- Joined
- Dec 13, 2014
- Messages
- 10
- Purraise
- 20
I wanted to share my story of my stray and some of the worries I still have about him.
I got Ludger this past Christmas. I was driving back to my parent's house in Ohio from Jersey. My grandparents live about halfway between my place and my parents, so it made sense to at least stop for a bit to say "hi."
Now just for a little background, to give additional context to the story, my grandparents don't live in a typical house. My grandfather was a mechanic and built his house with a large garage at the ground floor and the living area above. The only way to get into the house is through the garage.
When I got there, I was warned to be careful coming in because the cat might get out of the garage...which is strange because I had never heard of them having a cat. My grandparents are house bound (neither can walk at this point), so I was concerned that they wouldn't be able to take care of him, especially since they were keeping him in the garage on the first floor because Ludger does not get along with their dog.
Anyway, I opened the door to find this sweet looking white and gray kitty that was very friendly, which I just fell in love with immediately. His living conditions were less than ideal though. My grandparents have a hard time taking care of their dog without assistance, so if there is no one to take her for a walk, they let her into the garage to do her business. Ludger was filthy when I saw him. Paws covered in excrement and motor oil...
I was already looking for a second cat to keep my other kitty company while I am at work. I was planning of getting a kitten or young energetic cat to keep up with my crazy Deimos, but Ludger needed a better home and I couldn't turn him away when I knew I could provide a better home then a dirty garage, and he would have no future if he was sent to a shelter.
That being said, he wasn't truly treated poorly there. His story goes back to September 2014, when my aunt found him wandering around outside my grandparents house. Skinny and sad. She administered a FLV vaccine and later took him to the vet when he was starting to look too sick. She really did the bulk of the work getting him healthy, but couldn't give him a home:
"DVM examined him and he had flea bites all over himself and his hair was falling out by just touching him.
They gave him a shot for bacteria and a prescription of GRISEOFULVIN 125/5MLSUS TEV which I mixed in wet can food. He didn’t seem
to mind it, He started getting better. Plus I got him all Natural Cat Food he loved it and gained so much weight. He started looking
healthy again.
This cat is very loving and affectionate. All he wants is for someone to love him. If you could have seen him when he came running over
to me. Gave him a bath cause he was so dirty from exposure. He was so hungry for FOOD, WATER, and LOVE."
Eventually they let him into the garage to keep warm in the winter, but that was all they could do for him.
I picked him up and look him and Deimos to my parent's house for the holiday. He loved the car, which to me told me immediately that he was well used to the life of a house cat. I kept the two separate at my parents house, and slowly introduced the two cats, which was touch and go.
A week later, I took him back to Jersey with me and started getting him acclimated to my home. It was not easy. He was a picky eater, picky litterbox user, and above all, Deimos (my 1 year old baby) decided that he wanted to be the dominate cat in the house. (they are fine now thank goodness)
The biggest thing that worried my was Ludger's health. He was very quiet and didn't move much. He slept all day and rarely ate, if at all. He sneezed repeatedly and was vomiting. His eyes and nose had a bloody discharge and he also was unable to open his left eye all the way. I thought at first he just had a much smaller left eye, but all these symptoms led me to think he had herpes and FLV and was concerned for the health of Deimos as well. His fur was also very thin and wiry and he had red marks on his skin and was really itchy. As soon as I got back to Jersey, I took him to the vet and had a full screen of tests done. Vet said Ludger was neutered at a very young age, so definitely a stray and not feral (but no microchip). The vet was also extremely concerned about Ludger's demeanor and stayed late in the evening to finish his blood work. To my relief, everything came back clean.
But that in itself just raised multiple questions. Primarily, if he was not actually sick, what was his problem. I tried changing up his food to help improve his coat and perhaps to address an allergy. Giving him baths, probiotics, etc. Overtime he has improved significantly. My two cats play nice and they are partners in crime...(somehow they manage to learn each other's worst habits...)
He is also abnormally affectionate. He still sleeps a lot, but his favorite place to sleep is on me or at least touching me (right now he is sitting my my head purring). He follows me around and head bumps me and rubs all over me. Perhaps this is just a left over of being abandoned. He is still very hesitant about a lot of things. He 'pussyfoots' around a lot when he is walking around when me looking at him or him on me. Like he is not too certain of my reaction...also like he is kinda afraid or doing something wrong. I really want to make his as comfortable as possible but i don't know what else to do... Some days looking at him, I just feel like is is so sad and I just want to give him a hug. He is still getting better day by day, but I wonder if I am doing enough.
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I got Ludger this past Christmas. I was driving back to my parent's house in Ohio from Jersey. My grandparents live about halfway between my place and my parents, so it made sense to at least stop for a bit to say "hi."
Now just for a little background, to give additional context to the story, my grandparents don't live in a typical house. My grandfather was a mechanic and built his house with a large garage at the ground floor and the living area above. The only way to get into the house is through the garage.
When I got there, I was warned to be careful coming in because the cat might get out of the garage...which is strange because I had never heard of them having a cat. My grandparents are house bound (neither can walk at this point), so I was concerned that they wouldn't be able to take care of him, especially since they were keeping him in the garage on the first floor because Ludger does not get along with their dog.
Anyway, I opened the door to find this sweet looking white and gray kitty that was very friendly, which I just fell in love with immediately. His living conditions were less than ideal though. My grandparents have a hard time taking care of their dog without assistance, so if there is no one to take her for a walk, they let her into the garage to do her business. Ludger was filthy when I saw him. Paws covered in excrement and motor oil...
I was already looking for a second cat to keep my other kitty company while I am at work. I was planning of getting a kitten or young energetic cat to keep up with my crazy Deimos, but Ludger needed a better home and I couldn't turn him away when I knew I could provide a better home then a dirty garage, and he would have no future if he was sent to a shelter.
That being said, he wasn't truly treated poorly there. His story goes back to September 2014, when my aunt found him wandering around outside my grandparents house. Skinny and sad. She administered a FLV vaccine and later took him to the vet when he was starting to look too sick. She really did the bulk of the work getting him healthy, but couldn't give him a home:
"DVM examined him and he had flea bites all over himself and his hair was falling out by just touching him.
They gave him a shot for bacteria and a prescription of GRISEOFULVIN 125/5MLSUS TEV which I mixed in wet can food. He didn’t seem
to mind it, He started getting better. Plus I got him all Natural Cat Food he loved it and gained so much weight. He started looking
healthy again.
This cat is very loving and affectionate. All he wants is for someone to love him. If you could have seen him when he came running over
to me. Gave him a bath cause he was so dirty from exposure. He was so hungry for FOOD, WATER, and LOVE."
Eventually they let him into the garage to keep warm in the winter, but that was all they could do for him.
I picked him up and look him and Deimos to my parent's house for the holiday. He loved the car, which to me told me immediately that he was well used to the life of a house cat. I kept the two separate at my parents house, and slowly introduced the two cats, which was touch and go.
A week later, I took him back to Jersey with me and started getting him acclimated to my home. It was not easy. He was a picky eater, picky litterbox user, and above all, Deimos (my 1 year old baby) decided that he wanted to be the dominate cat in the house. (they are fine now thank goodness)
The biggest thing that worried my was Ludger's health. He was very quiet and didn't move much. He slept all day and rarely ate, if at all. He sneezed repeatedly and was vomiting. His eyes and nose had a bloody discharge and he also was unable to open his left eye all the way. I thought at first he just had a much smaller left eye, but all these symptoms led me to think he had herpes and FLV and was concerned for the health of Deimos as well. His fur was also very thin and wiry and he had red marks on his skin and was really itchy. As soon as I got back to Jersey, I took him to the vet and had a full screen of tests done. Vet said Ludger was neutered at a very young age, so definitely a stray and not feral (but no microchip). The vet was also extremely concerned about Ludger's demeanor and stayed late in the evening to finish his blood work. To my relief, everything came back clean.
But that in itself just raised multiple questions. Primarily, if he was not actually sick, what was his problem. I tried changing up his food to help improve his coat and perhaps to address an allergy. Giving him baths, probiotics, etc. Overtime he has improved significantly. My two cats play nice and they are partners in crime...(somehow they manage to learn each other's worst habits...)
He is also abnormally affectionate. He still sleeps a lot, but his favorite place to sleep is on me or at least touching me (right now he is sitting my my head purring). He follows me around and head bumps me and rubs all over me. Perhaps this is just a left over of being abandoned. He is still very hesitant about a lot of things. He 'pussyfoots' around a lot when he is walking around when me looking at him or him on me. Like he is not too certain of my reaction...also like he is kinda afraid or doing something wrong. I really want to make his as comfortable as possible but i don't know what else to do... Some days looking at him, I just feel like is is so sad and I just want to give him a hug. He is still getting better day by day, but I wonder if I am doing enough.
View media item 262347
