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I was out shovelling my walk a little while ago when I heard some piteous mewing coming from behind my house. As I worked, the mewing came closer and closer, and finally a half starved, half grown cat emerged from the shadows, favoring one paw.
Being the sucker that I am, I crouched down and extended a hand toward him, and he picked his way over to me and petted himself on my hand for a little bit.
I don't really want another cat, so it was extraordinarily foolish of me to go inside, get some cat food (making sure to wash my hands thoroughly before touching either my cat or her bag of food, since for all I know the stray is carrying feline leukemia or something equally horrible), lead the cat around to my back porch, where there are some discarded rolls of carpet that could be good insulation for a sleeping cat, and fed it there.
And yet what could I do? The little guy was skin and bones. I'm just not someone who can not help an animal in need if I'm in a postion to do so.
I suspect that he may be a housecat who got out a while ago, partly because I've never met a feral cat who was that friendly with humans and partly because he knew what the sound of a box of cat food meant.
My plan is to take him to a low-kill pet shelter I used to volunteer at and see if they've got room for him. They only euthanize cats who are dying of something hidious or are so visciously mean that even after a lot of loving attention they can't be shaped into a cat fit to be lived with. My
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Yeah that doesn't sound feral to me either, but knowing some people, it could be the baby of a house cat who was dumped or let go, especially if you say it looked half raised.
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Yeah, he had that gangly, long legged look that they have when they're the feline equivalent of teenagers.
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Then my best guess is that it was part of someone's accidental litter, and they raised it "till it was old enough to fend for itself" then kicked it out in the snow. At least that's what I get from spending my summer at a low cost/shelter spay-neuter clinic
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People who don't know the two statistics I've had thrown at me way too many times. Though at the moment I don't either, long week. One is the number of kittens a cat and all of her kittens can produce in seven generations, the other is the average lifespan of a cat in the wild. Yeah take this kitty to your shelter. And don't feed one you can't.
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Some people just don't realize that domesticated animals don't have what it takes to survive in the wild. Either that, or they just don't care. Either way, it's sad.
Feral cats especially tear me up. I almost, but not quite think of barn cats in this category. they're kind of in this middle ground that I don't know what to think about them.
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Noemon, congratulations on your new cat. She sounds very sweet and wonderful. Does she have a warm place to sleep at night? I'm glad you fed her.
I can't understand why people don't take care of their cats either. I guess some people treat their cats the way I treat the racoons, just putting out food and letting nature otherwise rule. But cats aren't wild animals. Even the feral ones have lots of tame-cat genes.
And even wild animals have a terribly high mortality rate. It's no fun being a wild animal, for sure. I'm sure at least half the population of racoons dies every winter. 50% a year is not very good odds. For feral cats it's probably higher. They're less well suited to the climate. For dumped domestic cats it is probably very close to 100%.
My cat Mouse got outside once. I adopted her as a young adult and she was a good hunter and semi-wild (probably a barn cat) at the time. After 2 weeks I finally found her again and she had lost about 1/3 her body weight in only 2 weeks. I don't think she would have lasted a year.
Anyway, the cat I adopted when I swore I couldn't adopt any more cats, and when everyone told me I was crazy because she was injured and there are so many perfectly healthy kittens who are killed every year from lacking homes, turned out to be the most wonderful cat I've ever had. She's the sweetest, most intelligent, most loving cat ever. I've been blessed a million times over for my decision to keep her. May your new kitty bring you the same joy.
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I'm keeping her warm and fed, and have her on a waiting list for spaying and vaccinations. I haven't actually taken her in though. I'm more allergic to her than I am to some, unfortunately.
I'm actively looking for someone to adopt her, but so far I haven't had a lot of luck. I'm not out of options, though, and am hopeful that I'll find someone for her.
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I'm amazed by how much weight she's put on since I first met her. She was fur and bones on Dec. 9th; I don't think that she'd have been able to survive much longer, really. Now she's much more solid.
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Same thing happened with our neighbor's outdoor cat. The thing is like king of the neighborhood now.
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I'm so glad to hear the cat is doing well. My cat Mouse ate an entire can of catfood in about two minutes when she first came back home, then regained her weight over the next month.
She was sooooooooo glad to be home! She kept randomly coming up to me and flopping her whole side against my thigh where I was sitting, for weeks after that, as if to say "thank goodness you're still here!" Ever since then she's had a bit of separation anxiety, and doesn't like for me to be gone for very long.
Fending for yourself in the wild is traumatic, I gather, even for good hunters like Mouse always was. Domestic cats are a long long way, genetically, from wild animals.
It makes me wonder, if civilization ever falls, if the instinct for trust and cooperation will be a trait counter to survival. On the one hand, the tendency to rebuild civilization as quickly as possible would enhance everyone's survival, but on the other hand, paranoia and hostility may raise an individual's chances of survival. Who knows? I'll probably go with trust and cooperation, and only survive by the grace of God. Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Yeah, I've been happy to see her getting healthier. I really wish that I could adopt her--we like each other quite a bit--but that allergy thing has to be a deal breaker for me. We get along so well, though, that it seems like a shame.
To keep her warm I've been heating a brick in the oven for an hour and a half or so before I feed her, wrapping it in towels, and putting it in the box that I've got rigged up for her. It seems to work fairly well--the box doesn't feel excessively warm, the brick is well enough insulated that she can't burn herself on it even if she snuggles up to it, and the brick continues radiating heat for most of the night.
I don't see why our instinct to trust and cooperate with one another would be counter-productive to our survival, were civilization to fall. People don't really do well on their own. A few do, but it's the rare, rare human being who is really 100% self sufficient. I think that the instinct that you're talking about would cause people to band together into small groups within which trust would be extended, and outside of which suspicion and mistrust would reign. It'd basically be a return to a tribal mentality, I suppose.
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my brother is looking for an 8 year or older cat, you wouldn't believe that isn't easy to find, but he'd rather adopt one on it's last chance. He had a fire this summer and lost his four cats, the oldest was 17, the youngest 7.
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There is a low-kill shelter in Dayton that, last time I checked, had some in that age range. If your brother lives close enough that he'd be interested in making the trip, I'd be willing to check with them and see what they've got at the moment. And of course if he wanted a younger one too I'm currently looking for a home for the one I've been talking about in this thread.
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We're all in Bloomington IN, so it's just a bit far. Our "low kill" shelter doesn't right now have much age range, but it could.
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My piano teacher's husband designs and builds houses. They had been looking for a cat, and what do you know- a stray kitten appreared at the site of a house he was working on. A few months later, they found another one that looked a lot like the first, and adopted it too. Now they have four cats, all of which were strays from her husband's work(it used to be five, but they adopted one out), and they are SO friendly. The two oldest, Roadrunner and Wiley, will come into the piano room(they figured out how to open the door) and snuggle up to my leg while I'm playing. They're so sweet! It's amazing how strays can end up being nicer than regular, bred animals.
Posts: 1591 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I've always adopted strays (actually they adopted me). I can only remember deciding to get a cat once in my life. The others just showed up and told me I was their human now. (Oh, and once I let my cat have a litter of kittens before I had her neutered.) Anyway, I think strays have the best genes. It takes a good bit of inbreeding to create a perfect breed type, so deleterious genes seem to accumulate in those lines.
If I ever did get a purebred cat, I think I would get a Siamese. Drive By has a lot of siamese in her, she has the wedge shaped head, short hair, siamese voice, and crossed eyes, and she's a totally awesome cat. She's very friendly and loving, quite intelligent, as well as being a bit bossy. But she's just a joy to have around. If other Siamese are like her in personality then they're a fantastic breed.
Drive By is all black, though, with no points. Or maybe she's all points and no background, whatever. I like the short hair because it seems to cause fewer hairball-related problems, and sheds a little less. Also, she's just so active and smart that she's a lot of fun to be around.
I have two cats currently coming around to eat in the backyard. One is called Pete and the other doesn't have a name yet, but is sleek, black, and cool looking. Both are neighbors' cats, from what I can tell. Inside I just have 3 now. Cats are such good company! I feel honored that these 3 have graced me with their presence.
Too bad your allergies make it impossible to keep this one. I'm sure you'll find her a good home, though!
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Good thing about checking for FL...I had a friend who took a stray in and lost all 4 of his cats to it because he never got the stray checked for it. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Oh, yes! Feleuk is terrible, and ravages stray populations all over the U.S. I totally would have any stray tested, and definitely wash hands thoroughly after petting strays as soon as you come inside. It's quite contagious.
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