So this cat adopted me...

Greetings those of feline inclinations, don't let my username put you off (though it is true), for I should like some help in my current dilemma, and so I seek the aid of those much wiser than I in the subject of cats.

A recount of what has happened:
On November 5th, I was working on my car in the side yard. I had turned on the engine and was simply allowing it to run for a few minutes to warm up while I sat in the driver's seat with the door open.
And then there was suddenly a striped grey cat in my lap. This rather took me off-guard, as cats and I have never been on speaking terms. A cat's usual reaction to me, regardless of how tame it may be to anyone else, is to usually run as far away as possible, or to lunge and attempt to maul my face. But this cat simply remained in my lap, meowed and rubbed its face against mine (whilst I cringed, waiting for the inevitable biting and clawing - which never came).
I have cared for many stray dogs (and birds, snakes, ferrets, even a goat) in my time, but never a cat. However it is my nature to attempt to help animals, and so I began looking over this grey cat. It was covered in fleas, and had some strange black goo stuck on its back (thankfully it was not motor oil, I know that stuff too well to not be able to identify it) and seemed quite skinny. It purred the entire time, stopping only to meow before continuing the purring.
Is it normal for cats to purr so much?
My boyfriend then came out, spotted me with said cat, and knowing of my previous history with the creatures, had himself a good laugh.
We weighed the cat that night, it came in at barely four pounds (I think the scale was being generous). I can only assume this is underweight for a cat? It had no stomach or any other internal organs to speak of that were easily palpable, the 'belly skin' behind the ribs was only that - skin. We fed it a can of tuna that night, having nothing else suitable for it. Grey cat slept on my legs that night, and we awoke to fleas. I cannot stand fleas, so suiting up in long sleeves, we endeavored to give the cat a bath. I expected there to be some battle wounds for our efforts, but aside from holding a 'spread eagle' post the entire time, the cat took the bath surprisingly well. No screaming, no hissing, no meowing, no clawing. I fear the cat may have lost another half-pound of it's weight in that bath though, so many fleas, dirt, hair and whatever that black stuff was came off of it. I didn't think so much filth could come off of such a small animal.
We walked her around the neighborhood asking anyone we could find going door-to-door if this was their cat, or if they even recognized it. Nothing. Three blocks north and south (I live on an island, east and west is water) and no one recognized the cat. We took her to the humane society and asked if they had any reports of a cat missing by her description. There weren't. They ran a scan for a microchip - nothing there either. I was wanting to leave her there, as I knew nothing of cats, but was told that the shelter was full and being as I said I found her on the streets (she found me, but it's all the same in their books) she would be counted as feral, and euthanized.
I took the cat home again.
Over the next four days we endeavored to gather cat supplies and take her (turned out to be a girl, not that one could tell when I first found her) to one of those portable clinics where we got her vaccinations and purchased dewormers - her feces, when she finally went, was crawling in parasites. However due to the crowd and the un-enthused nature of the workers at the clinic, we really didn't get any concrete answers out of them about caring for cats.

It has been two weeks now, she is up to seven pounds. She has been receiving cooked salmon (extras from our cooking, though none with any spices on it) and tuna from a can to supplement her dry cat food diet. Would salmon of tuna fed in small amounts make her ill? We've been giving it to her trying to put some weight on her.
We have trimmed her claws, they were looking more like bird talons than something retractable. Again she took it without fuss. She continues to sleep on my legs at night and is still friendly as can be to everyone she's met. She also still insists upon following me around everywhere I go while purring. Anyone can pick her up and handle her, but within a few minutes she's wiggled out of their arms and is back trying to get in my lap. Why is this cat so fascinated with me when every other cat is utterly terrified of me or despises me? Is it possible this cat has suffered brain trauma?

This cat can't really be a feral can it? Its so friendly. Seems more like a stray that got loose or was discarded.

Where else should I look to see if this cat's owner is looking for it? I've gone door-to-door, made a report with the humane society, checked Craigslist and PetFinder, and have been reading the local printed classifieds to no avail.

How does one tell if a female cat has been neutered? I didn't even think to ask at the humane society, and the clinic said take her to a vet. Is that the only way? I'm not exactly rolling in money here, and of the three vets I've contacted so far, all want at least $200 to have a look at her. What will they do to tell? Any way I could tell at home?

She likes golf balls. We got some stuffed toys and constructed a feather-on-string toy that she also loves to chase, but she found a pair of golf balls that she absolutely adores swatting around the house. Is it safe to let her continue playing with these? We got her a set of those cat balls with little bells in them, but after one or two smacks of those she's back to hunting out the golf balls.


^That's her. We put the harness on her, she didn't come with it.

She is a beauty! And you've been blessed and adopted by a cat!

First of all, never use over the counter flea products. They have been known to cause seizures and even death in cats. You can buy Frontline or Advantage over the internet or through a vet. Be sure to get the strength that is right for her size and weight.

As for spaying, there are probably low cost spay-neuter clinics in your area. Read this thread for more information:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...34#post2952534

It is your choice whether or not you will allow your cat outdoors. Most of us prefer to keep our cats inside for their own well being. Indoor cats are generally healthier and live longer.

I'm sure by now you must have a litterbox. Most cats will take to using them naturally without training.

My husband was one of those "I don't do cats" people too. But several years ago he saw a kitty that had been sleeping on our patio furniture, licking the barbecue grill. He decided that she was hungry, so gave her some cheese, and the rest is history. He now loves our 2 cats probably more than he loves me. They are his fur children, and he would stop a bullet to protect them!

The other funny thing we've discovered about cats is they are so grateful! Your little girl knows that you have rescued her and are giving her a good home. She will be the most affectionate cat ever, showing you how much she appreciates the care you have given her.

Again, congratulations! You have been chosen and adopted!

For not knowing about cats, you have certainly done amazingly well. Are there "summer people" on your island? If so, she may well have belonged to some of them.

The best way to tell if she's spayed is to shave her belly and look for a scar. Vets are very good at this.

As someone else said, Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution will take care of the fleas for a month or so, and kill any eggs in your house. Revolution will also kill most worms and ear mites. It's not cheap, but the results are fantastic. Tapeworms (very common) need a different treatment.

A good-quality wet food is best for a cat, but I have seen cats live for many years eating even store-brand dry food. Any of it is better than what she ate on the street.

Ask any questions you may have, and we'll try to help out as best we can.

She's a beauty and congratulations on being chosen as her people! Cats notoriously choose the least cat person around to befriend. It's like they have something to prove to you to win you over to their ways. (This happened to me.)

If you've not already done so, take her to your vet and have her scanned for a microchip. If she's not chipped and you're going to keep her, or even if you're not, then have her tested to rule out the bad stuff and to get her going on shots. She'll probably need to be dewormed and since you found fleas, tapeworms are a given so she'll need to be treated for those as well.

Welcome to the Forums, and tx for helping this kitty (and tx for helping all the other animals you did helped in the past!)


What happened here? The easy answer, is this dumped cat who knowing she was going to die soon, did made a desperate try to find a save, and did her outmost to please her in.
Such things happens, you know. Thus I have read about exemples when the cat did firstly pleased herself with hostile dogs residents. To be accepted by human owner was a piece of cake after that....

But none of your neighbours had never seen her... So.
Lets not speculate, but take it for the face value.

Cats are Gods gift to humanity. In this case - a gift to you personally.

Your rescuing her was probably the necessary bait for you to accept a cat in your home. The rescue, and her gratitude making you also feeling extra good, is a pure bonus.

Receive, accept, be happy and enjoy. Everyone being a winner.

The gift is already payed too, in natura.


Her playing with golfball is surely not dangerous for her. Tuna you are giving her is also good, as long it isnt not in excessive amounts. (fish not good to be the main part base in the average cats food).

Buying cat food, look the animal part is as high you can see. Vegetable part as small... Especielly seeds like wheat, barley and so on, not so good.
If you buy cheap cat food in your local supermarket, the easy way to find decent quality is to buy their brand for kittens, or for active cats. - these contains more proteins and more fat - thus typically being good enough for cat food.
Another way is wet food. It is easier to make decent wet food than decent dry food.
IF wet food is convenient for you - go for it.


Please, dont hesitate to come with questions,

and good luck and congrats to your new furry family member!

Thank you all for the replies and help!

Dusty's Mom - What exactly is the defining factor between 'over the counter' flea products and the ones I should be using? I bought four month's worth of Advantage (1-9 lb kitten version) from the mobile clinic when we visited them, this is the right stuff I hope? We also use Advantage on our dog, though obviously not the feline variant. Which by the way, leads me to another question.
Can the cat get ill licking the dog's fur? She's taken to the dog (as well as the four at the boyfriend's parent's house we regularly visit) rather well, likes to play with them. They lick her, and she has recently started licking a couple of them. Could this be a problem considering the dogs receive Advantage drops on their skin/fur? How many days from when they get their drops (we do so at the beginning of the month) before she can be allowed to play with them? Or should she never be allowed to lick them?

The link is wonderful, good to see so many places I could take her for the operation (if she ends up needing it). Funny that one of the locations near me listed on the cheap spay/neuter site is the same place that wanted to euthanize her.

I plan on keeping her indoors. We have lots of birds that breed in the yard here, and I wouldn't like her going out and eating the hatchlings.

We do indeed have a litterbox, two actually. One big one, and one smaller 'travel size' one with a lid we take with us when we go to visit the bf's mother. She's used them from the start (even though it took her three days before she ever actually went). Which I'm really quite thankful for, I know how to house-train a dog, but a cat? That would have been another matter entirely.

D'aww, sounds like a great way to have gotten a kitten.
It's not that I don't like cats, its that they've never liked me. I think they're rather pretty looking, but that can really only go so far when one is trying to claw your eyeballs out. As such cats and I had just maintained a mutual "I won't look at you, and you'll keep your claws to yourself. On the other side of the room." arrangement.

Mrblanche - I didn't really consider it before, but that is a distinct possibility. The east end of the block is the hotel strip. We do have so many tourists coming through here, perhaps one of them lost the cat out of their vehicle or hotel room? I fear that may be even more impossible to return cat to owner if that is the case though, as it's highly unlikely they would still be here after two weeks.

We've tried a couple cans of the wet cat food so far (Friskies and Fancy Feast), but she has only taken perhaps half a dozen bites of each, to leave them sitting for several hours before returning to try another couple bites, etc. She consumes the dry food with far more interest it seems, and doesn't like to leave any in the bowl (after two days of her downing 3/4 cup of dry cat food in about fifteen minutes, we've been breaking up her servings into 1/8-1/4 cup increments throughout the day.) Then again she also started eating the dog's dry food when she was let near that, much to his annoyance. Is this perhaps because she may have been eating dog food on the streets? Or is she still that hungry? She's been putting on weight, which I think is a good thing considering she's still a skeleton (especially when viewed from the top) but I'm not sure it's wise to feed her until she'll eat no more. I know dogs will eat themselves sick, is this true of cats too? On canned foods, have you noticed a particular brand cats really seem to like? Or is it each cat to their own and we'll have to try cycling through them all until something sticks?

Stephanietx - she was scanned at the humane society for a microchip, didn't find any. We've also already got her on dewormers for tape and round worms. Cat or dog, those still look the same and were easy to identify.
Though indeed, she must have been looking for a challenge in picking me, surely the man up the street who already has three cats would have been a better choice. I was sad he didn't recognize her, he feeds stray cats all the time, I had figured he'd be my best bet in finding out whose she was.

StefanZ - she receives salmon twice a week and tuna twice a week, each on different nights. Perhaps an ounce or so of salmon each serving, and half a can of tuna each go. Is this too much? The dry food still makes up the majority of her diet, but if it is too much, I know the dog would love to have a share (he's a major fish-hound, couldn't care less about steak, but oh that tuna is something else).

She sounds wondeful! She's such a cutie!
She adopted the right person in that neighborhood!!
Congratulations!

(I sent you a PM regarding foods for your kitty.)

It is not difficult to lose a cat during car transport, or moving from a flat. Several of russian blue breeders I know of, befell to that fate while travelling to or from exhibition shows... So it is prob not uncommon at all...

She seems to be quite young. So my guess would be she is unspayed. And if she got dumped - practically surely not spayed...

Tuna and salmon as you give is not too much in any way. Daily - you would be forced to think about counterbalancing it with good meat, and or giving extra B- and E vitamines... but not with this diete no.
Although some cats do manage. I have a co-worker who had rescued a small colony nearby where they live near the lake. Her husband is a eager fisherman, and he firmly believes fish is exactly what cats needs and wants. They get lotsa fish, but all are healthy...
Although I suppose they do catch some mices too... And of course, they got too dry food.

Licking a dog who have got advantage? Im no expert, but I havent heard about warnings. Of course, not a couple of hours immediately after he got the drops on. It must dry out. But after some hours it should be OK. make it 12 to be sure.
Although a word of warning against some of the over the count anti-ticks and anti fleas collars - THESE are often poisonous, and licking - can be dangerous.
Look - if the dog with such a collar bathes in a pond - there tends to be a mass death of small creatures in that pond....

You are a wonderful kitty mom!

What I meant by over the counter flea products is Hartz and stuff you can buy at the grocery store. Advantage, Frontline and Revolution are all good. But once you get through the cycle and make sure there are no eggs inside, you won't need to keep using it as long as she is indoor only - or unless she catches them from your other animals.

If you feed her dry food, and if you have a Costco nearby, their Kirkland brand in the purple bag is decent quality for a very affordable price - less than $16 for a 25 lb. bag. My kitties get this along with wet food. The dry is nice to leave out at night so they can snack and not wake you at 3 am! But then I don't have dogs!

Please let us know what you name her. And keep the pictures coming!

If you don't have a Costco, a very good quality food that is not expensive is Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul--it is sold at some hardware stores or Farm and Ranch Supplies--I don't know if those are close to you either.

Most people on this forum know quite a bit more than me, but I have read in many places that human tuna is not good for a cat......you may want to post in the cat nutrition section for "expert" advice in that department. I just say this because with my 1st cat (we were not cat people either) we didn't know any better ourselves and we treated Sugar everyday with premium water-packed tuna that I thought would have been great for him. We only gave him a little bit--maybe 1/2 a teaspoon full, several times a day. Well, truthfully I tried to avoid the kitchen because anytime we were near there he would "herd" us in and nip on our legs until he got his tuna. I was so surprised and felt very guilty when I found these forums (this was after Sugar passed) and read that the tuna was not good for them!

Sugar came to us much like your kitty came to you--and he refused to leave, despite my best efforts. Our Golden Retriever hated cats and they would stand on opposite sides of the entryway window and just stare at each other!
When I called the shelter I was also told that he would most probably be put to sleep.

I finally told "Cat" that I would take him and get him neutered and get his shots and I would feed him--but that I would never love him and he would never come in my house!! Well, it didn't work out that way and all of a sudden we were "cat people." For 8 1/2 years he truly blesssed my life and when we lost him to heart disease it broke my heart. The lucky ones just know how to pick the right people to love them.

Human canned tuna and salmon as TREATS ONLY! Keep trying different wet foods. It's good to get kitty to eat that. Will help to hydrate her and keep her that way. Important for their kidneys and GI tract.

If she is that skinny, try mixing in some kitten dry and wet with the adult food and maybe some KMR as a treat.

What kind of pet store shopping do you have near you so we can help with brands, etc.

And congrats... yes... she CHOSE you.

Also with the fleas, I hope you have treated the house, too. And the doggie.

Congratulations on being Chosen!

yes advantage for cats is safe for her, and as you are treating the dog with advantage too, you should have a good handle on the fleas in a few months, but keep the treatments going. (always use the cat formula for her, never use the dog advantage on the cat)

I vote for inside only kitty.

If she is not spayed she will eventually go into heat, and you will know if she is in heat, and get her in to be spayed quickly if that happens.

I am personally against feeding tuna and salmon to cats on a regular basis. These are not really good for her. A good quality canned food is better for her, and should be cheaper than human tuna or salmon too.

Has she told you her name yet?

Welcome to TCS and please keep us posted on your new family member.

Welcome to the site! Thanks so much for taking this little one in and giving her a home.

Hello there! Welcome to TCS and thanks for taking in such a pretty girl!! What part of Florida are you from?

Welcome to TCS and thank you for rescuing this amazing kitty! I'm sorry - I do have to laugh. Something like this happened to my hubby and I. He HATED cats - and one adopted him. It took him a year to come around - she as a bit wilder than yours (although previously owned by someone because as it turned out she was spayed)... but she led to our learning all about cats, especially strays and ferals, and getting involved in rescue, and .... long story short... 9 years later, we now have 8 cats, 6 of them special needs kitties. (The first two adopted were normal kitties LOL).

You're already gotten great advice.

All I'll add is that Frontline and Advantage are now sold over-the-counter, so it IS confusing. When we say "OTC" flea meds on here, we mean the collars, or products made by Hartz or Sargeant's. And to treat the internal parasites, you actually need Revolution, another topical, though only one you can get from the vet. The problem is you've already used the Frontline - I don't know if you can use both. There are liquids you can give her (again, from the vet) - Panacur, StrongidT - but you may want to wait 3 weeks from when you applied the Frontline and get to the vet to purchase Revolution and use that instead. It kills flea eggs as well. But you do have to get the flea eggs up from your home now. Buy the crappy OTC collars, cut them up and put them in your vacuum canister or bag, and vacuum frequently. Make sure to get the corners of the rooms, and where carpet hits walls & etc.

Also, the internal parasite treatments only kill adults. So to take into the lifecycle of the round worm, whether you use Panacur or StrongidT now, three weeks after that it will be safe to then apply the Revolution. A minimum of two cycles is needed to get rid of the worms. And to be completely safe, a third application a month after that isn't a bad idea.

Also, if she has tape worms, those can be treated with one pill - drontal. Usually the one dose does the trick. (Also only available through the vet).

Welcome to the wonderful world of enjoying cats - she'll grow on you, and BOY are they the opposite of dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Give her vertical space, and watch her enjoy.

Of course- we are here for ANY questions you have!

Thank you for taking her in!

On the topic of traveling - she's made the car ride with us several times now to and from bf's parent's house. It's a pretty short ride, perhaps 15-20 minutes. The first two times we had nothing to put her in so she simply was held by the passenger as we drove. Really mellow on the ride, just sat on his knee and looked out the window. We've since acquired a cat crate and put her in there for the ride, strapped down in the back seat. She meowed the whole way in that. But alas, I figure that's got to be a far safer way of transporting her than free range in the car.

Of the salmon, tuna and food in general - I'll make a post in the nutrition board for some further help. Though I suppose cats are similar to humans in that regard, liking what isn't necessarily good for them? We can't all be perfect xD Thank you for the info GloriaJH!

As far as stores go around here, we have Wal-mart, PetCo, PetSupermarket, CVS, Walgreens and Publix. There's a feed store about twenty minutes drive from me, never been before, but I'll look and see if they have anything of use? Alas the nearest CostCo is more than an hour and a half drive, so I'll not likely be making that trip any time soon.

I do hope she doesn't get a hold of any mice, we've worked rather hard at getting rid of the rats that lived in this house when we first got it (but that was more than a decade ago now). But just another reason for her to remain an indoor cat, there's rat poison in the shed outside and the attic - the last thing a cat needs to be getting into is catching a poisoned rat.

How much water is average for a cat to drink per day? She has a small bowl that holds about two cups of water we change/refill three times a day. We had a larger bowl but she just kept sitting in that one and then walking around the house dripping water off her rear. But by the amount of water left in the bowl each time we change the water I can only assume she drinks between two and three cups of water a day.

AddieBee - what is KMR? I apologize, but my terminology with cats is not very good yet.

Of fleas, Advantage and flea collars - We'll just keep the cat and dog separated for a couple days at the beginning of each month, shouldn't be too hard - the dog likes his enclosed porch to himself anyhow. None of our dogs use flea collars, I have no intention of doing it with the cat either. I remember seeing the result of that with one of my mother's show Irish Setters years ago who wore one for a trip out in the woods. Came back covered with fleas, and lost the hair in a ring around the neck where the collar had sat (aka didn't work in the slightest).

I put flea powder in the bag of the vacuum cleaner, and vacuum daily (no I'm not OCD, the bf just tracks lots of dirt in), so I hope that is keeping the 'fleas in the house' issue under control. The dog brings fleas in so rarely (might spot one every couple months) that I'm not too worried about him causing any real problem to the cat, especially if they both stay on Advantage. He got a bath with doggy flea shampoo the same day the cat got her bath, just to make sure anything that had hopped on him wasn't going to stick around. Not that he minded, the dog loves baths.

Kody's Mom - your situation with Sugar and your Golden Retriever sounded very similar to our's at first. Our dog Arrow has never been much for cats, and upon first introduction of the cat to him there was lots of fur puffing and baring of teeth (on his side, the cat didn't understand and wanted to sniff him, almost got herself bit). But within a couple hours it was simply a 'you leave my food bowl and my kennel alone, and I don't really care.' The bf's mother has four dogs and they all love the cat and flop right down to play with her. Then again those four are all a bit goofy and would probably be dumb enough to play with a bear if it so wandered into the yard. Did your Golden Retriever ever learn to get along with your cat?

As far as a name goes - I happen to be quite pathetic at naming animals, she was just "Cat" or "that purring thing" for the first few nights. Bf eventually got tired of that, and insisted she had to have a name. Be my guest, I said. His first thought was "Squigglyspooch" or some other silly thing like that. Er no thanks, I can't even spell that. Then it was "El Tigre" for her stripes - I politely pointed out it was a girl. But he was on the train that she looked like a little grey tiger, so I suggested that there were reports of legendary 'blue' tigers that were called Maltese Tigers, so maybe Maltese?
To which he replied "Molotov! You know, like the cocktail?"
"But those are explosives, violent stuff. She's all purr-y." (yes I know it's not a word, but I said it)
"Then Mazel-tov!"
"But that's what you say at a boy's party. And can cats even be Jewish? Molotov was better."
...and so he just started calling her that. So I guess her name is Molotov. She at least responds when I growl, "Molotov stop that."

Molotov adores swatting feathers around. Though it's impossible to get a clean shot of it.

Water needed - depends on what food they have
cf: http://www.catinfo.org/#Cats_Need_Pl...ith_Their_Food

Water Container: do you have a tall bowl - ah, it's hard to describe - here's a pic of what I'm trying to describe:

We also have vases from flower arrangements that are tall - the cats like sitting and drinking out of them - also I think the water stays cooler (?).

Personally, I prefer the glass dish over the plastic - 1. it's heavier and not easily knocked over, and 2. just because I don't like plastic

Gotta say, my mouth fell open when you described your car ride with her just sitting in a lap!!! Are you for real? WOW! Yes, the carrier, strapped in is the safest for sure. Maybe she was sitting on her former caregiver's lap when they opened the door and she was out and gone before they could catch her.

I love the harness!!

For your first cat - what a wonderful introduction to the cat kingdom - you have really been given a gift - hope she doesn't spoil you for your next one when/if you adopt another.

Wow, Molotov is sooooo cute! And sitting in the water bowl? How funny is that? She has so much personality (or purrsonality). I hope you keep posting stories, she is so interesting!

I thought Beau would never accept a cat--but he pretty much learned to ignore Sugar--at least when they were in the house! One time Sugar walked up to Beau when he was sleeping and was sniffing him on the nose, I thought it was so touching, and then Sugar whopped Beau on the nose with one of his talons
.
Sugar was a indoor/outdoor cat. When we bought the house it already had a cat door and he had been used to being outside--he was about a year old when he came here. Even though they lived a peaceful co-existence in the house--outside was a different story. Our house backs up to a neighborhood lake and whenever we would be outside watching the swans and ducks, Sugar would just stand in the neighbor's yard and cry through the fence--Beau would not allow him any peace in the backyard if he was out there--he would chase him off--I guess Beau was much more territorial about his yard than his house!

What a beautiful beautiful cat and so so good of you. That is how I got my first cat. It adopted me! I had always been a dog person. Now there is no going back.