Abandoned orange tabby or just neglected?

[kittyluv387]

Theres a sweet orange tabby boy at my apartment complex. I suspect he might be the father to a 3 day old kitten i previously found. When i first saw him he was chunky and friendly and not neutered. So i assumed he has a loving owner nearby. I gave him a few pats and went along. Few weeks later i saw that he had lost sooo much weight!! So much so that his skin looks saggy on his belly. This rapid weight loss concerned me. I fed him a couple of times over the next few days. I noticed he likes to hang out nearby a certain set of bushes and someone had been feeding him since there were a few empty cans around. But i noticed i dont see new cans everyday so im thinking he doesnt get fed everyday. I easily lured him into my apt so that he knows where i live in case hes ever feeling hungry. I kept my own boy away from him. The orange tabby meowed to get out and so i let him out. He layed down for a few minutes in front of my windows. Hes a sweet boy and i want him to be loved healthy and safe. Whats the best course of action? I was thinking of keep feeding him and observing his health but i dont know what else to do.

 

[kittyluv387]

After reaearching online, Ive decided im going to try and put a safety collar on him with a tag with a short message and my number: "if this cat has a home call ×××××××× or else i will rescue." If there are no calls after two weeks maybe i can take him to the vet to get him a check up and scanned for a microchip. Would it be ok for me to keep him after all that? Definitely dont want to steal someones pet. Also, i have a six month old neutered kitten. The outdoor cat is older.

 

[Norachan]

He sounds like he's been abandoned. I guess his previous owners lived in the apartment and left him behind.

The best thing to do would be to take him him to the vet, have him scanned for a chip and tested to make sure he hasn't got anything seriously wrong with him. Could you keep him indoors and put some Found Cat posters up around your apartment complex? He'll be much safer indoors, it sounds as if the poor boy is struggling out there.

Keep him in another room from your resident cat until you're sure he's healthy, then you can do some careful introductions.

Thank you for trying to help him. 3 of my current cats were dumped by their previous owners. It breaks my heart that anyone could do that.

 

[StefanZ]

After reaearching online, Ive decided im going to try and put a safety collar on him with a tag with a short message and my number: "if this cat has a home call ×××××××× or else i will rescue." If there are no calls after two weeks maybe i can take him to the vet to get him a check up and scanned for a microchip. Would it be ok for me to keep him after all that? Definitely dont want to steal someones pet. Also, i have a six month old neutered kitten. The outdoor cat is older.

You can surely cut this down to max one week. Even two days is more than enough.

The alternative is do immediately as Nansilude skisses out, but set up messages around:  Found.

Do not describe him too closely, so the owner must identyfy herself by giving the last missing detail.

 

[kittyluv387]

I would feel a but uncomfortable taking a cat in without doing the collar idea first. But yes i agree two weeks is a bit long. Ill wait 5-7 days.

 

[ondine]

Five days is plenty. Thank you so much for helping him. It does sound like he was abandoned. Boy, what I wouldn't do to those people!

I do understand there are reasons but it just breaks my heart when people don't go above and beyond for their pets. I have four cats whose "owners" left them behind. All of them were starved when they made their ways to my house.

Blessings on you for helping him. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[kittyluv387]

Well, i dont think i need to even put that collar on him, anymore! I was walking outside looking for him and i met the person that had been feeding him this whole time! I saw her walking her dogs and i asked her about the cat. After some back and forth she revelaed she had been feeding him. She is obviously sweet and seemed like a nice girl. I had trouble bringing him in today because i may have been too pushy and new neighbors were moving in which made him more uneasy. Im going to continue feeding him to strengthen the relationship so i can bring him in. I may recruit that girls help. The abandoned boy also has a gf. She looks small and young. Shes very thin. Shes more skittish than him but will stay near people to eat, so shes not too bad.

 

[kittyluv387]

Omg!!! I went outside to check again and the girl is just toooo much! She was so happy to see me. She was wagging her tail like a dog and totally demanding for affection. Shes maybe 2 months older than my current cat (good playmates maybe?). She might be a little less than a year. She might not be the tabbys gf. She was hissig at him. Shes in my bathroom right now. >

 

[kittyluv387]

I've decided that Im going to take her to the no kill shelter. I dont think i have what it takes to care for a stray starting from the ground up all on my own. So this is the best i can do to help with the strays in my area. Shes a small and skinny girl. So nice to the ones who feed her. No way can i let her stay outside to breed like a machine and die or starve. Im planning on visiting her at the shelter once she is spayed and settled in. So i can see her true personality. What a crazy day!!

And i love my neutered boy so much. Both of the other cats have hissed at him but hes so sweet and just wants to play with them.

 

[kittyluv387]

Pic of the tabby when he was chunky:

20150825_191915.jpg

• kittyluv387
• Sep 19, 2015

Pic of the girly in my bathroom:

20150919_213853.jpg

• kittyluv387
• Sep 19, 2015

 

[StefanZ]

The girl shouldnt have too difficult to find a good adoption home as soon she is socialized some.   True spotted tabbies arent that common.

 

[kittyluv387]

Shes really coming around in the bathroom at least. Such a cuddle bug/lapcat and she wags her tail!

 

[kittyluv387]

It was a struggle to get her in the carrier but i did it! She wet herself in the 10minutes we were in the car. The volunteers thought she was pretty and sweet. She was so scared but a good girl with the volunteers there. Im glad she is going to have food everyday, get apayed and find a forever home. She took the last spot for adult cats!

 

[Norachan]

Oh wow, this thread has come a long way since I last looked. Great job on getting that girl into the carrier and to a shelter. She's very pretty, I'm sure she'll find a home soon. So did you decide to keep the orange cat? He might hiss at your resident cat at first, but if you do the introductions carefully they'll soon be friends.

Here are some tips on introducing cats.

[article="32680"]How To Successfully Introduce Cats The Ultimate Guide​[/article]  

 

[kittyluv387]

Oh wow, this thread has come a long way since I last looked. Great job on getting that girl into the carrier and to a shelter. She's very pretty, I'm sure she'll find a home soon. So did you decide to keep the orange cat? He might hiss at your resident cat at first, but if you do the introductions carefully they'll soon be friends.

Here are some tips on introducing cats.


[article="32680"]​[/article] 

Thank you! That's the thing i dont know what to do about the orange tabby, i havent brought him in yet. The girl took the last spots for adults. I dont want to take him to the big city shelter because they are not no kill. Theyre no kill for adoptable pets, whatever that means. I also dont want him to get lost/ignored in the sea of cats there. But i do want something done for the orange tabby before novemeber, it starts to get quite cold here in dallas by then (at least to me). So Im willing to take him to the vet out of my pocket if needed. In my one bedroom apartment i dont have the luxury of a spare bedroom so he can only stay in my bathroom and things must move quickly. Im not as confident about getting him in the carrier if hes anything like the girl. Hes a big boy. But im planning on using the towel method like i did for the girl if needed. Man, in contrast its soo easy to put my resident kitten in the carrier!

Also, i had originally wanted to get either a young kitten or an older playful kitten for my 6 month old residet kitten. Do you think my resident kitten will still appreciate having an older and calmer cat around?

 

[juleska]

Thank you! That's the thing i dont know what to do about the orange tabby, i havent brought him in yet. The girl took the last spots for adults. I dont want to take him to the big city shelter because they are not no kill. Theyre no kill for adoptable pets, whatever that means. I also dont want him to get lost/ignored in the sea of cats there. But i do want something done for the orange tabby before novemeber, it starts to get quite cold here in dallas by then (at least to me). So Im willing to take him to the vet out of my pocket if needed. In my one bedroom apartment i dont have the luxury of a spare bedroom so he can only stay in my bathroom and things must move quickly. Im not as confident about getting him in the carrier if hes anything like the girl. Hes a big boy. But im planning on using the towel method like i did for the girl if needed. Man, in contrast its soo easy to put my resident kitten in the carrier!

Also, i had originally wanted to get either a young kitten or an older playful kitten for my 6 month old residet kitten. Do you think my resident kitten will still appreciate having an older and calmer cat around?

I soooooo know what you mean. It took 3 of us and some sedatives to get my recent feral rescue, Aladdin, in the carrier. Now I'm on my own and supposed to get him back to the vet for a follow-up check-up on Wed afternoon. He's doing great here in the house but I am definitely dreading getting him in the carrier by myself.

 

[kittyluv387]

I soooooo know what you mean. It took 3 of us and some sedatives to get my recent feral rescue, Aladdin, in the carrier. Now I'm on my own and supposed to get him back to the vet for a follow-up check-up on Wed afternoon. He's doing great here in the house but I am definitely dreading getting him in the carrier by myself.

Goodluck to both of us. The girl was pretty strong when it came to the carrier and she was probably only 10 pounds. The boy is maybe not as wild but has more weight and hes not neuterer. Ugh. The towel method seemed to work for the girl because she couldnt see what was happening and was too scared to run away.

 

[rubysmama]

Although my adopted shelter cat wasn't feral, and is generally a snuggle-bug, she hates being restrained or picked up, so getting her in the carrier to go to the vet is loads of fun.

One suggestion my vet had was to put the carrier up on the edge of a table or counter,  or other high surface, with the opening facing you.  Then pick up the cat and point it towards the carrier. Because it is up high and there is nowhere else for it to go, in theory the cat should go inside the carrier to turn around, at which time you shut the carrier door.

I've tried this technique a couple times and it definitely was an improvement over my earlier attempts.  But since as soon as I pick Ruby up, all 4 legs start flying out in all directions, next time I am going to wear a heavy jackets and sunglasses to protect my arms and eyes. 

Good luck!

 

[kittyluv387]

Update on orange tabby! I got him much easier into the carrier compared to the wild girl. Took him to the spca. I will be keeping tabs on him and making sure he doesnt get euthanized. He is beautiful and friendly so im hopeful for him.

 

[juleska]

Update on orange tabby! I got him much easier into the carrier compared to the wild girl. Took him to the spca. I will be keeping tabs on him and making sure he doesnt get euthanized. He is beautiful and friendly so im hopeful for him.

If the SPCA is a kill shelter, could he be transferred to the Humane Society? Let us know when his adoption notice is posted so we can share and help him find a home!