new STRAY arrived

he is beautiful, I wouldn't want to give him back unless I knew that he escaped and was not let out. But that is why I have 5 dogs and 1 cat.

You're a kitty angel.

Good luck to this gorgeous little man! Hopefully someone out there will claim him and take responsibility.

Oh he is BEAUTIFUL! Bless you for this!!!!!!!!!!!!

When you find out how old he is, if anyone calls, you can decide whether he should be returned or not. If he's young, then I can see that maybe they wouldn't have done it yet, especially if he escaped and isn't allowed to raom. If he's clearly their cat and they're willing to pay - then probably. But if not, if he's older, if he is allowed to roam - well - he must not be theirs.

He's gorgeous! Good on you for rescuing him.

Wow! He's every cute, he has lovely eyes

Sorry he's kind of high maintenance - but he sounds like the kind of fella that his family is really missing.

He really is gorgeous, and sounds like such a sweetheart! Again - bless you for taking him in and trying to find his family!

Good to keep looking. He may have been dumped, too. A lot of that going on these days. You could call him "Curly" for his curly tail.

What a gorgeous boy!

He sounds a little like one of our rescue cats - Benny. Benny and his siblings were born to a semi-feral in a barn. We took some of the kittens. He tamed up in a flash. He looooooves people. And to be petted. And cuddled. I was holding him like a baby the other day and was putty in my arms, purr, purr, purr..... Frankly, I am stunned no one has adopted him. He is not little and fuzzy anymore - more like 7 mos... very pretty ginger and white. I'd take him in a heartbeat if I could.

It's likely whoever had "Buddy" just didn't "get around to it" or wasn't going to bother. Hey he's male... they don't have to deal with the unwanted kittens, right?

The check for a UTI - is this because he's not using the box? Is he spraying?

...or just concern about the water intake? You can increase it by mixing his wet food with a little water.

Also, he's probably still a little food aggressive - don't know how long he was out on his own. Neutering will help this, but feeding him on a schedule (if there isn't free feeding in your home) will go a loooong way to help too.

The best way to discipline a cat is what you did with the "no" (say "NO" firmly) - but forget physical discipline, it doesn't work. Instead blow a short, sharp puff of air directly in his face and explain to him that XXXX behavior is not OK.

Charlie was a biter at first - but I think it was stress. After being neutered, and knowing he has food all the time - he'll sometimes make that movement with his head like he's going to bite - then stops and licks us instead. The first time I puffed air in his face he was SO startled! He really "got" it. It took a week or so for him to completely calm down with it, but we've really good success with "teaching" all of our cats what is OK and what isn't with that technique.

Also, don't forget to reinforce the positive. When he waits for his food, praise him. When you have that dish out in the future and he doesn't bite, praise him. Praise for good behavior goes a long way.

You can see what neutering does. Charlie was an aggressive fighter outside. So much so that the ferals stopped feeding at the feeder when he showed up, and he got bitten bad enough to be infected with FIV. And yet - look at how well the introductions are going. Patience, a schedule, positive reinforcement, scent swapping, attention and play (a great stress reliever) will all help.

If you can afford Feliway or Bach's Rescue Remedy (add drops to the drinking water, and dab a little under his chin) may also help.

If there's a litter box issue, if you can afford Dr. Elsley's Cat Attract Litter for a little while, that could help too.

...but neutering him should be a total priority!!!!

Oh it does sound like he's blocking - not even necessarily a UTI, but perhaps crystals. This happens with stress and diet combo. Make sure he continues to pee (or dribble) as this can be life-threatening to male cats. Their urethras are very thin, and if they get blocked due to infection or crystals, the toxins back up in their system and can kill them within 24 hours.

Either way, it's quite painful even if he's not showing it. I hope the vet appt is today or tomorrow - if not, I'd change it to ASAP.

They will need a urine sample. Either they'll be able to express his bladder or they'll have to keep him until they get one. In the meantime, if you can isolate him in a room with rice in a litter box (you have to drain it off quickly though or the rice will absorb it), you can try to collect a sample for them.

Charlie is "transient positive" which means only one of the antibodies is there - MOST LIKELY means he was bitten by someone with FIV and is fighting it. There is the possibility he does not become infected. We test him monthly until we get a definitive positive (both antibodies present) or a definitive negative (his immune system was strong enough to fight becoming infected).

We've got him on L-lysine and Transfer Factor to help increase his ability to fight this thing, and acidophilus to keep the diarrhea in check - all of which increase his chances of fighting this.