I know, I know, pictures are required, but I’m posting from work. I promise I’ll post pictures later, ok? Stop frowning at me like that!
Saturday was a gorgeous spring day so we had our back door open all day. Around midday, in walks this lovely tabby kitten, about 5 months old? Very meowly but also very friendly. Spent the day with us until we threw him out around 5pm. The doors were open all day so he was free to come and go as he pleased. In fact, he spent quite a lot of the day playing in our lawn.
So then on Sunday morning, around 6.30am, we hear ‘meow meow meow!’ and there he is at our back door (we’ve got tables and chairs stacked up against the outside wall and he came out from there). Now, we always go for a walk at 7am so we didn’t let him in then. But he was still waiting when we got back at 7.30am. So we let him in, again leaving the door open so he can leave if he wants to.
By now I’m getting concerned about whether he’s getting fed or not, so I gave him some watered down milk. He had a huge drink then kept going back to it and drinking more throughout the day. He had a lovely nap on our couch after his first big drink!
So now it’s Monday, and he was at our door again at 7am, still waiting for us at 7.30am when we got back from our walk (again, he had been sitting under the tables and chairs stacked against the wall). I’m starting to get concerned, so I weighed him on the kitchen scales so I can see if he starts to lose weight over the week.
He’s so friendly, that makes me think he’s not a stray (which I would expect to be more wary). But then he’s at our door at 6.30am which seems strange - is it normal to put a cat that young out for the day?
A responsible cat owner wouldn’t allow a kitten that young outside unless the mogling was neutered and fully vaccinated. If he’s showing his face on a regular basis and meowing for food, it would be worth ringing the local vets and asking if they have a report of a missing kitlet or recognise the description as one they’ve seen recently.
They might ask if you can take the mogster in so they can check for a microchip too.
I’m pleased to hear you think the kitten is too young to be put out too. I’ve just printed up some flyers to put in letterboxes, asking the owner to give us a ring and confirm he isn’t a stray. I’ll found out who the local vet is and give them a ring too.
Printing up flyers is a good idea, especially if the kit’s managed to get out by accident and is just lost. I’m sure the owner would be very relieved to see him back again. Alternatively, if it’s genuinely a stray, you’ll have to adopt him and post pics on a regular basis! Oh, and you’ll probably have to name the cat Cecil too.
Some people (and I use this term very loosely) will adopt a young kitten when it’s a couple of months old, but when it starts growing into a cat, will just sort of turn it loose. This may have happened, or it might have escaped. At any rate, don’t give it milk…that can give it diarrhea. Give it kitten kibble. And scritchies. Letting vets know, and putting flyers around is good, but you might have just been adopted.
It’s also entirely possible that poor kittie has been “dumped.” Some evil folks will just drop off kittens in a new neighborhood after they’re tired of them. :mad:
