Feral and stray cats

[Sparkles22]

another...

 

[FireGoddess]

Awwwwww Lucky....can see her left eye was messed up at the time. What a fuzzy cutie pie.

 

[Sparkles22]

fraidy cat...

 

[Gypsy]

I would call these shelter/rescue organizations and ask them to for help locating a reasonable place to test/spay her. Didn''t know if you were peninsula or east bay... so I looked by me in Fremont. If you are on the penninsula just go to petfinder.org search for cats in your area by zip code... and click on the various shelters and organizations that pop up in your area... if you click on the shelter names it will direct you to a page that will have (somewhere on that page) their phone number. I''d just tell them your story and ask them for help.

Fremont:
Purrrfect Cat Rescue: 510-739-1597
Furry Friends Rescue Phone: 510-794-4703
Palo Alto:
Palo Alto Animal Services: Phone: 650-496-5971
Calys Cats Feline Rescue
PO Box 20114
Stanford, CA 94309
Phone: 650-793-4273

Pleasanton:

Tuffies Animal Rescue: Phone: (925) 209-6480

 

[Sparkles22]

Happy ever after... Buddies at last...

 

[FireGoddess]

Thanks Gypsy - I''ll see what I can find.

Sparkles, that last picture of them is so adorable - gives me hope!

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/1/2007 7:59:39 PM
Author: FireGoddess
Awwwwww Lucky....can see her left eye was messed up at the time. What a fuzzy cutie pie.

Yeah she's a real big sweetheart!

ETA: Just remember it wasn't overnight they were like that. First the hissing stopped, then the skiddishness, then they would tolerate/be in the same room, and when I took this it was a year after we adopted her. All I really wanted was the tolerate part. I love the fact they are now comfortable enough to be that close. It's really cute sometimes, when Lucky is on my lap, Oreo (fraidy cat) will curl up on my legs if I have my feet stretched out, like a kitty blanket. I just love when they purr I know they are happy and it's sooooo soothing.

 

[FireGoddess]

I called a bunch of ''em Gypsy and got the 1st available appt which isn''t till next Tuesday

but I took it just in case. We''ll see what the SPCA says tomorrow.

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/1/2007 8:18:50 PM
Author: FireGoddess
I called a bunch of ''em Gypsy and got the 1st available appt which isn''t till next Tuesday

but I took it just in case. We''ll see what the SPCA says tomorrow.

Wonder if it would just be better to take her to your vet tomorrow AM, for the blood test at least. Then you''ll know before the end of the week if you can at least keep her indoors. You can always spay her on your Tuesday appointment.

 

[AmberGretchen]

FG - once she''s tested you could probably keep her in the house yes? In a room separate from Chloe unti she''s spayed? They should have instant tests for FeLV and FIV at the vet, but call and ask to make sure. FYI if FeLV is positive, there is an additional test to confirm, which takes longer, but there are still some local rescue options I can try to research for you if it is necessary, but the odds are definitely low. I also know that a lot of emergency vets will do the FeLV/FIV tests - its a little more expensive than a regular vet, but by definition its immediate.

Good luck - I''ll keep my fingers crossed for you and kitty!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 5/1/2007 8:21:21 PM
Author: Sparkles22

Date: 5/1/2007 8:18:50 PM
Author: FireGoddess
I called a bunch of 'em Gypsy and got the 1st available appt which isn't till next Tuesday

but I took it just in case. We'll see what the SPCA says tomorrow.

Wonder if it would just be better to take her to your vet tomorrow AM, for the blood test at least. Then you'll know before the end of the week if you can at least keep her indoors. You can always spay her on your Tuesday appointment.

See, that's smart thinkin'. I suppose I could catch her tomorrow am if she comes out, bring her to the vet, pick her up that evening and keep her in a large carrier till I find out the results the next day? I hate the thought of leaving her out there another week.

Too bad they don't do the rapidtest - the rescue organization next week can find out in 15 minutes if they have FIV or FeLV. Why can't my vet?

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/1/2007 8:24:51 PM
Author: FireGoddess

Date: 5/1/2007 8:21:21 PM
Author: Sparkles22

Date: 5/1/2007 8:18:50 PM
Author: FireGoddess
I called a bunch of 'em Gypsy and got the 1st available appt which isn't till next Tuesday

but I took it just in case. We'll see what the SPCA says tomorrow.

Wonder if it would just be better to take her to your vet tomorrow AM, for the blood test at least. Then you'll know before the end of the week if you can at least keep her indoors. You can always spay her on your Tuesday appointment.

See, that's smart thinkin'. I suppose I could catch her tomorrow am if she comes out, bring her to the vet, pick her up that evening and keep her in a large carrier till I find out the results the next day? I hate the thought of leaving her out there another week.

Too bad they don't do the rapidtest - the rescue organization next week can find out in 15 minutes if they have FIV or FeLV. Why can't my vet?

That is strange your vet doesn't have the rapid test. Wonder why... cheaper, more accurate, who knows. Does the rescue organization know that it's a stray you are trying to test not just like a pet store or breeder's kitten? I wonder if that would change their minds at all, after all you are trying to help a stray out

. Lucky was really noisy when I tried to confine her to a small place the first night, hopefully either your stray won't be as bad, or you can put her away from your room. If you do plain on keeping her in a carrier/crate I would let the vet know the sooner the results the better because you have to keep her locked up until you know.

 

[Gypsy]

Glad you got an appointment... even if it is delayed a week.

FG also be prepared to bath her and use a flea killer like revolution or something on her . You don''t want fleas or a dirty cat in the house. Also if you bath her and bathe Chloe at the same time with the same products they will smell alike. She won''t smell so foriegn to Chloe which will make life easier for you... and Chloe will smell like her so that will freak her out a little less. Can you manage washing her at home (AFTER prosac)?

 

[FireGoddess]

First off WOOHOO - I found a place that I can bring her in tomorrow to get a rapitest for the FIV FeLV. Hopefully I can catch her tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers that she comes around. If she comes for dinner tonight I might say screw it and catch her then.

Second...can I bathe her...oh Lordy I have no clue. I might see if the vet will do it tomorrow

. Chloe already wears Advantage or whatever that thing is you put on once a month. Just did it 2 days ago. I have another application....can I put that on the stray instead of the bath? (If the vet won't do it)

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/1/2007 8:33:38 PM
Author: Gypsy
Glad you got an appointment... even if it is delayed a week.

FG also be prepared to bath her and use a flea killer like revolution or something on her . You don''t want fleas or a dirty cat in the house. Also if you bath her and bathe Chloe at the same time with the same products they will smell alike. She won''t smell so foriegn to Chloe which will make life easier for you... and Chloe will smell like her so that will freak her out a little less. Can you manage washing her at home (AFTER prosac)?

When I got mine I had the vet brush her out a little. I waited a day before I bathed her. I didn''t use flea killer, just some suave shampoo. She was no problem in the bath, but one of my other cats is a huge pain! I have to bath him one handed, because I have to hold the back of his neck the whole time so he doesn''t scratch/bite me or jump out. When I was learning how to do this and get a hang of it I wore 2 pairs of the cheap vinyl yellow dish washing gloves, scratch all you want buddy, mommy is the boss! LOL! I''ve been bathing him since he was a kitten and he still hates it, most people think I am nuts, but I think it''s a good idea especially with your kitty being a stray. I do it to all of them at least every few months or so, I think it keeps the shedding down, and then they smell nice too

. Oreo aka fraidy cat gets all freaked out when the others come out wet (even though she is too) she hisses at them, which is pretty funny, they''ve learned to take her in stride. I let them airdry in a warm sunny spot, because they are completely terrified of the blow dryer.

 

[FireGoddess]

I had to bathe Chloe once - she wet herself at the vet and they didn''t clean her up

at all. It was a nightmare. But at least I knew she wasn''t trying to bite or claw at me which made it easier. This nippy little stray - well who knows...it broke skin once so I don''t know!!!

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/1/2007 8:43:25 PM
Author: FireGoddess
First off WOOHOO - I found a place that I can bring her in tomorrow to get a rapitest for the FIV FeLV. Hopefully I can catch her tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers that she comes around. If she comes for dinner tonight I might say screw it and catch her then.

Second...can I bathe her...oh Lordy I have no clue. I might see if the vet will do it tomorrow

. Chloe already wears Advantage or whatever that thing is you put on once a month. Just did it 2 days ago. I have another application....can I put that on the stray instead of the bath? (If the vet won't do it)

I believe Petsmart does baths. You have to call to see if the cat washer is there though LOL, apparently not all the people giving baths do cats. My vet said they didn't give baths, but I would definately ask. She brushed her out a little, and I bathed her the next day or so.

Helpful tips if you are doing the bath yourself:

Wear gloves your first time
Have a plastic cup and washcloth ready
Fill tub only 4 inches or so
Can use a mild shampoo
mild conditioner
Have towel nearby (expect splashing)

Fill tub with lukewarm to warm water about 4 inches. Put gloves on. Get kitty, stick her in the tub, but don't make her sit (she won't). At the same time you put her in there before she jumps out grab the back of her neck (the extra skin the mom uses to carry the kitty with) with one hand (gentle, but firm enough she understands she's not going anywhere), and in the other hand scoop up water from tub with plastic cup and dump on kitty to get her wet, watch her head. Make sure you get under her tummy and her tail and legs. I then apply shampoo to kitty (again one handed) and rub in, repeat water scoop technique to rinse, repeat with conditioner. Run hand over kitties fur to make sure it comes out clear. Then take washcloth and wet (no soap), carefully do her head. Take kitty out of tub and wrap in towel.

My cats all act differently. One of them I don't have to hold her neck but she walks away from me in the tub. Lucky stands there and crys, but for a second if she thinks I'm not looking (ie: getting shampoo) she'll attempt to jump out.

ETA: I keep the bathroom door shut, so they can't dash out without me getting to towel dry them first.

 

[innerkitten]

Awww what cute kitties !
Mine get along very well too. I''ll see if I can find a pic.

 

[Sparkles22]

Here is our latest adoptee... We got her in March from a rescue shelter...


ETA: She enjoys intimidating and picking on Lucky

. She's still learning... No it's not okay to go up to Lucky while she's sleeping on the couch and whack her on the head

.

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/1/2007 8:58:11 PM
Author: innerkitten
Awww what cute kitties !
Mine get along very well too. I''ll see if I can find a pic.

Thanks they are my pride and joy

!!

 

[FireGoddess]

Okay, I'm off to get another carrier. Thanks for the info - I called petsmart and won't be able to find out if "the only person who does the cat washing" will do it tomorrow till she comes to work in the morning. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow what the virus status is with this kitty. Boy, I hope Chloe will be alright...the wheels are turning! Okay, off to buy supplies.

How funny would it be BTW, if after all this I find out she's chipped? LOL!

 

[Sparkles22]

Date: 5/1/2007 9:21:27 PM
Author: FireGoddess
Okay, I''m off to get another carrier. Thanks for the info - I called petsmart and won''t be able to find out if ''the only person who does the cat washing'' will do it tomorrow till she comes to work in the morning. Hopefully I''ll find out tomorrow what the virus status is with this kitty. Boy, I hope Chloe will be alright...the wheels are turning! Okay, off to buy supplies.

How funny would it be BTW, if after all this I find out she''s chipped? LOL!

Good luck with your venture! Keep us updated

!

 

[sumbride]

Your Chloe sounds a lot like my Lucy. If her fear is that strong after 10 years, have you ever attempted to change her behavior with Prozac or other anxiety medicines? I know it seems like an odd thing to do with a cat, but it really has turned Lucy around. She was getting so stressed out that she was causing her own UTIs! We started with valium as needed, moved on to Buspirone, and then finally prozac, and it has made a tremendous difference. Now she is social when people come over, explores things, and is generally sweet and good-natured. The fact that she still doesn''t like Bill is more like a pecking order thing than anything else.

I remember that Chloe is hard to pill and doesn''t like pill pockets... that could pose a problem, but once it kicks in, it would probably be easier to administer.

 

[Starky]

Hey Firegoddess I worked at an animal clinic during my undergrad and learned from experience that cats don''t like to be bathed. Usually if the vet or petsmart does the bath they have to be felv/fiv negative and they have to be current on their FVRCP vaccine and Rabies. If you want to try the bath urself use ivory dishwashing soap it is very mild and kills fleas. If you do decide to give her a bath wait 48 hours before applying the advantage because of not it wont work. If you want to avoid the bath you can try to purchase a pill called capstar from the vets give that to her and it will kill all fleas on her within 30 min. Its alos a very safe pill. Good luck!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

OH, gosh, I think I''d go for the flea killing pill myself!

FG, I have a lot of empathy for the situation because we adopted two strays a year or so ago, and there are two more cats coming into our garage to eat now!! I consider them feral because they won''t come near us and they run when we approach them. I would love to tame the young calico kitty if we could catch her!!! Ours live outside because our youngest child has allergies. She had to endure our old cats living to almost 15 inside (because they were here first), so we just can''t do that to her again. But we have a large garage where they have beds and food, as well as a yard in a neighborhood with no thru traffic. The way I look at it is that they were living outside before we started feeding them so they''d still be outside if we didn''t! But we took the first two to the vet and had them spayed and given shots, but I cannot do it with these I can''t even catch. The little calico is obviously female, so I do need to try and catch her before there are baby kitties. But thus far, I have not been able to catch her.

 

[lumpkin]

I''m excited for you. Your little stray looks a lot like our Eddie, and he is for sure the most mellow cat I''ve ever been around. Hopefully Chloe will warm up to the new kitty and they will be good companions for each other.

Here''s a picture of Eddie in the linen closet.

 

[VegasAngel]

Does your vet have a groomer on site who can bathe the cat? Also might be good to get her nails trimmed if she needs it.

Such a nice thing you are doing

 

[Sparkles22]

Lumpkin: Eddie is a cutie pie! Our cats love the linen closet too, and enjoy pushing all the towels on the floor to make a nice comfy spot for themselves!

 

[lumpkin]

Thank you, Sparkles. He has a thing for getting on clean laundry, too, so I have to make sure I put away whatever I pull out of the dryer right away. He also likes sleeping on the kids pillows, which is a no no. But he''s such a sweet heart, such a great companion and very patient with the kids that we overlook those little kitty tendencies. And I had to move my bamboo plants to the powder room. Had them on my desk and once he started biting them I couldn''t break him of it. Lil stinker!

You all have such good advice for rescuing strays and helping ferals. I''m amazed at the knowledge here.

FG: Please post when you have an update. I''m really interested to know how everything is going with Chloe and the new kitty. BTW, I haven''t seen anything about names -- got any ideas?

 

[AmberGretchen]

FG - I too am eager to hear an update. I''ve got my fingers crossed, especially as I saw a poor kitty on the side of a freeway offramp on my way to the lab this morning who was deceased - I''m so sorry if that''s upsetting to everyone (it was certainly upsetting to me!), but it made me appreciate what a wonderful thing you are doing for this sweet little girl, saving her from such a horrible fate.