Kitten came to our house last night.

Last night a sweet little kitten, came to our doorstep! She was so hungry! She had a bad case of fleas though so she couldn't come inside, our other cat might have gotten them. We got her a nice box and lined it with towels and put it under a tarp in a lean-to and cut a little flap so that she could go in and out as she pleased, we left her a bowl of food and water. This morning we couldn't find her. We were going to call the animal shelter because my parents didn't want another medium-haired cat. =/ But she showed up again tonight and we gave her more food and moved her box by our front door. I put some flea/tick medicine on her and refreshed her water. Its so sad, everytime someone turns on the outside light she makes this pitiful meow, she wants the attention so badly! I don't want to get attached to her incase we end up having to let her go. I go out there occasionally and call her(she comes when I call 'kitty'! =o) and pet her a bit. I don't know what to do because since she is never here during the day time I can't call the shelter to come pick her up. She is the lovelyest little kitten! So adorable and sweet! I'm hoping her fleas will start to clear up soon. Its so cold out there at night. Nice and warm in the box though(I stuck my hand in there to get the food bowl). My question is, how can I try to convince my parents to let me keep her? Our other cat is about 9 and also a medium-hair. We already have 5 animals in the house and I had already asked for my own ball python. It just seems like they don't care about her although my dad did do a good job making her shelter for the night. =) And my mom admitted that she was adorable and loved to be petted. So does anyone have any advice for me? I really don't want to keep her locked up over night and give her to the animal shelter.

If she does well outside you could always keep her as an outdoor kitty, at least until you can find her a home. She needs to be spayed first though otherwise she will get pregnant if she isn't already. Careful with OTC flea and tick treatments, unless it is Frontline or something that you used, but OTC meds can be toxic. Good luck with her in whatever you decide to do. If you want her to be yours, show your parents you are responsible in caring for her. Save up money to take her to teh vet and be spayed and vaccianted and everything.

Thanks, I'm already taking care of our other cat and shes an indoor cat. Already spayed and had her shots. I would like to get this new kitten spayed and stuff but my parents will probably just say its a waste of my money. =(

Bless you for caring for this kitten! If you have your own money, maybe your parents will let you get her at least spayed. IMO, if God allowed the kitten to come into your life, and if you have the funds, then it's His will that you care for her to the best of your ability. He makes us all, and He gave you the heart that cares for His creatures Who are you to disagree with a Higher Power?

You're a minor, aren't you?... That's a really bad situation to be in, when an animal depends on you... But if you can do the legwork, and find a vet who will do the spay for cheap, you may be able to afford it on your allowance or persuade your parents to pay. Having repeated litters is not good for this kitten.

Put a collar on the kitten, and write your name and phone number on the collar. That way, if it's somebody's outdoor kitten, or kitten that has been lost, you can get in touch with the owner, and the kitten will be safe back home.

But if this kitten is really a stray, then it depends on you for help.

Start feeding and taking care of the kitten; also begin brushing it daily. That should help its flea problem (you can flea-comb it when you groom it). If you can do this for a while, you can make a case to your parents: Okay, this kitten is outside; but I have been taking care of it steadily. If we bring it inside, I can still take care of it--it won't be any more work for you; and if I brush it every day then we won't have a big increase in shed fur around the house, either.

You can offer to do chores in exchange for vet care, or get a job as a babysitter, lawn-care person, pet sitter, etc. and pay for it yourself. (And if you're 16, you can get a normal job.)

You care about this kitten... if you can show your parents you care enough to do the work required, they will see how much this is teaching you responsibility and probably give in. (Use that catchword. "Teaching me responsibility". It works.)

By the way, if you do succeed in bringing the kitten inside, confine it to a single room until it is comfortable with the new surroundings, has a clean bill of health from your vet, knows its litter box, and doesn't mind the smell of your other cat. Then once they know each others' smells (swap their blankets) you can start to introduce them, carefully.

Good luck

Thank you so much Callista! You've really helped me out a lot! I just don't know weather or not they will let me put out name and address on a coller on the kitten. =S I can give it a shot though.


"also begin brushing it daily"


Uhm, do you think it would be okay if I used the other cat's brush? Or would the fleas sort of stay in the brush?

Hello,
I wouldn't use the other cat's brush. Fleas would stay in the brush. I would suggest getting a flea brush, and around my area they are about $3.00 at the most.

Originally Posted by catzeye21138

Thanks, I'm already taking care of our other cat and shes an indoor cat. Already spayed and had her shots. I would like to get this new kitten spayed and stuff but my parents will probably just say its a waste of my money. =(

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Catzeye.....Perhaps you can raise money by selling brownies or asking for donations in your neighborhood. The most important thing is that this little one is seen by a vet to ensure it is healthy and also is spayed or neutered.

Katie

I have been in that situation though kids can be very persuasive ecspecially on mothers lol, see thats how i got bella I got attached and she just came to me, so try your best to talk to them about. Most of the time my mom will bring home an animal I wanted the deal is though I gotta take care of it and they will stay in my room, and well recently I have talked her into a kitten and it took a little bit of time but I got it we just didnt tell my dad the full story lol. And we do have alot of animals at my house and we just end up with more lol, just keep bugging them it will eventually work and if your mom is an animal lover it might be hard for her to know that its out there in the cold and stuff so idk I hope this is a little helpful to you!

I asked my mom if I could get the cat a vet check up and eventually spayed if I raised the money by myself but she said it was a waste of money because we wern't keeping the cat anyway. I can't really buy anything without telling her first. She suggested a few minutes ago that I ask my 4-H leader if she will take her.

Originally Posted by catzeye21138

I asked my mom if I could get the cat a vet check up and eventually spayed if I raised the money by myself but she said it was a waste of money because we wern't keeping the cat anyway. I can't really buy anything without telling her first. She suggested a few minutes ago that I ask my 4-H leader if she will take her.

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That sounds like a good idea.

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

That sounds like a good idea.

Katie

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I guess so, I'd rather her go to my 4-H leader and me able to see her occasionally than for her to go to an animal shelter where anyone could adopt her. =(

Well, there are a variety of topical flea meds to get rid of her fleas; Petco, PetsMart, vets, and other "pet" supply stores all sell them, or you can go to http://www.DrsFosterSmith.com to order them. They are simple to apply and very effective -- much better than collars or powders. Make sure you get one for CATS only; we like Advantage and the purple is for young and small cats, I believe (it goes by weight and by age -- make sure she is old enough!).

If you turn her in to a shelter her odds will not be good. Honesty is better than denial, I believe -- saving her life is the top priority. By promising that you will take care of her and attend to her needs, you may be able to convince your folks to let you adopt her. Cats ARE very social, and generally, once they adjust to newcomers, they do well in multi-cat families. There are 9 in our household; they curl up together, wash one another, play together, and keep one another company. If I had my choice, I'd opt for a cat (kitten!) and forego the snake. That's just me -- cat lover from the word go.

We had some extra flea medicine at our house, first I tried Hartz advanced care for cats over 3 months (my mom said she must be at least 5 months if not more), but that didn't work because her fur is so thick I guess I didn't get it down to her skin... But that didn't work on our other cat either so I wasn't surprised. I washed her neck off with a wet cloth and blew dry her fur a little bit then waited till the next day and had my mom help me put Bio spot for cats on her. My 4-H leader said it works really well. It didn't work on our other cat either but only advantage works on her. My mom didn't want to use that on the kitten b/c its really expencive and she wants to keep it incase Chablis(other cat) gets fleas again.

Dear Catzeye:

Hartz flea products have been implicated in numerous fatalities and I would discourage anyone from buying any of their flea products for cats. Bio-spot and Advantage are both good, as far as I know/have experience of; you can get Advantage at a competitive rate by visiting Drs. Foster & Smith's website: http://www.DrsFosterSmith.com . Of course, keeping cats indoors all the time helps greatly with preventing fleas (as well as keeping them safe).

My parents are giving the cat to this girl named Alicia! D= The worst thing is that I know her and she is going to be constantly giving me updates on the kitten! My parents never even told me this!

Dear Catzeye:

As long as she is responsible, caring, loving, and wants to keep the kitten inside in a safe environment, this is a good thing -- and constant updates are good, too -- maybe visitation rights as well?

What state are you in? If you want to get her spayed, but money is the problem, maybe there is a place nearby that will do it for free. I'm in IL and they have a place here called Treehouse and they will spay and neuter strays/ferals for free. I'm getting my feral cat spayed there as soon as I can get an appointment set up(I just called yesterday). Maybe you can check the web for a place nearby that will do it for you for free. If you can get that done then maybe your mom will let YOU keep her.

If the other girl gets her, then at least you will always know how she is doing and may be able to see her alot. I know it's hard to give up a kitty, I've had to do it a couple times myself and I cried every time. I still miss them all.

Good luck with the kitty and I hope everything works out for you and her.

Wow Tortie:

That's great info and I sure hope it's useful and helpful -- most of all, to the KITTEN!!!

Well it sure helped me and my cats. I just got a job at Petsmart and one of the customers told me about Treehouse. I had never heard of it before. She said they had it on TV and it said in the add that they spay/neuter strays for free. Sooo...I called yesterday and was actually calling to see if they could take my 2 kittens(they are my feral's babies). They said they can't take them but asked if I wanted them to spay the mama. Even though I've had her for a long time and it is kinda my fault she got preggers, they said they would do it for free.(kindof a reward for helping the strays I guess). I said PLEASE spay her!!!! Also, I called back today and they said they could do the fkittens for free too! Yippee! Now I won't have to worry about them getting preggers when the are older! Plus, maybe people will be more likely to adopt them now too since they won't have to pay to have them spayed!