Tuesday 25 September 2012

Le Beau Chat

Meet our new family member Beau.
First time out in the big bad world
We found Beau by chance when searching online for local animal shelters. We spotted a link to the Gumtree with an urgent appeal from his old owners to find their beloved Beau a 3 year old female flat cat a new home. Her old owner Gem was pregnant and she and her partner were being forced to move to a larger property which unfortunately didn't allow pets, she desperately wanted to find a good home for her rather than giving her to a rescue shelter. We ummed and erred, unsure if we would be doing the right thing, but after talking to her lovely owners we agreed we would give Beau a new home.


We picked Beau up nearly a month ago now and I can't say that it has been the easiest of transitions. Firstly we found out that Beau was not a girl cat! Oh no, She is well and truly a He cat. An unuttered, he at that! Embarrassing vet consultation that was I can tell you, I must confess due to his territorial nature, I'd not got close enough to him to see when we told his old owners they were mighty shocked too!

One chilled out Cat!
The effect of the very expensive but worth every penny Feliway room spray
Where before, Beau had been a 3rd floor flat cat (in Chelsea no less) with no access to the outside world and importantly way out of smelling distance of other cats. He suddenly from our ground floor windows, could see a garden patrolled by the areas finest felines and this sent his feisty un-neutered mind and body a little potty, to say the least. 

Beau doesn't mind my clashing crochet on the sofa
 So the last few weeks have been quite stressful, it has been like living with a very bossy, grumpy, hissy teenager who constantly howls, paces around, spraying on everything in sight and then wants to eat, but not the food you've given him, oh no the packets of (the same) cat food which he steals out of the cupboard, are soo much tastier, even if you have to bite through the plastic first


But thankfully since his neutering and then finally being allowed to venture out in the big bad world (for the first time in his life, awah) he has calmed down loads and is getting increasingly friendly! Almost living up to his 'Beautiful' name in nature as well as looks...


...though not quite, as he has yet to shake his moniker of 'ASBO' or 'Beaufighter', for his sudden and without provocation, Teeth'n'claw sinking-eye watering-tear inducing-foot attacks! He hates feet! Ouch!!!

Just in case you thought he was all sleepy fluff and cuddles :)
 So we still have a way to go, especially as he has now waged a war of terror on my sewing machine, (what to do?) But he's now firmly a family member who we love to bits, and wouldn't be without. We both agree he has certainly been worth the effort and the blood loss ;) 

Wendy x

24 comments:

  1. WHAT A GORGEOUS BOY!!! i CAN GIVE YOU LOTS OF HANDY HINTS RE SPRAYING!! CLEAN IT UP OBVIOUSLY!..BUT AS CATS RECOGNISE THE SMELL OF DISINFECTANT THEY TEND TO RESPRAY IN SAME AREA...SO AFTER CLNING ...APPLY A SOLUTION OF LEMON WATER OR VINEGAR WATER AS APPARENTLY THE NATURAL SMELL IS OK...ALSO QUARTERED LEMONS PLACE IN THE AREA IS A DETERRANT.....BUT HE IS ONLY MAKING THE AREA HIS OWN!...TAKE CARE..LOVE JEANNETTE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh thank you Jeannette, you are a life saver!! I shall definitely be giving that a go!! xx

      Delete
  2. Good on you for giving this guy a home,for being patient with him, and for neutering him! He sure is a handsome fella!
    I, too, can't say enough about feliway spray, it sure has transformed a lot of potentially stressful situations for my kitties!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You Randi! That Feliway is magic, the change in him was almost immediate, after 2 days pacing round and round after sprayig a little around the room he suddenly decided he would lay down and have a little sleep after that he was soo much more relaxed!

      Delete
  3. What a beautiful little boy! He's absolutely lovely, I want him! x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Stunning cat! How the hell did the old owners NOT notice he was a male? With the sprayng? In a flat?! How very odd. Pleased that he is calming down now he has been done - at that age, it can go either way, as they are meant to be done a lot younger. I think this is the reason for his random attacking - our neighbour used to have a male who has been snipped at 4 years old - and he always had bursts of aggression. I have the scar on my hand to prove it *wink* It's like the hormones just burst through all at once.

    As for attacking feet and the sewing machine - try a spray bottle of water on the jet setting, not the mist, and aim and fire. Worked a treat on training my cats not to do.. well... anything - but mainly scratching the sofa and using a corner of the back room as a toilet. I only have to shake the bottle now and they stop :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I know its mental, it seriously made me question what we had let ourselves in for, but the old owners seemed genuinely shocked, though Gem had said he/she had recently had his injections, which I believe, she was genuinely upset at having to give him up, but when I took him to the vets she instantly said are you sure its a girl? so surely her vet would have noticed?!? Its all very odd!

      Oh and Thank you for the water advice, its worked a treat on the foot attacking (next up is the sewing machine), also It seems to have earned me some 'Respect' as he was actually jumping up for attention last night, which until now was unheard of! xx

      Delete
  5. How gorgeous is he! But how on earth did he make it to 3 years without being assigned the right gender?! Hope he has readjusted to being given the correct gender :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I know its really bonkers isn't it! I really felt a fool when the vet told me, I have had lots of cats in the past so you would have thought I'd have noticed she was a boy, but the penny did't drop at all! :)

      Delete
  6. Aaaw Beau is gorgeous, I can't wait to get my own home and have a mischievous putty cat! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You Hannah! I am sure it wont be long! x

      Delete
  7. Beau is just GORGEOUS.

    I foster little baby kittens that need 24 hour care and one we reared and then homed, Poppet, LOOKED to be a girl kitten. At six-months-old when she was desexed, the vet announced she was in fact a he. His testicles never descended, hence it looked like a girl. :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Tallulah! Aw poor little Poppet, glad he found out who he was early on:) It does make me feel better to know that sometimes vets can't tell either:) x

      Delete
  8. He's gorgeous - but like all cats suddenly evil! Mine used to be like that too. How funny that his previous owners never knew he was male!! They either never took him for injections or didn't listen to the vet or the vet was terrible! Mike had a cat who's Beau's opposite - they thought she was a male, so they called him Rambo, only to find out it was a little girl, so she was changed to Bo! He's an utterly gorgeous cat, I'm sure he'll calm down a bit, then start bringing you dead creatures. Out of love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Oh I am glad Im not alone on the confused gender cat situation. I really can't figure out how the old owners didn't find out, she mention taking her to the vets, and as soon as our vet saw him she said are you sure its a girl! Very strange! I had a male and female cat when I was a teen. The male was the dopiest creature alive, far to lazy to ever bite anything even his food he would swallow whole, where as his sister was your best friend one minute and Pure Evil the next! x

      Delete
  9. Aw, he's beautiful. I'm sure once he's completely settled in he'll be adorable. I have a second hand cat, it took her a couple of months to decide she was going to keep us...

    ReplyDelete
  10. We are also fans of feliway. with 3 cats, 1 puppy, 1 rabbit.and a hamster. its great. Now just need to find something to work on the 2 teens and 1 21yr old.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe, I am sure they will invent something soon :) x

      Delete
  11. Beau is absolutely beautiful! Congratulations on your neew addition, and what an amazing thing to do for him but give him a loving new home where he can actually go outside too :) he's one lucky cat. Won't be long before he starts bringing you presents heh, watch out for the live ones!

    Glad to hear he's finally settling in, very strange about the foot hating, did his owners not mention it to you before? And can't believe after 3 years they never twigged he was a boy...and that they didn't have him done...good your vet finally figured it out!

    How come he's declared war on your sewing machine?! what does he do?!

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Emma , yeah I am dreading the dead things :) No the owners say she was good as gold never bit them, let them pick her up and everything, he would have my arm off I tried picking him up, he is a little bonkers:)
      Oh he haaates that machine he sees it and becomes all loopy and starts whacking it with his paw while its off and when I start sewing he decides to begin chewing on the cables, which is scary, So I have had to fit my sewing in to the times when he is outside, I think I know whose the boss in our house :) xxxx

      Delete
  12. Awwww...thank you for giving such a beautiful boy a loving home!! He is just so handsome! My boy-cat BouBou loves to pounce on my feet when I walk past and tries to nip me at the ankle.....but most of the time he is as affectionate as ever and I would not swop him for anything in the world....allowing lots of cuddles, jumping on my lap to be stroked and following me around! As Beau settles in I am sure he will become even more affectionate and will love you lots! BouBou wacks things he doesn't like with his paws too...it made me smile! I am really quite cat crazy as I have clicker trained BouBou to know his own name and he really does rule our home like a king! I can't wait to hear more about your adventures with Beau!!
    May xx
    walkinginmay.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awah thanks Petal! He is much better now and is coming to terms with my sewing machine day by day :) I am impressed you have clicker trained BouBou thats wonderful! xxxxxx

      Delete