So I’m waiting to adopt a new kitten (pics will follow) and now I need some advice. I have two options:
Wait until next Wednesday to get a 10 week old from the shelter. I’d go in on Friday to pay for her, but she wouldn’t have surgery until Tuesday and then I couldn’t bring her home until Wednesday.
Second option is this: yesterday I met a woman who fosters cats for our local PetSmart. I was lucky enough to catch her at the store to meet the two kitties she’s been caring for. The one I like is 4 months old and was a feral. I first held the other kitty she had, a pretty white girl, but she wanted none of that. She didn’t like me. I asked sheepishly if I could hold the other one, which was supposed to be more anti-social. She melted in my arms. Literally, head hanging down, tummy getting rubbed, she loved me; it was clear.
So the question is this: should I wait until next week to get the younger kitten from the shelter or should I let this 4 m/o formerly-feral kitty take my heart? I have two kids, 2 & 5, and have no intention of letting them torture a young cat.
What to do folks? I have about 5 hours to make a decision, I’m supposed to meet kitty lady @ 10 this morning to pick the girl up. Please help, I’m stumped!
How well does the once feral cat get along with others cats? Is it socialized well, or does it have problems coping with strange humans and strange cats? That is a BIG factor. If the formerly feral cat gets along decently with other cats I’d take it. (Not getting along with other people might not be as big of a deal depending on your household.) You wouldn’t have to deal with getting the older kitten spayed, and it’s already got some of it’s shots. Besides that it’s stressful to have a teething kitten to care for. You know the older cat likes you, if it can also get along with other cats it will be a good addition. Pictures? You said you had pictures? Where?
Is there any way you can introduce your 2 and 4 year olds to the ex-feral kitty? She may have taken well to you, but if she doesn’t take to your kids you might have trouble. If all proves well I’d go with the ex-feral, who would be harder to place in a home than that new kitty at the shelter.
I was going to say what Honey said - let the kids meet the ex-feral and see how it goes. A kitten usually has a better chance of finding a home than an ex-feral.
Three of mine are ex-ferals, and two of the three are the sweetest, most loving cats I have ever had. The third one is a bit weird - I think her momma dropped her on her head or something.
Says you. Both my girl cats were alas rather poorly socialized as kittens (I rarely receive visitors in my apartment), but once they’re a little bit familiar with you they’re the biggest cuddlesluts I’ve ever seen.
My family adopted a feral cat and her five kittens – when we first met her, she was unaccustomed to human contact and wouldn’t come near people. By the time we took her in, she was already coming running every time she heard our apartment door open.
She was absolutely the most friendly, loving, outgoing cat I have ever met, bar none. Unfortunately, she died a few years ago from lymphoma, and is still missed. We still have two of her kittens (gave the other three to good homes), a boy and a girl – the 25-lb boy is sweet but very nervous around new people, while the girl is more friendly and talkative.
So yeah, the gender of the kitty isn’t a terribly accurate indicator of its personality.
Feral,I found one in the park and it cleaned out the rat and mouse population in the neighborhood within a year.It was independent and loved to rough house. he was affectionate and would sleep in your lap,when HE wanted to.He was a special cat but had problems. One time I saw hin laying down in the middle of a thru street.Right ibetween the yellow lines. He used to fight dogs and wild animals. he would come home to be fed and heal up. Dissappeared about a year ago.
Oh my gosh, a 25 pound cat? That boy weighs as much as my two year old! :eek: He must take a lot of food and leave big piles behind. I’ve never had experience with a cat larger than 11 pounds.
I decided to get the feral girl, she’s staying in the bathroom right now. What sucks is that as soon as I got home from picking her up, the Shelter calls and says that yes, I can pay for the kitten I was interested in and get her sooner than they originally said. Oh well, I’ll chalk this one up to “the cat picked me”.
She’s doing well, hub said he just played with her a bit and she’s responding positively. I’m going to work hard to get her to trust us. At this point though, if she sees an open door I’m sure she’ll bolt. That’s worrisome. Need to get her a microchip ASAP. Or at least a name tag. But we don’t know her name. She hasn’t chosen to share that with us as yet; the foster mom called her Spicey and I hate that name. I’m leaning toward Poppy. We’ll see if she likes that, or if the #1 son can come up with something cuter. Suggestions?
Congratulations on your new feline overlord! She’s a beauty! “Poppy” is a good name, but I think she looks like Audrey Hepburn. Give it a few days - she may tell you.
Microchipping is a great idea. I always worry about collars on cat, especially those who haven’t worn one since they were kittens and thus aren’t used to them. Mine would be calling 911 about animal cruelty if I even tried it. A harness makes them act as if they are nailed to the floor.
Lots and lots of time with her is important - but let her have alone time if she seems to need it.
Thank you from the bottom of my (and Cricket, Sugar Magnolia and Lt. Dax) heart for adopting a feral.
Oh! I forgot to mention that she has an abnormally short tail. About 8" total length. And it has a crimp in it about 6" from her butt. Looks kinda like she got her tail shut in a door. That’s the first thing hub noticed. He was kinda upset with me yesterday upon coming home from work and finding a 7-month-old cat in residence. I explained that while I had wanted a younger kitten, she really was just a teenager and not an adult yet. I also think that even though she was feral (she was fostered for 6 months!) she’s spent most of her life in a cage at the foster mom’s house. Right now all she wants to do is hide behind the toilet in the bathroom. She’s warming up quickly though; I’ve been privy to 3 purring sessions thus far.
I have to wonder though, do animal fosters normally keep cats for so many months? I’m a little confused as to her real age. The paperwork the woman filled out indicated she was found (trapped) in late November. She got her first vaccinations on 11/30 with an application of Advantage as well. According to the paper, she was spayed/re-vaccinated and tested negative for FELV & FIV on 2/16. When I picked her up, the foster mom gave her another Advantage dose and something I’m not familiar with, Drontal.
She does kinda resemble Audrey. I don’t really like the name Mona, but with the smirk shown in the photo, I can see that too.
Any/all new kitty advice will be absorbed/sifted/put to use! thx!
Since she looks like Audrey Hepburn, I think she should be named Eliza Doolittle. It’s perfect when you think about it, because she’s going from living on the streets to being a princess. Just my two cents’ worth. Congratulations on your new furry friend! She is gorgeous.
The Neville kitties wear collars, but they are also microchipped. Cat collars are designed to come off pretty easily (so they don’t get caught on a branch or something and strangle the cat), and the Neville kitties fairly frequently manage to get out of theirs. Backup systems are good.
I used to watch Animal Cops: San Francisco, and Luna has threatened to call them on me for underfeeding her. I tell her that they would laugh at her and tell her that she is a -1 on the “emaciated” scale of 1 to 5 (1 being normal, 5 being a skeleton with fur).
Well, see, Tybalt isn’t just flabby, he’s also big overall. The orange tom we suspect was his father was a large, musclebound beast. If we hadn’t taken the kittens in and Tyb had grown up on the street, he would probably be almost as heavy, but it would be all muscle. However, being a lazy indoor neutered beast who’s dumb as a box of rocks, he is quite jiggly when he walks.
As a result of his size and his age (he’s 12) he has developed diabetes. Currently his blood sugar is normal entirely due to special cat food. Which is good, because while cats rarely mind getting shots, feline insulin is quite expensive.
Good luck with your new kitty, she looks adorable!
She’ll be less likely to do things like climb the curtains than a kitten would, and you pretty much know what her personality will be like (not the case for a tiny kitten).
Cats are hard to place once they get past the cute little fuzzer stage, because most people who are looking for a cat want a kitten. This one evidently didn’t warm up to everyone, either, which makes her even harder to place.
If you have adoption paperwork, see if PetSmart offers coupons for people who have adopted animals. Petco does- if you brought your adoption paperwork to my local Petco, you would get some coupons for stuff you will need for your cat.
You said you had pictures? Where? 
