Determining the age and condition of a stray cat

Thankyou so much for all the helpful ideas! I'm inspired! Time to go build a kitty condo.

how do i add to "your cats" and get an avatar?

I'm pretty sure you need a certain number of posts, but I don't know what that number is. There's a forum for technical questions - you can ask there.

Laurie

I'm not gonna be around tomorrow, so I'm sending lots of Good Luck vibes!

Laurie

thanks! I'm nervous for him. i got him litter, a litter box, a slotted spoon and 2 toys from the dollar store.... food, scratching mat, and stainless steal dishes from the supermarket. I hope he's healthy because not being able to keep him will be a BIIIIIIIIG letdown. I'll letya's know less than 24 hours from now.

We still don't have a name for him, but we went to get him today. They let him inside so he'd be easy to find. We found him curled up on the couch. The vet de-wormed him, took his temp, checked him for feline leukemia, and gave us some antibiotics for his sniffly nose. He's perfectly healthy other than his sniffles! No F-leukemia, no fleas, or ticks. The vet checked his teeth and said he's only 9 MONTHS OLD! He's still teething!!! This also explains why he's not neutered. I'm so glad I did this for him because he probably wouldn't have done well living outside at such a young age once the temperatures started dropping some more. He CAN meow and he showed us that when he was upset in his cat carrier. He has so much potential to be a great cat.
The minute we let him out of his carrier he sniffed the litter box, looked around, and fearlessly trotted through our house, exploring. He jumped up on my bed and curled up and started to clean himself! He's so content. Here's a few pictures I took of him.

awww what a beautiful boy! Those eyes! Looks like he knows he is home You are awesome for taking him in

Awwww! Adorable! Did you decide for a name? Good luck for everything
I don't know if you have done it yet, but maybe you should call a few shelter from your area, because they often know about low-cost vet clinics. They can often give the base vaccine for almost nothing and spay/neuter for less than 40$. If you tell these shelters/organisms that it's a cat you found on the street and that you are a student with not a lot of money, they are likely to reffer you to one of these low-cost clinic.

It's really worth it because the bills go up pretty fast with tests and vaccine (where I live, blood test are around 70$, it's 45$ for a consultation+ the price of the vaccines (20$) + you have to come back a month later to do again the vaccine (20$ + the consultation again) + they will want to test him for HIV (I don't remember how much is it) + they will have to test for worms (22$) and probably deworm (2 times 20$)...so to be sure your cat is healthy, without a low-cost clinic it should be around 260$) Oh, and they recommand to vaccine them every year (so 130$ each year). I really don't say that to discourage you or anything. It's just that I am a bit in your situation (money issues, student, cat lover...) and I wanted you to know what you're up against and why it's worth it to try to find a low cost clinic (they won't accept anybody, but as I said, you have a good profile to be admitted and if you are refered by a shelter of your area, you have all the chances to save a lot).

So, again, I wish you all the best . Keep us posted on what's going on with your new little (lovely) fella!

I think... his name... is going to be... Ed.

... named after a cat-like, yet human character in one of my favorite anime cartoons.

Edward, officially. I think Ed is simple and cute and it has meaning to me. All the other names I thought of just seemed fleeting, but this one stuck with me once I started calling him it.

He's sleeping on my roommate's bed right now. I've never seen a kitten so out cold! He must be recharging. Once he's fully charged he'll probably be bouncing off the walls.



He found his litter box on the first try, he follows you around, comes when you call him, and jumps up when you pat the couch next to you. He's definitely been humanized before he met us. It's unfortunate that he got away from whoever had him before... but at this point... he's lucky that we found him!

I can't stop picking on him, but I better let him sleep. He's probably been through a lot.

He probably has been through a lot. There are dangers and situations out there we cannot begin to imagine. Poor little guy has some stories to tell. Please do keep sharing photos. He is just beautiful. Cannot get over his pretty eyes

Oh he is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : He sounds like SUCH a love bug! I am so glad he has a home with you now. WHAT a cutie!

He really should be neutered ASAP or he'll likely begin to spray around your apartment, and you do NOT want that! Here's a link where you can type in your zipcode (upper left) and if there are places near you, it will pull them up. Then you can just call to find out what the requirements are or how much it costs.

http://www.pets911.com/services/spay.../locations.php

If you don't have luck with this one, post here and I'll give you some more links. But please don't put it off - for his sake and yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so glad he's home - and so happy so quickly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laurie

This cat, is awesome. I don't know how long he was living in the wild, but he is sooo friendly. He lets me rub his tummy! and touch his paws! We had loud music cranking from the record player tonight and he just stared at the speakers a little spooked and eventually fell asleep in front of them. He is so content and happy! He's fattening up every day, and his sinus infection is improving every day. He lets me give him his medicine without tooo much of a fight. All I need to know-- how do I get him to scratch his scratching post besides the furniture? And how do I get him to stop kicking his litter all out of his box?

Ohhh, he is REALLY cute!! He reminds me of my kitty when I first adopted him, same age/size...except mine still doesn't let me touch his belly- you really got lucky to get such a sweetie! As for the litterbox question, a large covered litterbox works well for us.

BTW, I agree that you should have him neutered ASAP.

Either a large covered litter box, or a large plastic storage container that has high sides - some kitties are big kickers. Also, a mat in front of the entrance to the covered box will work. We always took the flaps off the door to the covered litter box - but once he's using it, you can try putting it back on.

As to the scratching - try spraying (if you can afford catnip spray) or rubbing catnip on the post(s)/scratchers. Also, you need to clip his claws. We did it one claw at a time while they were sleeping with a treat immediately put down after the one claw was clipped. Since he lets you touch his paws, he may not freak out - but still best to start one claw at a time and see how it goes. Clip it as close as you can to the "quick" - the dark outline inside the claw. If you accidentally nip the quick, he may cry out, and it'll bleed like heck. It's good to have stiptic powder around just in case.

As to the scratching on the furniture - can you use a little bit of painters tape to hang aluminum foil on the places he's scratching? It doesn't leave "tape glue" behind, and if you leave up the aluminum foil for 3 weeks to a month, that's long enough for him to develop the habit of scratching in the right places. You may want to put the post near where he was scratching, then slowly move it to where you want it. And having more than one scratching option really helps. The more you have around, the less he'll "need" the furniture too. We have mat scratchers, slanted cardboard scratchers, a couple of posts, and a couple of cat trees.

I know funds are tight - but you can build a tree out of wood and carpet remnants.

I'm so glad you rescued him! He sounds like such a love!

Laurie

ohhh noooo. i just found a flea on him. any natural remedies? I JUST got back from walmart where i considered getting him a flea collar but i decided not to. maybe i should have. all the pet stores and vets are closed >( maybe the supermarket will have a flea collar. rawrrrrr.

can i prevent myself from getting them? he's sleptin my bed the past 4 nights.

Uh-Oh! I really don't know about fleas...maybe post a new thread in the health section, where more people could help you on that (with a descriptive title ). I hope you can get rid of them easily and I'm sure there are home remedies for that.

WARNING: Do NOT put a flea collar on your cat! They can be very dangerous to cats and can kill them.

They do work GREAT in the vacuum cleaner, however. Next time you get the chance, do purchase one, cut it up, and put it in the bag/cylinder of your vacuum. Vacuum every day - it'll pick up the eggs.

The best treatment is Advantage (NOT ADVANTIX) or Frontline from the vet. I don't know how much your vet will charge, but it's just one application dolloped on his back between his shoulder blades. It works REALLY well.

All your bed linens MUST be washed in really hot water with whatever detergent you use. And then just vacuum a lot.

You won't get fleas - but if they're in your bed, you may get flea bites until you get Ed treated, get the floor vacuumed with the flea collar in the bag, and get the linens washed.

Once he's treated with the Fronline or Advantage, if you vacuum every day for a week, you should be good to go. No flea bomb necessary.

If you can't afford the Frontline or Advantage from the vet, purchase Dawn dish soap and a small tub in which to wash kitty. You'll also need a flea comb. Put just a little dawn dish soap in the tub and fill it with lukewarm water. You'll have to get kitty in the tub and keep him there for a few minutes - not always easy to do. But the fleas will climb up his neck onto his head, and you can use the comb to get them off and flush 'em down the toilet. He may need more than one of these baths - and you have to be sure to rinse ALL the dish soap off before you let him out of the bathroom. .....that's why the Frontline or Advantage is just SO MUCH easier!

Good luck,

Laurie

I got him Frontline Plus....
and the doc also gave me a pill for him. I forget what it was called. It was $3 though. Since I put the Frontline on him he's scratching and biting himself a lot. I think his fleas are trying to flee....
So as long as I vacuum with a flea collar or some flea powder and wash my sheets/ clothes in hot water, we should be alright? what about the couches and everything else? He has two more months of Frontline meds so he's good for a while. phew. If there are any left over they will die just because they can't live on him as a host, correct???

Yup. Since he's going to be an indoor kitty only, you should just need the one month of meds. But because it's safe, it won't hurt to run the course.

This is from this thread in Care and Grooming: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=156644

Originally Posted by Petstorejunkie

I prefer to stay away from chemicals whenever possible and have found really effective methods to keeping fleas away.
Ever heard of Borax (boric acid)? It's in the laundry aisle, is dirt cheap, pet safe, and kills fleas!
Sprinkle all your carpet and apholstery with the borax, then use a stiff brush to work it into the carpet. Let it sit for a day and then vaccum like you are trying to suck up the carpet. I go over the same area hotel vaccum slowly about 3 times. Repeat in a week. The borax sucks all the moisture out of the flea so it shrivels up and dies.
go to the healthfood store and get pennyroyal oil and you can use it as a spot on, just a few drops. I have yet to have an animal have a reaction to it. It smells great and repels all buggies.
You can also plant pennyroyal around your house to keep house buggies from entering and to keep your yard mosquito free.

Click to expand...

So you can either try this method - or get the flea collar and cut it up and put it in your vacuum. Maybe combine both!

And yes - if you're going to try the borax method, I'd wash the sheets the day I put the borax down. Otherwise I'd vacuum with the flea collar in the bag ASAP, then wash the sheets the next day - and vacuum every day (including the furniture) for like a week. Just to make sure. It's really easiest to put all the work in up front so it doesn't keep becoming an issue.

So - otherwise how are things going?

Laurie