I know I'm going to end up with this cat. (2 pics)

15 years ago

For the past month, a cat has been coming around looking for food and attention. She was extremely thin when she first showed up, and seemed to be a nursing mother, although (fortunately) we have not seen any kittens. We knew feeding her would cement our relationship (!), but we did so anyway, moved by those little hip bones and ribs.

She's extremely affectionate, and must be used to people. I suspect she's a barn cat at a neighbor's up the road. She's been driving me nuts because I still have seedlings to plant and can't do that with her rubbing around my ankles as she'd trample the little plants. But she's here all the time now.

This is a bad time for me to be taking on more vet bills, and I'm not crazy about the idea of integrating another cat into my household (which includes Annie, a cat hostile to all other cats), but this seems to be inevitable.

One other reason I find the idea daunting is that this cat is the most underfoot animal I've ever encountered. She has no fear of feet, and follows me by walking where I walk. It's dangerous--to her and to me! Anyone know of a way to cure her of this? I don't relish the idea of being constantly off-balance and getting tripped up.

Before I whisk her off to the vet I need to find out if she has an owner and if there are nursing kittens. The owner thing is tricky......obviously, they haven't been feeding her enough. But I have to tread carefully because of the risk that they'll dispose of her if they consider her to be a nuisance.

Here she is on the porch, and staring intently (and vocally) into a window. It's funny....our first cat, 36 years ago, was a stray who had the same coloration.

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Comments (24)

lindalou
15 years ago
awwwwwww!! she is adorable. try carrying a small spray bottle with you and squirt her to get out of your way. works for me. good luck!! ;)
phyllis__mn
15 years ago
Oh, she's lovely, and I think she finds you that way, too!!
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jeaninwa
15 years ago
I think you have ended up with this cat....
minnie_tx
15 years ago
I'm in the same boat with two free loaders.
Georgysmom
15 years ago
She's very pretty and I think she has probably found a great home!
User
15 years ago
Well, at least you if you adopt her, you are adopting a pretty cat and one that already loves you. Animals, unlike people, will "adopt" the human who they know will love them and take care of them. She is no stupid cat. Aww...go ahead and adopt her, you know you want to. LOL
User
15 years ago
She's adorable. I have four cats and two shorter dogs, so I learn to kinda shuffle around the house, not lifting my feet so I don't trip over them or hurt them or myself. . Keep her. She's a doll.
Marcia Thornley
15 years ago
Some things are just meant to be! You were meant for each other. She is beautiful!
jannie
15 years ago
She's a beauty. I hope you get to keep her. As far as I know, if a cat likes to walk under your feet, there's no solution. I once tripped over such a cat, fell down the stairs and broke my ankle. She didn't give a darn.
sherwoodva
15 years ago
Alisande, she is adorable. I second the spray bottle idea. Try it now before you take her to the vet, etc. See if it works or if it totally scares her away.
sylviatexas1
15 years ago
She's beautiful!

She reminds me of my Gracie Gray, the most beautiful & loving cat in the universe.

Be sure she's not nursing before you have her spayed...

I my own self would have the vet "wand" her, & if there isn't a microchip, I'd claim her right then & there & spay her if she isn't lactating.

I don't think I'd inquire as to her previous home.
People often don't care about barn cats;
they sometimes don't feed them, thinking that they'll hunt better if they're hungry (wrong), & hawks, owls, & coyotes kill them all the time, & the owners can always get a fresh supply from "free to good home" ads.

I wish both of you the very best!
schoolhouse_gw
15 years ago
Same thing happened to me the last part of April. Starved, wild, came in heat shortly after arriving, $226 later she's a permanent (spayed) resident. My other cat tolerates her well enough.

{{!gwi}}
alisande
Original Author
15 years ago
Schoolhouse, she's a beauty!

A little while ago I accidentally let Pogo out the front door while I was coming in. I was focused on not letting the visiting kitty out, and Pogo took advantage of that. (He's supposed to be strictly indoors.) It was not a good move. Both cats fluffed up for battle, and Visitor Kitty did a lot of hissing.

Pogo seemed terrified, and unwilling to come back to the house. So I lured VK into a large pet carrier, where she is as I write this, fortified with a dish of food. Pogo is still nervous about approaching the house; I hope he gets over this soon.
socks
15 years ago
You lost a kitty a while back, right? Now you have a replacement. In that last picture, is she looking to come inside? Sweet kitty.
alisande
Original Author
15 years ago
Socks, you must be thinking of Mickey, who died in January 2010.

I'm having second thoughts about taking on this cat. I don't know if she's nursing, but I think she's pregnant. And apparently she comes from the horse farm next door. The two cats I have now came from there, too. A female had been coming around, just like this one. She had just weaned a litter, and I rounded them up, taking the orange tabby kittens to the shelter (where they said orange was the color most likely to be adopted) and keeping the mother and her black kitten. She was pregnant when I had her spayed.

I certainly don't want to punish this current cat for her owner's neglect, but there's a limit to how many cats I can save. There was a time when my DH and I rescued dogs, cats, and horses without limit, but I'm not in that position anymore.

I'll talk to the owner about taking the cat myself to be spayed, at his expense. We discussed this a few years ago, but at the time he wanted me to keep the cat in my house for the required two-week healing period. I might agree to do that this time if certain conditions are met. Or maybe I'll find he's not interested. We'll see.
maire_cate
15 years ago
What a shame that the sweet little kitty has to suffer because she has an uncaring owner. I can certainly see why adding a third cat might not be the best idea, even if cost weren't an issue, you don't want to upset the two you already have.

I hope you can make some progress with the owner. Maybe this time he'll agree to the neutering.
petaloid
15 years ago
What a beauty.
Thank you so much for caring what happens to her.
country_sunshine
15 years ago
That lil kitty looks so much like my "Chipper" kitty I had for 16 years... I found her eating chicken feed in the hen house with her sister... We named the sister "Sweet Tea".. There is no way I could ever turn away a lovely little kitty like that one you have... God will provide you a way to care for her.. she sure looks adorable..

Carolyn
linda_in_iowa
15 years ago
She is so cute and she has adopted you. I hope you can keep her. I have been adopted by 2 cats in my lifetime and they were the best pets ever. I have some friends who had to put down their old cat recently and they have been adopted by a mother cat and her one kitten. The kitten is wild but the mom is warming up to them. They are debating whether to keep one or both of them. If they can't tame the kitten they might have to take it to the shelter.
sable_ca
15 years ago
Look at that cute little heart patch between her ears! I think she's saying "I love you"...
User
15 years ago
You know you want her. Dilute calicos are very sweet cats.
lazypup
15 years ago
I don't mind a cat,,,what aggravates me is when a relative shows up and I feed him, and now I can't run him off....get a job
alisande
Original Author
15 years ago
Update: I called the current resident of the horse farm, which is not the guy who had a slew of cats over there, turning out litters of kittens. This man was very nice, and has only one cat, which is neutered. He said "my" stray has been coming around to his place, too, and he's been feeding her. He thought she was a nursing mother. We don't know if that's true or if she's pregnant. Or both.

Anyway, we decided to get her spayed and sort of care for her jointly, at least for now. First we need to determine if she has a litter of kittens somewhere........
SunnyDJ
15 years ago
I am so glad you're going to be taking care of her....Get her to the vet and they'll be able to determine if she's nursing etc., and then have her taken care of....
We have always had ferals and right now my 2 inside cats are former ferals...It's always been a "hassle" bringing a new fur baby into the house but after a while, everyone settles down....Just in the last month, we rescued 2 4 month old kittens, kept them in the laundry room until vet checked and had them "fixed"...One of my grand daughters wanted a kitten and when she saw the pair, took both of them....But, while they were living here, there was a lot of hissing but that was natural....
We also take care of 3 semi feral outside cats and have been able to get them "fixed" and they now living a very nice life.....
I'll bet your new friend will be a very lovable life long friend.....Bless you for taking care of her........

I know I'm going to end up with this cat. (2 pics)

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I know I'm going to end up with this cat. (2 pics)

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