Gaki Brings in URI

The cat Heartland asked me to take in, Gaki, whom I call Jack, is adjusting well.

However, a day after he came here, he broke out in a very loud sneezy drippy cold. All drainage was completely clear, so the cold is viral in nature, but now, almost ten days later, all my cats are getting colds. It's bad here!

Gaki has severe behavioral issues. He bites when he doesn't get his way. His behavior is consistent with a previous owner whose kids or they, played rough and rowdy with the cat. As the cat gets older, his attempts to defend himself from such rough behavior on the part of his humans, makes the cat unsuitable for a human home, and these badly treated cats are often surrendered to a shelter whose only option is usually euthanasia.

The usual culprits are young adult men and unparented male children.

I was talking to a friend who had such a cat show on their property. He was microchipped to Heartland and Heartland said his first owner returned him, as a biter and the second owner just plain abandoned him. However, her husband worked with him over a period of many months. She had to quit even touching the cat because she was getting shredded. It took a long time, but the cat has finally become a nice kitty.

Gaki wants to be a nice boy. He loves it here already and is trying to fit in. He has bitten me twice in the last two days however. The first bite did a number on my hand. The second, today, was only a nip, but enough to get him confined back to the bedroom. I have to be consistent if he is to ever change. You have to make inappropriate behavior produce something he doesn't want, and he doesn't want confined, so confinement, without comment, is a deterrent. And it's working.

He has bitten twice in the last two days, after going without biting for five days, because I finally let him out of the spare bedroom to free roam periodically. He goes back into the spare bedroom, if he misbehaves and if he really misbehaves, by biting, he goes back into the rabbit hutch.

He's a nice cat, nearly ruined by some assholes, who as adults behaved like idiots, or who have very misbehaved rough little boys. His behavior is absolutely consistent with being treated very very roughly as a kitten and young teen kitty.

Anyhow, the URI here now, as a result, is difficult, to be sure. But I have no isolation chamber. If a sick cat comes in here, everybody is going to get it.

I also have allergies back and feel terrible. I am stuffy but not like the week before last. It's mild by comparison. I am also terribly worn out from the effort at the trailer park.