May have a new addition to the family (2 Viewers)

[Anthony Martino]

Moved into our new home a few months ago. A couple of weeks back a cat showed up in our yard, I called it over and it came over meowing and let me pet it.

Wound up seeing it frequently and fed her, and then it seemed like she was trying to move in with us, wanting to push her way inside the house, always coming around the corner whether it was morning, noon or night.

She had started living under our house, and we continued to feed her on a daily basis. Figured she must've been abandoned, definitely too friendly to be feral.

Contacted a local no-kill shelter, but with four locations they're full with 250 cats. They referred me to the Humane Society in Tampa who gave me a different # to call. Got run around in circles, tried a place in Pasco County and they had VERY specific criteria to accept strays (i.e. cat had to be have been completely declawed front and back so it wasn't able to fend for itself, or be very young or very old, etc).

Found a Lost & Found Pets board for my county on Facebook, posted her there, someone recommended another shelter. Checked their website "we don't accept strays" so that was a no-go as well.

Booked an appointment this Friday with a local vet to have her checked for a microchip and get a checkup. They said we should lure her into a cat carrier Thursday night, then leave her in there so she'll defecate and that way they'll have a stool sample to check.

Provided she's not microchipped we've given in that we belong to her now. We've got a spare room that we can close off. We'll stick her in there and keep her separated from our two cats for about a week. Exchange their bedding so they can get acclimated to one anothers scents and then try to introduce them in person (or in feline?) after that.

 

[k9dr]

You should also have the cat tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus before introducing her into your house. These are contagious viral diseases that can be spread to your indoor cats. Good luck and hopefully she fits well into your home.

 

[gopherblue]

You should also have the cat tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus before introducing her into your house. These are contagious viral diseases that can be spread to your indoor cats. Good luck and hopefully she fits well into your home.

Sheesh...it's like you're a vegetari...vestibulari... ventrici...pet doctor, or something.

 

[k9dr]

Sheesh...it's like you're a vegetari...vestibulari... ventrici...pet doctor, or something.

No, but I play one at work :

 

[pltrgyst]

>Sheesh...it's like you're a vegetari...vestibulari... ventrici....

It's varmintarian.

No charge...

 

[Anthony Martino]

You should also have the cat tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus before introducing her into your house. These are contagious viral diseases that can be spread to your indoor cats. Good luck and hopefully she fits well into your home.

Yes, we're having an exam performed at the vets as well

 

[slisk250]

Congrats and good luck. Hopefully the pets will all get along. We just rescued a feral kitten from sure death in the Saudi Desert last month. The problem is our PITA Pomeranian has spent his life terrorizing cats on walks. All efforts to have them share space has been a waste of time (all dog's fault). Our strategy now is to wait until this wild thing gets big enough then introduce the dog to some claw to nose interaction. After that Cujo will mind his own damn business.

 

[Jeff]

You should call her Empress because she reminds me of the white Empress $1 chips with yellow spots.

 

[MegaTon44]

That cat looks like she wants to kill you and eat your soul.

She looks like a cool kitty. I wish you the very best with bringing her safely into your home!

 

[leo822]

That's awesome man! We have FIVE rescues and each one is just precious and awesome. We have one that just started not getting along with another so I put a folding door in the hallway at the bottom of the steps...effectively cutting the house in half. They each roam freely in their respective halves and there is peace.

Best of Luck!

E


PS - One feral we rescued from the streets of Las Vegas and she used to hiss so much we called her Mrs Hiss.
She follows me everywhere like a dog and sleeps on my pillow every night. Best thing I ever did was pick her up and driver her home.

 

[Anthony Martino]

You should call her Empress because she reminds me of the white Empress $1 chips with yellow spots.

My wife wants to name her "Cali" since she's a Calico

That cat looks like she wants to kill you and eat your soul.

She looks like a cool kitty. I wish you the very best with bringing her safely into your home!

Lol, she's VERY vocal so it was impossible to get a picture of her not meowing at me

 

[Jeff]

You should also have the cat tested for feline immunodeficiency virus.

Kitty AIDS?

 

[k9dr]

Kitty AIDS?

Yes - really

 

[Anthony Martino]

Cali came back negative for Leukemia and Aids. Had worms, fleas and ear mites, plus was wheezing a little and may have a grade 1 heart murmur (doc wasn't 100% sure)

No microchip, so we've taken her in. Have her in a closed off room and we're medicating her for about a week and then will bring her in for a checkup and vaccinations. After that will try to introduce her to our two cats.

Initially Cali was very vocal in her closed off room, which would prompt Sir-Purrs-A-Lot to hiss each time he heard her meow. But after a few days her meowing calmed down and our other two cats have stopped climbing as high as they can get or hiding any chance they could and gotten comfortable again. So hopeful when the time comes for a formal introduction it will go smooth.

Cali is already starting to look healthier, although she doesn't seem interested in playing with toys yet, but has gotten accustomed to her new digs and has no trouble eating.

 

[Milo013]

Good luck the rest of the way. We are coming closer to the opposite end with one of ours. We suspect she was a barn cat that was only captured after having a litter of kittens. We figure her to be 14 or 15 by now and have had her since 2004. For the first several months the only evidence of her habitation with us was an empty bowl and a full litter box. but she has mellowed with age. She even lets me (only me) pick her up these days. She has started to stretch her right rear leg forward and then scotch along on the remaining three. It is fairly intermittent, and she does not seem pained by it at all. She's lovely old girl and it's going to kill me to have to let her go.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Oh yeah, doc said Cali seems to be only 2-3 years old based on her tartar levels. Cali lets us pet her and fidget with her when we have to put drops in her ears (although she isn't a big fan of it, she doesn't go crazy and fight us, so that's a plus)

 

[leo822]

Bless you and your wife. Good people.

 

[pedrofisk]

Cutie. My wife took in a a stray cat that was clearly a lost or abandoned long before I met her. The trooper lived to about 18.