I'm not really new. I usually read but don't post very much. I still don't have a cat, but there is a stray that hangs around a lot. He is pretty skinny, and not to scared. He even teases our dog by sitting right outside the glass door. If I can convince him to come it I will turn him into an indoor cat. After searching for an owner of course. LOL
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Hi I don't post a lot
- Thread starter ^tanya^
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- #2
Good luck with that. It is so hard to turn an outdoor cat expecially a stray into an indoor cat. I would suggest getting the cat fixed as soon as possible. Also introduce it slowly to the family including the dog. I lot of people here take in strays and ferrals so I bet if you ask they will all have really good ideas to help you.
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- #4
No, I dont agree. It is surely easier with a stray - the homeless stray knows the outside can be - and often is - terrible.
While an outdoor homecat, for him the outside is mostly a joy. If something is scary or unpleasant, he can always run back home.
Our swedish forums are full of people having adopted ex-homeless cats, having them as happy inside cats, even family pets. This is common: we dont have much TNR, so almost all cat-rescuing is for taking them in, fostering, finding them homes.
The big difficulty is not in fostering them into homecats, the difficulty is in finding them homes....
Good luck and much pleasure with your new furry friend!
I'm so glad you want to rescue a kitty!
Sounds like he needs a home.
I agree with Stefan.
The best thing to do is to start putting food out for kitty at the same time every day. Hang out - not too close at first. See how it goes. He/She might "friendly" up pretty quickly. Food can be a real motivator!
Just when you're ready to bring him inside, make sure the first thing you do is get kitty to a vet. He should have a check-up, be neutered (or spayed), and will DEFINITELY need to be de-flead, de-ticked (which if you can pet kitty while eating, you can do with Frontline. Do NOT use a flea collar or products you can buy at a store, they're often very toxic to cats and sometimes kill them. Advantage or Frontline, which you must specify is for a cat at the vet, are least harmful to kitties while being VERY effective against fleas and ticks).
He will likely have internal parasites, so they should check his poop.
And he will need rabies (it's required I think in all States). We also give our kitties a test to see if they test positive for FIV or FeLV (though if kitty did have a home and his owners gave him a vaccination for FeLV, he'll test positive for it even if he doesn't have it, but we deal almost exclusively with feral cats, so that's never been an issue and it's why we have them tested) and we get them a distemper shot.
The de-wormer meds and the distemper need to be followed up in 3 weeks. The de-wormer you should be able to administer yourself. But the initial dose of de-wormer only kills the adult parasites, and so the eggs have to mature, and then you kill that batch of grown-up parasites. That often takes care of it, but it's still a good idea to take a fecal sample to the vet after another three weeks just to make sure.
If you're going to make kitty indoor-only and have a litter box, be aware that cats don't digest their food very well, so to a dog, cat poop smells like protein. Gotta put the box(es) somewhere doggie can't get to them, or once you're sure kitty is using the box, also provide one with a cover so you can eventually have kitty using only a covered box.
And when you're ready to bring kitty inside, have a room set up for him. He'll be scared at first, but with lots of patience, kitty WILL come to trust you. It just takes them a while to adjust to their new territory - the new sights, sounds, smells, etc. Starting with a small territory at first is really best, it helps the adjustment go smoother and more quickly. Otherwise it's just overwhelming, even if they lived inside before.
Keep us posted!
Laurie
Sounds like he needs a home.
I agree with Stefan.
The best thing to do is to start putting food out for kitty at the same time every day. Hang out - not too close at first. See how it goes. He/She might "friendly" up pretty quickly. Food can be a real motivator!
Just when you're ready to bring him inside, make sure the first thing you do is get kitty to a vet. He should have a check-up, be neutered (or spayed), and will DEFINITELY need to be de-flead, de-ticked (which if you can pet kitty while eating, you can do with Frontline. Do NOT use a flea collar or products you can buy at a store, they're often very toxic to cats and sometimes kill them. Advantage or Frontline, which you must specify is for a cat at the vet, are least harmful to kitties while being VERY effective against fleas and ticks).
He will likely have internal parasites, so they should check his poop.
And he will need rabies (it's required I think in all States). We also give our kitties a test to see if they test positive for FIV or FeLV (though if kitty did have a home and his owners gave him a vaccination for FeLV, he'll test positive for it even if he doesn't have it, but we deal almost exclusively with feral cats, so that's never been an issue and it's why we have them tested) and we get them a distemper shot.
The de-wormer meds and the distemper need to be followed up in 3 weeks. The de-wormer you should be able to administer yourself. But the initial dose of de-wormer only kills the adult parasites, and so the eggs have to mature, and then you kill that batch of grown-up parasites. That often takes care of it, but it's still a good idea to take a fecal sample to the vet after another three weeks just to make sure.
If you're going to make kitty indoor-only and have a litter box, be aware that cats don't digest their food very well, so to a dog, cat poop smells like protein. Gotta put the box(es) somewhere doggie can't get to them, or once you're sure kitty is using the box, also provide one with a cover so you can eventually have kitty using only a covered box.
And when you're ready to bring kitty inside, have a room set up for him. He'll be scared at first, but with lots of patience, kitty WILL come to trust you. It just takes them a while to adjust to their new territory - the new sights, sounds, smells, etc. Starting with a small territory at first is really best, it helps the adjustment go smoother and more quickly. Otherwise it's just overwhelming, even if they lived inside before.
Keep us posted!
Laurie
