The Proverbial Puzzle

pat

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I came home from shipping and shopping, to see a new cat in the neighborhood (I know most of the outdoor kitties, and the indoor ones that sit in windows
) as well as the unfortunate ones that seem to live outdoors only but have owners.
This fellow looked young and about to have a tussle with a black and white I didn't recognize, so I called to him (okay, so I talk to cats...) asking him what was he doing and to be careful.

Oh me and my big mouth. His is bigger
He came running across the road, launched into rubbing my legs, climbed my legs (!), meow meow meow. He is a young 5-7 month (guessing) whole male seal lynx point shorthair with classic pattern on the side, and pale blue eyes..lovely fine wedge head. Sigh. He has no wounds, no dirt - very well groomed, soft, soft coat, decent weight..but lonely/mouthy to beat the band. He commenced to talking so loud my dh could hear him when I called to say I didn't think I could get in the house, as this fellow was velcroing himself to me.

We have no ability to take this cat in, I am sure he has an owner, it's just a question of did he wander off and get turned around or? After he almost caught one of the squirrels I feed peanuts to by hand, I did as dh and I agreed. I got him to come around back to our very large, high fenced backyard, and gave him some food on the back deck. Plenty of ways for him to leave, so he wasn't trapped, but since the wind seemed to scare him, I'm not convinced he's used to being outside all the time, and he would be safe in our backyard. He ate every bite, but seems gone for now.

If he comes back, and/or if I see he is losing weight or getting in fights, we will take him to our vet, and get him neutered and leave him there until we can find a home for him (or if the vet would place him for us, pay the board bill). I just don't want to do that too soon, as hopefully, he'll find his way home, and perhaps this was a one time escape as he is whole (which I hope they remedy soon!).

It was hard for me to leave him outside
 

lotsocats

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I hate situations like that! I have a young male who has been staying at my house as well. I ended up putting a collar on him and attaching a note to the collar for his people to call me. Since I never received a call, I now assume he is a stray (too friendly to be feral). I took him to be neitered and vaccinated a couple of weeks ago and am now trying to find him a home.

I hope your little visitor shows up again, if only just to say hi and to show you he is okay.
 
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pat

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I hope he does too...the idjits just behind our house - one house over - have been shooting off fire crackers and fireworks today
and now it's fixing to storm (which at least drove the idjits inside). I keep looking out front and back windows for him, and going on my back deck.
 

talon

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He may have gotten scared by all the firecrackers and lost his way - have you tried the shelters to call to see if anyone is looking for him?
 
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pat

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Originally Posted by Talon

He may have gotten scared by all the firecrackers and lost his way - have you tried the shelters to call to see if anyone is looking for him?
hi...I never got a notification of this response to the thread...I'm sorry! He didn't seem scared-scared, (more like he wasn't used to being outside), nor was he dirty like he'd been out slumming it in the bushes <G>. I haven't seen him since, but did see one more colorpoint male, same age, same pale blue eyes, but with white and no classic tabby ghost markings, on my back deck. two days later..so my suspicion is there is someone whose cat had a litter who is allowing them to roam outside...no way was the first one unused to human contact. He was *demanding* to be touched, and held.
 

bigorangemenace

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If he is a certain breed, or even if not, dont get him neutered right away.. there was a post a while ago about how theives broke into someones house and their young stud male got out, and the people who found him got him neutered right away, and the owners of course were furious.

At least look for the owners for a while... dont take him in so soon unless you really cant find the owners.
 

nano

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I definitely can understand your predicament, Pat & Alix.

There are always cats roaming my neighborhood, including a few wide-eyed housecats who appear to be outside for the first time. They have full coats, look very well fed and are affectionate/lonely. One part of me wants to pick up each of them and try to reunite with their owner, but I keep odd hours and am not always available so it would be fairly inefficient.

There is a big time cat lover about 250 yards up the street, and she will always throw a flyer in my door (specifically for me) if there is a missing cat in the area so I will keep a lookout. I've managed to find two lost cats (each missing for less than 48 hours) and through her get them back to their owner. (She's retired and alone, so she has lots of time to spend on things like helping people find their cats and so forth).

Anyway here is a happy story -- I was leaving for an appointment and found a flyer in my door. I go down to my car and guess who is hiding underneath? Yep, the missing cat. The large tabby was meowing in loneliness and looked up at me with sad eyes. I gave her some blinks and she ran up to rub against my legs. She was very tame and trusted me enough that I simply picked her up and carried her down the block to the cat lover. I was late to my appointment but had a thank you message on my door from the cat's regular owner waiting for me when I came back home.

So that is a nice story, but I wonder how many times a housecat escapes and is not immediately reunited with their owner. And most of these cats quickly deteriorate and are then rounded up by animal control to be put to sleep, or the few who are very adaptable have to almost go semi-feral to survive on the streets.

But anyway, I fight my instincts and don't bring in each lost cat I find. But I do stay aware of any lost cats in my area and will reunite them with the owner through the cat lady who has near unlimited free time.
 
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pat

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Originally Posted by BigOrangeMenace

If he is a certain breed, or even if not, dont get him neutered right away.. there was a post a while ago about how theives broke into someones house and their young stud male got out, and the people who found him got him neutered right away, and the owners of course were furious.

At least look for the owners for a while... dont take him in so soon unless you really cant find the owners.
Neither of these are purebred, and I've seen the friendly one just once, I am convinced he has a home and just went back to it. The second one, is more shy and I just saw again this am sleeping on a neighbors door..so this one, we will keep an eye out for - to see if he's in worsening shape etc. I have no way to take him in, if I do put this fellow in a carrier, he's going straight to a vets, being tested and neutered..as it will be because we are sure he's not being cared for and is in danger.
 
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pat

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That is a nice story. Usually, we know all the regular indoor/outdoor cats in the neighborhood, as well as which have homes but live outside. It's when I see new ones, or cats that seem needy, that I get into my quandry. We've actually, over the years, taken in two - one semi-feral (Imo) that we fed as he was very thin, and worked on having him not run with mere eye contact, for over a year (and who bit dh severely twice), and a second rescue fellow who was thin, filthy and cut and desperately wanting into our arms.

I really hope that that neither of the two young one's are homeless.
 

beckiboo

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If there is a rescue group near you you could always turn them over. A siamese looking kitten with blue eyes would probably have good luck getting adopted.

It is hard to decide which way to go. I won't bring strays that show up here inside, but do bring in fosters. And sent two strays to the foster agency for vaccinations and to be adopted out! It does help to have a working relationship with a foster agency!
 
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pat

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Probably time I found one in this area. I do breed rescue - but not into my home - I do the web stuff, a store for the group, help with email requests etc.

In fact, I'll be posting later this weekend about curl eared kittens found in Utah.
 
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