Uber friendly cat-where did it come from?

JBalways2000 · 27-12-2009, 07:22 PM

I do promise to try and upload that photo when i get a chance to put it on the laptop, its a lovely one. Havent seen kitty since the other day again, but we put some prawns out on christmas day for any kitties that might be wondering about and they were gone quick enough!

didnt see who got them though. i shall update if i have any further concerns about this cutie but for the moment i think i might just have figured it out

JBalways2000 · 12-04-2010, 11:43 PM

Just to resurrect this old thread, because our visitor has been back with a vengeance the last couple of weeks!

We had seen him on and off since Christmas when we started this thread, but the last two weeks he has become a regular in our garden and our neighbours. Our neighbours are really nice people(though we dont know them as well as we should after living here 5 years!) and they always put food out for birds and more often then not a bowl of cat food too, despite not owning a cat! We have even seen them invite this poor little guy into their home, but he definately isnt theirs(well i shall be confirming that by knocking their door tomorrow to ask lol)

Anyway back to the kittie, he has been showing up more and more the last couple of weeks and my OH is now convinced the poor thing is living in our entry way

because we have been going out and giving him fuss and treats he has been getting very cheeky and keeps scratching at the back door to be let in, the last few times we have gone to open it to give him a treat and he has made a run for it past us

when i have (gently)pushed him back out hes growled at me

its definately a boy, just not sure if hes neutered? my boys are all neutered but they dont look neutered, im assuming thats the case with all males? or did my vet just do it differently?

My OH got up early this morning to wait for a delivery and he saw the kittie jump out of the entry at 7.15am. he then saw him come out from under a car this afternoon and sneak into next doors house when they were getting a delivery

He does look in good condition fur wise, but i was having a feel of him while stroking him and im not sure if it was scabs or ticks i could feel on his neck

He is out at our back door right now as im typing this so we are concerned that this guy actually is a stray and maybe because of how friendly he is he has managed to survive by suckers like us giving him food etc? im just not sure what to do about it. He doesnt have a collar, but i did consider trying to get him in a carrier and bring him to the local vets to scan for a microchip? He is melting our hearts, but we cant even let him in because of our guys. with them being indoor they dont even have full vaccinations and after losing Raven i have become so paranoid and over protective of my guys

I do want to help this kittie if he is a stray though as all he keeps wanting is to get into the house. its heartbreaking watching him look at us and the other kitties through the window and cry at us

The local vets does seem to do alot of work with cats protection so i wonder if he wasnt chipped if they would keep him in and contact CP? i just get so sad when i think about not seeing him again, the OH would have him in a second

and i do admit hes a heart melter, but i have to think of the babies i have right now. I also really dont know if i could take on another kittie after only just losing Raven, its not something i even want to think about right now. I just want to make sure this guy is warm and fed and safe. Do you think it wise to try and get him in a carrier and bring him to the vets? i would just feel bad if he did turn out to be someone elses cat and i go carting him off to the vets

though saying that, if he does have owners then why on earth is he sleeping in our entry at night and scratching at our door? because our guys are indoors im not sure how it works with people keeping kitties outdoors-do people usually keep their kitties in at night? could it still be possible that he has an owner somewhere?

sorry for an uber long post, as you can tell i am worried about the little cheeky guy! heaven knows how he survived the winter if he is a stray

calismum · 13-04-2010, 01:45 PM

I once had a similar situation and the cat was known around the neighbourhood and got the odd bowl of food here and there so that was how he survived. He too had scabs around his neck - either caused by fighting or scratching due to fleas.

I put a collar on him with a message in a barrel saying 'if you own this cat please call....'

I started a regular feed/worm/deflea routine. With no response to my message - except from other concerned folks - I took him to my vet, got him neutered, tested for FIV etc and he came to stay. My indoor girl accepted him on her terms.

I know you have recently lost Raven - sometimes a cat just arrives at the right time, but if you feel that this is not your right time then I am sure your vet would link to local CP for you.

Whatever you decide to do, the poor cat deserves a loving home rather than scrounging a meal wherever he can, and possibly feeling miserable due to worms/fleas and the occassional fight for a bit of territory.

Let us know what you decide to do.

CM

angieh · 13-04-2010, 02:10 PM

That sounds like a plan CM! Might it work for you and uber-cat, do you think JB?

farthing · 13-04-2010, 03:05 PM

This is how we got Samson, he was wandering around the estate and trying to get into peoples houses, he came in through out cat flap one evening, it was very strange because we were having a BBQ and I was telling people Mike would love a ginger cat and Samson appeared on the fence just as I said it. We went to bed and got up to find him asleep in the utility room. We put adverts up on the local radio and the local newspaper, but the few calls we had obviously weren't him. After a couple of weeks we knew we couldn't part with him so he stayed- been here 15 years now. I found out from a neighbour that he kept trying to go into other houses and another neighbour had called him Boomerang because he kept coming back. It still upsets me when I think about him being homeless.
A funny bit to the story- a lady came into the vet a couple of years ago with a cat very like Samson, it turned out he had been taken in by her at the same time, and she lived another part of the estate, and he is also hyperthyroid! We are convinced they are brothers and had been dumped.

JBalways2000 · 13-04-2010, 03:07 PM

Thankyou for the replies. Kittie was back this morning sitting at our back door

my OH gave him some food and some fuss and he stayed for a little while after that but then wondered off.

My main concerns about taking him in if he is a stray, are him upsetting my 3 boys. Hernie is bottom of the pack, always has been, and one of the days when we were fussing the kittie at the door Hernie popped his head around the kitchen door looking for us. As soon as the kittie saw Hernie he was pushing harder to get in and weaving his head about to see Hernie and Hernie did get scared off bless him.

My other worry is the fact that he is an outdoor kittie-any cat i took on i would want to keep indoors and if he is used to being outdoors and roaming then would that even be fair?

I also worry because we have smaller animals too(ratties, mice, bunnies and guinea pigs) and all four of our boys came to us as kittens and grew up around smaller animals knowing they can be watched, but not touched! lol but obviously again with him being outdoors and probably having hunted we would be extremely wary about him going near the other animals. Obviously we dont leave our kitties unsupervised with the other animals either-well apart from the bunnies that is because AJ believes he is a bunny rather then a cat

but they do get let into the animal room at feeding time to say hello to everyone, and they do stay out sometimes when free ranging the ratties downstairs.

I guess it all comes down to worrying about my three and how they would react to a new comer and possibly upsetting things between them when they too, have only just lost their brother. AJ is only just starting to act a bit more normal, since losing Raven he has been very quiet and not himself

He and Raven are blood brothers though so were together from birth.

I would give this kittie a home in a second if it werent for my boys and as i said im not sure if it would be cruel to try and turn him into an indoor cat after being out. I think if we can i shall see about bringing him to the vets to check for a microchip-not sure if he will let me put a collar on him if hes not used to wearing one? i know if i tried with my boys they would take my eye out

but definately dont want to leave things as they are if there is a chance this poor kittie is a stray. Its a shame that we dont know more people to knock and ask-dont think most would even answer the door to us if we did on this street!

JBalways2000 · 13-04-2010, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farthing

This is how we got Samson, he was wandering around the estate and trying to get into peoples houses, he came in through out cat flap one evening, it was very strange because we were having a BBQ and I was telling people Mike would love a ginger cat and Samson appeared on the fence just as I said it. We went to bed and got up to find him asleep in the utility room. We put adverts up on the local radio and the local newspaper, but the few calls we had obviously weren't him. After a couple of weeks we knew we couldn't part with him so he stayed- been here 15 years now. I found out from a neighbour that he kept trying to go into other houses and another neighbour had called him Boomerang because he kept coming back. It still upsets me when I think about him being homeless.
A funny bit to the story- a lady came into the vet a couple of years ago with a cat very like Samson, it turned out he had been taken in by her at the same time, and she lived another part of the estate, and he is also hyperthyroid! We are convinced they are brothers and had been dumped.

Missed this because we posted at the same time! lol That is such a sad story with a happy ending, how lucky that they both found loving forever homes.

It does break my heart to think this boy is homeless. i will be kicking myself so hard if he is, just because we have known about him since before christmas and i was convinced he was owned by someone because of how friendly he was and how healthy his coat looks. Part of me wants him to have an owner so that he hasnt been homeless all these months, but then another part of me wonders what sort of owner he has that would lock him out so much that he has to sleep in someone elses entry way

If anyone does have any advice for us over our concerns then we would appreciate it. I honestly dont know if i feel ready to take another kittie on, but i would never see one homeless either. My problem is that i get attached to animals just by looking at them, so if it didnt work out with my guys it would break my heart even more.

angieh · 13-04-2010, 03:35 PM

JB - no one here is going to think any less of you for not taking this cat on yourself. Having said that though, you have struck up an alliance with this poor cat and you need to find out if he has an owner or find him a loving home. To this end, I am sure I read in one of your posts that your vet does some CP work - ring the surgery and ask them for a contact name and number for the local Cats Protection. Contact them and tell them about it and take it from there. Make it clear that you can't consider taking the cat on atm. I know you sort of want to, but you are right to put your own cats first.

Fingers crossed!

dandysmom · 13-04-2010, 04:15 PM

Agree 100% with Angie's excellent advice!

Shelley123 · 13-04-2010, 04:22 PM

Jb i hope you get this poor boy sorted out, its hard when we care so much.
We have two cats who live next door to us who are never allowed in the house, it breaks our hearts to see them cold and wet.
We too have felt obligated to try to help and before getting the pup, let them in. Now the best we can do is provide a cardboard box in our outdoor porch which one of the cats uses.
If i could find a home i would take these two as i feel they deserve a better life.
You could try putting a few found notices around your neighbourhood.

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