Need Help with Stray Cat

lamiatron

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Picked up a stray cat last night. Cus you know, i was in the mood to get a new cat???!!!

This one followed me and followed me, I had no food with me, and I was actually out with my family..

My younger siblings spotted him first and i approached him to try and pet him. he didn't seem like a feral. he looked at me, sniffed in my direction, approached me and sniff my hand, but he wouldn't let me touch him at first. so i just went about my business, but then he started to follow mE down the block. eventually i was able to pet him, and then i carried him for a little bit, but then i put him down. but he kept following me. i almost crossed the street with him close behind me...

i ended up bringing him home. he's in my room mates bedroom since last night, with his own litter box and water and food. hes a very good kitty. so beautiful. Grey with yellow eyes. I think he's 3 months old, he looks the exact same way charlie did when i first adopted him. He's a very good boy, he's very LOUD tho. Meows like crazy when left alone. Upon bringing him home i was able to immediately clip his nails, and give him a bath with a flea shampoo, and he was good through out it all. very calm.

I don't know what to do. I don't have the money to take in another cat, but i can't find the heart to surrender him to the shelter...

he needs to see a vet, get shots, God knows what else, and he needs to get fixed...

i'm keeping him away from my already two existing cats. My cat Charlie was quite curious when he saw the Grey boy...after i gave him a bath i brought him into my room to dry, my girl Jet was literally having a Hiss-fit. Did not like the new comer AT ALL.

i don't know what to do. I'm broke and living paycheck to paycheck as it is. I think i can manage to take care of him...if i shuffle some funds around, food and extra litter box, and extra litter+ toys I can slowly/some how manage..but neutering is so EXPENSIVE here in NYC...i'm sure its expensive any where...and also he needs to be checked out, dewormed...shots....i just don't have the money for that...

Any body in the NYC Area (preferably Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan) that are affiliated with maybe rescue groups, or...I don't know that can help me? Or maybe point me in the right direction??

i am so clueless. Here are some pics. I just want to help him..i want to give him a better life...i feel like he came to me for a reason...i just cant figure out if that reason is to a) keep him or b) help to find him another home....??? i adopted both of my cats from a shelter, where i paid a small fee and they came fixed with some shots..and then i had to follow up with the vets and that's about it. i called around at ta couple places, to see how much it might all cost if coming out of pocket and the price tag is RIDICULOUS...well..maybe not that....but definitely not something i can afford right now...but he's at that age where he might go into kitty puberty soon...and i want to get him neutered before that...

also some name ideas would be cool. me and the BF are currently all over the place with names...we've thought of ash, ned, slate, sterling, flint, greyson. 

ON THE CAR RIDE HOME. he was purring and fell asleep in my arms


FOR SIZE PURPOSES: what you guys think? 3-4 months old?


HE WAS A BIT NERVOUS AFTER COMING HOME. POOR GUY.


HE'S SO HANDSOME. THIS WAS LAST NIGHT AFTER HIS BATH


THIS MORNING BEFORE I LEFT FOR WORK. 

 

StefanZ

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Oh, Im melting!   The best is probably to  if you find him a home among your contacts.  Or your boyfriends.  contacts...  Somebody you know is reliable, not just willing to accept...

Tomorrow I will come back with some tips on how to find a cheap vet / spaying clinic, in USA.

Good  luck!
 

StefanZ

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Here some tips, you perhaps will find use of them:

cheap  spaying:
If you are in the U.S. ,  the ASPCA has an online database.  http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/spayneuter

 Or here is a hotline number that will find you a low cost clinic in your area  1-800-248-7729   

www.spayusa.org

I presume most of these places can also do some other vet treatment cheaper than  an average, fashionable vet clinic.

Good luck!
 
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lamiatron

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@StefanZ  and @StephenQ

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SOO MUCH for the resources and the help.

Here's an UPDATE:

We've decided to name him Gunther. for some reason it really suits him. he's a real sweet heart. he's calm, and lovable. always purring and kneading. I'm sure he's doing that to mostly comfort himself. He's calmed down quite a bit. such a quiet little boy not a peep out of him...until its time to eat. He's using the litter box amazingly, no accidents, for both #1 and #2. i tried my best to check the #2, and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary (NO WORMS). he's been going back and forth between my room and my room mates for now...so far my cat Charlie's been super curious. no hissing from him though so that's good. When Gunther notices Charlie on the other side of the door he gets super curious and meows. They have heard each other. They meow to each other and just want to see each other. They play with each other under the door.

Jet on the other hand has been hissing, and they haven't even come into contact with each other again...but i guess she smells him on the bed...and she hisses a couple times and then calms down and comes to me for pets. only when she's in an area where he has been (like i said, Gunther is going between me and the room mates room for now), she'll let out a couple hisses and then move on with her life. she doesn't react in any way if she hears him meow in the hall way, again, Charlie just gets super curious. I guess in some way, we're kind of doing the whole scent swapping dealy? the situation is a bit hectic right now, and we're trying to do things based on each other's work schedule (the room mate, myself, and my boyfriend). My room mate has been so helpful through out all this. We feed Gunther on the other side of my bedroom door, and have my existing kitties in the bedroom, while Gunther is on the other side, in the hall way eating. So far no hissing while eating. 

The BF and I are considering possibly keeping him. Thank you guys for the resources, I will look and call a few people later today. Hopefully by this weekend I can get him checked out...We were also considering to look through our existing and well known contacts for giving Gunther to them, if for any reason we were unable to care for him..this way at least we can see how he's doing, growing, living...main concern now is to get him seen, and then have him fixed asap. he's really a sweet heart. i'll post some more pics below. its funny watching him. he's got a bit of Jet and a bit of Charlie in him...meaning how they were when i first brought them home from the shelter, and at the same time he's so totally himself, and so amazing. He definitely LOVES company and cuddling. 

also just one thing i've noticed, he kneads A LOT. and i mean, everything he comes in contact with. even when he's just sitting up straight, he'll knead with his front paws ...but most weird is that he kneads when there isn't anything around him either...he needs the air a lot...is this something i should be worried about??

SLEEPING ON ROOM MATES BED. THIS WAS YESTERDAY WHILE I WAS AT WORK


CUDDLING WITH ME IN BED. IN MY ROOM.  yesterday evening.


WATCHING MY BOYFRIEND. HE'S VERY OBSERVANT AND CURIOUS.


CHILLING ON THE SCRATCHING POSTS, AND LOOKING OUT OF THE WINDOW


HE TOOK A LITTLE NAP ON THE WINDOW SILL

 

stephenq

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My pleasure to help, if you need decide you can't keep him I can assist you with the resources I mentioned in the PM.  All kittens are basically born with worms so just because you can't see them doesn't mean he doesn't have them, so at some point he should be dewormed before long.  AL

long with testing and neutering of course.

Both for health reasons and for improving the chances that he becomes friends with the other cats I recommend you separate and getting him FIV/FeLV tested is important.  There is a fair amount of that in stray NYC cats and the FeLV is particularly nasty and your other cats could catch it.

Intro info below:

There are several steps to a successful introduction, the goal being BFFs, not enemies or angry at you (especially the resident cat).  A careful introduction raises the stress level in incremental steps, allowing both cats, especially the resident cat time to acclimate to the stressor before being introduced to the next level.  You are going to move the "bar" closer and closer to the resident cat until the final step, a supervised face-to-face, becomes  a fender bender and not a car crash.

Step one: Complete separation, putting the new cat is a small room like a bathroom with food, litter and water.  Do not let the cats see each other - too much stress too soon.  Give the new cat time to adjust.  Give both cats time (a week+/-) to get used to this.  They will know each other is there.  Start feeding the resident cat nearer to the door, adjusting daily until he is at the door eating. Do voluntary scent exchange by rubbing the new cat's cheeks on a sock and then offering the sock as a gift to the resident. Don't force him to smell the sock, don't rub it on him. Observe his behavior and allow it.   Rub a clean sock on his cheeks and offer it to the new cat.  Continue to do this but never force either cat to interact with the other cat's sock.

When they are reasonably calm with everything in step one go to:

Step Two:  Allow the cats to see each other.  Two baby gates stacked on top of each other in the open door is a great way.  Cracking the door open and blocking it into position so they can't get through the door is another way.  With many cats the stress of this will make them revert, but it would have been much worse if you had started with this step.  Continue as if this was step one, but now with them seeing each other.  When they are both calm, no hissing or growling, you can go to:

Step Three: After eating meals and feeling satisfied (full stomach = less aggressive) and trimmed nails, you can start to do brief supervised introductions face to face.  Watch their body language and reactions and increase their time together until you are confident that they can manage on their own.

In General, treat the resident cat like he is King.  Don't do things to make him jealous. Don't discipline either cat for showing aggression, punishing them for what they feel is a normal behavior (and is normal for them) just raises the stress.  And follow your cats' lead on the speed of the introduction, there are no rules other than to listen to them.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/a-simple-little-trick-to-use-during-new-cat-introductions/
 
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lamiatron

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Update:

I've pretty much been MIA for the past month. I wanted to update you guys on some progress.

1) I've definately decided to keep Gunther. Me and the BF are too much in love with him to give him up or away. he's here to stay for good.

2) took him to the humane society here in NYC to get checked out. He's got his shots, he's got a NEGATIVE test result for feline aids leukemia and herpes which is great. He's scheduled to get neutered next month, when he will be 6 months old. He did have ring worm...but no fleas. He's still on the meds for that, and aside for some expected crankiness he's doing really well.

3) had to do a rushed cat intro as the room mate was at first very helpful, but later unable to help me keep gunther separated from my other cats (busy summer plans) so I had to do the intros after the vet gave me the green light. Couldnt follow the steps exactly as I should, and there have been some hissing and fighting, but I'm glad to say that now, Gunther, Jet and Charlie are the best of friends :) and even though Jet will be hissy and sassy and cold towards Gunther, they are also the closest, always sleeping together and cuddling and grooming each other. Some pics below. Thank you all so much for your help :)









 

jodiethierry64

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This is such a sweet story!! I Love the pictures and his
name. I have a 16 year old named General McGunther! I started calling him Gump-Gump as a nickname!
He is so handsome. He chose you and I'm so happy you found a way to keep him.
 

torn

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This is such a great story.  

I'm so happy for you! 
 
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lamiatron

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Thanks all for your kind words :) and most of all support.

a bit of an UPDATE on Gunther....

I think he's started to "come of age" and he's been driving us ALL CRAZY

1) He's yowling and he's SUPER loud DAY & NIGHT. its mind numbing. In the mornings and at night he will literally come up on the bed, right next to my head and meow. Needless to say, no sleep here. I've been sleeping on the couch so that the BF doesn't have to deal with him yowling, cus he only seems to bother me.

2) He's mounted my girl Jet many times. Yesterday morning i had to pull him off of Jet. Good news is, he was trying to hump her neck, and hadn't reached her back side...but his "lipstick" was out :( 

He tries to mount Charlie too, but Charlie is good about shutting the whole situation down before it gets anywhere

3) He's been ULTRA aggressive. Tries to escape the room he's kept in any time someone opens the door. Any time Jet or Charlie are on the scratching post, perch, cat bed, chair, he will bite them and pester them until they leave and he takes over...there is no shortage of places for this little guy to chill, but when he sees one of my other cats on something, he HAS to be on there too. 

4) no spraying as of yet. GOD I HOPE THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY SPRAYING GOING ON

5) he's been extra cuddly and lovey dovey..more so than normal, but I can't even pet him for more than 5 seconds literally...because as i'm petting him..he gets aroused and his cat penis comes out...and when i stop petting him in the hopes that he won't be aroused anymore...he runs to Jet and tries to mount her..... ugh.

He's scheduled to be fixed on Sept. 27th by the Humane Society of NY. Well, he WAS. I called them yesterday and they were so awesome, so they rescheduled him to be fixed THIS SUNDAY (THANK GOD). Usually with them you have to pay in advance for appt's/check ups and any procedures. IF the appt is cancelled or changed, you have to pay AGAIN for a new appt...but the receptionist I spoke with was very understanding and did not charge me again.

I've NEVER dealt with an intact cat in my life. ever. Charlie and Jet were adopted from Animal Control and Care of NY, and they both came to me fixed. I've never had to deal with this type of behavior before. This has been trying for me and the BF and i can't imagine what Jet is going through. She's a bit sensitive and skittish and now she has to try and fight of attempts of cat rape (that probably sounded stupid). 

Curious, for any of you on this thread that ever had to deal with an intact male cat...i understand that after neutering it will take some time for the hormones to leave his body, and eventually the mounting and the aggressiveness will go down...but what about the constant meowing and yowling?? does that become a habit? or does that go away too? naturally Gunther is much more vocal than my other two. Jet comes in 2nd, and then Charlie is pretty much voiceless unless its feeding time. The yowling and the meowing is driving me, my bf, my room mates crazy. will that go away??

Also, if he is successful in mounting and Jet and penetrating her, IF...what should i look out for? what should i expect? Will she be okay? I know she can't get pregnant...because she's fixed..but i don't know??? When me and the BF are at work, all 3 are kept in my bedroom, so they don't get into trouble any where else in the house (only my room is cat proof) and I don't want them to bother my room mates if they're home (they're not really cat people). I'm afraid that when we're away, Gunther might be successful with Jet...will she be traumatized?? :( any advise or help on this is GREATLY APPRECIATED...

also any suggestions on what other forum I can post this in to get the best exposure as well as input from those with more experience??

Hope everything goes well on Sunday....only 3 more nights of this...and I hope that his behavior doesn't worsen during this time....
 

stephenq

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Everything should get better after he is fixed. It won't all happen overnight but as the hormones process out of his body he should settle down.
 
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