Conference misery::feline_v1

    Sounds like the same cat that visited my in-laws about a year
    ago. They live on the Amherst Merrimack line. They sound
    like they are out of the same breeding.
    
    A friend of Marilyn Anderson's took the kitty and she is so
    thrilled with her and the kitty found a wonderful home where
    she is very spoiled.
    
    Hopefully this one will be claimed or you can find a new home
    for it. 
    
    Is this kitty short hair also.
    
    Barbara & her 3M's
    

    Kate, 
    
    I just think that the word is getting around about you! I bet there is
    a big sign above your door that says, "SUCKER LIVES HERE-FREE FOOD &
    SHELTER!" in feline language!! ;^) This kitty sure sounds cute!
    
    Maybe if you took a photo of her & made photocopies, you could hang
    posters in your neighborhood w/ info on who to contact. I sure hope
    this love finds a home!
    
    Bonnie

    Hi...I agree with Bonnie to check with all your neighbors and
    also possibly put up flyers with a picture.  An Ad in the paper
    might help too!!
    
    A very similar situation happened to us with a white cat that
    we kept seeing in our yard and was starving.  One day he would
    show up dirty and the next day he showed up clean. He would show
    up every night right about the same time, he would eat and then
    leave. Well for about one month we fed the little baby who we 
    really thought was a stray,  we even put an ad in the paper but
    nobody called.  Then one day he showed up with a flea collar
    on. We were overjoyed to know that this cat did have a home.
    
    Some cats are real good at pretending to be lost....just so
    you will feed them.   In my experience I have found that 
    once you feed a lost cat...it normally will stay around your
    house.  If you feed a cat that is prentending to be lost...they
    normally eat and leave...but will show up on a regular basis.
    
    Good luck finding the owner or a new home.  Keep us posted.
    
    Sandy

    Hi all -
    
    Thanks for the encouragement. I'm really struggling with how to
    deal with White Kitty. I had to keep her in last night -- it was
    so cold. But, as Sandy said, maybe she does have a home. She's
    skinny, but certainly not starved. She is so affectionate! 
    As hungry as she was last night, she kept leaving the bowl for
    hugs! She was literally climbing up my legs for affection. When
    I bent down to put her water bowl down, she nearly knocked me 
    over trying to get on my lap. Then she went over and stood in 
    the water dish! 
    
    I know this isn't an easy question, but how do you know what
    to do? Just take her in and try to find her owners or a new
    home? Just feed her? I've really been troubled by this all day.
    
    The biggest problem I'm having is that I didn't anticipate Poppy's
    reaction at all. She is very upset about having another kitty around,
    and she hasn't even seen White Kitty, just smelled her. She's been
    hissing, growling, and biting me after I've been near the White Kitty. 
    I keep telling her she's top cat, but she's not convinced. 
    
    We've had no luck among the neighbors. I missed the deadline for 
    a classified ad (weekly paper), so I'll hold that for next week. 
    A photo is a good idea. 
    
    Anyway, thanks again for the advice. You're right, Bonnie. It's
    as if I had one of those big "Iams available here" signs hanging 
    on my house.
    
    Kate
    
     

    how about putting a message on a flea collar on her.  If my cat 
    wandered in with one, I'd certainly look in to it more closely.
    
    M

    "If I belong to you, please call 555-1234"
    
    Tape the message wrapped onto the flea collar.....

    Michelle & Lynne,
    
    You two are GOOD! I didn't even think of that! 
    
    Bon

    Thanks, everyone, for all the helpful advice. 
    
    White Kitty went to the vet this morning for checkup, tests, and
    shots. She's in purrfect health (pending test results), and everyone
    in the office fell in love with her. 
    
    The doctor thinks she might be spayed. He saw and felt what he
    thought was a scar, but he wasn't positive, even after shaving her
    belly. She just lay there on her back and let him do it! 
    He said she looks as if she's been well cared for in the past.
    
    We've called all the shelters around and checked all the neighbors,
    with no luck. We'll set out with posters this weekend and will put
    an ad in the paper. I really like the collar idea and will do that
    as well. 
    
    Poppy seems better. She was sitting on my lap this morning,
    alternately purring and hissing at me, which pretty much sums
    up her mood about all this. She gave me a real scare this morning,
    though. 
    
    Poppy was out on the screened porch when I left for the vet with
    White Kitty. She seemed to be enjoying herself, so I left her there,
    figuring it was an easy way to get White Kitty out of the house.
    When I got back, I opened the porch door...and no Poppy. I called her
    and looked under the furniture covers -- nothing. Then, I noticed 
    the door leading outside was unlatched. Well, I panicked. She's
    mad at me and has run off forever, I thought. So I went up and down
    the street, all around the house...still no Poppy. I couldn't leave
    not knowing where she was, so I went in the house, called work and
    said I was late, and when I walked into the family room, who was
    sitting on the porch looking in at me with a satisfied grin? 
    She'd been hiding under the barbecue cover!
    
    So, I'll post more on White Kitty when I have it. Thanks again 
    for the help and support.
    
    kate
    

    Hi Everyone -
    
    I was offsite at a woods meeting last week and didn't have a chance
    to give an update on White Kitty. 
    
    I have left a message for the noter in 5047 who's looking for a young
    white kitty. Assuming we don't find White Kitty's owner, I hope that
    works out.
    
    White Kitty's FIV/FELV test came back negative! The other good
    news is that she finally used the kitty box, so I can take in a 
    stool sample. 
    
    We've put an ad in the paper, which will come out on Wednesday. We
    had company all weekend, so I didn't get around to putting up
    posters. I also tried the collar trick, but she never left our yard
    (except for when Poppy got out by accident and chased her), so that
    hasn't done much. We'll work on the posters this week. 
    
    White Kitty is such a doll! I've never seen a cat show so much
    constant affection. That is, when she's not butting her head up
    against the canister full of Iams. Poor thing still seems to have
    an endless appetite. She even let me clip her nails the other
    night, without putting up a fuss. 
    
    So, I'll take her back in for her last shots and keep looking for
    her owner or a new home. If you know of anyone who'd like a sweet,
    loving, lovable kitty, let me know. She will have had all her shots,
    and may be spayed. I'd be willing to chip in for part of the spaying or
    surgery to determine whether she's been spayed.
    
    She even comes with a pretty pink collar!
    
    Kate
      

    Hi everyone-
    
    Well, White Kitty is still with us. We've been putting her out
    during the day, but she's always back when my daughter gets home
    from school. Yesterday, I couldn't get her to go out at all.
    
    I have a question on feeding -- how much should we give her?
    She is constantly hungry and begging for food. Every time I
    open the basement door, she's sitting on top of the Iams canister!
    I'm giving her much more than I give Poppy, and still she's hungry.
    She weighs about 7 pounds and is a little bony but not terribly so;
    I think she's just a petite kitty. I went to visit her with my coffee
    this morning, and she stuck her nose in and started slurping it up.
    
    We've tried introducing her to Poppy, because I feel so bad about
    keeping White Kitty in the basement. She's been cleared of all
    diseases and has had her shots. 
    
    We started out with my husband holding Poppy and me holding White
    Kitty, and they reacted with the usual staring and growling. Last
    night,
    we set them both down to see what would happen. THey stared and 
    growled and hissed. Then the fur flew! Poppy took off after White
    Kitty, chasing her into the basement and under a cabinet, where
    the hissing continued. 
    
    Keith took Poppy upstairs, and I coaxed White Kitty out and smoothed
    her fur. After that, I just left the basement door open to see what
    they would do, and we sat down to dinner. Poppy wandered around for
    a while, growling and generally being a crab. After dinner, I went 
    downstairs and found White Kitty curled up like a meatloaf in the 
    corner. After a while, Poppy came out from another corner. She had
    gone down herself to check it out. She wandered around, smelling 
    White Kitty's bowl and pillow. There was more hissing and complaining
    from both sides. Poppy finally went upstairs. 
    
    So, they're not instant friends, but we'll keep plugging. I'll
    read up on the notes on introducing kitties. Meanwhile, we're
    still looking for a home for her. We had one call on the ad, but
    it was a false alarm -- a woman looking for her white kitty with
    black feet who disappeared in August. 
    
    Any advice on how much to feed this little piggy would be
    appreciated.
    
    Kate
     

    Hi Kate,,
    
    I have noticed that with most strays that joined my household...they
    eat like pigs in the beginning.  I think it has to do with them
    being outside and not knowing where/when the next meal will
    come.    He will get over this...but it might take some time.
    
    My sisters cat, Oakley, use to put his whole face in the food
    bowl...and just munch until it was completely done.  He would
    look up...and have food stuck on his face and ears.   It took about
    2 months for him to start to eat normal.
    
    Sandy

    I've observed the same thing as Sandy, but I should add that while 9 or
    my 11 were ferals or strays, all but two had tape worm. I'd suggest
    that you keep an eye on what she deposits in the box, and if you see a
    deposit of worms, scoop it out immediately into a plastic bag and get the
    cat to the vet within 24 hours. By bringing the stool sample with visible
    worms to the vet you will save yourself the cost of a fecal test (about
    $5-$8). There is a very small window when the cat can be effectively treated
    for tapeworm, and you know that window is open when the cat passes worms.
    By the way, if you can't get the cat to the vet for a few hours (or more)
    make sure that you refrigerate the "sample", and make sure that the air is 
    squeezed out of the plastic bag before you close with a twist tie.

    Deb

    I'm a little confused by .12.  Occasionally when my cats had fleas the
    vet would find these little "rice grain" things on their behinds and
    say "tapeworms."  (They're the eggs, actually, I think.  He'd then
    prescribe one or two pills for all my cats to clear up the worms, on
    the theory that they all might have them.  never said anything about "a
    very small window when the cat can be effectively treated for
    tapeworm."
    

    Deb -
    
    Thanks for the advice. I had a fecal test done, and they didn't
    find tapeworms. Is it possible they just weren't in that particular
    "sample?" 
    
    i think the reason Poppy's so upset is that this little guy is
    getting all she wants to eat and Poppy remains on the human-
    inflicted starvation diet. 
    
    Kate
    

    Karen,
    
    The little "white grains" occur at the same time that you would notice
    something in the box. Actually, they are not eggs but small segments of
    the worms that broke off (to start "new worms"). My vet has told  me that
    when I see these, get kitty in ASAP because treatment is most effective
    when the cat is passing the worms (which can either be in the box or as
    something clung to the tail).
    
    Something I have found with ferals is that once the realize that they have
    a home, they spend a lot more time grooming then the normal cat to get to
    their "clean baseline". As a result, you rarly see the rice grains on
    the tail unless you see the cat right after he gets out of the box before
    he has time to clean himself up; so, you stand a better chance to know
    if he is passing tapeworm by keeping an eye on the box. Also when he
    cleans himself up, he re-infects himself by swallowing those tape-worm
    segments in the process of grooming. Tapeworm can be very difficult to
    kill off because you have to kill it at the right time in the worm's
    cycle and you have to be sure that the cat doesn't re-infect himself
    (or the the other cat).
    
    As for treatment, what they give the cat is actually a mild dose of
    poisen, although my vet has always administerd it in shot form. He
    has said that he prefers not to do this to a cat that hasn't positivly
    got worms since, afterall, the treatment is a mild poison. I do know of
    people that seem to have a hard time getting rid of tapeworm that don't
    have a flea problem or other cats. Again, I attribute that to what I
    understood my vet to have told me about the most effective window to
    treat the cat. 
    
    Deb

    Kate,
    
    that is correct. The worms go through a cycle (30 or 45 days?). Unless
    they are in the reproductive cycle (eggs or breaking into segments),
    chances are the fecal won't find them.
    
    Deb

    White Kitty and Poppy spent most of the weekend growling, hissing
    and swiping at each other. 
    
    The good news is that Poppy now seems to want to be friends.
    The bad news is that she had this change of heart only after
    chasing White Kitty several times, and WK wants nothing to do with
    her. I feel very bad for White Kitty. She's spending most of her
    time hiding behind a desk in the basement. She spent most of 
    yesterday under the bed, with Miss Congeniality sitting on top of
    the bed waiting for her to come out (she stayed put).
    
    So, I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to keep putting them 
    together. I gave it a try so White Kitty could come up from the
    basement, but she's retreated down there anyway. She seems to have
    lost a lot of her spirit since meeting Poppy, and I hate to see her
    sad. We're trying to find a home for her, so maybe there's no
    reason to stress them both out in the meantime. 
    
    White Kitty's appetite has subsided. THere was actually food in the
    bowl when I went down this morning. I took her to the vet for a
    shot this morning, and she's gained nearly a pound in the two weeks
    we've had her. Meanwhile, I'll keep checking her output for evidence
    of tapeworms. 
    
    That's it for now. 

    This actually sounds par for the course.  Some extra cuddling will
    cheer up White Kitty.  It does take a while for cats to adjust to each
    other, usually.