Found very skinny young cat in the rain!

[elizwithcat]

Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

When I take him to the vets, I will have them scan him for a microchip as I think this is basic cat care these days, especially with an outside cat or with a cat who shows signs that he might escape..At the very least, you would think a collar would be wise, a tattoo, anything...But if he has a chip, I will go to the owner's house and decide from there.

I am not going to put up signs, but rather I will look for signs myself.
I have decided that if this cat is truly loved, then the owners would put up posters all over the neighbourhood, as I would do in their case.

Its not my responsibility so much to find them, but if they find me, then I feel this is fair and shows evidence that they are caring owners and deserve a chance at having him back..

As for now, "He" is up from his nap and scarfing down his dinner...

I have never seen a cat nap that long..>He must have been exhausted.

Cheers

Sounds like a plan. Your BF already put in an effort to find his owners with no lack. If the owners were looking for him, they would have put out signs, etc. And of course if he is microchipped, then you would know where and who the owners are, but I very much doubt that he is.
I recently found a nice himalyan kitty- a seal point. I did go around and knocked on doors but that kitty was obviously not stray and looked very well cared for. I did find the owners who apprently didn't even realize he was missing so he must have just escaped. Pets aren't supposed to be outside un-attended around here.

 

[beckiboo]

I found Festus' mommy with 2 collars on. I was sure she belonged to someone, and listed her in the paper for several weeks. I also called the shelters to have them call me if someone reported her missing.

I did not list the colors of the collars, because I didn't want someone who wasn't the owner getting her.

I got several bizarre calls. One lady was gushing, and practically in tears, but it just sounded false to me. When I asked her the color of the collar, she said a different color than Miss Kitty was wearing.

Point is, maybe he is just a dumped kitty, it does happen. But if you list him in the paper (which is free), you have some control over when or if someone calls. Be vague in how you list him. If someone calls who can identify him, you can ask questions about how their cat was lost. If it sounds negligent or false, just say-nope, this isn't that cat!

Within a few weeks, you will have full peace of mind that this cat is totally yours. I know several people who "save" any cat they find outside. To me, sometimes they are stealing someone's cat. Your situation is totally different, because your kitten has been on his own for a while. But I could never keep a cat I found without ensuring I tried to find the owner.

Good luck with this, you have to follow your heart. But if he belongs to someone else it is better to find out now, and sort it out, than to meet them at the vet in 3 months, and have a fight on your hands! LOL!

 

[jennyr]

I agree totally with what Beckiboo has said.

 

[loveysmummy]

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

I found Festus' mommy with 2 collars on. I was sure she belonged to someone, and listed her in the paper for several weeks. I also called the shelters to have them call me if someone reported her missing.

I did not list the colors of the collars, because I didn't want someone who wasn't the owner getting her.

I got several bizarre calls. One lady was gushing, and practically in tears, but it just sounded false to me. When I asked her the color of the collar, she said a different color than Miss Kitty was wearing.

Point is, maybe he is just a dumped kitty, it does happen. But if you list him in the paper (which is free), you have some control over when or if someone calls. Be vague in how you list him. If someone calls who can identify him, you can ask questions about how their cat was lost. If it sounds negligent or false, just say-nope, this isn't that cat!

Within a few weeks, you will have full peace of mind that this cat is totally yours. I know several people who "save" any cat they find outside. To me, sometimes they are stealing someone's cat. Your situation is totally different, because your kitten has been on his own for a while. But I could never keep a cat I found without ensuring I tried to find the owner.

Good luck with this, you have to follow your heart. But if he belongs to someone else it is better to find out now, and sort it out, than to meet them at the vet in 3 months, and have a fight on your hands! LOL!

I understand your perspective and will look into the newspaper thing..
I didn't know it was free..Will see if it is here, though that makes sense.

I think with any "possession", the law is 30 days and its yours or something to that effect? I wonder if it applies to cats as well?

I wouldn't know how to list him vaguely. I guess I could ask what colour feet he has or something to that effect when people call.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[nano]

Loveymommy, I'm glad to hear you are going to make at least a reasonable search for previous owners. In my area, the newspapers allows anyone to list a "found" listing for free. With Nano, I listed her as a tri-color adult female who is in poor health and appears to have been homeless for some time. I gave the general neighborhood where she had been found and said she had a fairly unusual coloring above her right back leg that I would ask to be identified. Then my phone number.

I only got one call -- someone who was looking for a specific cat (lost in correct neighborhood but wrong about colors) and clearly not up to any funny business, accepting a negative result without argument or histrionics. If a person had laid a reasonable claim, I would have asked to see a picture of them with the cat (or Nano clearly respond to them in person) and then requested re-imbursement for the vet bill. Confirmed it was legit, I would've reluctantly handed Nano over to her old owner and accepted that things had worked out for the best.

If you need any re-assurances, I read on the internet (sorry, no specific recollection about which site) that only 10% of lost pets are reunited with their owner. So...the odds are in your favor that no one will claim this cat.

As for rescue of stray animals I've seen a few different phases: sleeping, then lots of aggressive eating, then repairing and grooming themselves, then a natural curiosity about their new environment, then some testing of boundaries (to assert themselves or question you), then some development of trust, then some very playful behavior (as if reverting to childhood, becoming comfortable) and finally their lasting real personality becomes apparent. I've had Nano for six months, and it was only after three months that I began to see her real personality. This kitten won't take that long, but you might see some of these "phases" distinctly as he acclimates to your household.

Good luck!

 

[loveysmummy]

Thanks for the reassurance, Nano!
I will put an ad in for tomorrow's paper...
I do agree about these phases being a possibility. He is moving around either constantly checking out his environment..He lays down, gets up, moves to another location, etc..He seems very surprised about this regular food thing and didn't realize he was being fed until it was in front of him...and then was "OHOHOHOH! THis is happening AGAIN???? Goodie!".

Should I simply free feed him until he plumps up? I feed him three times a day for now.

Maybe I will ask this in the health and nutrition area.

But as for sleeping, WOW! His routine is late morning after some play, to go to the far corner under my bed and snooze forever...Its like he hasn't slept in weeks.

Cheers!

 

[nano]

Originally Posted by Loveysmummy

Should I simply free feed him until he plumps up? I feed him three times a day for now.

Maybe I will ask this in the health and nutrition area.

Sorry to turbopost in your thread, but...

I'd encourage you to start a separate topic about feeding a rescued cat. While I handled certain parts of Nano's recovery very well, I admit I sort of screwed up with her feeding and my planning left a lot to be desired. Nano is fairly big with a large frame and if she weighed 12 lbs she would be called "fit" and "lean". When I rescued her she was down to 5 lbs, but I fed her all the way up to 14 lbs and now she is slightly chubby with a noticeable spay droop. While I am familiar with pets in general, Nano was/is my first cat and I let her put on way too much weight way too quickly. Getting some help from posters who are strong in the area of nutritional advice would definitely be a good move.

 

[yosemite]

I think you should attempt to find the owner. Our own Bijou and Mika try to scamper out the door when we open it and if we had a visitor over it is very possible for them not to be aware and allow one of the cats to get out before we could stop them.

Cats will often hide and be quiet when they are outside. Even if the owner walked really close by them they may not reveal themselves. I know how terrible I would feel if we lost our cat and we are not bad owners.

One girl here lost her little grey kitten and has been trying to find it for weeks now. It ran out on her and she is heartbroken and has put up posters and walked and talked to people and still no kitty. I feel really bad for her and I don't believe she was a bad owner.

Make an effort to find the kitten's owner - if they were really neglecting him/her, it is quite possible they will not respond anyway.