I Think We Have A Pet.

The other day I saw Robbie freeze in the back yard while playing ball - and then he started to back up slowly.

I go out to see what is happening - maybe it's a wild animal? A dog?

No - it's a cat. A small gray cat just prancing toward him. Noah yells: "Oh! My cat is here!"

MY cat? What?

Turns out.. this cat showed up at the house at some point and Noah's been feeding it leftovers.. 'Because he looked starving.'

That explains the red cups of water I keep finding on my deck too.

It's a boy cat - with his bits. No collar. Fleas.

The lady next door said it belonged to someone who lived behind her, but I don't think the cat knows that.

He's very affectionate and friendly. And he evidently sleeps at our house. For the last few nights he sits at our back doors meowing. It's heartbreaking really - but he has fleas. In the morning when I open the door to go outside he comes running up and puts his front paws on my knees and stretches until I rub his head.

Noah has named him Marcus even though I told him he can't name a cat that doesn't belong to us.

Rob and the boys went to the surrounding houses to ask if the cat belonged to anyone. Nobody claims ownership. And the cat won't leave. It hopped over the fence yesterday and Noah cried until it came back 3 minutes later. He spends his whole day outside talking to the cat, playing with it. He tried to get it to play Tic-Tac-Toe with him yesterday... The cat did not play that game.. but it does follow the boys EVERYWHERE - into their playhouse, up trees, all over.

So what do I do now? Rob put up signs at Stop and Shop yesterday to see if anyone lost a young cat - no response yet.

I've told Rob the cat needs to be fixed and needs a flea bath. We don't mind doing this - but we don't know if we are allowed to? And once we do get it all checked out by the vet.. does that make it our cat?

I don't know what to do. I am not really a cat person but I feel bad for the poor thing - he sleeps outside and stays in our yard all day. But maybe he has a broken hearted owner somewhere? He's very small - I'd guess under a year old - but not exactly a kitten.

What should we do?

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

I don't know the right answer but

If it was me, I would post on petfinder as well. I wouldn't wait too long before taking him to get fixed and de-flea'd though, because he might not be used to being an outdoor kitty, and he'd be safer indoors anyway.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

I would get organized (big surprise, right?) and discuss with DH the responsibilities and financial aspects of owning an indoor cat. If you both feel that it's doable, and are sure no one is allergic, I would get a cat carrier and bring it to the vet to be fixed, de-flead, immunized, chipped, and put a collar and an ID tag on it.

If you and your DH decide the responsibility isn't for you, but want to do something for it, I'd probably take the cat to the vet and have it fixed and immunized anyway. Who knows how many kittens around the neighborhood this cat has fathered. It's a big problem.

Once the boys are attached, it's a fine line between owning the cat and just casually caring for it from time to time. But the boys won't see that line and if, God forbid, something happens to the cat or it gets sick, you will be in a tough spot.

Nifheim has a lot of experience in this area, hopefully she comes by and shares.

Message edited 8/19/2010 9:43:47 AM.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

See.. on of the reasons we don't have a dog (Rob and I LOVE dogs) is because we don't have the time to take care of it. At some point Rob (hopefully) will go back to work. This leaves the animal home alone for 8 hours a day. That doesn't work for a dog.. does anyone know how a cat takes to being on it's own for long stretches like that?

ETA: I will also mention that one of the reasons we haven't considered a cat is because I have a cat allergy. It is worse with some cats than with others - this cat hasn't provoked a reaction from me - but i haven't been too involved with it yet.

Message edited 8/19/2010 10:38:10 AM.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

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Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

I think you should call vets offices and the shelter, have a picture of the cat and see if anyone claims it. If no one does I think hes yours.

Oh your boys are so cute and I hope you can keep Marcus.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Being left alone for 8 hours a day isn't a problem for cats - They sleep 18 hours a day. They still need attention and care every day, though. They aren't just animals you can feed and ignore -- or at least they shouldn't be. It will need some play time and exercise every day and his litter box will need daily cleaning. He needs fresh food and water and regular vet care. While the time isn't the same as it is with a dog, he still does need time and attention.

If you decide you want to keep the cat, he not only needs to be fixed and immunized, he also needs to be tested for FIV and feline leukemia.

As an FYI, if the cat wins and adopts you for good NSAL has low cost spay/neuter and vaccines. They also do low cost FIV and feline leukemia tests.

ETA -- You say you have had allergies to cats in the past -- Have you been tested and confirmed that the allergy is to cat dander? If not, it's actually entirely possible you're allergic to dust and not the cats. Cats roll all over the floor and furniture, picking up dust like little dust rags. A lot of people are actually more allergic to the dust on them than they are to the cats themselves. (And yes even clean looking cats can really be little dust balls.) We bathe our cats regularly (2 r 3 times a year) and it really helps. They are indoor only cats, with clean-looking, shiny fur, but they really attract a lot of dust. They are like mobile, shedding swiffers.

Message edited 8/19/2010 2:29:46 PM.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Posted by Kara

ETA -- You say you have had allergies to cats in the past -- Have you been tested and confirmed that the allergy is to cat dander? If not, it's actually entirely possible you're allergic to dust and not the cats. Cats roll all over the floor and furniture, picking up dust like little dust rags. A lot of people are actually more allergic to the dust on them than they are to the cats themselves. (And yes even clean looking cats can really be little dust balls.) We bathe our cats regularly (2 r 3 times a year) and it really helps. They are indoor only cats, with clean-looking, shiny fur, but they really attract a lot of dust. They are like mobile, shedding swiffers.

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Posted by rojerono

Posted by Kara

ETA -- You say you have had allergies to cats in the past -- Have you been tested and confirmed that the allergy is to cat dander? If not, it's actually entirely possible you're allergic to dust and not the cats. Cats roll all over the floor and furniture, picking up dust like little dust rags. A lot of people are actually more allergic to the dust on them than they are to the cats themselves. (And yes even clean looking cats can really be little dust balls.) We bathe our cats regularly (2 r 3 times a year) and it really helps. They are indoor only cats, with clean-looking, shiny fur, but they really attract a lot of dust. They are like mobile, shedding swiffers.

I've tested positive for cat allergies.. but I'm also allergic to dust so that MAY be why I have a much worse reaction to long haired cats! Maybe they just have more dust in their long fur! Thanks for bringing that up!

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Cats are very independant animals, and unlike dogs, don't need alot of time/attention. I miss my cat because of how little maintenance he was (over a puppy ). You don't need to be home in order to take them out, feed them. Set them up for the day and they are good to go (usually sleep, etc.).

With this particular guy, once a bond has been established (and regular food is in the mix), it's going to be VERY HARD to sway him to go elsewhere. TRUST ME on this. My neighbor literally abandoned their outdoor cat over the winter and I went from casually feeding her on the porch, to taking her into my garage (husband is highly allergic) over the winter because I could not bare to have her in the cold/wet all winter long. The situation kept manifesting itself to where she saw herself as a family member (even though she lived in the garage). I eventually re-homed her to a great family in East Meadow.

I too had her spayed (she was having kittens everywhere) and got her shots and had her de-flead. Initially I just put something topical on her (OTC Advantage and a flea collar) but got her some real treatment after I put her in the garage. Neighbors KNEW we had her; they saw her here every day and did and said NOTHING!! When we approached them 1x about the kittens crossing the road, they said to throw them in the bushes. Really concerned pet owners

Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton does low spay/neuter/shots. It would do him a tremendous favor because it would relieve that urge for him and you don't want him to start spraying around your property. Unneutered male urine is GOD AWFUL and impossible to get out - holy reekage!! Do your due diligence to find him his home and if you cannot, I'd say you found your pet (or rather he found you). With winter coming and a serious over-crowding at the shelters, you'd be doing him a tremendous favor by giving him a home. Good luck!

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Sounds so similar to the story of Wrangler! Except I was the "Noah" in our story

We found a cat sleeping in DH's Jeep Wrangler one summer (doors were off) and he practically never left. We initially called him Big Balls (for obvious reasons!). Found out his real name was Skittles and lived a few houses down from us. We'd find him in the Jeep or on our porch adn bring him back home, and he'd follow back behind us a few paces

We think he hated the kids at his house. We started calling him Wrangler. He LOVED our Golden Retreiver. We let him in the house when it was cold, he had a cat house on our front porch, we fed him, he left us mouse & bird parts at the front door

We came home from a week away on vacation and didn't see him for a day, then he stumbled out of our woods ... no longer fitting the name Big Balls.

Our golden passed over rainbow bridge and Wrangler seemed to look for him and became even more affectionate with us (which was almost impossible). We got a new puppy and Wrangler loved her just the same.

One day, when I was 6 months pregnant, after Wrangler had been being standoff-ish for about a week, not interested in eating and then a strange cough, we found him in the driveway having difficulty breathing. I rushed him to Petsmart Banfield (it was late on a Saturday) and then sent me to an emergency hospital where they discovered the poor guy had fluid around his heart and there were no guarantees they could do anything and just to do tests was going to be $2000+.

So here I was in a strange ER, 6 months pregnant, hysterical over having to make a decision on this fabulous little guy, who wasn't even really mine.

It was honestly as gut-wrenching as the passing of any of our three dogs (one of which I had for 13 years).


Wow ... sorry for the ramble ... doubt this is helpful to you at all!

Re: I Think We Have A Pet.

Message edited 8/20/2010 9:04:31 PM.