Hi all! I'm apparently collecting cats now. I saw a kitten before the 4th of July roaming the streets half-starved. At first I thought she was a big rat! I brought her food but couldn't catch her. I got a trap from Humane Society's feral cat program and spent until now looking for her. She slinks under parked cars at night so despite going out nearly every night, I only just finally caught her again this weekend. I was sure I'd never see her again, as a few years ago I saw an abandoned skittish kitten at the same time of year and she disappeared after the 4th. Back then I didn't know about the Humane Society's feral trap program. I'm glad I was able to help this one =)
I took her into the clinic and they spayed her (apparently she was just exactly 2 lbs, their requirement... I think a pound of it was all the food she downed when we brought her in) and immunized her for free (as part of the feral cat program, despite their knowledge that she would likely be adopted out instead of returned - they're supposed to charge regular rates for that). We paid for her to get flea treatment and the FIV/FELV test.
Question on FIV/FELV: her test came back negative. The clinic said although it's not as effective on young kittens, a negative result is pretty reliable, and that she didn't have any symptoms of any sickness made them more confident in the test as well. Does this sound right? We're concerned about her exposure to our cat and foster kitten, but we obviously can't keep her locked in the bathroom until she's 6 months old, which is the age they recommend testing at.
Question on fleas: the clinic said she had fleas and they gave her topical flea meds. We didn't see a grease spot on her when we got her home. I'm thinking they did it Saturday night. We did see one flea. She was spayed Sunday, and during the spay they "de-grossed" her for us, so could it have been absorbed and wiped clear by the time we brought her home Sunday afternoon? A friend gave us his extra internal flea medicine (something Star I think?) which is what our vet recommended when we called. We've been keeping her locked in the bathroom with a towel under the door, but the curious cats have gotten their noses in a time or two each. They also were treated with topical flea treatment this weekend. Do we need to worry about an infestation?
Question on worms: the clinic gave her a dewormer. Her little poops look solid and I don't see anything stringy/wormy in them. Does she need a second dose before she's exposed to the other cats?
She's going to be adoptable - she hisses when we come up to her, but lets us pick her up and then stays laying in our lap, purring, letting us pet her, and sleeping. Once we've picked her up and she's in our lap/arms, she isn't frightened by our hand approaching her. We've each been spending several hours a day with her and when she starts greeting us, our at least stops hiding in the corner/in her box, we'd like to let her loose to get used to guests and the other cats (depending on the health and flea situation). We only give her a bit of food at a time so she'll quickly associate us with bringing her food (since we do it frequently). She won't play yet, but today she was very interested while sitting in my lap when I ran my pencil around the floor in front of her. She also periodically looks up at me, which is really adorable. She'll stay on our laps for quite a while, but then when she gets up to use the bathroom (which she'll do in our presence... very different from Saturday when we were trying to bring her to the clinic and she peed she was so frightened) or get food, she'll go lay in a hidden corner (we actually think this might be because she's too warm, since she chooses to lay on the tiles instead of in her box, which is shielded from our view, but can't be sure).
I'd also appreciate any other tips you all have for us to get her more socialized, or anything else you want to suggest!
(Post-spay and still drugged.)
(Also drugged.)
And here is a deceptive photo. Once she gets into our laps she's wonderful (doesn't nuzzle or anything, but purrs like a little lawn mower and stays put), but she looks pathetic and frightened the rest of the time:
More representative of her tiny patheticness:
I took her into the clinic and they spayed her (apparently she was just exactly 2 lbs, their requirement... I think a pound of it was all the food she downed when we brought her in) and immunized her for free (as part of the feral cat program, despite their knowledge that she would likely be adopted out instead of returned - they're supposed to charge regular rates for that). We paid for her to get flea treatment and the FIV/FELV test.
Question on FIV/FELV: her test came back negative. The clinic said although it's not as effective on young kittens, a negative result is pretty reliable, and that she didn't have any symptoms of any sickness made them more confident in the test as well. Does this sound right? We're concerned about her exposure to our cat and foster kitten, but we obviously can't keep her locked in the bathroom until she's 6 months old, which is the age they recommend testing at.
Question on fleas: the clinic said she had fleas and they gave her topical flea meds. We didn't see a grease spot on her when we got her home. I'm thinking they did it Saturday night. We did see one flea. She was spayed Sunday, and during the spay they "de-grossed" her for us, so could it have been absorbed and wiped clear by the time we brought her home Sunday afternoon? A friend gave us his extra internal flea medicine (something Star I think?) which is what our vet recommended when we called. We've been keeping her locked in the bathroom with a towel under the door, but the curious cats have gotten their noses in a time or two each. They also were treated with topical flea treatment this weekend. Do we need to worry about an infestation?
Question on worms: the clinic gave her a dewormer. Her little poops look solid and I don't see anything stringy/wormy in them. Does she need a second dose before she's exposed to the other cats?
She's going to be adoptable - she hisses when we come up to her, but lets us pick her up and then stays laying in our lap, purring, letting us pet her, and sleeping. Once we've picked her up and she's in our lap/arms, she isn't frightened by our hand approaching her. We've each been spending several hours a day with her and when she starts greeting us, our at least stops hiding in the corner/in her box, we'd like to let her loose to get used to guests and the other cats (depending on the health and flea situation). We only give her a bit of food at a time so she'll quickly associate us with bringing her food (since we do it frequently). She won't play yet, but today she was very interested while sitting in my lap when I ran my pencil around the floor in front of her. She also periodically looks up at me, which is really adorable. She'll stay on our laps for quite a while, but then when she gets up to use the bathroom (which she'll do in our presence... very different from Saturday when we were trying to bring her to the clinic and she peed she was so frightened) or get food, she'll go lay in a hidden corner (we actually think this might be because she's too warm, since she chooses to lay on the tiles instead of in her box, which is shielded from our view, but can't be sure).
I'd also appreciate any other tips you all have for us to get her more socialized, or anything else you want to suggest!
(Post-spay and still drugged.)
(Also drugged.)
And here is a deceptive photo. Once she gets into our laps she's wonderful (doesn't nuzzle or anything, but purrs like a little lawn mower and stays put), but she looks pathetic and frightened the rest of the time:
More representative of her tiny patheticness:
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