Trying to tame the neighbor's kitty

A couple moved in behind me several months ago.They brought 4 kitties with them.A momma cat and 3 kittens.The very first time I talked to the guy I told him that if he was going to live in this neighborhood he was going to HAVE to get his kitties fixed.
A few months ago I took the momma cat and got her done for them(they paid for it,I just took her as I took one of my cats and a dog,and one of my mom's dog's)
When I brought the momma back I was like "Well,now we have 1 down and three to go."
I made an appointment and it is at the end of the month.I just told them at the clinic to put me down for spays because I didn't know yet what the sex was on these cats.(It takes much longer to get a spay appointment.It's usually a month,but this time it was 2.)
I went back there the other day and was talking to the lady and 2 of the kittens will let you touch them,but one will NOT let you get near it.
The little white and cream colored one is a boy(I told them he was still going to get fixed.LOL) and the orange one is a girl.
Now I just gotta get the other one to trust me somewhat so it will be easier to catch in a few weeks.I know I am working on short time here,but maybe I can do a little good in what time I do have.
He/she (I think it's a she cause I didn't see "anything" there,but it is long-haired and wouldn't get very close.)
It is a beautiful kitty.It has blue/gray and white fur and long haired and gorgeous eyes.I just want to squeeze it.LOL.
I just got back from there.I took some turkey and just sat on the edge of their porch and tossed it to him/her.I got it to get fairly close,but I didn't reach out to try and touch it because I knew it would take off and I don't want to scare it away from me.The other 2 was right beside me trying to be pigs.
I am going to try and go back there as often as I can,which will probably only be 3 times a week for about 30 min. each time.But I guess that's better than nothing.
Anyway,wish me luck cause this kitty is going to go get fixed whether it likes it or not.

Good luck! I think it's just wonderful that you are helping your neighbors choose the right thing to do with these cats.

Keep us updated on how this is going. Bravo to you for helping this family do what is right!

I am just sooo glad that they are the type of people that you can deal with very easy.
I HATE when people holler "I just don't have the money."
:censor::censor::censor:?It is a ONE time thing and if you cannot scrape up the money to get it done then you should not have it.I am in a really tight spot for money right now myself,but I have 2 kittens I have to get fixed(1 M and 1 F)and I am taking them at the end of the month.I will probably have to go without something,but I will get them fixed one way or another.

Anyway,the momma cat that I took for them looks so much better.No sagging belly and she is gaining weight.She looks very good.I'm trying my best to get people to do the right thing.I'm just glad these people moved in behind me cause if they would have went somewhere else they probably wouldn't have gotten it done and then there would be more kittens.
The guy's mom also has a female cat and is wanting her done now if I will take her for her.
So this will be 5 cats spayed/neutered that probably otherwise wouldn't have been.

I will keep everyone updated on the progress I have with the little wild kitty.

:girly2: WAHOO! WAY TO GO VT!!!! :girly1:

i just noticed a feral tom in my apartment complex today...and he's DEFINITELY not neutered ...and for the first time, i noticed that they've set traps all over the place. i guess we're having problems with wild cats. i didn't try to get too close to the tom though, VERY unfriendly kitty. he's young too, i'd guess between 9 months and a year old. he was pretty small and lean.

irresponsible pet owners are really starting to piss me off! why is it so hard to come up with $35-$75 to neuter your cat, people? what? would it really be that hard to give up on the fast food and maybe deny yourself 2 DVD's this month so it can be done and you help insure your pet a healthier life and to keep the pet population down?!!

maybe when i quit this next month, i'll have to get involved with the Humane Society down here, or start a personal crusade or something.

Keep up the good fight VT!!!!

Originally posted by RaggieMom
:girly2: WAHOO! WAY TO GO VT!!!! :girly1:

why is it so hard to come up with $35-$75 to neuter your cat, people? what? would it really be that hard to give up on the fast food and maybe deny yourself 2 DVD's this month so it can be done and you help insure your pet a healthier life and to keep the pet population down?!!

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Yeah it's normally around $40-45 her to neuter and somwhere around $80-90 to spay a cat,but I always go to a low cost spay and neuter clinic.It is a little over an hour away from me,but if I have more than one animal or if it is just one cat but it's a spay,it's well worth the drive.You take them one evening and pick them up the next evening.
Now get this I have offered to take some people's animals here when I go and I get the money excuse.
Know what the prices are???
Cat neuter-$18
Cat spay-$27.50(in heat add $5)

Now I'm sorry,but if you cannot go without something to afford to get it done at these prices then YOU DO NOT NEED THE ANIMAl.I mean my god come on.
I will even offer to KEEP the cat at MY house until they heal if that is what it takes.All I ask is that they come up with the $20-30 bucks and meet me somewhere on my drive down and back.
There is not anything else I can do to help these people except pay for it and I'm in NO position to do this.Trust me if I could I would.

My mom used to pick up everyone's animals and take them here as long as they paid for it.I guess she has taught me well.

**Update**

Well,right after I posted this the neighbor decided he needed to try and tame this cat up a little.I didn't know this until I went back there to get them(I borrowed a trap).He said I don't think we will need the trap because I have been picking it up when it eats.So he poured out the food and grabbed the kitty.He put it in a cage and I brought it home expecting to get eaten alive.LOL.I got it out of the cage after about an hour and SHE(was able to check.LOL)was a big BABY.I was in shock.They had fooled with them a little when they were young,but just never continued to pick them up and play with them.The way she acted I just knew she was going to be a little scaredy cat and try to tear me up.
We took three females to get spayed and I have them all in my bathroom now until they heal.

So,I was glad when I discovered she was actually very tame once you get ahold of her.She hasn't been running from me in the bathroom,so hopefully she won't be so bad when she goes back home.

It's been a good week.Got three cats spayed(one was his mom's)that probably otherwise would not have gotten fixed.

I HATE when people holler "I just don't have the money."
:censor::censor::censor:?It is a ONE time thing and if you cannot scrape up the money to get it done then you should not have it.I am in a really tight spot for money right now myself,but I have 2 kittens I have to get fixed(1 M and 1 F)and I am taking them at the end of the month.I will probably have to go without something,but I will get them fixed one way or another.

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I could go on about money woes...

We've got about 15 cats total and there are 2-3 of us handling the costs for all of them. The first group of 4 were sick and cost about $700 alone (of which we kept one). I could easily estimate that we've spent well over $1000, though I took in about $200 in donations.

I asked my mother for a crate/cage today as a Christmas present because I can't afford to keep doing this, and we still have about 5-6 cats loose, one of which has an eye infection. She's been a big animal rescuer herself, but she was somewhat annoyed with me. I got the answer, "that's no Christmas present." I said, "if you've got any idea what I REALLY want, which is to not find any dead, sick, freezing or homeless kittens this year, you'll know why I'm happy to take a crate as a Christmas present."

I would be happy to ONLY receive spayings, neuterings, and cat crates for Christmas this year. Also for my birthday and next Christmas. I don't need another shirt, DVD, book, Playstation game or anything else. Not as a trade for a new litter of homeless or sick kittens. And I don't care if people don't understand that.

I completely understand where you are coming from.
I have 12 cats myself(6 were feral kittens,2 were orphaned babies,1 that I picked up on the side of the road a few years ago,2 were strays,and 1 is one I just took in recently for a lady going into a senior citizens home)
I had one of my feral kittens cross the RB right after I caught her(Or I would have 13).I took her to the vet,but she was too far gone.


Most of my family thinks I'm nuts,but ya know what,I really don't care what they think.LOL.

I have read a lot of your posts and I think it's great that you are trying to help all of these kitties.

All I can do right now is volunteer at a feral cat clinic once a month...but I really hope to get more involved next year.

Katie

Thanks for the kind words. I didn't really feel like there is an option, shy of doing some personal financial damage.

The scary thing, is that our first rescue - Tiki - I actually hesitated to approach her. I'm typically the "over concerned" one, my friends will tease me about being a "bleeding heart," etc... When I first saw her, I thought I was going to be told, "they're wild, you can't get involved." So I hesitated. I didn't really see the condition she was in - only that she was under a car. My girlfriend (knowing that I was concerned and seeing me hesitate) said, "Well, are you going to move her?" It's when I got closer that I saw what sad condition she was in.

Well, if there's any reason to get involved, this is it.

Best. Cat. Ever.

Staying home from work to make sure her eye was OK? The least regrettable decision I ever made in my life. Big thanks go to my mother and girlfriend, who took good care of her.

Keeping more kittens from suffering, if possible? A no-brainer.

What great before and after pictures!

You guys are wonderful for doing what you are doing for these cats. Bravo to all of you!

Vettechstudent - WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!! *Standing ovation*!!!!!!!!!! What a wonderful, wonderful story!!!!!

Scott77777 wrote:

Staying home from work to make sure her eye was OK? The least regrettable decision I ever made in my life. Big thanks go to my mother and girlfriend, who took good care of her.

Keeping more kittens from suffering, if possible? A no-brainer.

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LOL! Gary and I work from home a lot (we're partners in business), but I can't tell you how many times they were expecting at least him in the office and we had to call to say he couldn't make it - because we had to take a cat to the doc or because we had just trapped a feral, etc. (We just have one car).

We've told our families we'd rather have vet gift certificates, and we e-mailed them the vet info. I say - go for it!

And if you want help explaining your passion - check out some of the info at www.straypetadvocacy.org. The stats and info pretty much speak for themselves. And you're not alone.



I think you're all Angels!

...and we recently rescued a small white kitty (Flowerbelle) that has an eye problem. We thought it was just an infection initially, but it turns out its herpes virus.

. She received two surgeries and is on medication. Because of the surgeries it will never be a normal looking eye - but I can only hope it will some day look as clear and beautiful as your Tiki's eye!)