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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:	Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:	FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:	MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO

Created:	Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:	Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5089
Total number of notes:	60366

2062.0. "It's been a long time my friend..." by TPVAX1::ROBBINS () Tue Dec 13 1988 14:21

    
    
           I never thought I'd get to write this note.  And I am kind
    of pushing it but figured it can't hurt as it may make things turn
    out for the good.  
    
            Some noters may remember Pretty Boy.  That note is #1538
    written back on July 11,1988.  To put it in a nutshell Pretty Boy
    was a stray that came to our house.  All efforts to find his owners
    were futile and he stayed with us for roughly 3 months I believe.
    I first met him on May 5th of this year.  So I guess it was more
    like 2 months.  We can't have more then 3 cats and believe me there's
    no way around that.  We gave Pretty Boy to someone who worked with
    my husband who promptly let him out the first night.  He never
    returned.  After that started a major hunt by me and my husband
    (not the new owner who could of cared less!!) with no results. 
    This past Friday night a phone call came in.  A woman thinks that
    it is Pretty Boy coming to eat at her back porch.  From the description
    I KNOW that it is him.  She's tried 3 times to get him in the house
    but each time he squirms away when she goes to bring him in.  He's
    had a few rounds with her own cat so that may be the problem.  She
    told us she'd call next time she had him in eyeshot.  She said he
    didn't look the worse for wear but his bright red collar is now
    white.  Which only leaves me to believe that he's been outside for
    all this time :^(.  I really won't know anything until I see him
    for myself if he even comes close to me.  
    
                  Now what I would like to throw out in the air is IF
    I can get a hold of him would there be anyone out there who would
    like to adopt Pretty Boy after everything he's been through?  I'll
    be faced with the dilemma even if I get him that I can't keep him.
    If I do get him I will take him to the vet and have all the work
    done on him myself that someone would want.  He's a tough cat. He's
    not a beautiful cat and I'm being real truthful about this.  He's
    a big boy and already altered.  Got along with my three when I'd
    sneak him but was kind of rough when he played with my little ladies.
    Of course this all hinges on if his personality has changed totally.
    If it has I don't know what I will do.  I certainly can't allow
    him to live the rest of his life on his own.  If he's turned totally
    wild on me (I don't think so judging by the way the woman talked)
    the decision may be alot harder then I ever thought.
     
                   This note is very hard to write.  He hasn't left
    my mind for one day through all this time.  I've pretended to myself
    that oh someone must have taken him in or even that he had passed
    away was better.  But now to know that he's lived ALL this time
    on his own breaks my heart.  I would have rather pretended.
    
                                                              Kim

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2062.1	A whole box of Kleenex story..	DRFIX::IVES		`Tue Dec 13 1988 16:17`	9
	Kim, I had tears streaming down my checks as I read your note. I cannot take Pretty as our cat family is complete. Where does the woman live who is feeding him, how far did he travel. I'm sure someone in this notes file will give him a home. Barbara
2062.2	Kitty Angles	CRUISE::NDC		`Wed Dec 14 1988 13:44`	4
	If no one here can give him a home, perhaps Kitty Angles in Tyngsboro will take him. They are a no-kill shelter. Nancy DC
2062.3	let us know	MILVAX::HUDSON		`Wed Dec 14 1988 14:57`	4
	Kim, let us know if it is him please. Just like .1 my house is full (half a dozen cats now), but please keep us posted.
2062.4		CIRCUS::KOLLING	Karen, Sweetie, & Holly; in Calif.	`Wed Dec 14 1988 15:44`	2
	Please let us know what's happening. Our thoughts are with you.
2062.5	come out come out wherever you are....	TPVAX1::ROBBINS		`Mon Jan 09 1989 12:27`	46
	I figured I'd write in an update. Not that I have any good news to share but just to let everyone know what is going on. I didn't receive a phone call back from the lady and finally tracked down her number and called her Friday night. She told me the last time she had seen him was Christmas Eve night but her son had spotted him later. Now she can't even get a hold of him. On three previous occassions she had got him in her arms to bring him in till she could get ahold of us but on all three he'd get out of her arms before she could close the door. She says he is VERY strong but never never used his claws when getting away from her. Now when she goes to try again Pretty Boy takes off at the first sight of her. So last night we went down. I went equipped with a can full of sardines which I figured would really throw a smell out. We stood in their back yard from about 5:00 to 6:30. No luck. All we attracted was the cat that she keeps in the barn (whom Pretty Boy detests) and she ended up with a dinner of sardines. We walked all in the back of the property as they live right next to Quality Farms (where Garrison Farms used to be in Hudson) and walked all the way to the back of the greenhouses where the strays get into for heat. No one stirred out of there either. My voice is strained from calling out his name, my husband can't whistle anymore, and I don't think I will ever get the smell of sardines off my hands. The woman tends to think he's pretty wild now. I hate myself for putting that collar on him as I have no way of knowing if its too tight now and causing him discomfort. She said it looked awfully snug. She says his hair seems to be very coarse and he had a beautiful coat when he was with us. Am I just humoring myself to think he would remember us and aknowledge us? Am I just not looking at this realistically that he is a different cat now? Not the same affectionate cat as before. Could he really have changed THAT much and not know us? I don't know I just think that if he saw me he'd come to me. I don't know what else we'll do now. I could call the guy at Quality Farms and ask him he's seen him or go see the eccentric old lady down the street that feeds all the strays. I guess I'll just play it by ear for right now. Are there any noters in this file that live in that particular area near Quality Farms? kim co
2062.6		CIRCUS::KOLLING	Karen, Sweetie, & Holly; in Calif.	`Mon Jan 09 1989 18:55`	4
	I would try again several times. I think you are trying the right time of day, as I've heard that dusk/early evening is best, or early morning. Contacting the various neighbors sounds good too.
2062.7	TRAP HIM AND GET THAT COLLAR OFF	THE780::WILDE	Ask yourself..am I a happy cow?	`Tue Jan 10 1989 15:33`	12
	If the cat's collar is getting snug, as suggested, and if he matches the description of your cat, I would borrow a humane trap and catch him - if the lady and her son will cooperate. The cat can be doomed to a painful and very lingering death if that collar is choking him.... he is probably wild by now, and not a cat that even you can handle - his memory of you is undoubtably gone by now and he should only be handled with protective clothing. once the collar is off, he can be a barn cat or something, but get that collar off! When my Hannah was rescued the collar she was wearing was so tight the vet had to cut it off and was not sure she would survive even then.