Problem with cat that I want to keep!

If it were me I'd keep the cat, and don't feel guilty. Be sure you get the cat a collar and name tag with your cell phone number on it, and microchip her if you can. Then try to make her an indoor kitty, but if she won't have any part of that, then at least you have identified yourself as the "owner."

The way I see it is the first person that lays claim with a collar and name tag is the owner. If the other people really wanted that kitty, they would have already claimed her via the collar/tag option.

Hi, you are so kind to take care of this little girl. From reading your posts it seems that she is a stray in need of a home. If the other family really had true intentions of taking her in, they would have done so already. You are very right being in a tourist area that she would not be safe outside.

She has chosen you. There is no need to feel guilty for taking her in after talking to the other family. She is "at home" with you. My vet told me that she believes animals find us, we don't find them. This little calico knows what she is doing. Best of luck to you with your fur family.

Well you could always take the cat inside and see how she does. If she does fine keep her inside and see how long it takes the other family to come looking for her. If they are just leaving food out and it gets eaten they may think she is around even when she isn't. They have to understand owning a cat is more than just putting food out. Even outdoor cats enjoy interaction with their humans.

I agree with all the others. If you can and want her, go for it, as the situation is. Sooner the better.
If the others really wants her, they can surely contact you and agree to fetch her. Or rather, if they contact you, take the diskussion then.
As now, you do have the first shot and the responsibility is mainly yours.


Good luck!

Before you claim her you should take her to a vet or shelter to have her scanned for a microchip. If she's already been spayed she may be someone's pet who got lost. I know you put up posters, but if the owners don't live in the immediate area they might not have seen them.

Once you're sure the cat doesn't belong to someone else, I would say you're free to make her yours. The neighbors obviously haven't followed through with what they told you, so I don't think you need to take them into consideration. It's all about what is best for the kitty.

Hi,

I don't agree with the others, quite frankly. You know who ownes this cat and have agreed not to feed her- now you've decided to keep her without telling the owners of this cat.

If you just keep her without telling them they will think something has happened to her- and that's not fair towards them or their kids.

You don't seem to agree with the way they keep this cat- but that doesn't give you the right to simply keep it. This cat is not a stray- you know who is looking after it.

Talk to the owners of the cat and ask them if you could have her or if you could come to any other sort of agreement such as both of you feeding her when she comes.

regards,

Christine

Actually, this cat is exactly a stray, by the definition. It's not being kept inside, and it's not staying with someone who claims to be caring for it.

The original poster stated in her first post that the cat IS a stray. It seems she was feeding the stray AND another family was also feeding the stray.

She DID speak to the other family who CLAIMED to want to keep her yet they were not caring for her.

The cat apparently preferred the OP because the other family was gone all the time and not caring for the cat. I would choose the OP if I were the cat, too !!

This is what edielou wrote. This cat has a family that wants to keep it and is taking care of it. In my eyes this is not a stray- a stray is a cat that does not have a home.

I just don't think it is OK to keep a cat knowing that it already blongs to some one who wants to keep it. I can understand that ediolou would like to keep the cat as it seems to be friendly- but I don't think she moraly has the right to do so without asking the people who are already taking care of this cat.

Many peple don't like to put a collar on their cat as a cat can get strangled with a collar- this doesn't mean you can simply keep every freindly cat without a collar. If that where the case I could simply keep my neighbour's cats, some of which are ex- strays they've taken in and have had neutered.

The one thing I do agree with is that the cat should be checked for a chip.

regards,

Christine

There are safety collars made to break away if caught on something. I would never let my outdoor cat outside without a collar AND a nametag with my phone number on it. My in/out cat is also microchipped with her chip tag on her collar along with her nametag and my phone number. My indoor only cat also has a collar and nametag with my phone number just in case she gets out accidentally.

Yes, check the cat for a microchip.

Yes, there are safety collars- but there's no law stating that an out door cat must wear one- it's up to the owners to decide for or against a collar.

The point I was trying to make was that you can't keep a friendly cat just because it hasn't got a collar.

regards,

Christine

Let me share how we got our cat. For weeks and weeks, maybe several months, there was this cat sleeping on our patio furniture. Every time we went outside, she would bolt and jump over the fence, but within minutes of us coming inside, she would return to our patio. She had a collar, but no nametag or identifying information. But because of the collar, we thought she had a loving home.

One morning, after grilling the night before, my husband sees this cat licking our grill. Husband determines she must be hungry, so we put out some scraps from the refrigerator (had no cat food) and she gobbled it right up. We looked around the neighborhood and didn't see any missing cat signs. Within a few days she was eating out of our hands and she let us pet her. We opened our door to her and she came right in and jumped on my lap and started purring and drooling, lol!

We took her to the vet to have her checked over. She was not chipped. She had been spayed. She became our cat once we placed a microchip in her and paid the vet bill! Obviously at one time she "belonged" to someone. But either she was abandoned when the original family moved, or she ran away from them. Maybe she was abused? We will never know. But what we do know is that she chose our house, and she chose us. We are truly blessed to have her.

Because she began her life with us as an outdoor cat, she is now indoors at night, but spends most of the day outside. We have now had her for 5 years and is now approximately 7 years old. She has been diagnosed with CRF, so she may not have lots of years left. We love her like a child, and she now has regular food, vet care, and shelter.

If her first family lost a very special kitty that they loved and adored, then I am sorry for their loss. But I believe that if they had really missed her, then they would have put up signs in the neighborhood and made an attempt to find her. I agree with the poster who said that sometimes cats choose their owners. Dusty chose us, and we are very blessed that she did.

Hi,

I'm not sure what you're trying to say with your story? So if one of you neighbours started to feed Dusty and Dusty decided to move in with your neighbours you would be OK with this? That's very generous of you- but for this threas it's missing the point in my oppinion because this cat has a family who would like to keep her and have quite clearly said this. Besides- once this cat has been locked away as an indoor only cat (which is what I've understood is the plan) this cat will not be able to choose where she would like to live.

Don't you think you would be upset if one of your neighbours decided to keep Dusty as an indoor only cat because she's a friendly cat and they like her- without ever telling you about it? If this were to happen to me I'd be forever wondering about what might of happened to my cat and I'm sure you'd also be very upset if Dusty one day never came home and you wouldn't know why or what has happened to her.

regards,

Christine

My point is that following your logic, Dusty would still be living on the street. She belonged to someone who put a collar on her, but couldn't be bothered with a name tag. What good is a collar without ID? If she had any kind of ID, she would have been reunited with her original owner. Apparently that original owner didn't care enough to protect her with an ID.

If you have an outdoor cat, that make sure that cat has an ID on a collar. Otherwise keep the cat indoors. I would never "steal" a cat that was properly ID'd and I would hope that others would never steal my cat either, because she is now mine and carries proper identification!

If you allow your cat to be an outdoor cat without identification then don't except to "lay claim" to that cat. Cats that are allowed to roam often do choose their owners.

ETA,
1. Keep you treasured cat indoors if at all possible.
2. If not possible, put collar and nametag on outdoor pets.
3. Realize that if you ignore 1 and 2 that your pet may be claimed by someone else.

In this thread we're talking about a cat who's owners are known- they responded to the posters that were put up because they want to keep the cat.

So if a cat looses its collar that's just the owners bad luck? Maybe Dusty had a nametag on her collar and lost it?

In my oppinion if you find a cat it is also your responsibility to find its owners if you want to keep it- which was done in this case. If a cat has an owner you can't just keep it- it's that simple. You can talk to the owners to see if they'd let you have it or sell it to you. If the cat is living under an apalling conditions or if you suspect animal cruilty you should inform the animal welfare officer to look into this.

Here in Germany its the law that you have to report any cats you find- if the owner doesn't re- claim the cat within a 6 months period it then belongs to you.

regards,

Christine

I think that in this situation, if the cat doesn't have a chip, then let the cat decide where it wants to live. And if the cat can become an indoor only cat, all the better. Edielou, you have my vote! Let's hope someone cares for that poor kitty while you are away.

Um, locking the cat inside the house isn't the same as letting it decide where it wants to live! And not telling the family who want to keep her and who are feeding her where she is simply isn't OK

regards,

Christine

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. If that family wants to keep the kitty, then they need to get it a collar and nametag, and microchip it. If they don't want to invest that little bit of money, they will never care for it properly with vet care, etc. It was a stray and is STILL A STRAY even if they are feeding it outside until they claim proper ownership in a way that is visable. And that's my final word on the subject!

Well, no.

A neighbor saw the poster and told edielou that she thought another family was taking care of the cat, too. Edielou went and checked with the family, and they said they were taking care of her...sort of. Maybe they made a bigger effort for a couple of days, but then the cat reappeared at our member's house.

An outdoor cat without ID and with a predilection for staying somewhere belongs to the person the cat chooses. Don't like that? Keep your cat indoors, and avoid all the problems.

... so why bother with putting up posters looking for the cats owners if you then don't respect their wish to keep the cat they're caring for?

The bit that really bothers me is that this family will be worried about what might of happened to the cat

Yes, we'll have to disagree on this one. I do hope for you that nobody decides to simply keep Dusty one day without telling you about it.


regards,

Christine

Not likely since she is collared, chipped and tagged. And she KNOWS where her home is. If that family really cared, they would at least do the tag and collar. If not, then they don't deserve the kitty. Period.

... only if that person respects your collar, chip and tag. If not then those won't help you.

With the cat in this thread edielou knows this family would like to keep the cat- ignoring this is like ignoring a chip or a collar and tag.


regards,

Christine

From what I have read this other family are not actually the original owners of the cat and have just been feeding it and also decided that they want to keep it so edielou has done nothing wrong apart from feed this cat and she was unaware that someone else had been feeding it at the same time. In my opinion then I think this kitty much prefers edielou and obviously spends more time with her and if she has more time to give this kitty than the other family then it will benefit the cat more. I would go and see the other family and explain that the cat is always at her house and that she is fully prepared to take the cat on and pay vets fees- thing is alot of people want to keep a cat but are they prepared to pay vets fees when they need it? and they can be costly, feeding is the easy bit, there is a lot more to cat care. I would definetely get the cat checked for a microchip and then see the other family.x

Yes, I fully agree with you.

I was bothered by people here saying she should simply keep the cat indoors with no regards to the family who are feeding her and without talking to them.

regards,

Christine

Saying they want to keep her and really truly looking after her are not the same things. I think that is what the other posters are trying to say. I have worked in rescue long enough to know that people TALK the TALK, but often don't WALK the WALK. And often people are full of

What steps has this other family taken to really look after this little girl? EdieLou should find out if the cat is chipped, has the other family taken her to the vet for shots and a routine check up? Do they have a place set up in their household for her. I get the sense that they may have good intentions but haven't done right by this cat. Too busy, too distracted. And the cat seems to prefer Edie.

As for reporting stays - yes - there are laws here, too. The state of Michigan requires a stray be turned in to local animal control and placed on a four-day hold. Many, many people do not know this... and lots and lots of people have broken this law.
Edie - can someone come by and feed this little cat while you are gone?

Two separate families feeding the same stray cat that has no home. Although one family SAYS they are keeping it......from the fact that the cat shows up and stays at our member's home implies that they made NO EFFORT to keep the cat.

I am hoping that the stray gets to come inside somewhere as it has been stated that the area is not safe for outside cats. All the best to you, edielou in getting her safe.