We got her nine months ago. I had one indoor cat who had started as a feral barn cat but got badly injured. I brought her inside to heal and she didn't want to go back out again. Oops! Even though we also have dogs, I knew from her nightly yowlings that she was lonely. I took a trip to our local shelter to see if they had anyone in mind for us. They know me well because I'm not picky and usually adopt whomever has been there the longest. Out of my barn kitties, one had been at the shelter for just under three years; this one that ended up indoors, Duchess, had been there for two years; and another for a year and a half.
A couple months before I showed up, the shelter got inundated with two separate cat hoarding cases with 50+ cats from each. From one of the cases, most of the cats were blind, probably from inbreeding and poor nutrition. The shelter suggested that I adopt one of the blind kitties because he/she wouldn't come into the house acting like they owned the place. They would hopefully slip in easier with Duchess. I agreed to meet some. I fell for one little solid grey girl. They opened the unit she was staying in with four other cats and she came out, made a beeline straight for me, curled up in my lap, and started purring her buns off. Again... Best. Cat. Haha. My husband agreed we could get her only if we could name her Ray Charles.
So little RayRay came to live with us. After about a week of hissing and running away by Duchess, I found them curled up on the bed together and they have been best friends since. No more night howling. My only hiccup was the fact that I didn't think about how a previous hoarding cat couldn't be trusted to free feed. She porked out fast. I worked with my vet to come up with a feeding regiment and she's slimmed down some, but I feel she can lose another .5 lb. Nothing I've come up with in terms if exercising has worked with her though.
I've tried jingly toys that I pull on string, but she just lays down and swats at them. She doesn't like jingly bell balls. Won't chase them. The times I've tried cat nip, Duchess steals them and runs off with them, but Ray doesn't seem that interested in the first place. She does "chase" Duchess, but Dutch runs through the house full steam and Ray kind of slowly trots after her. I'm not sure what else I can try to get her moving! She's pretty content to lay on the couch during the day and sleep with us in bed at night. The little punk.
We live in Maine, so going outside on a harness isn't an option for the majority of the year.Help oh wise ones!
