- Joined
- Jun 17, 2014
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 1
My 8 year old daughter and I were out for a walk and a cat ran up to her. By the size of her I have to assume she is between 7 to 12 months. She still looks like a kitten but is bigger, just not full cat size. We were coming home from my daughters favorite place to eat and had a box of her favorite left over chicken wings. Since they were just plain baked wings, I figured they would be OK for the cat to have some. We ripped the chicken into tiny pieces and dropped a piece on the floor. I never saw anything eat so fast. The cat pounced on the chicken, took it away about 20 feet from us and devoured it. We were hysterical with the sounds the cat made scarfing the chicken down. The kitten was very timid and would only approach us when we threw another piece of chicken down and then run away again. The cat was skin and bones and had a very bad limp on its front right leg. My daughter begged me to help it and I unable to say no to my daughter. She is a total angel, unlike her twin brother who is going to be the death of me. I couldn't bare to see her upset about the kitten so I I told my daughter to stay with the kitten but do not try and pet it or pick it up and that she could continue to feed it the chicken but to do it slowly because obviously the cat hadn't eaten in a while and I know when a human eats after being denied food for a long time that too much food could cause more damage. I ran across the street to get some bottled water and kitten food that I planned to leave behind the dumpster where she appeared from. By the time I got back, less than 10 minutes, the kitten was rubbing against my daughters legs and purring. I left some kitten food and water in plastic bowls I purchased and told my daughter that we can come back and feed it every day and check on it since we only lived a block and half away. We walked away and the kitten started meowing but unlike any meow I ever heard. I figured the kitten had to be retarded or something to make such strange noises. As we got further away, she started limping after us and followed us all the way to our house.
I am going to be honest here and I'm sure piss a few people off but I have always hated cats. I don't like litter boxes. I don't like their smug attitudes. I don't like how they rip up furniture. There is nothing about them that I even liked a little. Not even all those stupid kitten viral videos. Unfortunately for me, I do have a heart. The sight of this poor skinny kitten, limping after my daughter made it impossible for me to not do something. I had an old travel cage in the basement for a small dog so I got that out, removed the front gate and put some old blankets in there and set it up under our deck. I went and got a cat bowl for food and water and got these drops you put on the back of its neck to protect against fleas, ticks and whatever else it does. She smelled around the cage, walked in, lay down and closed her eyes. My daughter asked if she could keep it. She lives an hour away with her mother but spends every weekend with me and during the summer she stays with me as much as she can since I am a web developer and can work from home a few days a week, especially during the summer. Since summer was right around the corner, I told her that I would allow her to continue to feed the kitten and that it was her job when she was here and that I would put food out when she wasn't but that the cat would not be allowed inside because I do not want to be responsible for a pet that requires so much work and that I was not fond of cats to begin with.
The next morning the kitten was gone. My daughter was upset but she understood the cat was wild and probably wasn't going to hang around as I explained to her the night before. Two nights later I was sitting on my back deck having a cigarette and some tea and the cat came right up to me and jumped on my lap. It was so affectionate. It kept trying to put its head under my hand to pet it which I reluctantly did. It was purring so loud like it had never had any type of kindness shown to her. Four hours later, I was still petting her and she couldn't get enough. I gave her some more food and water which she again scarfed down so fast, making all these hysterical sounds while doing so. I made a toy with some bird feather I had tied to a string and a stick and we played for another 2 hours. When I went to go inside, she started crying so I allowed her to come in. I sat on the couch to watch TV and she jumped up on my chest and just kept purring. She let me examine her entire body including her stomach. I was looking for fleas, bugs, whatever and found nothing. I also looked at her leg which was very swollen and had a bit of a cut on it. MY vet friend came over and cleaned up her wound and gave me stuff to apply to it but told me that the cat would clean it herself for the most part and not to worry about it too much. Her leg was fine after about a week or so.
Now, this hater of cats has a shadow. She follows me everywhere and constantly wants me to pet her. She is the sweetest thing. The first night we called her Voltron because I thought it was a boy. The next weekend my daughter renamed her Alisha or Alley Cat for short but she didn't really take to that name. She is now known as Ms. Meow because of her strange meow sounds and she loves it.
It's been about 4 weeks that she's been staying around here. She chooses to stay outside for the most part. My kids and I are always outside playing games, grilling, eating and swimming so she gets all the affection that she wants so much out there. If it's a cold night or rainy then she wants to come inside so she can hang out and be pet and played with. She will sometimes disappear for a day but always comes back. I didn't think to have her spayed because I never had a cat before and didn't think about it plus she really still is an outside wanderer. Although we care about her a great deal and we make sure she is taken care of, she doesn't exactly feel like a family pet.
Now here is my dilemma. I know she has put on a bunch of weight since she first showed up but lately it seems like it's all in her belly. Her nips have gotten quite big and pink and she is now protective of her belly where as when she first showed up she used to love to have her belly rubbed. She used to sit on me for hours and want to be pet and although she still craves the attention and affection she only stays on me for like 5-10 mins and then she goes to lay down by herself somewhere. The past two days I have noticed her sleeping a lot and breathing heavy. Do I have a pregnant cat? What else should I be looking for?
Now I know that I kind of took on this responsibility and now this cat looks to us for food and such but I am not really in the position to afford vet bills. I am not being cheap. I pay over 2 grand a month in child support on top of the bills everyone else has plus my kids are with me so much that it costs me just as much to take care of them here as I pay in child support if not more because they're here every weekend and weekends are expensive as are summer days. I also have to support my aging mother. I truly can not afford thousands of dollars in vet bills. My buddy's dog just needed surgery and it cost him 8 grand. I'm squeaking by as it is. What are my options here. Obviously I'm not a careless jerk or else I wouldn't be looking for ways to make this right. If it comes down to it then I will do what needs to be done. Ferrell and stray cats must give birth by themselves all the time so will this just take care of itself? If the cat isn't pregnant, is there any place I can take her to have her spayed that is free or pretty inexpensive and that will do a good job and not harm her?
I appreciate anyone who has taken time to read my very long and detailed story. I know I'm long winded. It's a character flaw always having the need to explain myself and the reasons of my actions so I apologize for that lol. Any advice I can be given is greatly appreciated.
RK
I am going to be honest here and I'm sure piss a few people off but I have always hated cats. I don't like litter boxes. I don't like their smug attitudes. I don't like how they rip up furniture. There is nothing about them that I even liked a little. Not even all those stupid kitten viral videos. Unfortunately for me, I do have a heart. The sight of this poor skinny kitten, limping after my daughter made it impossible for me to not do something. I had an old travel cage in the basement for a small dog so I got that out, removed the front gate and put some old blankets in there and set it up under our deck. I went and got a cat bowl for food and water and got these drops you put on the back of its neck to protect against fleas, ticks and whatever else it does. She smelled around the cage, walked in, lay down and closed her eyes. My daughter asked if she could keep it. She lives an hour away with her mother but spends every weekend with me and during the summer she stays with me as much as she can since I am a web developer and can work from home a few days a week, especially during the summer. Since summer was right around the corner, I told her that I would allow her to continue to feed the kitten and that it was her job when she was here and that I would put food out when she wasn't but that the cat would not be allowed inside because I do not want to be responsible for a pet that requires so much work and that I was not fond of cats to begin with.
The next morning the kitten was gone. My daughter was upset but she understood the cat was wild and probably wasn't going to hang around as I explained to her the night before. Two nights later I was sitting on my back deck having a cigarette and some tea and the cat came right up to me and jumped on my lap. It was so affectionate. It kept trying to put its head under my hand to pet it which I reluctantly did. It was purring so loud like it had never had any type of kindness shown to her. Four hours later, I was still petting her and she couldn't get enough. I gave her some more food and water which she again scarfed down so fast, making all these hysterical sounds while doing so. I made a toy with some bird feather I had tied to a string and a stick and we played for another 2 hours. When I went to go inside, she started crying so I allowed her to come in. I sat on the couch to watch TV and she jumped up on my chest and just kept purring. She let me examine her entire body including her stomach. I was looking for fleas, bugs, whatever and found nothing. I also looked at her leg which was very swollen and had a bit of a cut on it. MY vet friend came over and cleaned up her wound and gave me stuff to apply to it but told me that the cat would clean it herself for the most part and not to worry about it too much. Her leg was fine after about a week or so.
Now, this hater of cats has a shadow. She follows me everywhere and constantly wants me to pet her. She is the sweetest thing. The first night we called her Voltron because I thought it was a boy. The next weekend my daughter renamed her Alisha or Alley Cat for short but she didn't really take to that name. She is now known as Ms. Meow because of her strange meow sounds and she loves it.
It's been about 4 weeks that she's been staying around here. She chooses to stay outside for the most part. My kids and I are always outside playing games, grilling, eating and swimming so she gets all the affection that she wants so much out there. If it's a cold night or rainy then she wants to come inside so she can hang out and be pet and played with. She will sometimes disappear for a day but always comes back. I didn't think to have her spayed because I never had a cat before and didn't think about it plus she really still is an outside wanderer. Although we care about her a great deal and we make sure she is taken care of, she doesn't exactly feel like a family pet.
Now here is my dilemma. I know she has put on a bunch of weight since she first showed up but lately it seems like it's all in her belly. Her nips have gotten quite big and pink and she is now protective of her belly where as when she first showed up she used to love to have her belly rubbed. She used to sit on me for hours and want to be pet and although she still craves the attention and affection she only stays on me for like 5-10 mins and then she goes to lay down by herself somewhere. The past two days I have noticed her sleeping a lot and breathing heavy. Do I have a pregnant cat? What else should I be looking for?
Now I know that I kind of took on this responsibility and now this cat looks to us for food and such but I am not really in the position to afford vet bills. I am not being cheap. I pay over 2 grand a month in child support on top of the bills everyone else has plus my kids are with me so much that it costs me just as much to take care of them here as I pay in child support if not more because they're here every weekend and weekends are expensive as are summer days. I also have to support my aging mother. I truly can not afford thousands of dollars in vet bills. My buddy's dog just needed surgery and it cost him 8 grand. I'm squeaking by as it is. What are my options here. Obviously I'm not a careless jerk or else I wouldn't be looking for ways to make this right. If it comes down to it then I will do what needs to be done. Ferrell and stray cats must give birth by themselves all the time so will this just take care of itself? If the cat isn't pregnant, is there any place I can take her to have her spayed that is free or pretty inexpensive and that will do a good job and not harm her?
I appreciate anyone who has taken time to read my very long and detailed story. I know I'm long winded. It's a character flaw always having the need to explain myself and the reasons of my actions so I apologize for that lol. Any advice I can be given is greatly appreciated.
RK