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Luxembears
Okay that got your attention...we do have a new unexpected member that has joined our family....he he... it IS a boy...kitten. 
This is strange. I'll try to be brief but perhaps some cat experts out ther can explain this to me:
First of all this kitty is adorable. He was born on our farm about 12 weeks ago and is one of five in a litter where each kitten is very different in markings from one another.
Farm cats always come up to our porch for food ...and I always feed them but they scatter as soon as the door is open. Since they are born in the "wild" they are ferrel cats. I have never seen one become totally tame..tolerant of a few pats on the head...if they ever gain enough trust of humans...but they are always wary and keep thier distance. This kitten was no different....until last Sunday...
He meowed and MEOWED LOUDLY at the door. Unusal. We opend the door and he came in the house. We put him back outside and he sat by the door meowing. This went on for a couple of days..he kept trying t get into the house...now..this is the same kitten that would not come within ten feet of a human.
With lots of convincing my husband is letting us keep him( farmers usually prefer animals to be outside). This kitten behaves as if he has been with us since birth. He has totally adopted us. This also happened on the two year anniversary of my sister, nephew,and brother-in-laws sudden death.
This kitten has the markings of a killer whale and since we just returned from a vacation which included a trip to spectacular Sea World we have named him 'SHAMU'.
He has a clean bill of health from the vet save a wound on his side and being skinny...so he's here to stay..and I am the one who said "no mare cats" after our dear Tigger died a few months ago.
Cat experts: How can a ferrel cat change from being a wild and cautious shy animal to being a house cat( his idea) who is also litter box trained as soon as he moved indoors?
Shaking head here. He is so frisky too!
Nova Scotia,CanadaHMMM, I'm thinking meant to be and you certianly did not have a choice in the matter. One smart kitty!! 
Can't help but make a connection to your sister and nephew considering the timing. I have no doubt form reading other posting about strange,unexplainable things that point to your dear sister that she is watching over you and always nearby in heart,mind and happenings
Canna Bear PaintI think there are only two rules when dealing with cats.
Rule 1. Never question the mind of a cat.
Rule 2. When in doubt, refer to rule 1.
Animals are funny, sometimes they figure things out on their own. Maybe this one figured that if the food source came through that door, what lies beyond must be where all the good stuff is so ME FIRST! Smart kitty. Love the name!
Best wishes with your new family friend!
Kelly
Apple Dumpling DesignsWhat a sweet boy!!! Shamu looks like he just fits in. I am no cat expert but have done A LOT of reading recently on feral cats because of Skippy. His mamma may have recently completely weaned him and as Kelly said has figured out where the food source is....and since he's still so young has also figured out those little pats "ain't so bad...in fact...I'm kinda likin' em ALOT." I think some cats are just more loveable and NEED the physical stimulation while other could do without it.
And...your sister has influence too...(BIGGEST REASON).
Hugs,
Posts: 8,574love the pictures of your kidsnkittens!
gollyhugs
dilu
Past Time BearsOh boy . . . a new kitty for Judi! I'm SURE you were chosen, my friend!
LuxembearsAWE, I loved reading your responses. 
Kelly..I LOVE those rules! I guess I should not question it and just accept and love this cute ball of fur. :dance:
JeannieB BearsCongratulations on Shamu! I agree totally with Sue Ann....you were chosen!
I think it's the Egyptians that believe cats are the guardians of the soul......they have a tendency to appear as needed! Have you picked out a birth date for Shamu?
JeannieB 
Wow! Judi,
I just put this in my website. I guess many famous writers agree with you about the spirituality of cats. I know I do ;)
"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through."
Jules Verne
LuxembearsHow cool Karen! It's just so strange how he came just at the right time. He looks at me with such content it's as if he is saying, "Here I am. I'm home."
Jeannie, I 'll have to count back 12 weeks to figure out his birthday.
Also, my sister knew how much I was crazy about killer whales and dolphins. Shamu...the name fits him in a funny sort of way. ( He is so opposite)
It all fits. 
Judi, as the proud owner of many pound-rescued kitties and two recent feral siblings, I can tell you what I did.
Regarding litter box training...
I have this really HUGE cat cage. It's, like, three cat-sized stories tall, and has big wire mesh side panels, kinda like a metal dog kennel (not those plastic ones that are all closed in.) It's about 4x4 feet at the base and at least 6 feet tall. I use it when we have huge parties and I want to be SURE nobody lets the cats out; my cats are all indoor only because, unfortunately, we lost two kitties when I first moved to Chico, to coyotes. My indoor cats still have claws, to the detriment of my furniture!, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Anyway, whenever I get a brand new kitten, to help it acclimate to the house and to get used to our big family and the other pets (we also have two dogs and a guinea pig) and to the litter box, I put that little kitty into the huge cat cage for one or two full days. It's not supposed to be confinement as much as "gentle introduction to a really active household."
Then, when kitty has been able to relax in there with household noises going on and kids in and out and pets scurrying everywhere, which as I said only takes one or two days, I open the door and let kitty slowly make his or her way out on his or her own terms. This has always ended up extremely successfully! The kitty usually stops using the old, caged litter box once it find the new, more "open" one in our house that first day. And the same happens with the food; why go in a cage to get food when there's a huge feeder available in the middle of this big house!
When I took in my two feral siblings (brother and sister) they took a bit longer to acclimate. There was lots of hissing and scratching. But they also calmed down, in just a day or two longer, and I followed the same procedure. The cats have never had an accident and learned their litter box skills perfectly. Prior to coming into my home they had lived under a porch so I was worried about this but they did beautifully!
If you don't have a big cage like this a small room could work the same way, and then gradually open it up to the rest of the house after kitty has "figured out" where to find the litter. You can slowly move the litter box in increments across the floor until you get it where you want it in your house, if that ultimate location will be far away from the original room in which kitty spent time learning.
As for being gentle and liking people... that's a harder cure. The little girl kitty loves me and sleeps with me nightly, but she does so on her terms and doesn't like to be approached, especially by my kids. The boy is friendlier but he's no lap cat and even when he loves his stroking, he keeps his claws out a little bit, as if he's a little bit tense -- which he probably is.
Mine were almost four months old when I brought them inside and had no idea what people were at all, or houses, so I think you'll have better luck with your kitty, especially since this one chose YOU!
I adore cats and am happy for you and your family that you get to have a special one of your own.
Congrats on Shamu!
Wonderful pictures of your children and their new kitty - all three are so adorable.
Best of luck with your new addition to your family.
Hugs
Carolyn
Kates MatesRenae,
What a beautiful post! And from my own experiences I can agree with you completely. A couple more quotes that I've come across and saved....
"Cats, no less liquid than their shadows,
Offer no angles to the wind.
They slip, diminished, neat, through loopholes,
Less than themselves."
(Have you ever tried getting through the front door ahead of a determined-to-be-out feline?)
And this one...
"I have just been given a very engaging Persian kitten,
and his opinion is that I have been given to him" - Evelyn Underhill.
Oh, heck, one more just for luck:
"Women and cats do as they please,
and men and dogs had best learn to live with it"
On that note.....
Cheers
Kate
Bears by JodiThere is nothing better than a cat , some of my best friends have been cats !!!! My list of the best things in life are 1) GOD.... 2) my sons, Jerimie and Dustin...3) cats. Pretty much what keeps me going !!!!! I seem to always have 2 cats at a time. Now Ziggy and Bubba live with me. It is wonderful to be loved by a cat.
Jodi Falk
MerBear OriginalsI made the mistake of going back to the farm that had the 21 kittens yesterday and now I have two kittens. :crackup: Lufty is all black and so cute with his tail, that has been broken so is sort of crooked, and Chutney, who is an orange tabby.
I'm not going near that farm again!
Marion
Bears by JodiI had to laugh !! :crackup: :crackup:
I would have a whole house full If I could get hubby to move OUT !!!!!!
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Jodi Falk
Baird'sBears
Cats channel. They are very spiritual.
Here's a weird one . . .
Several years back, my daughter and I were returning some foster kittens to the Humane Society. Blubbering, of course. 
To cheer ourselves up, we decided to look at the kitties up for adoption.
They were all adorable, but all of a sudden I locked eyes with an adult tabby, and I knew for certain that I knew him. 
Never in a million years, all things considered, would I adopt an adult cat into a houseful of other cats and dogs. Disaster would surely ensue.
So I told my daughter that I had to have this cat, and whatever strange things I said to the adoption agent, to keep her mouth shut. 
Long story short, we brought him home, and he walked in as if he knew the place, and was coming home after a short vacation. No problems at all with the dogs or the other cats. It was amazing.
Nobody at the Humane Society knew where he had come from, or how, because he apparently ate the documentation pinned to the outside of his cage.
But I know. We'd recently had to have our beloved cat Hodge put to sleep.
I've never been so sure of anything as I am sure that Knightly is one of Hodge's 9 Lives.
We've also fostered a litter of feral cats, rescued from the U of Toronto Stadium, which seems to be Feral Cat Central. They were very frightened and hissy at first, but warmed up to us very quickly and became the sweetest, smartest, most mannerly kitties I've ever had to return to the Humane Society.
Kates MatesOh Kate, who said the first qoute? It's so lovely. And the other two are so true!
Hellow Renae,
I hunted all over and found the book with some other keepsakes - its called "Cats leave paw prints on your heart". A tiny book, just 2-1/2 inches square. The quote you asked about is from A.S.Tessimond. Just one more, not really a 'quote' but a beautiful description. Hope you enjoy...
"A black cat dropped soundlessly from a high wall, like a spoonful of dark treacle and melted under the gate".
I've never owned a black cat but that's always appealed to me.
Cheers
Kate
Kates MatesI wish I'd learned to type a bit better! Sorry!
K
MerBear OriginalsI've always been partial to either all white or all black cats, generally in pairs. I have an older black manx cat, Shadow, who has an unfriendly temperament unfortunately. She doesn't like other animals at all and I'm sure she will hate the kittens but the house is big enough for them to co-exist, and she spends most of her time up on top of the fridge in any case. Our 7 year old orange cat spends most of her time upstairs and she probably won't like the kittens as well. I'm isolating the kittens in the bathroom for now unless they are being supervised. They could get lost in the house and I'm a little nervous about rough handling from my Bostons until the kittens are old enough to rough house back.
Marion
LuxembearsI Love these posts!
Shelli , thank you so much for the cat advice. You seem to be very experinced. I feel like sucha nemrod at times when it comes to pets...they never listen to me...I think they think they own me or that I belong to them. I do. 
This self-reformed feral kitty has not yet missed the litter box.
Scratching head here.....our last cat often had problems going in the litter box. We even had several at various , but discrete, locations in our home so he could choose his spot. But this kitty, Shamu, has never missed yet.
We were wacthing our home videos of Sea World last night and our Shamu kitty came and sat on my lap. Seeing this magnifcent whale evokes such an unexplainable emotion in me. I am such a 'sign-seeker' for my sister. I even spoke out loud while in my car, "Lorna, please give me some kind of sign that you're here." (Dang, just typing her name makes me cry.) Shamu appeared on our door step only a day or two later. (He is curled up by my feet right now and sleeps with , or on top of , me).
He is a special kitty. Renae I loved your post. There is something mystical about cats. Anyone who has ever been owned by one understands this.
Jodi, You cats are GORGEOUS. I especailly love that gray one. Wow.
Why is it that so many cat people can't stop at just one.
Eileen, I just love your story. Wow. He came at the perfect time for you.
Kate, a bleated "welcome to TT!". I have been so swamped with working o customorders that I am having a hard time keeping up. :hug:
Apple Dumpling DesignsSkippy's little kittens used the litter box immediately. She brought them into the garage at 4 weeks and they never once pottied on the floor...not once. Now I have no idea how they knew to use it but they did...and played in it too. One poor kitten was trying to do his duty and was pounced on in mid poo by his 3 siblings...can't anyone get any privacy.
My old cat Murphy refused to use the litterbox...hated it...would just look at me...then the box...then the door...why won't you let me out. This was when we had moved to a new home and didn't want him out roaming yet....he won.
Cats...strange yet wonderful creatures.
Bears by EdieWhat a wonderful story, Judi, and great photos of your kids and the incredible kitty! I too am a firm believer in "signs".
