2 posts tagged “stray”

Thought I'd finally give an update about that kitty from a while back.

She was adopted!  Yeah!

I checked the ARL site for a couple days after we dropped her off and I saw a photo that I'm almost positive was the same kitty.  They had her listed as "Powder". 

Then about 2 days later she wasn't on the site anymore, indicating that she was adopted.  Kittens tend to go pretty fast -- especially those as nice as she was.  I hope her and her new family are doing well.

Last night I looked out my front door and saw a little kitten looking back up at me.  My wife and I, who have three cats of our own, were of course concerned and decided to check it out.  As soon as I went back outside the kitty, which had gone back down the sidewalk toward our driveway, meowed and took several steps back toward me.  She didn’t seem injured at all, but was a little scared and maybe hungry.  The kitty didn’t have a collar on and the fur around her neck didn’t show any evidence that the kitty normally wore a collar.  My guess is that the kitty was about 10 weeks old.  That’s about the age our other cats were when we got them.

My wife and I told each other right away that we weren’t going to keep the kitten, but we wanted to do what we could for her to make sure she found a good home.  She didn’t seem to be anybody’s, but we couldn’t be sure.  We decided to bring her to the Animal Rescue League (ARL) so in case someone reported her missing to the ARL, she could be returned to her owners.  And if she didn’t belong to anyone, hopefully they should be able to find her a good home.

 

We brought out a saucer with some Fancy Feast canned cat food and some Cat Sip (milk with added lactase so it’s safe for cats to drink).  The kitten slurped it up.

 

We decided it would be best to keep the kitten in our garage for the night and then call the (ARL) in the morning.  Our garage was pretty clean (we recently cleaned it out for a Halloween party) and our cars weren’t parked in there.  Also, this would keep the kitten protected from our other cats and would prevent our cats from catching any illness the kitten might have.

 

We brought a kitty carrier outside and tried to coax the kitten inside with some more food, but she was nervous about going completely inside.  She’d grab a chunk of food and quickly back out and eat it.  We were acting very calm and doing the usual things to help make a cat at ease – not looking directly in the eyes, not showing teeth, slow movements, sighing, slow eyelid movements, etc.  As she got used to us, she would meow and wander around enough for my wife to touch her.  She was still quite cautious.  Eventually my wife was able to grab her scuff and place her in the carrier.

Then I went and turned on the lights in the garage and opened the garage door.  We brought her inside and closed the door again.  We let her out and she started investigating and meowing.  I got her a dish of water – with a flat bottom, so it was less likely to be tipped over accidentally.  I also gave her a dish of dry cat food.  We didn’t have any kitten food, so she got the prescription W/D food that we get for our cats.  It’s quality stuff, though and our cats have very healthy coats because of it.

 

We left the carrier for her and left it open, so she could go inside and nap if she wanted.  My wife also made a little nest of a blanket we had handy in the garage.

I got a litter pan for her and placed it where she could see it, but away from the bedding and food and in a little more private location.

 

My wife felt for a tracer chip, but didn’t feel one.  Some pets have a chip about the size of a grain of rice implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades.  The local ARL implants them in their kittens and puppies.  Then if the animal gets lost and returned to the ARL, they can scan it with a special wand and get the pet’s “serial number” which can be matched to the owners, who can then be contacted.

 

I checked on the kitty several times last night.  She’s a very sweet kitten.  Sometimes she was lying on the blanket.  She came over to me and wanted me to pet her.  Eventually, she didn’t want me to leave her along.  She wanted company and wanted to play.  She even let me pick her up (I picked her up and placed her in the litter pan to show it to her).  She was very affectionate and cute.  We played like kittens and she was very gentle with her claws and teeth.

I checked on her this morning and she was doing fine.  She used the litter during the night.

This morning my wife took her into the local ARL office.  We wanted to make sure that she wasn’t euthanized.  We’re sure she would make a great pet for a loving family.  As policy, though, the ARL makes you sign away your rights to the animals you bring in.  The kitten may have ear mites, which could easily be taken care of by a vet.  We told them we would foster the cat until it found a home if necessary and donated some money to help make sure the kitten got the veterinary care she might need so she could be adoptable.

 

We’ll be checking the ARL website for her to make sure she finds a good home.