Raising a Stray

When we brought Arno home, we knew that he was going to probably have some problems related to being abandoned and having to fend for himself for the first few weeks of his life. He didn't have anyone taking care or him, in fact, we think he was the caretaker, and the one that went and got the food, because his sibling was much too sick when they were rescued to have taken on that role. Arno was a strong, relatively healthy boy, who was dealt a bad hand when he was born. I don't know what the first 8 weeks of his life looked like, but at 8 weeks old, we welcomed him into our family. He was quick to purr, but wasn't overly affectionate, because he didn't know how. My husband, Kevin, and I showered him with lots of love and kisses (when he tolerated it) and made sure he always had food, water, a litter box, and love.

The road has been long and tough with Arno. He's still to this day (almost 10 months later) skittish and flighty. The slightest sound will send him running for cover, and he's hand shy. Part of me thinks that maybe this poor boy was abused when he was very young, but none of his health checks showed any evidence of physical abuse. My next assumption would be that his skittishness and caution of even my husband and I, who have loved him through nearly 10 months of his life, is a direct result of neglect. He and his sibling (we never found out if he had a brother or a sister) were neglected and abandoned, and I can only guess that our poor boy is traumatized from that.

I don't blame him for being shy, and cautious around humans. If I was just a baby, and was left to fend for myself with another living thing to take care of, I feel like I would probably be cautious around humans too. He trusted the people who owned his mother to provide for him and care for him, because he didn't know any better, and now he's possibly permanently scarred from that.

We've tried everything from showering him with love, to catnip to calm him (works a little after he's come down from the 'super high'), to rescue remedy (I recommend it. All natural plant extracts. It's for cats with anxiety/skittish cats). We haven't found one thing that works for him, but we won't stop trying.

The thing that we've tried that has has a small amount of success, was bringing home a kitten. Arno showed interest in being friendly with my sister's spayed older female cat when he was a kitten, but she was uninterested in hanging around with 'that baby'. She was used to being an only cat, and wasn't all that cat friendly. They kept their distance, but Arno would often want to play, and the cycle would begin again. We thought that maybe if he had a baby brother or sister, he might come out of his shell a little bit and be a little more outgoing.

While there's been a little luck with this, Arno was an intact 10 month old male, who suddenly had an 8 week old little sister that he was REALLY interested in, and not just for playing. We cautiously kept an eye on them when they were in the same room, and Arno showed great restraint when it came to her. He would chirp at her, and grab her by the scruff, but for the most part, he was just really interested in giving her baths. (Did I forget to mention that his parental instincts are INCREDIBLE. He hears a kitten crying and he's right there trying to investigate and take care of the baby). He's a good big brother.

On Monday (July 9th), Arno was fixed. He was less than impressed when my husband and I went to pick him up, but he was still dopey and out of it. When he came around and was no longer affected by the anesthesia and pain medication, he was surprisingly affectionate. He still hides and runs away when approached, but he's been out more often, and seeking affection and love more than he used to. I don't know if being an intact male, and being abandoned didn't make him more wary of humans, but so far, since his surgery, he's been MUCH more lovable.

My husband and I have been very happy with the change, and we're looking forward to a future with an affectionate, cuddly boy, and his overly rambunctious little sister.

If you guys would like to donate, I'm sure Arno would much appreciate the toys that could be bought for him. :)