- Joined
- May 27, 2005
- Messages
- 88
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I was walking my dogs Tuesday morning before work when I heard a frantic meow coming from the weeds along side the road (I live in a very rural area on a dirt road). I had to go through some pricker bushes (and of course I was wearing shorts!) to find where the meow was coming from, then I found her half way up a tree just screaming her head off. There are no houses close by, so I know some heartless person probably just dumped her off to fend for herself. Around here people do that all the time (instead of taking them to the shelter). She's a very tiny all black kitten. I took her home with me and fed her. She ate like she was starving! I took her into the clinic where I work to be examined, dewormed and tested for Feline Leukemia/FIV. I have 4 cats already (all adopted from the local animal shelter) and I really do not need another, but I just cannot bring myself to take her to the shelter. They're already overflowing with kittens and the board at work is also full of "free kittens". My husband is furious, but I guess in time he will get over it. I take care of my cats, buy all of their food and pay for all of their veterinary costs. He really has no right to be mad. My cats are well cared for (all are spayed and indoor only). I could see him being mad if I went to the shelter and actually adopted another one or if I had brought one home from work with me (it seems like at this time of year at least once a week we have a client trying to find homes for unwanted kittens). The kitten only weighs 1.4 pounds but her eyes are totally yellow. One of my adult cats (Sabrina) is also all black with yellow eyes. When we got her from the shelter (at 6 weeks old) she had bright blue eyes. I don't think her eyes changed to yellow until she was 8 or 9 weeks old. The vet estimated the kitten's age at around 6 weeks based on her weight, but I think she's older because her eyes aren't blue at all. Also, she has a huge belly, yet you can feel every one of her ribs. She kind of reminds me of the sad pictures you see of third world children (very skinny with huge swollen bellies). I'm thinking she's probably so small because she was malnourished. Another thing that makes me think she's older is she can eat my adult cat's dry food with no trouble at all. Of course I'm trying to feed her dry kitten food, but she only wants my adult cat's food. When I adopted Sabrina (at 6 weeks old) she could only eat canned food for the first two weeks we had her. She showed no interest in the dry food until she was about 9 or 10 weeks old. Does anyone know when kittens eyes normally turn to their adult color? I've been putting off naming her, because I know if I do that means she's staying. I'm leaning towards the name "Allie" as in alley cat or "Annie" as in little orphan Annie.