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Because it's a cat, I guess

post #1 of 37
Thread Starter 
Our neighbor called me yesterday morning. She found a kitten and wanted me to take it. I can't, I just can't. But I went over in the afternoon and saw it. It's a little girl and she's adorable. And she's one hungry little girl. Came back home for food and took it over. She ate every morsel. She's about six or seven weeks old, certainly no more than that....I have no idea where she came from. The first time I went over, she was so scared, she kept running away from me. But her hunger won out and she crawled into my lap and ate some food.

I offered to give the woman cans of cat food and said that I'd get some kitten kibble and some Sip and give it to her to care for the kitten. I fed the kitten once, but then last night when I went over with more food, her DH came outside and said, "Look, you can't come over here and feed the kitten. We don't want it. It will ruin our yard and bushes. We're not going to be feeding her. We're going to just ignore the cat and let nature take its course."

These are the same people who feed the deer, the rabbits, the groundhogs, the squirrels, the chipmunks, the raccoons, etc. She prides herself on loving all the animals and taking care of everybody. They put out apples, sunflower seeds, bread, carrots, and a ton of corn every single day to feed the animals. But they can't feed a kitten? The wife has a really bad phobia about cats; she's scared to death of them. To the point where she will scream if she sees one. She barely tolerates our gang. After the husband told me that they were going to "let nature take its course" with the kitten, she proceeded to tell me how they bought 50 pounds of corn at the store so that she could feed all the animals for awhile again. They bought 50 pounds of corn, but couldn't afford a few freakin' cans of kitten food??

I told her that DH and I had made a pact several years ago.....we stay at six cats. And we stuck to that. So the neighbor said, "You mean to tell me that he can look at that little face and say, "No we can't keep her?" It was on the tip of my tongue to say, "You looked at that little face and said, no we're not going to feed her; we're going to let her starve to death!! Because it's a cat! Not a deer, or a bunny, or a chipmunk, or....." I kept my mouth shut. But frankly, my neighbors can rot for all I care.

DH is furious. Absolutely furious. Not at me and not at Tabby. It's not her fault. It's not my fault. He's ready to smack our neighbors silly. But I have to see how I can find a good home for this little girl.

So, well little Tabitha is in the computer room in a cage with a little litter box and a comfy bed. I've been calling friends and co-workers and doing a lot of begging. If nobody takes her, I'm going to have to take her to a no-kill shelter right outside our area. They're completely full right now and when I call them, I doubt they'll want her either.

"Tabitha" is a little grey tabby with white paws, a white belly, and a white neck. She was really hungry yesterday, but evidently she now realizes that the food isn't going anywhere and she's willing to let food remain on her plate. When I brought her breakfast back this morning, she was screaming bloody murder. But after she ate a bit, she calmed down, walked away, and crawled into my lap where she napped for awhile. She's using the litterbox, too, so that's good. I combed her out on the front porch yesterday and found no fleas. And she just loves the attention. I look at her and she turns into this little purrbox. Right now, she's in her bed, taking another nap.

Our gang, except for Mollipop, doesn't care about her at all. Molli, however, is curious and upset. She doesn't like Tabitha being here and she certainly doesn't appreciate all the attention that Mom is giving to the little baby! Mom is Mollipop's Mom only!

So here is Tabitha, Tabby for short, I think. I don't know how I got that name, but it immediately came to mind. And when I started calling her Tabitha, she started purring right away. So Tabby it is.....



post #2 of 37
She is a little doll. I don't understand people's fear of cats but many are afraid of them. I have that same kind of fear of snakes, even a little garter snake. I know there are people here who keep snakes and they probably don't understand how people like myself can be so afraid of snakes. I am in a rental with a two pet limit and I have two cats so I can't take another one.
post #3 of 37
I can understand the fear. I am way past a fear with snakes, its a phobia. I also have a fear of cats LOL When I was a very young girl, my Mom started feeding a kitty that just showed up one day. His name was Ching. I was walking past him one day, just walking by and he suddenly attacked me.

From that point on, I thought that cats had this "trigger" that when they felt like it, they would attack.

Of course, I dont have this fear with my babies, but I still feel uncertain when I am dealing with cats I do not know.

BUT I would never ever turn my back on a kitty in need. Or a snake for that matter. It always bothers me when I hear someone say they just killed a snake just because the snake was there.

Tabby is so seriously lucky you came along.

Let me know if you want some tips on finding her a home. I do not rescue kitties, but I have helped several along the way find new homes and have had great success through local rescue groups in my area.

Sweet Tabitha
post #4 of 37
Ohhhh look at that precious little face!! I will never, ever get people. I get those phone calls, messages and emails all the time. "Oh we found this cat/kittens and can't keep it. You're a crazy cat lady, YOU take it!" It makes Dana SO angry and he has told a few people off over it. We can only do so much, you know? Sending lots of vibes that you can easily find this little beauty great home soon.
post #5 of 37
I'll come over and we can both go give the neighbors "what for"!! Tabby is so fortunate to have you to care for her and try to find her a good home. She's definitely a cutie!!
post #6 of 37
There is a pretty strong feeling that cats are pests, and, at best, "disposable" pets.

PETA strongly believes that all cats are "artificial" breeds and should be prevented from reproducing, even if it means euthanizing healthy cats. (They think the same about all dogs, by the way.)

I guess I'm too soft-hearted; it kills me that we have to euthanize so many healthy animals every year. But I'm like you; I couldn't have left the kitten at the mercy of such people.
post #7 of 37
I think your neighbors are out where the buses don't run...

Mental problems....
post #8 of 37
Awwww! What a sweet little darling!!! I'm glad that I don't live near you or I would go over to your ignorant neighbours and have a few choice words for them!!

Thank you for taking in this sweet little girl to help her. I too couldn't have left her outside alone at the mercy of those ignorant idiots!!
post #9 of 37
I spend a lot of time at newspapers and blogs comment sections, dealing with people like that. Only those I deal with choose "wildlife" over the "wildlife killing machines." And man can it get venomous. Personally, I have a problem when the "cat people" get just as nasty as the "wildlife" people. Hard to argue we respect all life when we wish people be killed for not wanting cats outside. Sorry, I digress.

It takes all kinds. I don't get it, and I'm not sure I'd have been able to hold my tongue. Gary can't.

But thank you for rescuing this adorable little baby! And you find her a home soon!
post #10 of 37
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys!

DH wanted to go over last night and raise some serious stink. It's against the law in PA to feed wild animals. And do they think that all those bunnies they're feeding won't kill their prized bushes and flowers?? The bunnies are going after our veggie garden big time....and as much as I threaten to make rabbit stew, I would never do that. I talked and talked to DH to please just leave it alone, to leave the neighbors alone. I get the cat phobia; really, I do. But I don't get allowing an innocent baby kitten to die. I just don't understand that mentality.

Meanwhile, Tabby is staying in the computer room and she seems OK in here. She does cry to be left out in the rest of the house and that breaks my heart. But even though I haven't found a flea on her, that doesn't mean she doesn't have a disease or something. And our cats are geriatric....I can't afford to give Tabby the run of the house until I know, for sure, that she's healthy.

She's out of the cage and she pretty much has the run of the computer room.

Thanks to Banshee, our Bridge baby (and my icon at my posts), there will always be a very, very special place in my heart for grey tabby cats with white paws and a white belly. And this little girl is such a sweetheart.

Oh yeah....I think she's going to become the seventh RugCat. I know, I know, we made a pact...six is our limit. And I can try to find her a really good home. But, well, the only really good home around here? Is ours.
post #11 of 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winchester View Post
Oh yeah....I think she's going to become the seventh RugCat. I know, I know, we made a pact...six is our limit. And I can try to find her a really good home. But, well, the only really good home around here? Is ours.
Banshee

Our limit was two.

Sometimes they just adopt you, and you really don't have a choice in the matter. One of the "member spotlight" questions asked of me last week was about adopting cats and their traits... my response was that I don't think we've ever adopted a cat.

post #12 of 37
Pam just remember 7 is a lucky number and I do believe Tabby was sent to you for a reason. She is adorable too. I know it would be tough for you to give her up now even tho this was very unexpected. I have a feeling this lil gal won't be going to a shelter
post #13 of 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winchester View Post
Oh yeah....I think she's going to become the seventh RugCat. I know, I know, we made a pact...six is our limit. And I can try to find her a really good home. But, well, the only really good home around here? Is ours.
Our limit was 6 as well, and well...you know how that worked out.

She was meant to be there with you and to be LOVED by you.
post #14 of 37
I wouldn't have kept my mouth shut with the neighbors... >:[
post #15 of 37
Pam, Tabitha is just a beautiful little angel. I don't think I would be talking with those neighbors anytime soon, I don't think I could hold my tongue. Thank you for saving Tabby and looks like you might have number seven.
Lauren
post #16 of 37
Thread Starter 
She really is a cutie.

Well, Tabby has her first vet appt tonight at 6:00. I need to know that she's healthy and she'll get her first series of kitten shots. Our DS said they might be interested in taking her home, but between Maggie (their golden retriever who would kill Tabby with kindness ) and our little grandchildren (who don't know the first thing about picking up a cat, let alone a tiny kitten), well, I'm more than a little nervous about that.

DH is not happy, not at all. He really hates being put into this position and especially so b/c we have neighbors who are idiots. (And do you know that our neighbors haven't so much as bothered to call over to see if we have Tabby? Surely they have to have noticed that she's not over there anymore; when I went back over that night to bring her home, they were inside having dinner and I doubt they saw me. But they haven't called us to see if we took her, even though she called over yesterday and left a message on our machine to tell us that there was a deer in their back yard eating corn. But she never even mentioned Tabby. )

Meanwhile, Tabby seems content to be here. She's screaming bloody murder to be left out into the rest of the house; we've found out that her lungs are quite healthy! And poor Mollipop sits on the other side of the door....she's really upset and I hate to think that I'm contributing to her being so upset. Doesn't seem fair to her. I'm giving her lots of attention, but she's peeved about Tabby.

It's sad to say, but I think Tabby may have been dumped. Her ears are clean, her eyes are clear, and she has no fleas. As near as I can tell, there are no worms either. She eats food and she knows what the litterbox is for. She's a little wobbly on her feet sometimes, esp when she first awakens, but she can jump to DH's desk chair and curl up there for a nap.

Will let you know more after her appt tonight. Thank you all for being there for us!
post #17 of 37
Praying for a positive report from the vet!
post #18 of 37
She's very beautiful. Good luck with the vet visit.
post #19 of 37
I remember Maggie from her stay with you! How is she doing? Has she lost any weight? She was such a doll in those pictures you posted
post #20 of 37
Aww, so sorry this situation happened at all (people can be things that I can't say on this family freidnly forum!!! GRRR!), but you and your DH are super people for taking care of little Tabby. Hope her vet visit goes well tonight and she gets the all clear! Then comes the fun part of supervising the intros... hope Miss Pop isn't upset for too long by her new little sister...
post #21 of 37
OMG she's so cute I hope you can find a good home for her
soon good luck at the vets
post #22 of 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Sometimes they just adopt you, and you really don't have a choice in the matter.
Ain't that the truth!!!!! I have 8 1/2 cats (the 1/2 is a male feral who now claims us ) and never in a million years thought I would end up with this many. Sometimes the just find us
post #23 of 37
Aww she is cute! I hate people, so glad she landed with you though and Tabitha is purrfect for a tabby!
post #24 of 37
I'm several cats over my limit an while I do regret it - one or two over my limit wouldn't have been so bad. I think 7 is a good number....I'm 6 cats over that.
post #25 of 37
How did her vet visit go?

Remember, 7 is a perfect number!
post #26 of 37
Thread Starter 
Hi guys!

She has a terrible ear mite problem. They cleaned her ears out well and put drops in each ear....we are to continue the drops once a week for four weeks. I wondered about her ears because she was wobbly on her feet and it looked like it might be a balance problem. It was. (Her ears looked clean to me, but way down deep inside, they were bad. And I feel bad about that, but we really got her into the vet as soon as we could.) The dr is concerned about her right ear as it looks like it may be perforated from the mites and she may be deaf in that ear. (She can definitely hear, but he's just not sure about that ear.) He said it would take about 4 days before the ear drops kick in and we should notice a change in her walking and in the way she cocks her head. Meanwhile, even though we've kept her in the computer room, we're using the drops in the rest of the cats' ears, too, just to be safe.

Tabby weighs 1.8 pounds and she's around 6 weeks old, the dr thinks. She's very thin, but we're trying to fatten her up a bit. We're not even talking about her baby vaccines until we can get some weight on her and get the mites cleared up.

The good news is that she tested negative for heartworms, feline leuk, all that stuff! I forgot to take a stool sample in, so they wormed her...they probably would have anyway, just to be on the safe side.

So, $150 later? She is officially our seventh baby! (Our DS and DDIL were discussing the possibility of taking her. But I called last night and said that we had decided that she needs to be with us. He said he kinda figured that all along. )

We're keeping her in the computer room for another week or so, then we'll let her out for supervised time with the other furkids. But I think I'll keep her in the computer room while we're at work for a good month or so, just to make sure she's OK. She can be out at night and whenever we're home; that way we can keep Tabs on Tabby. But I think that, for her own good, it's best to keep her in the computer room when we're not at home. At least for awhile. We did that with Mollipop, too, and it worked out well.

Thanks for asking about her!
post #27 of 37
What wonderful news! I'm so happy to hear you are keeping the little thing. We kept Mika separated from Bijou for a month and only let them together when we were home. Partly because Bijou is so much larger than Mika so we worried. It was a good move on our part as they became very close.
post #28 of 37
Hooray on the good report from the vet and for your official new addition!! Can't wait to see more pictures of her preciousness!!
post #29 of 37
Glad to hear you're keeping her! Is that a coincidence that most of your cats are blue or do you have a secret crush going on there?
post #30 of 37
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernGlow View Post
Glad to hear you're keeping her! Is that a coincidence that most of your cats are blue or do you have a secret crush going on there?
I think it's because most of them are related! They're family members!
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