Stray kitty finds me...

16 years ago

Showed up in my yard early this evening. Saw it coming through the yard and I called out to it. It came to me. Very thin... I fed it. It ate 4 servings of dry cat food, 1 small can of cat food and some warm milk. I can imagine it'll probably have a stomach ache later. It's beautiful. I think it may have some Siamese because of the coloring but it's mostly white with some darkness around the ears. The tail is odd. Kinda on the short, fluffy side and it's light and dark gray. The whole color scheme of this kitty is strange but pretty. I can't bring it inside because of my very unfriendly indoor cat. I tried to get it into the garage but it's somewhat afraid of it. I hate that it's so cold out there (low 20's tonight) and I can't get it inside... I did provide it some blankets and it quickly got on them. I can pet it but I am afraid to handle it too much. Don't want to get bitten as I not really familiar with it. I won't be able to sleep knowing it's freezing out there....

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Comments (9)

sheilajoyce_gw
16 years ago
Don't give the kitty milk as it can cause tummy problems and the runs. Our vet said to stir into the other foods a little cottage cheese instead.
cynic
16 years ago
If you could put a small box out there wrapped with blankets and a towel or two inside it would give it a spot to get out of the cold and would keep the body heat inside. It probably would trust you for that. Put some food and water in it. That would encourage it to go in there too. You might have other visitors, but if it gets in there first it has first shot at the food. They can do OK outside in bad weather but it's still sad.

Otherwise if you brought it in, could you separate it from the other? A basement or mudroom or something. At least it's inside.

In any case, thank you for looking out for the poor thing. I hope you're good friends for a long time!
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alisande
16 years ago
Good for you, Orie, and good advice above. One of the best cats I've ever known was part Siamese, part black & white. He was so smart and devoted. (Still missing you, Morgan.)

Orie, I posted a link for you in the Autoimmune thread....
3katz4me
16 years ago
Oooohhhh - that would be hard to leave him out there. Stray kitties have found me too. Two of my cats came about as strays in bad weather. One came right before that bad halloween snowstorm in 1991. I couldn't bring him in because I had other cats and I didn't know what kind of diseases he had - he was badly injured. He was under the overhang of my house but I put a cardboard box out for him - covered it with a plastic garbage bag to keep it dry - and put an old plush toilet seat cover in the box. I didn't really think he'd go in there but when I got up in the morning he was all curled up comfortably in the box - and the rest is history.

The last cat we got was outside a neighbor's house under their deck for a week or two. Their kids were feeding it but no way the mom would have a pet in the house. They were leaving town for Christmas and one of the kids called me early in the morning crying about leaving the cat alone outside and asked if we would take it in. Couldn't take it in again because of other cats. So we went to check on it and give it some food and back home with us it came. First it was in a box on our deck. Then it started getting colder so we made a place for it in the garage. Then it really got cold so we took it for a ride in the car to warm it up. I couldn't bear to leave it out after that so it moved into our lower level bathroom - and the rest is history.
socks
16 years ago
Gibby, He just moved into your heart, inch by inch. I never heard of anyone taking a cat in the car to warm it up!! You are too kind.

Hope your kitty is ok outside, Orie. Maybe tomorrow you can fix him up with a better "house" and warm blankets or whatever you have.
pattico_gw
16 years ago
Orie I have our outdoor cat in a great big (6 cat could sleep in it at once)basket...I've wrapped four big blankets around it and made a little tunnel for her to come and go...and tucked hand warmers in there under her. She loves it and stays in there day and night in this awful cold we are having here...(-20 tonight) I tuck her a bowl of food inside at night to nibble on if she wants.

I always worry about her...but as my husband keeps reminding me...she lived out here under a wood pile for a couple of years before we coaxed her up to the porch.

The hand warmers give me a little peace about it.

patti
cejhome
16 years ago
Quick easy and warm shelter for this poor kitty - get a styrofoam cooler, cut an opening in it just big enough for a kitty to get in. Duct tape the edges of the opening (so kitty won't accidentally take off bits when entering/exiting) & duct tape the lid to the cooler. Put it in a place that is as sheltered as possible (we have one under our porch (the porch is elevated about 3 feet off the ground), backed up to the house. Put a bit straw in it (hardware stores have small bales - if you store the rest in a dry place, it can last for years). I put some bricks on the "roof"/top so that it won't tip over. Do not use blankets, etc. for lining - they can get moist and turn cold.

You are not the person that dumped this poor cat, you can only do the best you can. Our kitty hates other cats (and dogs), and is aggressive towards them (as much as a 14 yr old cat w/4 teeth can be). 2 semi-feral young cats showed up in our yard a few years ago - we trapped them, fixed them and let them back in the yard - they have stayed and are fairly tame. I couldn't try to bring them in, wouldn't be fair to Puddin, and I didn't want to bring them to the pound (they would have been put down). I felt we could give them a decent life in our yard - we feed them dry and canned twice a day. Even this week, in the early morning when it has been very cold (well below normal), in the teens, they seem to be happy and content - they do stay in their "hut" for most of the day though - you can see by the way they carry themselves, they aren't miserable. (The girl kitty can't understand why I won't stay outside to visit with her though!). Its been about 3 years, and our kitty Puddin, still hates them both as much as the first time she saw them (they still try and make friends w/her through the porch door). (I also checked w/our neighbors to see if they minded us having the 2 kitties around, and they like them.)
petaloid
16 years ago
When you are able to take it to the vet you can make sure it doesn't have any illness your kitty could catch.

I am touched by your kindness to the poor stray -- thank you.
erica
16 years ago
We have a huge stray problem here, and have been feeding a couple that have been coming by every day now. One of the ones we were feeding is missing, and someone told me they'd seen a dead cat in the park recently. I'm so afraid it was her.

Kudos to you for caring and helping! :-)

If anyone is up for some sort of graphic photos, and a very emotional post, I wrote about our stray experience on my blog.

We all do the best that we can do, and that's what matters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hope Holding

Stray kitty finds me...

Comments (9)

sheilajoyce_gw

cynic

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