Rescue newbie advice needed

I'm a longtime golden retriever owner and in general a pet/animal lover. We live in a wooded neighborhood that has had it's share of stray cats roaming the yards over the years. Some have taken up residence under our porch at times and in general have never had a problem with any of them other than the occasional garbage bag tear. We noticed a young stray cat coming around and my daughters (18 & 16) have made comments about how sorry they felt for the stray. Well, the other day with some of there friends around they were called to the back door by a cat cry. This lovely stray was literally sitting at our back door and simply calling out for our help (my interpretation). So, being the kind-hearted guy I am, opened the door and in she came (she is assumed at this point). She immediately found our dogs food and water and dug in! She came over and curled up next to us and didn't budge when our golden introduced himself. That was 4 days ago.

Here's my initial observation and actions:

1. She appears to be de-clawed.

2, Very skinny with bone structure very visible.

3. No collar.

4. Very friendly. No sign of aggressiveness at all.

5. Meows constantly in kitchen around food bowls.

5. Was not intimidated with our golden retriever. And our golden retriever made no aggressive moves or even seemed to care about the new guest (We've dog-sat with other dogs in the past in our house and he is very welcoming and just doesn't seem to care).

Day 2 to today:

1. Have removed several ticks.  Got a flea & tick collar and put it on her. No tics over the past 2 days.

2. Have groomed her with flea & tick comb several times a day and nothing has appeared,

3. After initially buying canned wet food which she ate eagerly we decided to switch to dry. Supplement wet occasionally. Initially she had some diarrhea and vomited, but now bowel movements seem normal. AND not as smelly!

4. Bought a disposable liter tray and added additional liter. She uses it always now.

5. Still visibly thin, but assume this will slowly work itself out as she eats more day by day.

Overall physically, other than thin, she seems in good shape!

Here's my behavioral observations. This I need help with! Never owned a cat before.

1. Very social. Constantly gets up and walks around us. As soon as we enter the kitchen, her meowing is almost non-stop!

2. Has not shown 1 sign of aggressiveness at all!

3. Initially seemed to want to take over every spot our dog hung out at. They even lay next to each oter at times with NO issues at all.

4. After wanting to continually hang with me, she now stays to herself at the top of our stairs.

5. Have now caught her laying in bath tub and climbing around toilet poking head down into it (Freaked my daughter's out LOL when they went to take a bath! LOL)

6. My one major concern. She does NOT play at ALL! I've gotten simple cat toys, even a catnip filled toy. She has NO DESIRE to PLAY AT ALL!

7. After initially laying with us on sofa to sleep, she now stays to herself at the top of the stairs.

I am a bit concerned about the complete absence of playfulness. How do I approximate her age?

Other than a visit to the vet, am I doing okay? Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated! We're on the verge of naming her!

-Bill

Kudos for taking in this little girl. It always amazes me that they easily figure out where the nice people live.

A trip to the vet as you say will help to,determine if she has internal parasites. This could be why she's so skinny. It's also quite possible that she was starving to death, so again thank you for taking her in.

As far as her not playing, she may just need some time. It's also quite possible that you haven't found the right toy. I recommend Da Bird, or other string toys. A laser pointer is also a good choice.

Oh also, if you can afford it. A canned food diet is much healthier. A little dry is ok, but in general cheap canned is way better than the most expensive dry food.

I'v e had mixed comments about the dry verses wet cat food from friends. That initial day of vomiting and diarrhea (which smelled real bad) I'm assuming was probably the system shock to food & water. Some had told me the wet food tends to make for smelly bowel movements. Not that that should determine why I buy one over the other.

I general, how often should I feed her?

Any signs to look for to help determine approximate age?

Just to feel better about myself, I have asked my neighbors if they or anyone they know is missing a cat. My daughters and my wife have surprisingly accepted this new guest. Just the lack of playfulness has us concerned. Like you said, it may take time I guess for her to truly relax.  I will try those things you mentioned and see if she perks up.

It does appear she's been a house cat before with being declawed. The bathtub/bathroom thing could be just something from her past? She doesn't seem to want to hide away. She just seems to have withdrawn a bit after the initial rescue day.

Thank you for your help!

I leave dry food out all the time for my cats. The cats I've rescued seem to appreciate knowing there is always food available, so they don't need to stress about it or compete with each other for it. I also offer them wet food twice a day (two of them have no interest in wet food). The only dry food I would really advise against is Meow Mix, because that's literally the Captain Crunch of the cat food industry--it's the least expensive food out there, but contains mostly fillers.

Your cat likely has parasites, and when you take her to the vet, they can give her a dose of Drontal or other de-wormer, which should solve the problem. If she's been eating rodents and from garbage, then you can safely assume she needs a de-wormer. Also, a dose of Frontline or Advantage works better than a flea collar if she still has fleas.

Each stray or feral I've taken in went through a period of diarrhea when first coming inside. Parasites aren't the only cause--sometimes the change of diet and the stress of a lot of change can give a cat an upset tummy for a bit. Just make sure there is a water bowl available, and it also helps to add water to whatever wet food you give her.

It would be great if you could get a wand toy--many supermarkets sell them for a few bucks in the pet section. Few cats can resist the lure of batting at them, and it's a great way to bond through playing.

Once your kitty becomes nourished, settled, and feels good, I'm sure she'll become playful.  

I think it's safe to assume this kitty is a dump. Would you really want to give her back to her owner even if you found him or her? It's great that you've taken her in!

If you are confident the fleas and ticks are gone, take the collar off.  They're really poisonous and can harm cats.  You can ask the vet for a topical to use if she still needs something.  She really needs to see the vet soon, too.  For parasites but also to make sure she is healthy after her ordeal.  It will take her body time to adjust to the new regime, including the food.

It sounds like you're doing really well with this.  She may have retreated just from exhaustion - and having found a safe place, is reassessing things.  She sounds like she was operating in emergency mode and can now withdraw a little and check things out.

If she was declawed, she was most likely spayed, so that's (hopefully) a plus.

Blessings on you!

Thank you for taking this little girl in. It sounds like she needed  it. I would not be concerned at all about the lack of playfulness. Some cats just aren't into playing much and could care less about toys. She's also brand new to your house so she may need time to relax enough to want to play. If she never plays I wouldn't worry, though.

That she likes the bathtub and bathroom is pretty normal. I have one cat who loves to sleep in the tub and most like to lay in the sink. Cats feel safe in enclosed spaces so she may like the tub because it is partly enclosed or she may just like the texture or something.

I wouldn't worry about her withdrwing a bit either. It's also normal behavior. She's probably in a different state of mind than she was the first day. The excitement from the first day has now worn off and she no longer has all that adrenaline flowing so she's just settling in. A lot of cats stay to themselves at first but they come around once they acclimate and start feeling safe. It's also possible that she's not feeling too well from being malnourished or something else.

As far as feeding goes cats should be fed twice a day but since this cat is so skinny I would free feed her, meaning that you leave the dry food out all the time so she can eat when she wants to. If you don't want your dog to eat it you can put the bowl on a counter or table. In addition to the dry food you leave out you can give her some wet food once a day.

Please remove her flea collar. Flea collars are not very effective at all and can be harmful for cats. If you are worried about her having fleas you are better off treating her with a good spot-on treatment - the kind that you put on their skin by the shoulder blades once a month. You can get generic Frontline cheaply at Walmart and other places under the name Pet Armor (look at the ingredients and make sure it contains Fipronil). Other good, safe ones are Advantage and Revolution. If she does have fleas, or if you just want to be on the safe side, it's best to treat her for three months (3 doses). One dose of Fipronil will kill the fleas on her in about 24 hours but 2 extra doses are good as a precaution to reinfection.

Finally, please don't assume that this cat was dumped. She could have a good family out there that is worried about her and misses her. Cats can get out even if you are responsible so that the fact that this cat was outside doesn't mean that the owners are irresponsible. If it was my cat I would want a finder to take action to get the kitty back to me. So if you haven't already please take the cat to a vet and have them scan her to see if she is microchipped. If she isn't call your local police or animal control to report that you found the cat, check with your neighbors, put out ads on Craigslist and lost pet websites and hang some fliers where a lot of people would se them, like at a local grocery store or a gas station. Also check online lost pet ads in case her potential owner is trying to find her.

In some states you are required to take some action to find an owner before the cat is legally yours.

You're doing a great job with this little girl. She's lucky to have found her way to you.

I live on a block where people have routinely dumped unwanted cats--I'm not sure if it's because we have a patch of woods around us, or because word has got out that there are a lot of soft-hearted people who take them in. What I've concluded is that If an owner wants to find their cat, they hang flyers with the cat's picture on it around the neighborhood on telephone poles. They place pictures of their cat online on their local Facebook pet lost and found website. They ask their neighbors if they've seen the cat. My outdoor feral once went missing for a week last February, and I drove all over my neighborhood and beyond, showing people his picture and giving them my phone number--this is what someone who loves their pet does. If you've checked your local lost and found pet websites, and posted a picture of the cat you found and have had no response, and if the cat has no microchip, then I think you've made a reasonable effort and can safely assume the cat has either been dumped or wandered away and their owner doesn't care. If the cat is bonding with you, keep it, it's better off with you. I would be leery of getting Animal Control involved because if they get hold of the cat, it may end up being taken to a shelter and getting euthanized (at any rate, that's what happens in my neck of the woods when Animal Control gets involved--maybe it's different in other areas). Please let us know how things are going with this kitty.      

 Bravo for rescuing that lost kitty!!!! I agree with Ziggy's Mom that she might be a lost indoors-only cat. If she accidentally got outside (if a small child or a repairman left a door open,for instance), she could easily panic and flee since she would have NO established territory. As she went along, dogs and other cats most likely would chase her - perhaps miles and miles from her home, possibly she dashed across busy boulevards and even highways to an area that no owner could imagine that she would be. As the days went along (she is so thin, sounds like she's been on her own for awhile), she wandered farther and farther away. Some instinct (or guardian angel) guided her to your home.

          Her smelly poops, in addition to diet change and stress, would probably be due to corn or wheat in the dog's food. I was given some corn-based cat food to feed my ferals the other week and I mixed it with their normal chicken by-product & rice food and the smell in the yard was overpowering   I try to feed grain-free cat food (my own personal cats get that) mixed with KMarts Champion Breed Kitten Food - when the cats get TNR'd, I enjoy hearing the vet staff marvel at how healthy the cats are for being utterly feral. I admit that it is very expensive, though, and your cat will appreciate whatever she is given. BTW, cats are not finicky because they are spoiled - they have extraordinary sense of smell and can detect something in the food that is bad for their body - sometimes I have cat owner friends complain that their cat is "acting like a princess" or is "being spoiled" when in reality, the cat can smell the disease that caused the chicken or beef to be denied as classified as fit for human consumption!

          I am sorry that the cat is declawed but there are several specially fine clumping cat litters that make it easier for her poor, sensitive toes endure the scratching necessary to using the litter box. If there isn't an inexpensive source for such litter locally, you can blend laying mash with regular clumping litter. Or even use straight mash, just make sure the box is scooped daily so the chicken feed doesn't mold. Declawed or not, please use unscented litter - a cat can even smell the footprints of a spider, after all!

          I am so happy to read how your Golden Retriever has been gentle to the cat! I do hope that they enjoy a long and happy friendship. Congratulations on raising alert, compassionate children and dogs!!!

meyercom said:

 
1. Have removed several ticks.  Got a flea & tick collar and put it on her. No tics over the past 2 days.

Click to expand...

Observe, such flea and tick collars are often dangerous, especially if made for dogs but used by a cat.   I understand you put it on her the first few days, when she did come ticked and probably with fleas too...

But now, being again pure inside, she has hardly any left.

Please, take it off now.   Look up for how long it will  work, ie if it will kill the eggs and larvaes too.  If yes, you dont need to do anything about fleas or ticks the nearest years, unless your golden comes in with some.

If you think some eggs may be left (and develop during the next weeks), you can get some milder, approved, defleaser made especially for cats.

You did talked about a vet control?  Let the vet advise you about suitable dewormers and defleasers.

Once well and correctly dewormed, being an inside cat, she probably wont need another deworming the rest of her remaining natural life.

I too, tx you for helping this little sis our ours.

Good luck!