Last September I saw a kitten on my patio and realised it was skinny and unloved.

I've taken in strays before but realised that this was a wildy not just a lost or abandoned kitten. He vanished if anything moved because he was so scared.

It has taken 8 months to domesticate this little boy but last week he decided that I was no longer scary so came up and leaned against me and the transformation in him since then has been staggering.

We are finally friends and he is now wormed, cleared of fleas and happy enough to be inside.

Only one more hurdle - a trip to the vet before the breeding season. He will thank me for that eventually...maybe.

Has anyone else in Grownups had a huge job with an animal, and what has been the results?

We had a moggy land at our place and no matter how many times he was put over the fence, he kept on coming back. From early morning until hubby relented about 4 in the afternoon and gave him a drink of milk. Next morning he was on the doorstep waiting to come in. A few weeks down the track he was injured, possibly in a cat fight. So off to the vet we took him. When he heard the story, he gave him his injections and desexed him at a lower price and told us he was now ours. He gave us many years of pleasure and was such a nosy thing. He supervised my hubby out in the garden, brought us mice to kill for him, brought in presents of birds under the ktichen table. He was scared of strangers and after shifting into one place he used to climb up to the top of the garage and forget how to get down again. Softy hubby rescued him several times until he left him up there one day and he had to find his own way down. Just like children and tough love. Many laughs of him poking his nose into neighbours back doors until they noticed him and then he would be off like a shot. Sadly he is no longer with us.

How lovely your story is. What you didn't know was that there was a sign on your fence that read "Suckers Live Here". You were doomed right from the time your puss arrived and read the sign.

Reading your stories shows catlovers all over the world are the same. Seeing as you have experience with bring them up from the wild, what have you found is the best to use against fleas please? My cat doesn't seem to be have any but I like to prevent and am worrying because she has lost the fur on the inside of her back legs and tummy.... Or maybe it's hormones?

Likely hormones, especially in girl cats. (Been there, done that with yet another stray). There is a cure but in my experience she will pack the weight on.

For fleas, one of my friends put me onto Advocat - purchased from the vet - defleas and worms at the same time. Wonderful stuff.

There is so much on the market these days that covers just about every feline condition. Solve the problem first and figure out how to cure it after.

I also have an older a cat who recently developed arthritis (supposedly) but has had mental breakdowns in the past year too. He was about 8 months old when I tamed him and as with all my ex-strays, the wretched first year of his life has penalised him now that he is 10.

Good luck with your furry wee girl.

We always used the small tube that was squirted on the scruff of the neck. Always found that a good way to keep fleas at bay. Can't remember how often we used it or the name sorry.

Our little female cat came from the SPCA. We chose her because she was very timid. Sadly she must have had a traumatic kittenhood as she has been with us now for three years and still hides under the bed if anyone calls. Terrified of the vacuum cleaner too.Only goes outside for a short time and always after dark.
However with us she is quite bossy, agitates for her nightly treat,sleeps on our bed and leapfrogs over us if we don't get up when she does!

How did she cope with all your earthquakes? Does she require extra reassurance or does she think that it is you humans who need comfort each time the earth shakes??

You chose a faithful and loving furry friend there, I think!!

We are rural. We had kittens dumped near our place. We tried to get them but they were scared and had gone feral. One kitten kept coming up to the deck. We kept feeding her and she got closer but we could not touch her. We had to leave as we were going to a job a long way away. We decided to set a trap. If she was trapped, we would take her to the vet and get her spayed if not, she would have to survive on her own as we would no longer feed her. She did get in the trap. We took her to the vet and got her spayed. I got the vet to let me bring her home before she came out of the anesthetic. She was a wild cat and I wanted her to wake up in a completely new place. It worked. She is the most happy friendly spoilt cat you would ever meet. She comes when you call her. she sleeps on the bed. She is absolutely delightful in every way. BUT if anyone else comes to the house, she bolts outside. She knows every vehicle and if it's ours fine. If not she is gone in a flash. She is very entertaining and it is so sad that she is still soo scared of other people that she runs away whenever a different person turns up. She is 10 years old now and this fear has never left her. I hate to think what has made her so afraid that 10 years of love can't erase !!

Hello happyshepherd - time to catch up -

Tried to respond pleasantly to you a week or so back but not being Ffriends" friendly seemed to muck everything up and you and two others disappeared into stardust - I'm not into direct correspondence. Sorry - time constraints mostly.

Having read your discussion above that you brought your wild one home before waking up from a vet procedure I told my vet last week that I wanted the same. Odd response from them but I held to my guns.

My wild boy cat is going to the vet for neutering on 6th June and will be coming home straight after being "fixed". I was getting all sorts of excuses from them why he shouldn't be leaving so early but I am holding to my desire for him to come home asleep or face returning to wild behaviour if he is left to recover in their surgery.

Eyes, fingers, toes crossed and I think Kidd will come through nicely and awake at floor level on his favourite blanket with koala, teddy and other toys surrounding him when he "comes to" and he will be unaware of what has preceded his visit up the road to Carterton Vet clinic.

Hi C-shell I think Vets sometimes forget we are the paying clients and our requests deserve consideration. Our local Vets are certainly not "owner" friendly. For those of us who are a bit older and have a lifetime of handling animals, just sometimes we DO know best. In "blondies" case ( my cat), she would have died if left wild. If she did not come out of the anesthetic nothing really has been lost ( harsh though that sounds) Her best chance was to wake up in what ( I would image) would be her feline idea of heaven!! And so it worked out. Don't let them *ull*hit you. !! Ideally, you need to get your cat home about an hour before he is due to wake up. That keeps the risks to the minimum. Let me know how you get on. Cheers Shep.

So good to read these great stories... good on you lovely peoples, wish there were more out there such as yourselves :-)