HAPPY OPIE, BUT SAD CONNIE
Opie gained his independence a week before the 4th of July.
I was bringing him in each night to keep him safe in his box. I also needed to note his pee/poop schedule so I would be aware if there was a problem with his nutrition. (He had gotten sick from eating too much meat and fruit and had developed a very serious problem that caused his bones to start to weaken -like rickets- and we had gotten advice from an opossum rehabilitator on what a better diet would be.) He had finally gotten well and strong again and was finally getting big enough and smart enough to scoot his blankets together and reach up and grab the top of the box and get out. He had done it once and had gone around the back of the house and up his “tree” and into his little “cave”. (See http://crazyoldcatlady.blogspot.com/2008/06/opie-getting-independent.html ) But the next night, he was hard for me to catch and I had a real tussle getting him into the box. I probably scared him (besides making him mad). Anyway, he got out again that night and now won’t let me see him. I put food out for him each night and hope that he is the one getting it, but I have no way of knowing if he is staying healthy and strong. Bill is going to put a spy cam on his food dish and we will hope to see him eating.
We were going to take pictures of him climbing his “tree” and sleeping in his “cave”, but it got too dark that night so we were going to do it the next day, and, of course, that was the night he left so he was gone by morning and we lost our opportunity. He won’t go anywhere near that area now.
My goal was to train him to be independent, but I was hoping that he would not be afraid to come to the bathroom window shelf to get cat food and any help that he might need. I am devastated that he is now afraid of me.
I put off posting this on the blog, hoping that I’d have better news as soon as he calmed down, but I don’t think that will happen soon- or maybe at all. We can only hope that he will stay strong and healthy and be able to enjoy his freedom.
**** Bill put up a mini-cam this afternoon, pointing at Opie's dishes in the back yard. He arranged a small window on his computer that he could watch while doing other computer tasks. At 10:20 PM, he saw Opie come strolling over to his water dish, checking for food dishes. I ran to mix him some Esbilac (puppy mother's milk substitute) with dry cat food stirred into it. I put it out at 10:30 and ran to my computer to watch my view of his dishes. First, Rouge came and looked over the food, but didn't find anything that she liked, and then at 10:40, Opie came and ate some of the Esbilac. He washed his little face and then ate some more. It's like watching a black and white movie. I can't believe that the picture is so clear because it's really dark out there. I now know that he's getting the food and that he's staying close- he came from the direction where his "tree" and "cave" are, but he's probably hiding behind all of the plastic bins that are on the ground in that area.
See his first skycam picture in http://crazyoldcatlady.blogspot.com/2008/07/opies-first-sky-cam-picture-7-7-08.html
I was bringing him in each night to keep him safe in his box. I also needed to note his pee/poop schedule so I would be aware if there was a problem with his nutrition. (He had gotten sick from eating too much meat and fruit and had developed a very serious problem that caused his bones to start to weaken -like rickets- and we had gotten advice from an opossum rehabilitator on what a better diet would be.) He had finally gotten well and strong again and was finally getting big enough and smart enough to scoot his blankets together and reach up and grab the top of the box and get out. He had done it once and had gone around the back of the house and up his “tree” and into his little “cave”. (See http://crazyoldcatlady.blogspot.com/2008/06/opie-getting-independent.html ) But the next night, he was hard for me to catch and I had a real tussle getting him into the box. I probably scared him (besides making him mad). Anyway, he got out again that night and now won’t let me see him. I put food out for him each night and hope that he is the one getting it, but I have no way of knowing if he is staying healthy and strong. Bill is going to put a spy cam on his food dish and we will hope to see him eating.
We were going to take pictures of him climbing his “tree” and sleeping in his “cave”, but it got too dark that night so we were going to do it the next day, and, of course, that was the night he left so he was gone by morning and we lost our opportunity. He won’t go anywhere near that area now.
My goal was to train him to be independent, but I was hoping that he would not be afraid to come to the bathroom window shelf to get cat food and any help that he might need. I am devastated that he is now afraid of me.
I put off posting this on the blog, hoping that I’d have better news as soon as he calmed down, but I don’t think that will happen soon- or maybe at all. We can only hope that he will stay strong and healthy and be able to enjoy his freedom.
**** Bill put up a mini-cam this afternoon, pointing at Opie's dishes in the back yard. He arranged a small window on his computer that he could watch while doing other computer tasks. At 10:20 PM, he saw Opie come strolling over to his water dish, checking for food dishes. I ran to mix him some Esbilac (puppy mother's milk substitute) with dry cat food stirred into it. I put it out at 10:30 and ran to my computer to watch my view of his dishes. First, Rouge came and looked over the food, but didn't find anything that she liked, and then at 10:40, Opie came and ate some of the Esbilac. He washed his little face and then ate some more. It's like watching a black and white movie. I can't believe that the picture is so clear because it's really dark out there. I now know that he's getting the food and that he's staying close- he came from the direction where his "tree" and "cave" are, but he's probably hiding behind all of the plastic bins that are on the ground in that area.
See his first skycam picture in http://crazyoldcatlady.blogspot.com/2008/07/opies-first-sky-cam-picture-7-7-08.html
posted by Connie @ Monday, July 07, 2008
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