Operation Fred-Chapter Six
This Is Going to Be So Easy!
Our new normal was not normal at all. Each day with Fred was another adventure and another milestone. On July 8, just 4 days after our first breakfast together, Fred not only showed up for breakfast, but he came for dinner too! I was shocked to see him in the window, almost 12 hours to the minute from when he finished his morning meal. I was also very pleased and assumed this meant we had really moved on to a new level of connection.
But don’t get your hopes up. Dinners didn’t become a regular thing, even though I hoped they would.
But our breakfasts brought new joys. Primarily, because I got smarter. Or more devious, depending on how you look at it.
When I would refill Fred’s bowl, I would bring it closer and closer to me until it was touching my leg. He was hesitant about this, but it never stopped him.
I used our game of “toss the treats” in a new way too, placing them deliberately now so that he would have to come closer and closer to me. By July 12 he would come up to get them when I tucked them up next to my legs, meaning he had to actually touch me in order to retrieve them. It was amazing!
I tried unsuccessfully to get him to take treats from my hand, but he wanted to, oh so badly. You could almost see him twitching, especially if I offered the treats that way before giving them up to our game. But I couldn’t be disappointed in the progress we were making. My heart was wrapped up in him, and it was now that I started to notice that I was also feeling Penelope’s jealousy.
She began to be a little naughty. Nothing big, but just a little crankiness. A few little nips here and there. A brush off when walking by. And, of course, her looks through the window during every breakfast with Fred.
As I look back on this now, I have to be honest. I really didn’t pay that much attention. I was really focused and fixated on Fred. I feel bad about that now, a year later, but Penelope has long since forgiven me, so I won’t beat myself up too much.
One other amazing thing during these days is that our breakfasts also required that Fred get used to someone else every morning. Jeff had to pass by us to get to the garage to go to work. And this was comical.
Now that we had a plan, it was time to get things moving along. If you ask my husband, he will tell you that I don’t have a lot of self-control. Delayed gratification has never been my thing.
I called a vet near our house to talk about what to do about a Fred. A friendly feral Fred. Who needed to be fixed.
The person I spoke to assured me that all we had to do was call them after we had trapped him, and we could bring him in, and they would do the procedure! I asked clarifying questions like; do we need an appointment? The answer was no. Just call once we trap him. Note here that these details are very important as they foreshadow something quite important.
But that call became the start of my checklist.
Checklist for Fred:
- Get a vet who will neuter him, examine him, and give him any shots he needs.
- Order a cage to trap him in.
- Buy deworming and flea and tick medication to slip into his food.
- Set up the guest room for Fred so he can acclimate there and won’t interact with Penelope until we have him neutered and vaccinated.
- Research how to train a feral cat to use a litter box.
- Welcome our new family member!
OK, I was just a little naïve. I see that now, a year later. But I was so glassy eyed with love that I couldn’t see the flaws in my plans. I seriously thought I would order a cage, he would walk calmly in, would be trapped, and all these breakfasts on the porch would be a thing of the past.
I’m pretty smart in a lot of ways, but apparently not when it comes to Fred.
Momma’s POV–Chapter Six
OK! We have a plan now! This is going to be great! I bet we have Fred trapped and neutered before the end of the week, and then we can really get things started.
Momma’s POV - Chapter Six
OK! We have a plan now! This is going to be great! I bet we have Fred trapped and neutered before the end of the week, and then we can really get things started.
I have no idea how a cat feels after being neutered, but how bad can it be? I bet after a couple of days recuperating, he’ll be ready to join the whole family. He loves me already.
Fred’s POV – Chapter Six
The woman is really making me work for my food, but ok. I can do it. She keeps putting the dishes closer and closer to her, but I’ll do it. I like the food, and I like her.
Fred’s POV – Chapter Six
The woman is really making me work for my food, but ok. I can do it. She keeps putting the dishes closer and closer to her, but I’ll do it. I like the food, and I like her.
She keeps saying a word. I think she is saying “momma.” And she uses another word when she talks to me. She calls me “Fred.” I don’t know what a Fred is, but I know when she says it, she is talking to me.
It’s still alright. Everything is going well. I even decided to stop over for dinner the other night. I didn’t have any luck hunting that day, and I could see that the woman, I mean momma, was home, so I decided to go check it out. And she gave me food then too!
I wonder how long they will feed me.