THIS IS HOW IT STARTED and while I admit I got a little testy in the middle, (judge for yourself) but later I was told there is now: “a big difference in their daily quality of life.”
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New customer message on January 31, 2020 at 7:32 am Product Question I have a small feral TNR colony. A new, still intact male is upsetting our apple cart. As pretty as he is, he is a jerk and a bully towards the other cats. And in typical bully fashion backs off when faced with resistance, but relentless with the ones he can bully. I feed them at night and can add drops to their water. Not sure which product would be best to restore peace. MY REPLY : Subject: Re: New customer message on January 31, 2020 at 7:32 am REPLY Only takes one - right?? I'd go for the NEW BEGINNINGS - many TNR and feral cat people use this one as well as in tons of shelters. Yes. Spray water, (Add to empty water bowls then fill with water) Spray the floors, air, food, bedding, play area, toys. Spray when no one is around, let the remedies sink in and get in touch after 3-4 days of use - OK?? Thanks for trusting BWF! January 31, 2020 at 7:32 am Hi Meg, Yes, it takes only one STINKER. That’s what I call him. Hubby want to call him Socks. Because he is jet black with white paws. I just ordered the New Beginnings. Looking forward to trying it. Feb, 9, 2020 Hi Meg, I started the New Beginnings last week (Wed, 5th). I feed the cats at night, adding essence to the food and water. So far STINKER is still a STINKER. I have not noticed any change. Should I get another bottle of New Beginnings or do you recommend another essence? Thanks in advance for your help. Feb 18, 2020 1:09 PM But there is some improvement. One of the neutered males is an insecure little guy who sees a threat where there is none and believes in shows of fear based aggression on principle. It worked to impress STINKER to leave him alone. STINKER would approach in an offensive posture but always back down. Well, last night Stinker approached in a neutral position, the little guy was unsure but not anywhere near his normal display and they actually touched noses for a second or two and then calmly walked away from each other! I was holding my breath, waiting for the explosion. Another neutered male has been one of STINKER’S victims. He would bolt as soon as he would see STINKER and STINKER chasing him. Last night the bullied cat came to eat even though Stinker was already present. He didn’t stay long, guessing it was still a bit too stressful for him, but Stinker (guess I should stick with lower case now) kept on eating, not reacting at all. Still have one neutered male and one neutered female being bullied by Stinker. But hopefully with continued use of New Beginnings things will improve for these two as well. If things continue to go well, Stinker will be called Mr. Socks J My queen of the roost is a very petite neutered female. Stinker is very respectful around her and if he makes the mistake of coming too close to her food takes his punishment (a few swift swipes) calmly and just moves on. He has learned that she is the boss. MY REPLY : Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2020 3:40 PM This is amazing!! Not sure what you are expecting from these ferals. But this is fabulous progress!! Keep doing what you're doing. Please!! It is great news. I'm including 2 more from my team (Kerry and Tess) to see if they have anything to add. Way to go.!! Keep up the good work. Meg Tuesday, February 18, 2020 5:19 PM Actually not expecting much, other than coexisting somewhat peacefully. I do feed them on my property and spread the food out over three areas, far enough they hardly see each other. This way I can ensure all get a fair chance to eat. I don’t mind their minor squabbles. Not that I can change that anyways. When I get a new cat like Stinker who goes way out of his way to bully and terrorize I am looking for ways to minimize the upheaval. On the other hand, I often get waaaaay more from the cats. Right now I have two who actually want a little petting at feeding time, one settles for a brief rub against my legs. Nothing I ever tried to work on and it has taken a couple of years for the cats to offer it. It doesn’t happen all the time, but over the last 15 years or so, there have been a few cats to go that special route. I’ll keep you posted. Mar 3, 2020 3:31 PM Another quick update. I don’t see the cats/all of them every evening, so my observations are more a snapshot of their behavior. The other night Socks was eating when one of his female bullying victims approached. She saw him (about 10’ distance and froze. He stood up and looked in her direction. Neutral body position. She took off running. This was the first time I witnessed him NOT chasing her. He just went back to eating. Over the last couple of weeks I noticed his flight distance to me kept decreasing. Last night he rubbed himself against my leg several times and ignoring the food in front of him. He actually bumped me while doing that. Maybe it is the essence, maybe it is him, but I never had a feral cat do that in just a few weeks of showing up. So, we keep at it. MY REPLY : Tuesday, March 03, 2020 6:02 PM I call this a miracle. Not a coincidence. Anybody else can call it what they like. ;-) I hear this all the time. All good. !! IT WAS A FULL MONTH BEFORE THE NEXT EMAIL ARRIVED !! Sent: Apr 5, 2020 6:54 AM To many trees to see the forest? J All my attention has been on Socks, the newcomer. Now, quite late, but perhaps useful for others with feral colonies: Two of the gang (neutered male and spayed female) have had a fragile truce for a couple years now. At least a couple times per week there would be a scuffle. A brief one, not a major fight. They are the only two who hang out around the house during the day. The female was here first, actually lives in our garage, and naturally was not thrilled to share her territory with the new male. Over time things settled down but those flare-ups became part of life. For most part they managed to communicate without a physical scuffle. Since I have been adding New Beginnings to the water bowls, these two have also been taking in the remedy. I finally noticed a significant change that must have been in front of my nose for a little while now. They consistently and peacefully share my back porch and are comfortable with just a few feet separating them. This is a big change and obviously a plus to their quality of life. Good enough really isn’t always good enough. Now I wish I would have figured it out earlier. MY REPLY: Sunday, April 05, 2020 10:26 AM That is wonderful news!! Yes - miracles can go unnoticed in the same room or on a back porch. Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing this. It does happen a lot to me in my work and with your permission WITHOUT USING NAMES OR CITIES may i write up our exchange in a blog for my website. I agree with you that the info could be super valuable to others. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Thanks again!! Glad you stuck with it!!! Long enough to see the miracles!!!! Yahooo. Meg Sunday, April 05, 2020 10:26 AM Yes, you may use it in your blog. What I could add happened yesterday. Every now and then these two get a little treat. So far I had to be creative to make sure they couldn’t easily see each other eating their treats. Yesterday I threw caution to the wind. They were both on my back porch, maybe barely two feet from each other. I gave each one their treats and watched. The female is a fast eater, she finished first. Looked at him, saw he was still eating. He looked at her, went back to eating. She got up and calmly walked away. Before New Beginnings, she would scare him away to finish his treats if she had a chance. She now leaves him alone if he is on one of her favorite resting spots. This really does make a big difference in their daily quality of life. J ###################### |