Oh he's adorable and obviously interested in being someone's little love. I'm always attracted to tuxedo cats. But I have 5 and that's already 1 over my animal limit. Good luck with him!

Kate

Well, the cat is now named Kuro which is japanese for black (aren't I just so creative? lol). He's become a permanent presence on my front porch and gets bolder every day when it comes to begging for attention! He even tried to crawl all over my friend and I while we were mortaring some rocks onto my driveway, purring like crazy the entire time! I'm trying real hard to not get attached but he's just so cute and lovable that it's hard not to. Of course it's not as hard when he's climbing up the outside of my window screens chasing things!

All of the rescue groups that I contacted said they already had too many animals and couldn't possibly take in another cat at this time. The bad economy is really hitting them hard since not as many people can afford to adopt a pet right now. One did offer to help arrange to get him nuetered and his basic shots for very little money through the local Humanitarians so at least that will be taken care of. After he's been nuetered I plan on posting his picture on pet finders to see if someone will adopt him.

You may also want to try to post on the pet forum on this site.

Kara, thank you for caring and helping the little guy! He is beautiful

Hey Kara, did you ever find a home for Kuro? I was wondering if you had any luck with pet finders. I took in a pregnant stray who just delivered five babies on Easter morning. Of course I can't keep them. I already have 12.

See you at the swap in a few weeks.

Nicki

Nicki, it's good to hear from you! It's so fun trying to find new homes for kittens isn't it? lol

I was able to get Kuro nuetered and he got his basic shots a couple weeks ago. He spent a couple days on my back porch to recover but he was definatly unhappy with the whole situation. When I first opened the door to the cat carrier after bringing him home from the vet I was expecting him to slink out like any other cat who had just had an operation and was still groggy. No, not Kuro! He charged out of the carrier and then proceded to try jumping through the screens repeatedly. I took me nearly 10 minutes to calm him down. It took shaking his food bowl under his nose to get him to do so. He also stank because he'd peed on himself at some point while at the vets.

After a couple days of recovery I propped the back porch door open so that he could get out if he wanted but I left his food and water bowl on the porch to encourage him to come back. I haven't seen him since. My hope is that he just found someone else to cuddle up to.

Last night I thought maybe I saw him but it turned out to be an older black male cat that has only one white spot on his chest. He could very well be Kuro's daddy. Now this cat is hanging around my house and driving any other strays that come to visit away. I got to listen to the cat screams while they fought over who gets to claim my yard as their territory as I gardened yesterday evening.

Nicki, I do not know where you live...but if you are close to Tampa, you can get the mom cat fixed for 10 dollars at Humane Society of Tampabay or at ACT clinic ...

Oh Kara, I'm sorry Kuro ran off like that. At least you got him neutered and he's not adding to the problem. He's a little scrapper - he'll be fine. I had a stray I named "Lefty" because when I trapped him and took him to the vet, they said he only had one testicle, and they had to operate to remove the second one... anyway, he did the same thing when I brough him back from the vet. Months and months of building trust literally flew right through the window - just like the screen wasn't even there. He wouldn't come near me after that, but at least he was fixed.

Thanks for the tip Olyagrove. I live in Leesburg, and our local Humane Society offers spay/neuter certificates. It's not as cheap as $10, but it's at least a discount anyway. I took in a frightened baby back in November - I heard him wailing down the street - his cries broke my heart. So I found him and brought him in. He was so hungry and so very sweet. At the time, my beloved Purrella deVille was dieing from heart failure, so I think Wailin' was sent to me for a reason. Not like I NEEDED another cat or anything... but anyway, I bought the certificate for Wailin', and it was a little over 40 bucks. His was cheaper because he's a boy. I'm not sure what it costs for a spay certificate. But even with the certificate, after the shots and FIV/Leukemia tests, his bill from the vet was about 124.00. So, 124 + 40 = 164 times 5 babies = $820. More if some of them are girls. Yikes. Then there's the booster shots... I do wish I'd found this stray kitty BEFORE she got pregnant. It would have been A LOT cheaper. I honestly don't know how I'm going to afford this.

So, wish me luck! ;-)

Kara, I hope you see Kuro again so you at least know he's OK. He looks so sweet.

Well, I wish you were closer, I definitely would help with some of your load. I work with a number of rescue organizations in Tampa

The kitty could have been fixed while she was pregnant -- but it is too late at this point :)
Good luck, I hope you can find homes for the kittens! It is kitten season, and the shelters are so full..I am fostering a bunch of babies myself

Olya

Nicki, contact some of the local rescue groups and see if they can help you get the momma cat and kittens spayed and nuetered once they're old enough. When I was trying to find someone to help me with Kuro I found a rescue group that completely payed for getting him nuetered and getting his basic shots. They arranged the whole thing through the local Humanitarians. The woman running the group was more than happy to help me out even though she didn't have the room to take in another cat.

Thanks for the tip, Kara. I'll check around with the Cat Protection Society and with a few other rescue groups around here.

Olya, she was pretty far along in her pregnancy for a spay. I've had many, many "strays" spayed or neutered over the years, and so many of the females I was able to get before they had babies. Unfortunately for this little girl, she didn't come in under the wire.

I found a rescue group that completely payed for getting him nuetered and getting his basic shots.
While rescue groups are more than happy to help spay and neuter, please remember, we are living off donations and would not be able to help without them...So, nothing is totally free :] Though, we are more than happy to see animals neutered

Nicki, I hope you can find homes for the little guys!

The group that helped me is currently looking into having a fund raiser. I told her that if she decides to have a yard sale to contact me. I have a lot of things in my garage that I've set aside for a yard sale that I'd be more then happy to donate to her. I would like to help out her group in some way to repay her for the help she gave me. I agree that nothing is free, I just don't have any cash to donate.

That is a great idea about the fundraiser! We are having a big garage sale as well in Tampa to help cats

We just fixed 10 cats for a lady who could not afford to pay - it balances itself out: some people cant afford, some donate when they can, and because of that, it is possible to help animals in need!

Kara, you did a lot of good for the kitty - I hope you see him again in your yard :)

Back when I had "expendible income" I used to donate money and food to the Cat Protection society and the Leesburg Humane Society. I just haven't been able to do it since I've started my own business. With 12 cats of my own, plus the strays I get fixed periodically, that doesn't leave money for much else.

Here's a picture of Mamasweeta and her hoard of kitten babies. Thanks for the well wishes you guys. If more people did right by their pets like you guys, there'd be a lot fewer abandoned pets. Why can't people just do the right thing? Boggles the mind...

That is a pretty Mom and babies
Once the babies are old enough, if Tampa is within reasonable driving distance, I can help you with getting them all spayed and neutered...

Olya