What to Do???

me & tigger

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OKay I posted about me and Tigger - He is a Resue Cat and I was going to find his home some how? I found him at the River park 2 weeks ago Friday and I looked around to see if there were any posts of a missing cat and I also looked around the blocl that was close to this place where I found him, in the mean time I have taken him as MY OWN and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. A firend of mine said IF YOU LOST A CAT WOULDN'T YOU DO EVERYTHNG IN YOUR POWER TO FIND HIM? I said Of course i would. Every day that goes by I cannot help but wonder where he came from and WHY HE was down at this park all by himself and how he got lost, etc. So My friend said to me "THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF PLACES YOU CAN CALL TO SEE IF HE IS MISSING, GIVE IT YOUR ALL AND THAT WAY YOU WILL FEEL BETTER AND KNOWING YOU DID ALL YOU COULD TO FIND HIS HOME... So here i am and I did not do 1/2 the things she recommended...like call th eRadio Station, new paper, SPCA, and a nother one. I want to do this but I also I want him. I feel BAD for not doing this - I had no clue of the many places you can call to find a missing cat.
So now...I do not know if I should GO ahead and do this or just leave it and have a guilty conscience in a way, I do, and in a way I don't...you know what if someone is crying themselves to sleep every night because they are mising a cat? Or who knows...maybe he was not wanted where ever he was...what if he escaped a move or something? What if her was not treated very good where he came from? And what if say I did find his home and they let me keep him anyway??? What if I THINK HE IS MINE ANYWAY AND GO AHEAD TO DO THE SEARCH...I guess I am scared to and that is SELFISH of me.

SO NOW TIGGER HAS WORMS - last night I realized this and he has had it for sure a couple days OR MORE, for all I know shortly after I got him. I cannot get him into the VET til tomorrow. I looked for DE WORMER in the store and they said IT IS NO LONGER SOLD IN ANY STORE! Does anyone have ANY IDEAS? I also cannot really afford to take him to the vet - and that is the TRUTH, I know no one can ever afford that but I got myself in a REAL finaicial BIND hereand I do not even know what I AM GONNA DO never mind Tigger!
I have had a real rough go here but I am determined to make it through and find ways some how some way and things always seem to work out Eventually SOMEHOW.
Thanks for reading this and anyone who replies - THANK YOU and I look forward to reading later! In the mean time I am going to see what I can come up with. Problem solve and so on
This PIC is taken the Day I brought him home when he was Still VERY SCARED AND SEEMED WILD!
 

hissy

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You rescue a cat you take full responsibility for the rescue. That includes doing everything your friend suggested to be sure that you find the owners. It was just Halloween, he could have been scared and run out of the home. His owners could be frantic missing him.

TAKE HIM TO THE VET. I. People say that can't afford vets all the time on here, and my question is always why do you pick up a stray cat if you have no money to care for him? What about quality food? Making sure he is vaccinated? Using over the counter products is risky at best and over the counter wormers are being pulled slowly because they DO NOT work.

Take him to the vet, it is possible he is micro-chipped. I know all my cats are. If he were mine, I would be heartsick at him missing.

I have one that has been gone since Halloween. Cleo is ten years old, never been inside but a few times in his life. I worry something has happened to him. I am doubtful that anyone picked him up, because he is full-on feral. But if they did, then more power to them, but I would want to know.

Rescue entails more than just picking up a cat on the street. If you can't provide for all his needs, then don't rescue. Because perhaps the next cat lover who sees him, will be able to feed and vet him.
 

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Tigger is certainly a beautiful cat!! And I can easily see how attached to him that you are! You could try calling the vet & explain the situation, and see if you could make payments or work at the vet hospital to pay Tigger's vet bill. You should post "found pet" ads on the radio & in the paper - in our area, "found" ads are free. You could also check with your local rescue groups & see if they have a fund to help you out with expenses & or at least place Tigger in a safe foster home. I think that you did the right thing by rescuing Tigger from the park - a very unsafe area for a cat, as dogs tend to frequent parks, as well as mischeivous adolescents with nothing to do but mischief (I cringe to think if Tigger had fallen into the wrong hands). And check the "missing pet" ads, including those on Petfinders - if his owners are looking for him, they'll be looking hard, too & hopefully you can either reunite Tigger with his family or at least rest easy with a clean conscience. Please keep us posted!
 

kim's kitties

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Call a local vet, tell them your situation and see if they will sell you one Drontal tablet (a very good de-wormer). Usually these pills sell for about $4.00 each. You will have to scruff him by the back of his neck and push the pill down his throat. You might see if a vet tech could help you with that, if you don't think you can do it. Good luck!
 

kathylou

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Yes, found ads are free here also.

My vet would want to know what kind of worms they are: tapeworms, roundworms, something else?

If you think the owner might not deserve the cat back, could you run the ad in some way that you can stay anonymous to callers, and maybe ask for proof the cat is theirs? Like if they have papers from the vet or something?

You do now have a responsibility to the cat to make sure it gets what it needs.
 

beckiboo

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Most cats that are found are homeless. It is amazing how people just will dump their animals, or move away and abandon them. However, unless you make reasonable attempts to reunite him with a possible owner, you are possibly being incredibly cruel.

At least list him in the wanted ads of the newspaper, and call the shelters. Then you can decide to keep him with a clear concience. Keep the listing rather vague, as you may get some weird calls, and you want them to be able to identify the cat.

If I found out someone took my missing pet in and never even tried to notify me I would be extremely angry. To many, our pets are intimate parts of the family, and the amount of worry over one who is missing is incredible. You must find out which camp your kitty is from-missing or abandoned, before you chose to keep him.
 

consumerkitty

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I think you should do everything in your power to find his home and family. His guardians are probably worried sick and crying. I'll bet Tigger misses them, too. Especially since you can't provide him with the medical care he needs, you should make a strong effort to find his true home. Let your conscience be your guide.
 

maverick_kitten

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there are pleanty of homeless cats you can rescue if Tigger does indeed have a home.

here at least most of the main rescue centres and vets are in touch and have a data base of missing pets. when i rang my rspca and local rescue i was given a list of cats that had been found in my area matching my missing cats description. i then waited five minutes for them to call me bvack to confirm none were mine. they also had a list of cats that the road sweepers had picked up from the road


its not up to you to decide whether or not Tiggers owners deserve him until you atleast know who they are. ring the local vets and ask if you can put up a found poster and ask them what else they reccomend you do.

that way atleast if no-one comes forward you can congratulate yourself on helping Tigger and not feel so guilty.
 
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me & tigger

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Okay now that I found this POST that I posted...I got lost in here and could not find it!
So Tigger went to the Vet and the WORMS are all gone. He got his SHOTS and now he needs to be FIXED! That is going to cost DOUBLE the Money, Tigger only had one of his balls drop. So that is what happened at the Vet. He will go back to the Vet with in the next month or so.


Now The Vet told me that TIGGER was a THROW AWAY. What is that? And how could someone just throw away a poor young Cat?
That is SICK AND TWISTED.
Also I posted a poster of him and was Procrastinating on calling everywhere to find his home, I also wondered if I ever would find out where he came from, and what happened that he was WAY down at the RIVER??? SO Now I know - SOMEONE THREW HIM AWAY. The vet figured they did this because he needed to much work done on him.


So Tigger is NOW mine for good and I am happy about that - I JUST KNEW IT!
I am also relieved knowing and having him as mine. I still wonder who did this to him and just shows me that there are so many SICK people out in the world and I am glad that I am NOT one of them!


I am not used of having a young cat. And a "Wild/Street Cat" - well he is not wild BUT he had to learn HOW TO SURVIVE OUT THERE in the wild and street on his own for how long...and now he is here with me. He seems tamed down and well he was not really wild, SCARED. It has been 3 weeks and I am kinda frustrated cuz he sleeps ALOT. And I do not know what kinda food to give him. Seems when I even give him a small amount of Canned cat food he has diarreah!
I did not even want to start him on CANNED FOOD. I got him some fairly good dry food - not TOP OF THE LINE and not GARBAGE. I refuse to feed my cat GARBAGE. It does not seem like he eats alot. And I have seen him at the Dog Dishes eating a small bit. Like one or two balls of the dog food. I have noticed he
HUMAN FOOD - from Milk, to Cheese to ketchup chips, to chocolate, to veggies, meat YOU NAME IT - I do not feed him that at all. He goes to the sink and just when I am doing dishes, he licks plates off and well I did hold some food to him, to see what he would do and sure enough - he went for it. Yah so the FOOD THING...I am confused. And not sure. I also put a owl of VERY GOOD STUFF and some of the MID GRADE stuff to see what he likes and what he prefers. I dunno - the MID GRADE I guess. But the other stuff is supposed to last a long time and that's maybe whay there is not alot gone from htat bowl?!??!?!?! Okay I will stop about the FOOD THING and go to the next issue...


Okay so Tigger...well I thought he would be UP and AROUND and not sleeping so much...like all day ( i know that's normal ) and losts through the early evening and he is STILL sleeping at it iis after midnight! I wake him up and try to play with him and keep him up MORE than he is sleeping. I am not sure what else I can do...


He will not play much at all BY HIMSELF, it is like he does not "GET IT", he does not get HOW TO PLAY with the toys I got him and I do play wiht him. I got him more toys today. Ping Pong type balls and some mice that look real and other small SIMPLE things like that - it's like he has NO INTEREST in them at all.

CAT NIP - Well at first he went nutso over this and now it's like he doesn't care either. I also got him some all NATURAL LIQUID spray cat nip - he does not like that.

ANCHOVY TREATS - these are small, GROSS, stinky fishes and he has no interest in them either.

So I am frustrated and confused about what he might like to PLAY with and WHEN HE WILL START!

He loves other cat treats. I got him some regualr and popular brand.

HIS BEHAVIOR - well this is strange cuz he seems COMFORTABLE ANYWHERE, laying when he is tired and relaxed, it is CUTE. HE LOVES BEING UNDER THE BED and he was under it all the time. So what I did was make it IMPOSSIBLE for him to get under the bed - I took the bed off the legs! I had to - He rarely came out. He sleeps in the closet - I cleared a couple shelves for him - one is above my waist and another is on the floor and there is of course blanket for him to lay on.
HE is staring to go behind the toilet and stays there laying and falls asleep sometimes. What is wrong wiht him? I do not understand this and some of how he is?

ALSO it seems like he is kinda "SLOW" in the head - he is not stupid. But some of his behaviors and things he does - I WONDER what's up with him???

He seems scared of some things which is normal.

I sometimes have a hard time LEAVING him ALONE - I just want to LOVE HIM ALL UP AND CUDDLE WITH HIM and all that. HE LIKES HIS SPACE and one night I would not let him go RIGHT AWAY and he scratched me and knocked my glasses of my face - LOL! He never got that mad at me before.

I dunno there are other things about him that I could go on about and I will later...this is some for now...does anyone know anything or what I can do or should do or not do? Is this normal? is there something wrong with him? I know he is glad to be rescued and have a home now, but...I dunno...I don't know what happened to him out there or with WHOEVER had him before and WHAT THEY MAY HAVE DONE TO HIM????????
Is he still settling in? Is this part of GROWING UP?

He does not clean himself enough and seems sometimes clumsey and careless about himself. Like he does not care if he gets wet. I was doing dishes and I fed him right beside me there SO THE DOGS WOULD LEAVE HIM ALONE and his tail was in the dish water and HE DID NOT CARE - LOL! He also walks into the shower with me and he did not mind when I showered his BUTT down - he Stunk for soem reason, maybe he did not clean himself enough or yet? I dunno - I never noticed that before. And MY nose is very SENSITIVE - also his pee REALLY smells - not a typical cat in the litter box smell either. Maybe it is me I dunno here.
Maybe there is soemthing else wrong wiht him that I do not know about...

Okay this turned out to be A LONG POST AND I THINK I WILL END THIS FOR NOW.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR THE MESSAGES ABOVE AND THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND READING AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SOME FEEDBACK and whatnot.

He is a good little kitty - maybe it is me and well I am used of a cat who is GROWN UP already. I have taken cats that are already grown up and it has been a long while for me.
 

wellingtoncats

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Good to hear he is going to get fixed soon. I had a boy with only one testicle dropped desexedrecently and luckily the vet didn't charge any extra for the internal surgery.
 

jennyr

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Look at things from his point of view and calm down. He is scared - he may have had bad experiences all his life and he does not know where he now is. Even three weeks is a short time for a cat like him to be confident. You say he is 'glad to have a home'. Cats don't think like that - all he knows is he is somewhere new, he can't get out and doesn't know what will happen next. He may also be feeling ill from the worms and possibly other problems that have not shown themselves yet. His insticnct says 'hide and watch'. Do not expect him to be immediately grateful to you and to love you - he does not realise you are his saviour. Let him find you in his own way and hios own time and not see you as a predator demanding things of him. Sit near him if he goes under things, talk to him, do not look at hime or keep picking him up all the time, just let him be. Some cats like this take a long time to come round, some only a week or two. But the longer he feels you are chasing him the longer it will take. Good luck.
 

jcat

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I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but a few things about your posts disturb me. Cats do accidentally get out, and their guardians frantically try to find them. Thus, if a "stray" ends up at your doorstep or in your possession, you should do everything in your power to find the cat's rightful owner. The cat may not be wearing a collar, or be tattooed or microchipped, but just accepting your vet's assumption that this is a "throw-away cat" is taking the easy way out. I also believe that you're "pushing" Tigger too much. He's scared, and wants to hide until he can evaluate his present situation. If that means he hides underneath the bed, you're probably putting him under too much stress by eliminating that option. You've posted a photo of him hiding behind a toilet, right next to a cleaning agent and cloth - they shouldn't be accessible to cats. Please put the cat's needs before your own, and do what is best for him, not you.
 

hissy

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What Trish says, I concur, You are expecting this cat to perform like some robot, or circus animal. "here is a mouse now PLAY!" If he is a street cat he doesn't know toys, catnip, or anything like that. Don't get frustrated with him- he is simply not interested.

If he is indeed a throwaway He has had to survive by his wits on the street. That means eating GARBAGE not dry cat food, but pieces of whatever he can find edible on the street or in dumpsters. So your cat eats this right at first- human food? What is the harm? You are going to starve him to get him to eat what you want him to eat? Sorry, but that is just wrong. You want this cat to eat- if he doesn't eat enough, he will get really sick.

Let me give you an example. I rescue older cats off the street all the time. Recently, I received 4 beautiful 7 month old kittens that were found in an abandoned campground. I brought them home after vetting them and getting them spayed and neutered. I gave them dry food (nope wouldn't touch it) wet food (nope) baby food (nope) special food from the vet (canned) (nope) wouldn't eat it, wouldn't drink water out of a bowl either.

So rather than demanding they eat what is convienent for me to give them, I analyzed the situation- they lived in an abandoned campground- so I ran out and got hot dogs, hamburger, cheese and milk. I started feeding them what they were used to and they ate! And I rejoiced, because not eating causes such extreme health issues (and if you don't have money for a vet now, what are you going to do when the cat gets feline hepatic lipidosis or something else)?

I can understand you LOVE this cat- but did the vet even scan for a micro-chip? Cats run away it happens, the fact that he isn't neutered could have been why he ran from his home.
 
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me & tigger

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Hello and Thanks for the responses,

I want to say that This cat was found down at the river, not up in the streets and he did not come to the door or around the alley or anything like that. He knew cat food when he was given it - it was me thinking he did not like the dry GOOD STUFF as much and he does not. He has many choices and I have been watching what he picks. I have 3 bowls out for him right now. I have got him approx 10-15 different kinds of DRY BRAND NAME Foods, so I have been eliminating one or two at a time.
He will eat anything that is wet or from a can and he loves the Cat Milk I give him.
Next, I did search to see if he belonged to anyone in the closet areas to the river - no go, I posted a couple posters, no go. The Vet here works with Street Rescue and that is what he said and that is what he thought, so given with what I have and the circumstances granted - I am agreeing with the Vet, someone threw him away. The Vet asked me if I was keeping him and when we went to pay for his Visit to the Vet I was surprised to hear the Vet say he was not charging for his first visit to the him and He was very happy to hear that I was not going to throw him back away!

The SPCA was an option and actually the one of the first things I was going to do OTHER than look for his OWNERS. I will take care of him and love him - If I could not do this or was incapable of doing so - I would not be so Sick and SELFISH and keep him - That is just wrong. This is really what I belive was to happen - and just the way it seems to be - We are meant to be together and I will take care of him and love him and Never leave him or abandon him or leave him in not so good hands EVER. I told him that when I found him. "I am here to help you and I am a safe person". I also told him that I would not leave him and help him get to his home if he had one and I did ask, him, others, people I know in the Ferral and Stray Housing...etc.. and their input as well. I got it and I did it and this is the way it was to be, meant to be. And this again is not out of selfishenss on my part.

Also as far as his behaviors - again - it is me, because I am not used of a smaller or youger cat at all, nor a "throw away" and I am also not familiar enough with cats and their behaviors at this age, or under these circumstances.
He seems to be A Okay and comfortable. He has places he can go hide if he wants to and if he wants to come out he does. As far as the Windex in the picture - that is when he first came in this house. Anything that can harm him is put away!

I do not think I am expecting him to be or operate like a robot. If it seemed that way, it is not that way at all. There were many things at once that were going on in my mind about him and other things when i typed that post. I am far from the purrfect parent, and I do not have all the knowledge of cats and animals, that is why I am here and I am Always open to learning and trying things out, and changing things I can. That is all I can do - and that's my 110percent in all I do and all I can. If I do not know I ask. If I still do not know - I don't - When in doubt - DON'T. And if the squirrel between my ears is running - I vent and get it out however I need as long as it does not harm me or anyone else in anyway.

Tigger now - well he just finished eating, by himself. He plays with the toys I got him and some he does not play with yet and may never - I do not know and it does not matter. He comes out to get me to feed him or if he wants something else - like my food - I give him a little bit. He rests and sleeps and when he's awake he plays and loves the attention. I give him some but I certainly do not smoother him and when he wants to go - he goes.

There very may well be other things wrong with him and I will deal with that when the time comes.

He and the dogs - they get along okay as long as they stay out of one anouther's space and every now and then they will lay on the same bed or the couch and beside eachother. The dogs are a bit jealous, well one is anyway. But for the most part - it's all good, seems so and appears this way - no current problems, at least in my eyes.

When I was in The Pet Store I was SO OVERWHELMED at eh size of the store and everything in it and I left there feeling Confused and hoping Tigger liked what I just bought him and also wondered what he would like that I don;t know about. I coulda brought him to the store with me BUT I did not think that would be such a good idea! When I posted this firsdt post in this thread - I had just been to this store for the first time for MYSELF and TIGGER. And what a trip that was - I was so amazed at all the things a person can buy their pets and there I was looking for Tigger. Today I just took his "KITTY CONDO" back cuz it was too small and he did not seem to care much for it. So I will buy him another one later, and look for a bigger one when I go - but I am going to look around at other stores.

Anyway, THANKS for reading and I am open to ideas and feedback if there is any.
 

kluchetta

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My former feral LOVES boxes and big birthday present bags and little furry mice to play with. I'm pretty wary of buying cats toys. It's just so hard to know what they'll like. It took her a while to actually become playful. (But then she was pregnant when I took her in and all.)
 

slave2_ragdolls

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You sound like you are spoiling him rotten
Please don't give him people food as some of it is poisonous to him especially if the food has onions or garlic in it. Good luck with your new "fur son" and keep everyone posted here
 
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me & tigger

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Originally Posted by TNR1

Good luck finding a new home for this cat.

Katie
I am keeping him - this is his new home! And he is way more relaxed and that's good so far.

Today he was up more Today and playful. He meows to be played and petted and of course fed something other than the dry cat food in his bowl - like the catr milk or some Yummy canned stuff!
 
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