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Stray with Memory Loss?

post #1 of 10
9/25/10 at 12:04pm
Thread Starter 
We've befriended a stray cat. Feeding her/him. , she acts very skittish outside, but she'll come in the house, eat, maybe stay for awhile. She lets us pet her, actually loves that attention.. but tomorrow morning, we'll have to romance her again to get her into the house, to touch her..like she can't remember being in here before. She comes to the door every single morning, and when I get home from work, she comes around. We've been doing this dance for about 2 months now. She looks like a younger cat. Any ideas?
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post #2 of 10
9/25/10 at 1:41pm
That's pretty normal for a skittish cat. Instinct says to be wary of this large loud creature, so even if she trusts you to some degree she still has her instincts.

The easiest way to fully tame her is to just bring her inside completely.

If you're sure this is a female stray you should try to get her to the vet to be spayed soon. No need for litter of kittens to care for too. Plus you'll have this winter's weather to get her out of.
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post #3 of 10
9/25/10 at 7:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
That's pretty normal for a skittish cat. Instinct says to be wary of this large loud creature, so even if she trusts you to some degree she still has her instincts.

The easiest way to fully tame her is to just bring her inside completely.

If you're sure this is a female stray you should try to get her to the vet to be spayed soon. No need for litter of kittens to care for too. Plus you'll have this winter's weather to get her out of.
Sounds to me like you've been adopted! Easiest just to submit, bring her inside full time and care for her. The day she doesn't show up is the day you'll be regretting the decision not to bring her in earlier.

DH and I had never had cats as children, no particular interest in them. I love animals - but DH hated cats... until one adopted us. Our first turned out to be stray (Booger, we named her), though she'd been on her own for about a year, and from approximately 6 months of age, so it took her a long time to come to trust us. It was a journey for all of us.

Now neither of us can imagine our lives without our kitties. When we got to the point that Booger came to trust enough to want to come inside during storms, the days she didn't show up found us almost completely unable to do anything but worry about her. We work primarily from home, and the minute we'd hear that "pa-dunk" she always made jumping onto our front steps, we'd fly to the door!

We now have 8 rescued kitties that live inside full time with us. It's just too dangerous outside, and once they adjust, they're perfectly happy inside. Now we only have to worry about them when we're not here.

Our hesitation was primarily my allergies. If that's what stopping you, I have heaps of advice about how to manage.
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post #4 of 10
9/26/10 at 2:26am
Seconding the answers you did got above,

I want also to welcome you Mandu to these Forums!


Tx for helping this kittan

Good luck!
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post #5 of 10
9/26/10 at 5:53pm
Thread Starter 
We took another look at our calendar, as I recall our stray hanging about watching me read on the deck early in the summer.. I'm thinking we've been romancing her for almost 5 months now. Horrible allergies, asthma, can't really have her live here. We're trying to get her acclimated to us, then we can find someone who needs her/him. I can't remember how to tell the difference. She spent about 5 hours in the house the other day, sat on the couch with husband, snuggling, rolling around, begging for attention. Can't get anywhere near her now..
She comes in if the door is open, but don't get close. She wants us to pet her, but can't trust herself/us... sigh... We'll keep trying. She's in here about 4 times a day weekends, and about 3 times/day weekdays, cuz we work away from home. Thanks for the encouragement.
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post #6 of 10
9/26/10 at 6:49pm
At the very least I would consider getting him/her to a vet to be spayed or neuterd and treated with Revolution (a topical product that treats fleas, ticks and most common internal parasites). If you want help to see if there's a low-cost spay/neuter clinic you can get to, I'm happy to help search.

I also have horrible asthma and allergies. I'm happy to share my tips with you if you want to consider trying to keep her inside, even to foster her full time inside with you until you can find her a forever home.
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post #7 of 10
9/27/10 at 11:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandu View Post
Horrible allergies, asthma, can't really have her live here.
Cat dander allergy or just allergies? Cause allergies to other things really don't matter. My DH is allergic to a lot of things and has asthma - cats aren't a problem for him. Some foods and all pollen is... but he can't live in a bubble and avoid all possible food triggers (too many).

If your allergies are bad you should seek allergy treatment. Not for the sake of keeping a cat, but because those allergies won't get better without treatment. No one likes shots, but they could give you a bit of your life back if they work for you.

Another thing to think about. A lot of people that are allergic to dogs and cats will get used to their own and stop reacting to them with time.
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post #8 of 10
11/20/10 at 5:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
At the very least I would consider getting him/her to a vet to be spayed or neuterd and treated with Revolution (a topical product that treats fleas, ticks and most common internal parasites). If you want help to see if there's a low-cost spay/neuter clinic you can get to, I'm happy to help search.

I also have horrible asthma and allergies. I'm happy to share my tips with you if you want to consider trying to keep her inside, even to foster her full time inside with you until you can find her a forever home.
Well, we're getting closer. Cat is DEFINITELY a male. He has spent more than a few nights sleeping on the loveseat in the living room. He comes in daily, multiple times a day and eats, plays, snuggles. He didn't play at first, but he's all about playing now. (We have the scratches to prove it!) By the way, Nubian Heritage Lemongrass soap will take the sting right out of a cat scratch! Immediately! We have moved his food away from the carpeted entry door, and put it in the opposite end of the house, in the kitchen. He wasn't thrilled, but will go out there and eat now. And HURRAY! He knows what the litter box is for! He doesn't want to be in here full time, tho. He will begin to whine and cry, sitting at the door, drives me nutty! So I relent and let him out, and he's gone for maybe an hour or two, and comes back. Allergies are not too bad, yet. But I keep him away from my face, vacuum constantly (while he's out), and wash my hands alot. Thanks all for all the advice.
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post #9 of 10
11/20/10 at 6:36pm
Please try to get him fixed. Sounds like you are making great progress.
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post #10 of 10
11/21/10 at 3:39pm
Sounds like things are going great!

You should definitely look into getting him neutered. He will calm down even further and become a MUCH better pet! It will also help prevent him from spraying in and around your home. Further, right now he's at a huge risk for contracting very serious diseases, because his hormones predispose him to fight for females. Not to mention that he can father more homeless kittens. If you can't afford to have him neutered, if you PM me your zip code, I can see if I can help you find a low-cost clinic to have it done.

As for the allergies - if they become a problem, consider taking zyrtec (generic is cetirizine) if you aren't already. It's available without a prescription and works great!
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