First Time Cat Owner

jojo

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Her name is Dani (renamed Dani Night Stalker her second night). She's black, about a year old with big beautiful yellow eyes. I went to PetSmart the end of July this year because the voices in my head said to go
The company reserves a place in their store for Alley Cat Rescue, a community based organization that rescues cats some feral and some abandoned or abused that have ended up in the shelter and gets them ready for adoption. They also take in feral cats that people have caught. Anyway, I saw rows of cats but Dani kept her eye on me, we made eye contact often as I spoke to the people around me. "She's adopted you," one lady said. I agreed.

I needed a companion and I'm convinced that God sent me to go rescue this poor little frightened soul so she could rescue me. This is my first cat and in just a few weeks I've learned so much from the people on this site -- my first experience here started with Dani having diaherra otherwise she's a healthy and seemingly happy camper.


My eternal thanks to TheCatSite and it's many cat loving members.

JoJo and Dani Night Stalker
 

mandycat

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JoJo, I too am a first time cat owner, since last November. It certainly does add a new dimension to one's life, doesn't it.

My kitty girl, Mandy is also black with yellow eyes. I think Dani has larger eyes though.
Mandy was also a 'lost soul'; she was born in a friend's garage. She & her 3 sisters all had bad eye infections. So we took them from their mom and off to the vet for treatment. Later trapped the momcat & had her spayed & given her shots, etc.

Mandy was black as a baby & appeared to be a long-hair; I feel in love with her & kept her while the others were adopted out. As Mandy matured her coat color changed. She is now a different shade of black, has a lot of red highlights, medium length coat and a nice bushy tail.

These 'kitty babes' give use endless pleasure, don't they? Good luck to you and Dani Night Stalker.
 

catarina77777

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Dear JoJo :angel2:


What a sweet angel you are for giving Dani a home!!! What a beautiful name for a beautiful little angel :angel2: Looks like she found herself a very compassionate Mommy...


Thank you for sharing your beautiful story with us JoJo


Best Wishes for a long wonderful, lovefilled relationship with your new baby
:pinky:
:pinky:

How is she now? When I adopted Murphy he had a virus too...ugh, but I got him on some Clavamox and his upper-respiratory tract cleared up along with the diarreah...poor baby...
But, he's good to go now...the little monster :laughing2

Love & Peace
Catarina
 

regina

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JoJo,

My kitty looks pretty much like yours does, only he's a big, black middle-aged boy. He "adopted" me at the SPCA. There's a big cat enclosure where cats can meet and "interview" prospective humans. Ebony picked me out and stuck close to my side, scolding all other cats who came within petting distance. Then he followed me out the door of the enclosure as though to say, "Let's go home now." I've only had him for about 2 months and he's my big baby!

Regina
 

lorie d.

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Dani is a beautiful cat!! I really enjoyed reading your story about finding and adopting her. Enjoy yourself---this is the start of many long and happy years with Dani.
 

melissa

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Dani is a beautiful girl! Shes lucky to have you


Well...I might as well add my "Black Kitty Rescue" story here
my Onyx, who is about 2 years old now, was on his last day at the shelter in my area (unfortuantely due to a very small space and lots of animals needind help, animals are euthanized after an pretty extended period of time, if they are not adopted) He was found in a deep ditch with a litterbox and no food. He was about 5 weeks old when they found him and he was infested with fleas, worms and "chiggers". chiggers are tiny orange mites that animals can get if they spend a lot of time in the forest in our area. They are found around the face and ears of the poor animal. Onyx had them so bad they had actually eaten a hole through one of his ears!
He was very near to starvation as well. I had called the SPCA and put my name on their list for an orange kitten if they got one. They called me and told me about Onyx and I was the last name on the list everyone else had said no, if I didn't take him, he was going to be put down, due to his unsightly conditon he wasn't considered very adoptable and they were filled to capacity. I went to see him and he broke my heart. He needed lots of medicine and a good diet as well as lots of love, and now hes a big, healthy boy weighing in at 15 lbs. He seems so grateful for every bit of attention and gazes at us adoringly whenever we are around. Its almost as if he knows what we did for him and is thankful. I don't know what we would do without him
 
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jojo

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Thank you, thank you. I really appreciate hearing your stories too. I didn't realize how many things could go wrong healthwise with a cat, Dani's about a year old and weighs in at 6.8 lbs, she wasn't much of a talker when I got her but she actually has a fair vocabulary from a meow that sounds like "now" for petting and a clicking like sound she's just started (usually when she sees a bird).

It's really comforting to know that if I run into any problems, I know I have a place to consult some very experienced catlovers.

I've written some stories about my experiences as a new cat owner, including how I renamed Dani, Dani Night Stalker her second night and Dani's great escape. Please feel free to read them. http://alleycatrescue.com (look under Cat Tales)

JoJo and Dani Night Stalker
 

lorie d.

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JoJo

I checked out the link you provided in your last post. Your three stories are very interesting. You said Dani is about one-year-old and from what you describe in your stories, she is still very kittenish in her behavior. My experience with cats is that they do mellow out with age. I have had cats sleeping on my bed at night :eek:wl: for years, and I am never disturbed by them. The cats usually spend part of the night :eek:wl: cuddling, and part of the night :eek:wl: wandering around. If Dani is too active at night, :eek:wl: you might try playing with her right before you go to bed to help her get rid of some energy.
 
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jojo

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Thank you Pandabear. She's become like a child to me.

Lorie, I am just starting to play with her at night to burn off some of her "excess" energy
I've heard people say they change toys but Dani only seems to like the paper ball, she ignores everything else except an el cheapo mouse that she demolishes every few weeks.

If I leave the TV by my bed on at night with the volume turned low, I've awoken to find Dani curled up on the bed intently watching the screen. Last Saturday, she laid on the bed for her siesta and let me lay beside her. I was so very excited
She even used my arm for her pillow. I'd given anything to have been able to get a photo of that
 

lady hawk

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Congratulation on your new addition ! Dani is just beautiful..
You are in for such a treat, prepare to be loved like you have never been loved before.
Please give her a big hug from me and don't forget a scratch under the chin, or as we refer to it here chin chins.
Hi Dani Pretty girl

Tish
 
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