank accounts this morning and he hasn’t even deposited my rent check from May 1 yet, and tomorrow is June 1. So if he cannot even make it to the bank to deposit the rent there is little use hoping he has time to make finding Jackie a nice home a priority. </p>
<p>Therefore, in the absence of any other solution I will continue to try to make every effort to get these two cats together and integrate Jackie into the house. But it’s frustratingly slow going and so far no real progress.</p>
<p>Jackie, meanwhile, is hopelessly cute and adorable. She is simply beyond sweet; I make time to go outside and play with her several times during the day and into the evening; she makes the cutest little “meowy” noises at me etc. She’s simply so lovable…</p>