So, like I said in the other thread, I catnapped a very personable feral cat today that’s lived until now under my boyfriend’s porch. I ain’t saying we’re keeping him, but he seems very adoptable, lets you pet him, let me pick him up and cram him in a carrier, etc., so I thought I’d take him to the vet, get him fixed and dewormed and all, and see how he does. I don’t want to throw my two cats into turmoil and ruin their lives, but if we turn out to like Lord Greystoke, we’ll consider keeping him - otherwise we’ll get him fat and friendly and find him a home.
That was the plan, anyway. Now I’m not so sure I’m doing the right thing - his brother cried at me when I stole him, and he’s terrified and hiding behind the toilet in the bathroom I stuck him in. Except the last time I went in he vaulted onto the sink and yelled at me. I did get a picture when he did that - Stokie.
I dunno. I mean, this isn’t a kitten, it’s a year old cat. And it’s not a stray - its mother was no housecat, and it grew up by the railroad tracks under a porch. I mean, yeah, he lets you pet him, and yeah, all strays should be spayed or neutered, but did I do the right thing by removing him from a life in which he’s self-sufficient and happy? He’s most certainly not happy now, I can assure you. What if he’s just not a housecat? What if he ruins my cats’ lives? What if he gave me some sort of gross manylegged cat parasite?
Of course you did the right thing! You just have to know that you can’t save them all. He will be much better off in your home, or in someone else’s, than he would be otherwise. I’m sure SnakesCatLady or someone else will pop in to tell you some of the more heartbreaking feral cat stories. I believe that you saved his life.
He makes creepy noises. My boyfriend’s name is Aaron, and he keeps calling for him! “Aaaaaawon!” Also, he is LOUD. He’s in a bathroom in my garage - I can hear him in the yard! There’s no window!
Frankly, I’m baffled that you could even consider that his former life scrounging around on the fringes was “self-sufficient and happy”. He wasn’t a lion out on the Serengeti, doing what lions do best, and suffering when forced to live in captivity–he was a feral city cat eating garbage.
Keep 'im. He will have a long and productive life, and might even teach your current homies a thing or three. Be good for them.
He would have probably died young and infested with disease or parasites if you had left him out there, so I think you did the right thing. He’ll get used to being a pet.
Well, they’re hardly pampered Persians. They’re both pound kitties and one of them got abandoned in one of those “no harm no foul” cages they have for dogs in the middle of the night - neutered, microchipped, etc. In other words, somebody’s cared for pet, dumped by a pack of cowards. (Probably adopted instead of bought - all the adoption places microchip.) Dewey is aware of the depths of human assholery. Dewey is from the skreet.
I’m somewhat more optimistic - Stokie and I just had a long slow-blink back and forth session, after which I made a successful attempt to scritch his chin. He stopped shaking then. He’s kind of creepily submissive, though - he hasn’t puffed his tail or hissed or anything. Almost want to tell him to man the hell up, you know? He refuses to eat, though - I gave him a can of wet grossness and he didn’t want it - put some on my finger after we scritched for awhile and he licked his moustache but not my finger. I know somebody who used to live above the porch the cats lived under did feed them for awhile, but she moved out several months ago. I thought he’d be all about the food thing - he’s not super-skinny but he’s still pretty thin.
i picked up the cutest little girl last month. incredibly she seems more interested in being held and cuddled than eating. she was about 7 months old, under 5 pounds, and in tummy turmoil from worms and such.
a month later she is a bit over a half a pound heavier, her tummy is doing much better, and still would rather cuddle than eat.
perhaps his tummy is upset by icky parasites? i gave coritsa kitten food (dry) to give her some nice protein and put some weight on. i’ll stop it when she has her operation later this month. she also eats better when i’m with her and petting her, telling her what a good girl she is and how yummy those kibbles are.
He’s getting dewormified Wednesday. I wonder if they could give him a bath? He kinda smells a bit, and he feels kind of like a dirty dog. No mats or burrs or anything, just, you know, not “clean shiny cat”.
I went in to say goodnight and once he remembered that I’m the slow blinker and he doesn’t have to yell at me I did, I believe, detect a purr. (He seems to be like Dewey - a stealth purrer. You can’t hear him, you have to touch his throat.) He let me touch his front feet, too. I still have no idea if he’s actually a he, which really quite matters when it comes to how much of my government stimulus check he’s about to eat up on Wednesday.
They’re doing, if I remember, the spay/neuter, testing for FIV and feline leukemia, deworming, deparasiting if necessary, and distemper vaccine.
Perhaps when he starts eating I should give him some kitten food? Isn’t that supercharged? (He’s not a kitten, but it’s not like he got a great start.) I’d like him to put on some weight and get a nice healthy coat - I didn’t realize until I really got my hands on this guy just how glossy and sleek my indoor pampered guys are. His face seems thin, but he might just have some of that funny-looking Siamese thing going on.
I’d just put out a third dish of whatever it is your other cats are routinely eating. He didn’t survive this long by being stupid; he’ll figure it out.
I have a theory that picky eaters may survive longer on the street, by their suspicion of new foods. It may be spoiled, it may be poisoned, who knows? Let somebody else take the first taste.
If that cat lets you come anywhere near him, he’ll be tamed up fairly well in a short time. “Short” meaning maybe a few weeks, maybe a few months.
He’s not clean and shiny because he’s been outside and eating crappy food. Even if you can’t wash him he’ll get shiny and smooth before long with proper nutrition. You might try wetting a towel with nice warm water and rubbing him well with it. A bath might be too much but a good rub with a towel (or several towels) does a good job of getting off excess dirt.
And yes you did the right thing. I’m not opposed at all to TNR but this is a cat that has a good chance. He’s already more than halfway to housecat. He probably would have died soon from some disease or starvation if you hadn’t taken him.
He’s coming nowhere near Dewey and Edison until he has a clean bill of health AND I feel I know him well enough to predict his behavior and feel comfortable grabbing him if need be. No way is he watching anybody eat! He’s spending at least a week and probably more in the Isolation Chamber.
The problem with the Isolation Chamber is that something’s wrong with the wiring to part of the bathroom, which I have to ask my dad about only he’d be mad that I’ve, er, taken in another cat - the lights above the mirror and the power outlet don’t work, so it’s either pitch black or bright with fan noise. I didn’t think he liked the fan noise so it’s pitch black for the time being. Tomorrow I’ll pick him up a little battery powered light. I could have run a cord for a lamp under the door but I was afraid he might chew or knock it over. (Unfounded as of yet, as he has only moved twice that I’ve seen - back and forth between behind-toilet and sitting-on-vanity.)
May I contribute a slight hijack to this thread of sickly cats? When I was 13 or so, we had this barn cat whom we named Harfy. I don’t recall that he was produced on the farm; I think that he just showed up one day and managed to tolerate, and be tolerated by, the other cats.
He earned his name by how he sounded: he spent most of his day going “Harf! Harf! Harf!”
Harfy was a tom who, although fairly large-framed, was rail-thin and had the nastiest coat imaginable. He was far from the best-looking cat in the world.
Then it came time for the semi-annual pig castration festival on the farm. My brother and I were the catchers and holders; my father did the blade work and “sterilization”.
(I can add another paragraph or more on the procedures involved if anyone is interested. Or I might create a new thread devoted to them.)
Bottom line: Harfy ate about two dozen still-warm pig testicles that day, and within a week was the sleekest, healthiest-looking cat you have ever seen.
So, if anyone finds themself in possession of a half-feral, sickly looking cat, I can wholeheartedly recommend a couple of pounds of pig testicles as a panacea.
I think I met him once in a small cafe. Even then, he didn’t eat much, but smoked endlessly and scoffed at the camera equipment that the tourists waved about.
They may not give him a bath but they may wipe him down with kitty wipes or with a dry powder meant to attract dirt and grime if he is really dirty.
If they don’t you can get your own at the pet store.
Most strays do not groom themselves as often as the pampered house cat they also do not have the kind of food they need. I am sure if you give him time he will do the job on his own.
Once he starts eating high quality food he will feel better which will lead to him grooming himself better and his coat and eyes looking cleaner.
It sounds to me like you are doing everything right and although he might not be to happy right now you still did the right thing.
Even if later down the line it does not work out with you it may with someone else and having him neutered and having current vet care will make him much more adoptable.
Domino was a huge 24 lb. stray who hung around our place, lurking in the woods for months before we decided to capture him. His original name was Mr. Mean Face because he reacted to humans much like your Lord Greystoke is reacting. However, his demeanor changed immediately when we brought him home from the neutering. Now we call him “The Good Boy with the Nice Face”. He’s the sweetest cat we’ve ever had. You could NOT have convinced us of this change when we were capturing him in a wild animal cage, all hissin’ and spittin’ prior to his surgery. Give him a chance to adjust to a 'nadless life. You may luck out. We did!
I haven’t read the whole thread, but good for you taking the cat in! I’ve had quite a few rescue cats in my time and with the toms, it makes a big difference to their temperament once they’ve been neutered. Our current furry gentleman, Shadow, was quite a handful when we first had him. His favourite bad habit was sneaking into the bedroom and pissing on the bed. Not just spraying, but a full bladder-emptying experience.
After he’d been to the vets for his snips, he was much better behaved and eventually the bed-wetting stopped completely. The vet did say that it would take 6-8 weeks for all the excess hormones to work their way out of his system, and he’s turned into a lovely happy cat. Well worth the effort!
He refuses to eat, though - I gave him a can of wet grossness and he didn’t want it - put some on my finger after we scritched for awhile and he licked his moustache but not my finger. I know somebody who used to live above the porch the cats lived under did feed them for awhile, but she moved out several months ago. I thought he’d be all about the food thing - he’s not super-skinny but he’s still pretty thin.