Wow!! He's a beauty!

You did a good thing, now Kitty can look forward to a loving home, proper food and shelter. Some people just don't realise that they're responsible for their pets, and they'll just turn them out onto the streets and not care at all what happens :-(

Putting up 'Found' posters seems the right thing to do at the moment; and I know you're already fond of Kitty, so if nobody claims him, good for you! Then you can get him vaccinated, neutered, de-wormed etc. and introduce him to Jasper.

And yes, make sure ALL his claws are trimmed nice and proper before you bathe him :-)

You're lucky with Jasper in that he allows you to clip his claws; my cats must be fast asleep and only then can I do that without interruption. But hey I'm lucky when it comes to bathing the cats :-)

Good luck with Kitty ... have you decided on a name for him? True, it's too early for that, but your home might just be his forever home (and your pillow, his bed!). Hmm all I can think of is Jake - dunno why. Love the eyes.

Waiting to hear Jasper's reaction to his new friend.

Pranjal

Congrats on your new kitty. I would keep the two cats separated until you have your new kitty checked for the things that he can transmit despite your Jasper being vaccinated.

Best of luck, he's a beauty.

He is a handsome boy, and I'm glad you took him in to do whatever you can to help him. It is important, however, for you to try to locate any potential owners. The fact that he didn't immediately snarf down the food you offered tells me that either someone is feeding him (could be an owner or just a compassionate apartment neighbor) or he's ill. Mature toms are often very thin like he is because of the amount of exercise they get, but if he was thin because of lack of food, he'd be eating whatever was offered.

Make up a "found" poster, like you mentioned, and post it all over your apartment complex. Notify the complex manager, too. If no one responds within a week or two, that handsome boy is yours.

You may not have to worry about bathing him, either. Intact toms are often really lousy at grooming themselves because they are so focused on "other" matters. Once he is neutered and no longer a slave to testosterone-induced activities, he'll start grooming. You may also find that he drinks an excessive amount of water. That is also typical of intact toms and will diminish to normal levels after he's neutered.

You are wise to keep him away from Jasper until after you have him vet-checked and neutered. Be aware, also, that it takes about 6 weeks AFTER neutering for the rest of the residual hormones to dissipate from his system. He may very well respond to Jasper as if he were still intact (aggressively) for quite a while. A young, intact tom like your new boy appears to be can be a real pain in the rear for another male cat. Just be aware that the new boy may cause trouble for Jasper, so you'll need to keep Jasper safe until you know for certain that the newbie won't behave aggressively toward him.

Good luck!

Laurie

Thanks! Well, we survived the night. He slept by my head almost the entire night. Except for the portion where he laid his entire body across my NECK and proceeded to continue sleeping away! I've always wanted a cat that slept "with me" instead of at the foot of the bed (like Jasper), but I'm still trying not to get attached in case someone claims him. When I woke up, half the dry food in the dish on the bathroom floor was gone. So, I guess he got up while I was sleeping. The tuna still wasn't touched. I bought a can for Jasper too as a special treat and he gobbled his up instantly. It's hard not to compare the differences between the two, but I know that I need to respect each cat for the being that he is. This new one is actually sweeter and more affectionate than Jasper... I thought it would be impossible to find a cat that was that sweet... I thought Jasper was max on the scale, but I stand corrected. I got new guy one of those cardboard scratchers with kitty nip in it and he went crazy. I've tried smearing catnip on Jasper's sisal post and he completely ignores it (my ex-boyfriend is Jasper's kittynip... he loves him)! Well, new guy is sensitive to it... he went wild. He started rubbing his body all over it and was covered in kitty nip. It looked like he was going to start humping the scratcher! Very cute to see him covered in head to toe with catnip, and I'm really glad he enjoys it. Jasper cried a bit last night because he hates being closed out of any room. He head butted the door so many times that it actually woke me up! Poor guy. New guy doesn't lick at all (or hasn't yet)... I have to make Jasper stop licking me because it starts to hurt! Anyway... that's the update for now! Thanks for responding!

He's using the litter box for the first time right now... that's great because I wasn't sure if he was going to or not.

Hey... if I put "found cat" with no picture and no phone number, does that still count as making the posters?? :o) Guess I'm off to do that right now.

He is beautiful and complements Jasper's color and markings. Sometimes kitties happen, glad you found him. I know it is hard with an apartment to keep the cats apart. You are such a kind person any cat would be fortunate.

Actually, you shouldn't put his picture or description on the poster other than to say that he is an intact male cat. You do have to put some sort of contact information on the poster (phone number, or perhaps your apt. manager's number if (s)he's willing). Anyone who calls about the cat should be able to provide you with an accurate description of the cat so that you know the caller is legit.

I recommend you trade spaces with Jasper and newbie each night so that Jasper won't feel completely isolated from you and will still have an opportunity to sleep with you every other night. That'll also allow each cat to smell each other in the various rooms of your apartment. It will also help prevent the newbie from claiming your bedroom as his exclusive territory and refusing to allow Jasper to enter.

When you trade rooms, make sure you also swap the litterboxes and food and water bowls. You don't want them sharing use of those things until the newbie has received a clean bill of health from your vet.

Laurie

He's pretty. I hope he's a keeper.

Nice!

Get him checked for Feline AIDS and other diseases that are transmissable to Jasper.

Best of luck!

I'm so happy the kitty found you. You're taking such good care of him already.

(p.s. - my e-mail connection works now and I have info to share)

I hope you get to keep kitty and I have a feeling you will. If he's that thin, he must be a stray and you will probably never know his story. Lucky him to get a good home with you and Jasper.

Well, things are going fine so far. No one has called about the kitty, and the posters have been up for an hour. I guess he's mine! Before I get a friendly scolding, of course I'm just being silly. Just wondering how easy it would be for diseases to be transmitted between cats in case the new one does have anything. During the day I keep him in walk in closet (funny... I'm gay but my cat is in the closet...). At night, I take him out and let him in bed with me. That means that he and Jasper are only separated by one door. I woke up to find them both trying to stick their paws under the door to touch each other. How much contact do they need for disease to be transmitted? Also, if I do switch and put Jasper in the bedroom and new guy in living room, will them being in contact with furniture that the other has been on be a problem? Thanks

If the new cat is sneezing, there are airborne diseases that can be transmitted throughout your apt, regardless of whether or not the cats share the same space. Air is air, and it's going to travel through your apt. no matter what you do.

Most diseases, however, require swapping of body fluids. If, for example, they should bite each other's feet when they are trying to make contact under the door, it is possible that disease transmission could occur - unlikely, but possible.

If I were you, I'd get the newbie vetted and tested ASAP just to make sure you're not exposing Jasper to anything dangerous. At the very least, it's likely that the newbie has fleas and/or ear mites that can be transmitted to Jasper if they infest your apt. Again, a trip to the vet will take care of any such problems before they become Jasper's problems, too. If an owner does come forward within the next week or two, you can always try to get reimbursement out of him/her for any veterinary expenses you have incurred.

Now, why are you making newbie spend all day in a closet? That seems unnecessarily restrictive to me. Can't you just give him your bedroom while you're at work so that he won't go completely stir crazy in such a confined space?

Laurie

I have an air bed and leather chair in the bedroom that I don't want ruined. Also, there would be only one door separating the two cats then. I don't want them having any "exchanges" if I'm not there. I've not been able to clip his nails yet. The closet is a pretty big walk in, I could fit a bed in there if I wanted to. I even close Jasper out of the bedroom during the day so he can't get into anything without my supervision. He stays in the main living area during the day. I could lock him in the bathroom (half the size of the closet). Or perhaps in a cat carrier all day... what do you think is best? My work schedule for next week comes out today and as soon as I get it I'm calling the vet for an appointment.

Give both cats the largest territories you can. If that means the closet for the newbie until he is integrated into your household, then so be it. Keep the light on for him, and give him a radio set on low volume for companionship (a TV would be even better). Also, give him plenty of toys, food, water, and of course a litterbox. Make a nice bed for him, too. A cardboard box with an old blanket in it would be fine.

Laurie

Light on, dry and wet food in closet, along with water, litter, and old blanket. Litter in the diagonal opposite corner of food and water... as far away as possible. I did that yesterday and it's like that today as well. He was fine when I came home yesterday... I felt like a ping pong ball bouncing back and forth between cats though. Maybe I could set the alarm clock in the closet or something on a nice soothing station. He's also got his cardboard catnip scratcher in there so I'm sure he's in absolute bliss. I need to find out if he likes floil balls as much as Jasper. Jasper is very playful and active, always batting something around and never still for more than five minutes. I've not see the new one play with anything yet, except the scratcher. Once again he slept on my neck last night! I didn't mind a bit. He's got a very low meow and he seems to be vocal too. Jasper only meows when he's in the car (boy does he hate that).

No foil balls unless you're there to supervise and make sure he doesn't chew or ingest them. Ping pong balls are great fun for cats, though, as are feathers.

If you use an alarm clock to companion him, make absolutely certain that the alarm part can NOT go off and that he can NOT reach the clock to mess around with the alarm settings. The last thing you want is to torture the cat with a sharp alarm that he can not turn off or escape from. Remember, too, that cats have acute hearing, so if you give him a radio, have it turned to very low volume.

Laurie

Vacuumfreak, I'll share a breeder trick for claw trimming, grooming, even bathing...clothespins. I have to use 3 of them on my big maine coon boys you may need just one or two. The old clip style, with the spring in it. Scruff the cat and put the pin on the skin. The cat will go limp. It's funny to see how they react, Moose immediately lays down on his side, practically falls over. Bob lays down but sticks his nose in the air and Poppy just lays down on his tummy. I can then do whatever I want to with them, clip nails, trim away a matt, bathe them......

Interestingly, not all cats go limp when you pull the scruff. My first cat went completely limp--absolutely motionless, wouldn't even blink--for as long as I held it. One of my current cats doesn't do that. He's a strong willed guy who begins to arch and twist like he's on a noose until I let go.

So glad to hear you found a kitty. Hope everything works out well!

Call your local shelter and make sure no one has reported him missing. Also, make sure the vet scans him on the remote chance he has been micro-chipped (not likely if he hasn't been neutered).

It kind of makes me nervous when people take cats off the street like this. We had an indoor/outdoor kitty growing up and I would have been devastated if someone took him from us. Now, I am smart enough to not let my kitty out.

I am surprised though that this cat hasn't shown any signs of wanting back outside.

I had mixed emotions about people taking cats in that may have been someone else's kitty. That was until I saw a cat that looked just like the one above dead on the side of the road last night.I think checking for the microchip is a good idea -just in case.

Well, if someone left their cat outside on purpose at an apartment complex, they DESERVE to lose it. People with brains and hearts simply don't do something like that. I can ALMOST understand if someone has a lot of property and a house out in the country... but there's still the risk of predators and parasites even if the risk of getting hit by a car is reduced by being far from roads. People who have outdoor cats have to take that risk... and they have to know that anyone could "steal" their cat at any moment. Last night it rained terribly here, and I wondered where the new guy would have been if he hadn't found me. Instead, he was in my arms in a nice dry home with food, toys, and all the love a cat could ever need. I've heard that cats that have been on the street have NO desire to ever return to it. He's not even gone near the door. I posted something a few months back about my shelter cat Jasper running out my front door and into the laundry room because he was curious. A lot of people said that street cats don't want to ever have that kind of life again so they don't attempt to escape. Can you imagine being out on the street in the weather, not know where your next meal is coming from, never having any affection... what kind of life must it be? If someone did own him, I can only deduce that they didn't care about him. They had a flea collar on him that was so tight I had to cut it off with scissors. If they had done research (like a post on this forum like I did) they would have found out how deadly flea collars are to pets. I put one on Jasper but I got some "friendly" advice to remove it so that he remains alive... he only had it one for 30 minutes. Also... the cat isn't neutered... who in their right mind would get a cat and not neuter it... shouldn't that be the FIRST step?

Hi - we felt about the same way when we found our Wilson a few years back. We called around to find a vet open on the weekend so we could have him checked out. A couple of people said we should take him to the humane society so they could do follow up in case someone lost him. There was no way I was going to do that. We found him and I didn't want to deal with their red tape. In our case, we didn't really think of leaving posters - although we should have gone back to do so - because we found him quite a way away from our home at a tavern. He was digging through trash bags searching for food.

However, once we had him examined by the weekend vet and again by our regular vet, they both seemed to drop the "find out if someone lost a pet" attitude. He was dirty, had ear mites, and I had never seen a cat that was so hungry and thirsty before. He was obviously neglected. If someone lost him by letting him outside in the downtown area of our city, they don't deserve to have him. He was about 12 weeks old so I couldn't judge them by his being neutered or not, but everything else showed signs of neglect.

Vacuumfreak. I think you are doing the right thing with your closet cat. You are right he is so much better off.
silvergold. 12 weeks is for too young to be on the street. That is the age the people trying to give their kittens away just dump them.
My cats are house/barn cats and letting them out was a hard choice for me. They are on our land between my house and my mother's house on six acers with woods and a pond. I enjoy gardening with my cats they chase the weeds unplant my plants, a good time is had by all. I try to get them all in before dark, RocKat who is three and Sam who is seven are sometimes all nighters. I get up every hour or so and call, walk around with a flashlight calling knowing the cat may be two feet from me ignoring me. I feel like a mother whose kids are out with the car all night.

Hi acorn - and our Wilson has been a blessing to our house. I agree 12 weeks was much too young to fend for himself - and in the downtown of a city much less.
I'm sure you do good by your cats - things are different in the country and it sounds as if your heart is in the right spot.

None of my resued cats ever get near the door. I have cats in the past who were born in good situations and were let out as kittens (not by me) and when I adopted them, they would try to get out sometimes unsucessfully.. Not the rescued strays. They know a good thing when they have it. I could never let my cats outside. I would be afraid every day they would get hit by a car, or would pick up a disease, have contact with a nasty human, or eat poison. It's a mean world out there.

I'll call him Jayden :o)

YAY! :) Has he been vetted yet? Hope all that goes well! Can't wait to see more pictures.

On Thursday I called for an appointment... I called the SPCA which will neuter him and give shots all for $106.00 dollars. I'm just waiting for them to return my call so we can set up an appointment. They usually take a few days, but I want to get it done this week. I don't want him to start spraying things in my apartment.

Jayden ... nice name! Hope he gets his shots and stuff done soon and Jasper meets his new buddy soon!

Pranjal

My friend Chris adopted a cat from a rescue this spring;
he had been observed for months living in a feral cat colony, & the rescue group trapped him for a "neuter & release" program.

Once he calmed down, they discovered that he wasn't feral at all;
he was a loving & well-behaved cat.
& he had been neutered.

so at some time, he'd had a good home, or at least a good start in life.

I think thousands of cats share this same story, & most of them die on the streets, from cars, starvation, parasites, predators, disease, infections from untreated cat fight wounds, antifreeze, deliberate poison, guns...

congratulations on your new guy, vf, he's a doll.

Jayden what a nice name.

I hope there is not some poor little girl looking for her kitty cuz her parents are too sorry to fix the cat and keep it home. That is prolly why he was so skinny cuz he was not fixed.

The poor little girl will get over it...the cat may not have...he is in much better hands! ;D

Poor little girls don't necessarily get over it, and skinny cats aren't necessarily so because they aren't neutered.

I'm 52 and still am not over the disappearance of my first cat 40 yrs ago, and I have a neutered male cat who is extremely skinny in spite of being free fed a premium cat food, simply because that's the way he is.

It's a very slippery slope making assumptions about other people and their animals. Any one of us could have one of our beloved 4-leggeds escape from our home, get picked up by a "rescuer" who decides we're unworthy of owning an animal since we clearly allow it to roam at large, and whoosh, our beloved companion suddenly belongs to someone else.

Laurie

Posters have been put up. If somebody was really looking for their cat, I think they would have called.

I'm not saying that vacuumfreak has done anything wrong in helping this cat, esp. if the area shelters have been notified along with the posters being distributed. My point is that there may very well be extenuating circumstances surrounding the cat's appearance in vacuumfreak's parking lot that don't have anything to do with a bad owner. For instance, if posters have only been distributed within the apt complex, but the cat, esp being an intact male, wandered from farther away, the owners would not even see the posters.

If this is a young male who escaped from his home before the owners had a chance to get him neutered, does that make the owner's horrible people?

If the cat was stolen from his home and dumped near the apt complex, are his owners to blame?

If the cat escaped from the vet's office while there to be neutered, who is at fault?

All I'm saying is that none of us know exactly what this or any cat's history is, and I don't think any of us would appreciate having the worst possible assumptions made about us if we somehow lost one of our companions.

Is it probable that "Jayden" was abandoned? Yes. Do we KNOW that "Jayden" was abandoned. No, we do not.

Laurie

Most people that are interested in finding their lost pet will look for them. Still, I think every effort should be made to find the owners. No telling what the story behind it could be.

I agree, if the cat has interested owners, they will look for him. If there is some kind of extenuating circumstances where they can not search immediately, at least the cat is not on the street & being cared for now, they should only be grateful.

I certainly don't think I've stolen the cat. There are always posters of lost/found pets at the mailboxes, so I posted them on all the mail centers and in the stairwells of the apartments with e-mail address and phone number. If the people cared about the cat they could have put a collar with a tag on him instead of the crusty flea collar that I found him in. Jasper's vet is just down the street from the complex, so I will go there to see if anyone reported a lost cat. I've been waiting to have him vaccinated and neutered to see if anyone claims him yet, but I have an appointment for Monday at the low cost animal care shelter to get that taken care of. If I spend money on that and then someone claims him, they will have to reimburse me for the expense. They should have done it in the first place. I don't feel like a hero or a theif. If someone calls with an accurate description of the cat and pays me for the medical expense they can have it back. Until or unless that happens, I am going to be a good steward with the life that has been (even if temmporarily) entrusted to me by happenstance or the great Universe or whatever you believe in and enjoy every second of it. Maybe there are people on this forum who would rather me turn the cat back onto the streets so he can get run over by cars or eaten by predators in hopes that he will wander back to his original "owners". I placed an add on Craigs List. I've gotten 3 offers for Viagra and one offer to make a million dollars a month to work at home from a textile shop based in the UK. Then the add was flagged. There is a point at which you have to draw the line. Maybe I should quit my job and just knock on every door in the state until someone says the lost the cat I have found. Then I will be able to sleep at night since I'm such a horrible person! Some people!

I don't think for a moment you stoled a cat I know you provided a home for a sweet being who couldn't take care of himself.

Bobby, please ignore those "what if" posts. It doesn't matter why ... he was in bad shape and unsafe conditions. You have rescued him.

You were meant to find this neglected creature and he has already bonded with you. You've done more than most people would to alert neighbors.

Enjoy your new pal!

I think you're doing the right thing with Kitty - if he got out, was lost or something, I'd think someone would have responded to your posters - or be out looking/asking themselves. I found my Tinkerbell under a van at a deli - I asked and the deli owner said she had just appeared and had been there for several days. She was too young to have just wandered to where she was.
My Beau is thin -just the way he is - he, too is orange & white!
Best of luck with him!

If my cat ever got out ..#1 I would know it right away, I never leave the house without checking on the cat, the dog, my fishpond and my bid feeders.
#2. If my cat was missing I would be putting the posters up of a missing cat and calling all the shelters.
#3 I would not sleep,until I had covered as much teritory as I posibly could to look for him.
#4 I would sleep at an open window wating for him to come home.
you have a new cat! Congrats.....I don't care who may have had him before....he chose YOU! If someone does come looking for him , I would think twice about giving him back.

I also think you did the right thing. You're taking good care of Jayden, and you did put 'Found kitty' posters out, so it's not as if you're insensitive and you don't care at all that somebody might be out there looking for Jayden. You're taking good care of Jayden, and he's safe now. All that remains to be seen is if his previous owner contacts you. Maybe they live far away, maybe they gave up looking for him, maybe ..... But there's nothing you can do about such things, you know, you did all you could!

I was just going thru the posts on other pages, and I found the very first one you posted, just after you brought Jasper home. At the time, you said your friend had a black cat (called You) - and you intended to name her Jayden if you decided to keep her. I guess you and Jasper were meant to have (this) Jayden with you! Hey what happened to You (the black cat)?

(Oh, and I know some people will say "Hmph! Just what we expected from the woman who 'stole' Pumpkin!" LOL)

Kisses to Jasper & Jayden
Pranjal

Hey Pranjal... I guess I am the third member of yours and Lories club huh? A few things happened with "You". Firstly, I really don't like black (or female) cats as a preference... Not her fault that she was either... Nor was the reason I didn't take her. I should have looking back though. The guy who owned her was on drugs and became a mean person... our friendship dissolved and I didn't want anything that reminded me of him... Including the cat. I should have rescued her though :o( As far as I know that guy still has her and his two dogs. We haven't spoken since I moved out.

LOL Welcome to the ICNC, Member#3!

If I lived somewhere near you, I'd have adopted "You" in a heartbeat - I love black cats - male/female, doesn't matter. Well neutered male cats tend to be very affectionate, as I've learnt now, and though females are a bit aloof, I kinda like them too.

Well I hope that guy is taking proper care of the black cat and her canine companions. And good you're not anywhere near that guy now.

How's Jayden doin? He's supposed to meet the vet on Monday? Has there been any hissing/growling between Jasper and Jayden (even thru the connecting door)? I think this period of separation will help them get used to each other's smell and presence, so they won't be really aggressive when you let them out together.

Pranjal