I want it to be my friend!!

Hey guys I have read through every post (almost) but I wanted my own . Anywho I a kitten came to my house and it looks exactly like my cat that died in 2004. Anyway as a cat lover I rushed to the store to get some food and it is eating happily. It wont let me close though and I am so sad about it. I am moving to my own place in less than 10 days and IM hoping it will come around so it can be my new pet. I know its freightened but I want it to like me...soon. (I know give it time). I dont know how I am going to trap it. Im just as scared as trapping as it would being trapped. And it raining out now and at least it can hide under my car. Ah well...how will I make it come around fast so we can go to the vet!? Here is a pic (might be little though)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1/d0bdaaf7.jpg

Originally Posted by LoveKG

Hey guys I have read through every post (almost) but I wanted my own

. Anywho I a kitten came to my house and it looks exactly like my cat that died in 2004. Anyway as a cat lover I rushed to the store to get some food and it is eating happily. It wont let me close though and I am so sad about it. I am moving to my own place in less than 10 days and IM hoping it will come around so it can be my new pet. I know its freightened but I want it to like me...soon. (I know give it time). I dont know how I am going to trap it. Im just as scared as trapping as it would being trapped. And it raining out now and at least it can hide under my car. Ah well...how will I make it come around fast so we can go to the vet!? Here is a pic (might be little though)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1/d0bdaaf7.jpg

Click to expand...

Are you sure it isn't owned???

Katie

Nah I dont think so. I was sitting on our porch looking sad and hungry. I hasn't left since I started feeding it. Here's another pic:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1/55cd86c2.jpg

Awwww - I love grey and white kittes! (Well - I love all kitties. But I've got a soft spot for that soft grey with white - and for black & white kitties).

Also - on that link you posted. If you put at the end, the picture itself will turn up in the thread.

Are you sure kitty isn't owned by someone? You may want to call around to local shelters/vets and consider putting up a poster of kitty around the neighborhood, just to make sure.

Quick question - do you have other cats you will be taking with you when you move?

If not, the best thing to do is start putting the food you're feeding kitty into a crate (if you've got one - the bigger the better). Let him/her get used to going inside of something to eat.

Find a have-a-hart trap you can borrow. Is there someone who can feed the cat as you were while you move and get settled in? Because the best time to trap the cat to bring him/her home with you is once you've unpacked and are settled in your new place.

Cats are territorial and any territory move is very stressful. As you're moving in the very near future, I really, really, really would not recommend trapping kitty until you're moved and settled. The move would just further stress out kitty and probably undo any socialization progress made.

Kitty can be socialized inside instead of outside, but it will take time and patience on your part. The older kitty is, the longer socialization will take. If kitty was feral, add more time. If he's stray that's reverted to feral ways - you never know. Either humans were good and he got separated from them somehow - or he was abused, and humans are bad. Or a combo.

Once you're ready to trap kitty, here is a really useful link: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=11403

You can also use a box to camoflage the trap.
You can also use kitty litter instead of newspaper - pour it over the bottom of the trap until the wires are just covered. But either of these work only when it's not raining.

Cover the back seat of your car with a large plastic tarp and towels or blankets you're willing to have ruined (of course they can be washed, but just in case...). Kitty will be TERRIFIED, and will like pee or poop (or both). Have a light blanket you can throw over the top of the crate. Make sure you leave one end open for air movement - some cats also get car sick.

Kitty should go directly to the vet. He needs to be examined, probably de-wormed (medication the vet will provide), potentially de-ticked and de-flead, should be vaccinated - and if old enough (anything older than 7 weeks), really should be spayed or neutered.

When kitty is ready to come home (if spayed, may need to spend the night at the vets), you should have your new place ready.

Kitty should be confined to one room at first - the sanctuary room. Any room in the houes - but a small room is better, and one that is relatively quiet is better. There should be at least enough room for kitty's sleeping/hidey box, and for litter pan to be placed somewhere else, and for food and water to be not near the litter box. (A small bathroom really doesn't work well). Kitty should have places (you intentionally create) to hide, and the room should be cat-proofed. Especially as to hiding, cords, cords hanging from things like blinds, and plants. Many plants are toxic to cats but they'll chew on them anyway.

Make sure it has a nite light for night, and can be not totally light during the day. A radio tuned to a classical music station can help. Also, spraying Feliway (or getting the plug-in diffuser) can help.

Kitty may need to learn to use the litter pan. Best thing is to purchase potting soil THAT HAS NO ADDITIVES (like fertilizer - perlite or vermiculite is OK - better without it, but definitely no chemicals). Sprinkle a thin layer over the top of the kitty litter. This will help kitty make the adjustment.

Take a t-shirt or something, get it really sweated up, and put it under kitty's food dish. If you've got more t-shirts you can spare, you can put one in kitty's hidey box. You can also leave treats out for kitty on one. All of this helps kitty come to associate your smell with good things.

Get some toys for kitty. Our ferals always liked the small furry mice that rattle (small beans or peas or something inside of them) the best. All of them. We just discovered a new toy - kitty coils. They're long pieces of coiled plastic. Our cats have gone NUTS for them - they keep rolling when they bat them around, so they make moving targets.

Don't expect kitty to know what play is or what toys are. You may find that he starts to play with them when you're not around. An interactive wand toy will help, but introduce that later, when kitty is more comfortable in the new environment and with you.

The most important thing is to just spend time in the room with kitty doing something that has nothing to do with kitty - unless you're just reading out loud. Kitty doesn't know it's directed at him, it just helps him get used to you. It's really hard to ignore him or her - but it's really important that you do so - a lot. Patience is the key ingredient to successful socializing, and trust is the goal.

Links that may help you:

http://www.pets911.com/organizations/organizations.php Type in your zipcode, and a list should come up. Call around to find a trap to borrow, to ask about low-cost spay/neuter services, &etc.

When you're calling local vets to see if anyone's lost a kitty, you can also ask if they've got a trap you can borrow.

You can also use the links in my signature line to help find lots of other rescue-related resources (including articles on socializing, info about ferals, more links to low-cost spay neuter services, etc.)

Keep us posted!



Laurie

And the eyes: dont look directly at the kitty - staring is hostile in kittis world. Look a little aside or only shorts seconds. But if you do look - blink slowly or look with half closed eyes.

(Homecats look sometimes loong in humans eyes and viceversa - but they ARE homecats and know this is the way people behave... )

You may also try to yawn some - as friendly cats do.

Well guys after so many weeks...and the cat stayed with my neighbor for a while, I finally got the kitty. Now on to the vet for vaccinations. The vet said they don't spay/neuter until that kittens are around 6 months. Does that sound right? I read somewhere 2 months.

Many vets use the six month rule. Our vet goes by when they first lose their baby teeth (usually around four months). However, it is safe and just as healthy for cats to be spayed as early as seven weeks old.

How is your kitty doing now that he's living with you? Update please!

Darling pics of him....he was sooo tiny when he found you!

Well kitty - his name is Brady is living inside as of Thursday. Friday we went to the vet and he is negative for Feline Leukemia. We did some vaccinations, but he is unable to get his rabies shot until two weeks from today. He did have roundwarms, and they dewormed him. I got him some frontline and no more fleas now. They said he seems okay. They want to wait awhile for him to neutered...just a few more weeks. And, he let me pick him up and take him places around the home to lay down. He is very quiet and doesn't move around much, but the vet said its normal because he had fleas and worms so hopefully soon he will start playing. I will update pictures soon. I might go take some right now!

Well Brady Bunches lets me hold him on my lap all the time and he is purring more and more. He is a lap kitty. The problem, he just wants to lay down. He doesn't play or anything. He doesn't meow. He just walks around a little bit, eats a LOT, and uses the box and lays down. I have had a cat before and I understand they sleep all the time, but geez, he is a kitten. A little activity?

Is he still getting used to his surroundings? I guess I should be more patient?

I'm not sure how old Brady is, but my kittens definitely had a period (I think when they were about 10 - 14 weeks old) where all they wanted to do was sleep on my lap. I'd have 2 or 3 kittens lying on my lap constantly. Then they got a bit older and started being crazy!

When I rescued Pepper out of a busy intersection, all she wanted to do was sleep after her vet visit. It was like she was so relieved that she was safe and could sleep without being afraid. She was about 5-6 weeks old, and very tiny.

I think he just needs to rest and start to feel at home. I think kitties go through growth spurts as well and when they are in one they tend to sleep. At least that is how it seems with mine. They will run around like a herd of elephants for two weeks straight and then take several off days were they eat and sleep with some lazy playing and then boom they are back to being the freaks I know and love.

Apart from all the other excellent answers - bear in mind that he doesn't know what play is! Also, his mom probably taught him to be quiet. Most ferals don't talk, especially if they were born feral. It's part of their survival training by mom. Ours didn't talk at all - until we rescued a talker. Now they ALL let us know - verbally - when they want pets or dinner or some kind of attention. I personally preferred it when they didn't talk, lol!

As to the play - I'm sure he will with time. Do you have any wand toys? Those with a feather on the end are great. Also, we made our own. A dowl rod and one of those thick, kind of square long leather boot laces are great. We use duct tape to tape the leather string to the stick (dowl rod). And then we tie a knot at the end of the leather. Or tie one of those small mice (our ferals like the kind that kind of rattle when you shake them INFINITELY better than the little furry mice that don't make any kind of noise) around the middle. Then make it wiggle slowly away......

Just make sure you put any kind of toy with a string of any kind on it away so that kitty doesn't have access to it.

Hey guys good news!
1. We discovered playtime! He mostly plays with my rollers. I bought him a toy to. A kind of swat at the furry ball. And he is currently playing with my arms

2. Brady is now vocal and is such a lap kitty. He even lays on us and we can take naps together.

3. He got neutered today and his second round of shots. The vet tech made it seem like he was going to be just depressed today and even talked me into spending 20 extra dollars on some pain meds...but he's fine, running around as usual. (Male cats don't usually need meds? Some one let me know)

4. Fresh Step Litter with Carbon is wonderful for both me and Brady.

5. Pictures! (I hope they work!) Well I have one inserted. The others are large and I can't decided how to make them any smaller in this post. Ah well!

Oh, he's so cute! Such long legs...he'll be tall! Yes, neutering is pretty easy on males. (hear that, guys, LOL?)

What a handsome boy. I'm so glad you two are getting close. This must be wonderful for him to have a forever home with a loving human.

To post pics and make them smaller go to www.imageshack.us. Upload your file, check "resize image", choose 640 x 480 and click "host it!". After that, copy the url for forum(doesn't matter which one) and paste it in your reply message.