Gordon ~ Jingles & AO for a smooth transition to a safer & free life ~
Bravo @Foxglove ~ ((hugs)) for your worried heart ~
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@Zu_Zu (whisper) Gordon is still hereādd begged for a four week confinement. I think it is borderline cruel, but 5 more days will keep her happy. While I set Gordon outside for his daily airing, Spot came to eat. Spot is daily on my cameras but first time EVER in person sighting. Gordon hissed at Spot and lunged at him. Spot ran back to the woods. Guess Gordon doesnāt want friends ā¦
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@Foxglove ~ four weeks will be better ~ IMHO ~ a few more days of rest and looking around ~ the āSpotā spat is actually encouraging ~ one that āSpotā approached and secondly that they have had their first āchatā while in āsafeā quarters~
Some sunshine and conversation will only make the transition easier ~ we all know there will be āspatsā ~ Jingles & AO ~ everything happens for a reason ~
- thanks for the update ~
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There could be several reasons for a cat not to bury their urine or feces.
I mentioned territory for Gordon because he is most likely feeling displaced and defensive, therefore feeling territorial.
Some make sure to bay their stuff so that it hides their scent so they wonāt be discovered by other cats or predators.
If a litter box in my house needs to be cleaned Ralph will not bury his deposits, he doesnāt like scratching around other deposits. Ralph also will not bury his stuff if he believes the litter isnāt deep enough no matter how clean the litter is. If both of these needs are met he always covers his stuff. This change in behaviour didnāt start happening until in the last year, heās 14 now.
Ella will bury not only her stuff but everyone else as well, she patrols the litter boxes. Ella will try to cover any food dropped on the kitchen floor. She also runs to try and cover any cat puke or hair balls, even if they arenāt hers. She has done this since she was 1 1/2 months old and sheās 11 now.
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Oooo, Spot looks like he/she might have some Turkish Van in the mix.
Hippy trippy crunchy granola alert:
Have you tried ātalkingā to Gordon? It sounds totally stupid, but I usually have good luck conveying my thought process to my animals through visualization. For example, I literally just walked back in the door from searching for our little grey tabby cat ā the one who had the $7k run in with a raccoon. Our big, semi-feral male cat fell into step along beside me, so I pictured little grey tabby in my mindās eye and then reiterated verbally that I was worried and needed his help to find her. He walked the 1/2 mile up the driveway and back doing the Kiffness āSometimes Iām Aloneā meow the whole way. Soon, I heard little grey tabby mewing softly back at us and she emerged from the field looking at me like Iād interrupted her āme timeā. ; 
Had a coop blow open in the middle of the night once and the chickens decide, screw it, it must be dawn! After 5 minutes running around like a mad woman trying to herd 10 birds going 15 directions I stood still and pictured an owl swooping down and grabbing a hen. Opened my eyes to the see the roosters frantically herding the ladies back in to safety.
I reckon it is simply some shift in energy that the animals are recognizing and responding to. Whatever it is, Iāve done it many times over the years with poultry, cattle, horses, dogs and cats and even wild birds and gotten the action I needed from them. Might be worth a shot.
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I love that you did that.
And also
I love this and must watch the whole thing whenever it comes across any of my feeds.
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Kiffness is playing a show in my city at the end of the month. I want to go!
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Jingles for a abundant sunshine and nice temperatures for your transition Gordon ~ in our thoughts ~
and please let your worried mom and followers get a glimpse of you occasionally and most importantly āplay niceā with your new pride ~
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@Zu_Zu --Gordon has been set free inside the barn. Tomorrow the big doors open and we hope he stays. His cage and food (and his box with his name on it, will be in the usual spot if he chooses to stick around . . .I will put cameras on him.
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It will be interesting to see what happens. I would guess that heāll come around for food. Especially with colder weather coming.
@ravenclaw @Zu_Zu and others interested: Gordon was set free into the sealed barn Sunday night. On Monday AM the barn doors were opened, and he was free to leave if he chose. He stuck around for awhile, but when the horses came in, he either hid in the hay or left the building. At the PM feeding, there was a Gordon sighting behind an outbuilding. Food has been left out in his regular place, his cage is open and his bed-box and blanket still as he left them. Overnight, the food was eaten --canāt be sure if it was Gordon or another feral. Will check camera shortly.
This AM, Tuesday, Gordon was not in the barn when I fed and called for him. BUT he sauntered in a few minutes later and ate his breakfast. Then he hung around for about an hour while I prepped my arrows for a Mounted Archery competition that starts tomorrow. I will be gone until next Tuesday. DH will be putting out Gordon food and my cameras will see if he eats ā hoping as always that he stays around and is clever enough not to go to the road (1/2 mile away from house). Not sure where he is sleeping, but there are outbuildings that are cat assessable and I am leaving the barn door open for now, a little bit, just for him.
Today pix
watching me prep arrows:
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Love the pics and update ~ Gordon has decided heās āhomeā ! @Foxglove youāve done a grand job ! Oh ! He may disappear now and then but Gordon knows where āhomeā is and youāve made a good friend ! Thank you for helping him !
Have a great time away ~ at your competition !
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Sounds good! 
Sounds like he knows that itās a safe place with food and shelter. I doubt heāll leave now. Are you still able to touch him or get close to him? If not, that will probably come with time.
Thank you for caring about him. You gave him a better life.
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@ravenclaw --Gordon only allowed touching with a stick or riding crop --hands nearer than that, evoked an attack (hissing, claws out, ears back, mouth agape, tail fluffed). Today as I walked around the barn, I gave him wide birth --he still moved away to a covered spot when I came too close --under the fan, into a stall, out the door --But then he CHOSE to come hang out with me (25 feet away) for quite some time. My cameras show he did spend the night in the barn, however, so did a possum --it came in through the door I left open for Gordon. Looks like I will have to accept the possibly of possums in the barn (and perhaps raccoons), or shut Gordon out. Iāll decide when I get home in a week and review the camera footage ā
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Oh, Happy Gordon Day?!!!
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Hope it continues to go well, or reasonably well.
When I brought Dice home for the second time he was very angry and reactive for some reason. Maybe because I transported him in the carrier that I used for the previous cat whom he hated? Maybe because he wanted the freedom of the barn. He hissed and growled at me whenever I approached. This was a cat that I had a good relationship with and had lived at my house for a time. But at this point I was kind of afraid of him. He came around after a day or so.
He was a great cat, but he always had that slightly aggressive streak to him. This is probably part of why he was such an awesome hunter. I let him go outside because I felt like heād been unmanageable otherwise, somewhat like a horse who was used to living outside that is put in a stall. Some are fine and some are not.
So hopefully the OP will be able to strike some sort of relationship with Gordon.
Here is Dice dominating his domain. It looks like he has established a territory by planting his yellow flag.
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Love her name and she is gorgeous!!
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This is Bone-Z. (Aka Fishbone). We share custody of him with the farm across the road. Neighbor told me that she once managed to trap him for TnR. He threw himself against the trap walls wirh such violence that she was terrified he would snap his neck or spine & released him immediately.
Our semi-feral wild child kitty befriended him when we moved here 6 years ago. For 2 years, heād bolt if he even saw us. By year 4, heād tolerate me out on the deck with them to dole out the food. A few months later, and he tentatively ate a Churro squeezer from my hand. Then came the crazy beautiful day I thought would never come. He finshed his dinner & casually ambled over to where I was sitting in the open door & booped his head under my hand. Nowadays, heāll come in as far as the kitchen to eat dry food, wind figure-8s thru my legs, etc. Heāll do that Tom cat thing where they nip or swat at you. Then Iāll see a look of mild panic cross his face like āOmg, did I ruin this thing we have?? I didnāt mean to ruin our thing!ā and.heāll slowly reach out & carefully press his paw - claws covered - into my hand.
By conrast, it took just 3 weeks for DD16 to accidentally domesticate a baby possum 
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