hi
i am meeting a cat this week, whose elderly owner had to go into a nursing facility
he is 6 yrs old and is described as friendly and playful.
he has a "brother" and "sister" but i already have two cats and can't take all three, sad to see them split up but apparently one of them wouldnt' mind anyway (the female is a loner)
i do not want to adopt a cat with existing health issues, i've just gone thru that twice in a row and couldn't handle the heartache nor the expense right now.
i am not sure how to tell by looking at a cat if he's got any issues. well i know he should have bright eyes, a good coat, and no runny nose etc.
but those are all pretty obvious. i will check his teeth, as a cat with bad teeth will need a dental asap, and may have trouble with other infections, esp UTIs if the teeth are infected (i got a kidney infection once that was traced back to an absessed tooth)
i am concerned also about litter box habits
this boy is neutered but i dont know how old he was when that was done, some cats who have learned to spray already dont give it up when they are neutered.
i cant have that here in an apt.
the vet records will be made available to me, and i will call his old vet to be sure nothing has been diagnosed that i'm not told about.
now the person who has him now, the daughter of the owner, has several dogs and two cats of her own-
so right now she's got 5 cats in her house.
when you come into my house, there is NO cat odor at all.
but with five cats i wouldnt expect this home to be as clean or totally odor free
but if i go in there and there is a strong smell of cat urine, should i just turn around and leave?
how would i which cat might have the problem? or if they all do?
just basically i need to know what to look for.
i'm hoping that the ppl who have him now will be honest but you never know
esp when someone really wants to find a new home for a cat.
they (the owners siblings, i've spoken with the son, who is in charge of his moms affairs) have already tried shelters (no kill) and were turned away
so they could be a bit desperate. they said they will not put the cats to sleep, whew, but still they may be less than honest about any problems he may have
oh! one really good thing, they have agreed that i can take him on a trial basis, and that if all the cats dont get along, i can return him to them.
should i get that in writing?
i would give this cat at least a month to adapt to a new home but if he and my guys dont get along (i mean if there are physical fights not just the usual hiss here and there) then he will have to go back
i've already let them know that the introduction will be slow and told them why
i just want this to work out all around.
any advice or suggestion welcome
i am meeting a cat this week, whose elderly owner had to go into a nursing facility
he is 6 yrs old and is described as friendly and playful.
he has a "brother" and "sister" but i already have two cats and can't take all three, sad to see them split up but apparently one of them wouldnt' mind anyway (the female is a loner)
i do not want to adopt a cat with existing health issues, i've just gone thru that twice in a row and couldn't handle the heartache nor the expense right now.
i am not sure how to tell by looking at a cat if he's got any issues. well i know he should have bright eyes, a good coat, and no runny nose etc.
but those are all pretty obvious. i will check his teeth, as a cat with bad teeth will need a dental asap, and may have trouble with other infections, esp UTIs if the teeth are infected (i got a kidney infection once that was traced back to an absessed tooth)
i am concerned also about litter box habits
this boy is neutered but i dont know how old he was when that was done, some cats who have learned to spray already dont give it up when they are neutered.
i cant have that here in an apt.
the vet records will be made available to me, and i will call his old vet to be sure nothing has been diagnosed that i'm not told about.
now the person who has him now, the daughter of the owner, has several dogs and two cats of her own-
so right now she's got 5 cats in her house.
when you come into my house, there is NO cat odor at all.
but with five cats i wouldnt expect this home to be as clean or totally odor free
but if i go in there and there is a strong smell of cat urine, should i just turn around and leave?
how would i which cat might have the problem? or if they all do?
just basically i need to know what to look for.
i'm hoping that the ppl who have him now will be honest but you never know
esp when someone really wants to find a new home for a cat.
they (the owners siblings, i've spoken with the son, who is in charge of his moms affairs) have already tried shelters (no kill) and were turned away
so they could be a bit desperate. they said they will not put the cats to sleep, whew, but still they may be less than honest about any problems he may have
oh! one really good thing, they have agreed that i can take him on a trial basis, and that if all the cats dont get along, i can return him to them.
should i get that in writing?
i would give this cat at least a month to adapt to a new home but if he and my guys dont get along (i mean if there are physical fights not just the usual hiss here and there) then he will have to go back
i've already let them know that the introduction will be slow and told them why
i just want this to work out all around.
any advice or suggestion welcome