Conference misery::feline

    Looks like you have found yourself a new kitty.  The ear mites etc are
    a classic sign of a stray cat.  The fabric sucking is a sign that she
    was separated from her mother before she was totally weaned.  She'll
    stop growling when she feels more secure.  
    
    And you're right, they can read the word Sucker.  I think some of us
    have it stenciled on our backs in cat language.  I have been found more
    times than I can afford, but have manage it anyway.
    

	Well, I managed to get home and take the cat to the vets lunchtime.
	
	I was slightly embarrassed, I said I thought the cat was female and 
	very young - well the vet showed me these two furry gobstopper size 
	spheres and tells me he's male, because females dont have that 
	equipment!!   :-)
	
	AND He has his long pointy side teeth, so the vet reckons he's 7 months,
	and VERY tiny for his age.
	No wonder my other two nutered toms backed off!

	He has a bad case of earmites, the vet doesn't think it's roundworm,
	but where the cats been scratching at his ears due to the mites.
	The lamp was at the other office, if he hasn't been claimed by the
	weekend I'll take him to the other office for the roundworm check, and
	castration, and shots(if they can give them at the same time).

	The weekend after we are away, don't know what I'll do then, my 
	neighbours feed my other two, and they also use their catflap. And I'm
	still wary that Yoda might decamp.
	I can't put him in kennels, because he dosen't have time to have his
	two sets of shots.
	I might phone the vet to see if they'll take him - or delay the 
	castration a week, and see if they take him for a "long weekend" too.

	I don't think he's been to the vets before. He happily went in the
	carrier, and when I put the carrier on the table, he joyfully came
	out to greet the vet. My two hide at the back of the carrier, and the
	vet is definately not one of their favourite people!

	The vet says he's not ferrel, he's much too friendly, but he's not been
	very well cared for for at least two months. But looking at his size, 
	it could be longer.

	Ho, hum, a black cat who followed me home at "Midnight".

	oh no, not a name...........

	Heather

    Heather....my guess is your new friend is really undernourished
    and probably has been on his own for awhile.   When we took Dewey
    in (from a junkyard) I thought he was this 2 months old kitten...but
    come to find out he was a 9 months old boy!!!!   With love, patients,
    and good food...Dewey is now a big hefty boy at 15 pounds!!!!!
    
    I once had a total black stray cat appear in my house on Halloween
    night!! (talk about being spooked!!!)   We felt it was an omen...and
    we had to keep him!!!  (ha ha!!)
    
    Ask your vet to time his neutering so that can be done while your
    away and he can keep the kitty a few extra days!!!!  One suggestion
    you might consider is putting a "found ad" in your local paper. With
    everyone of my strays I do this...and have had the luck in
    finding two of the original owners.  (2 out of 18 isn't good...but
    that was 2 I didn't have to keep!!)
    
    Good luck.....
    
    Sandy
                                        

         Our little black stray we named Midnight ;^) ... and she's the
    most adorable, loveable little girl ...
    
    					- Andrea

    As for you first thought he was female, I would suggest the name Minnie
    for him.
    
    To make it solemn, if you can only afford it, I would heavily wish that
    you keep him.
    
    Who knows who lead his steps after you - perhaps as a last chance?
    
    (As Smokey came to me, I never thought I can afford to keep a cat...
    Now I cannot imagine what I would do without her.)
    
    Nat

	Dave doesn't like the name Midnight......doesn't like the thought of
	having to call out for him. He wanted to call him Robert.


	I ask you,   Cider, Yoda and Robert......nope.


	So, I suggested Slick.........he was a very slick cat to pick on us 
	when our defences were lowered due to alcohol consumption. :-)
	Also, oil slicks are black.

	And those ears, just like an oil slick at the moment with the ear-mite
	drops. I'd forgotten how yucky clearing up a bad case of earmites was -
 	it was 4 years ago that I got Yoda as a stray, and 7 since I had Cider.
	I suppose it was time for another one anyway.

	Well, no luck from the housecalls. 

	He's now drinking like a normal cat, a couple of laps, and a distainful
	look at me as if to say......where's the milk?

	He's eating like a normal cat. He's decided the dry food just isn't 
	tasty enough, and only eats the canned. Pah, getting picky after just 
	a day and a half!

	I'll call the vet this morning to see when he can be "done", I don't 
	want him to start to learn how to spray, which he might with two other
	cats trying to tunnel through the door to him.

	I'll also phone up a few catteries to see if they'll take him after one
	set of jabs, I think it's the first ones that are most important.
	Or to see if they may have an "isolation" area. 

	I'm not worried about the cost of another cat, I'm just worried that
	Yoda - my scaredy cat - might decide to leave for pastures new.

	Thanks for the responses,
	Heather

	Well, they only Neuter Monday-Friday, and they can't do him "till
	next week (tomorrow is full).

	So, he will go to the vets Thursday 7th in the evening, and I will
	pick him up Monday 11th in the evening (I am away mid Fri to Mid Mon,
	so this solves my problem about how to look after him then).

	Vet examination plus earmite stuff	11.00
	Boarding for 4 evenings			20.00
	Neuter					22.00
	Flu and Enteritis jab			20.00
	F.Leuk jab				19.00
	Worming jab				10.00
	VAT (tax, 17.5%)			17.85				
					-------------
					        119.85

	120 quid, thats about 180 dollars.

	Maybe I should name him "Bankrupt"     :-)

	My garden needs digging, I think I'll make him work for his keep  :-)	

	Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

	I just hope Yoda doesn't mind too much!  
	............and he doesn't learn to spray before next weekend.


	Heather

	Well, the little bloke still thinks he needs to suckle.

	Even when he eats the wet canned food from the bowl, he kneeds the
	floor with his two front paws.

	And when he sits on my lap, I have to hold my hand over his face to stop
	my jumpers becomming like wet dishrags. He does seem to like the 
	comfort feeling of his head burried in something, and if he can't
	suck at my clothes, he will settle for my hand cupped over his face.

	Yoda had the habit of "burying" his food when I got him, I was told he
	would grow out iof this when he realised he wasn't a stray, and there
	would always be food for him..........wrong, he still does this.

	Maybe I will have to pick out a "Slick" towell, and have it ready for 
	when he dicides to sit on me!
	Has nayone had a 7-month-old cat do this, and did they stop?

	And, I made an error, I gace him a ball with a bell in it. He thinks
	it's wonderful, but I forgot to take it away last night.
	3 am this morning I thought I had burgalars, very loud baning noises 
	from along the hall.
	It was Slick, hitting the ball so hard it was banging against the door
	about 2 foot off the ground.......whew, a relief, but I must remeber
	to give himn a catnip mouse or something, rather than a hard ball
	at night!

	Yoda still decamps when he sees him, but he actually stayed in last 
	night....although it was downstairs in the kitchen, he usually sleeps
	in the hall upstairs - maybe the noise was too much for him too!

	Heather

         Brings back neat memories ...
    
         When Midnight was little she used to suckle everything, even the
    wet food!  We'd take some kitten chow and mix it with water, so it
    would be the consistency of wet food; she stick her face into this and
    *nurse* it.  Gosh, what a awful sound, but it was so cute too!
    
         She's since grown out of this; in a (small) way, I miss it ...
    
    					- Andrea

    My Dewey who is almost 4....still sucks a special afghan which
    he considers his!!!    He's in heaven when he can sit on my lap
    with his afghan and he does pushy paws and sucks and drools!!!
    Dewey was born in a junkyard so it is very possible that he
    was taken away from his mom to early.
    
    Your kitty might never get over it......

    Boo Boo still suckles on my arm when I wake up in the morning....
    he is 2 1/2 years old and has done it since day 1.
    
    - Lauri
    

    Mario still suckles at the age of 2, on his adopted mother.. Bailey,
    my black Lab who loves him dearly.
    
    What a site.. 

    
    
    	re: -1
    
    	giggle..... =)
    

	Oh well, looks like I'm stuck with it, I'll root out a sloppy jumper.

	I kept thinking his eyes were a little strange, I've just clicked why.

	They are green in the middle, and yellow on the outside, is is not
	a gradual change of colour, but a noticeable line, it give a really
	odd effect.
	
	I've had 3 calls from people looking for their lost cats, all of them
	asked about varing mixes of white paws, so Slick was out of the frame.

	When I take him to the vets on Thursday, I'll remove the notices, and
	call the others to remove the ones there.

	Heather

Having recently gone thru nursing a baby, and having a cat that drools 
during lap time, I have accouterments at the couch, too...

You could keep a soft towl or washcloth on the couch for him to nuzzle 
and drool on.

Which reminds me, could you imagine a kitty pacifyer?  
(Yes, I agree, cuddling up to Mom is _much_ better, I just thought it 
 would be a funny sight.)

	Well,
	Slick is back from the vets, minus bits of his anatomy, and has had his
	first shots, and wormed, and eye-dropped, and ears syringed......
	....and anything else they could thing of.

	He's doing fine, Cider's doing fine - Yoda is very unhappy.

	Cider just turns around and bops or hisses at Slick if he gets too
	close (too close is usually Slick tring to play with his tail, or
	sitting in between Cider and the fire). Slick then backs off and
	finds something more interesting to pay with, or snuggles under the 
	radiator.
	If Slick really annoys him, he belts him harder, and sometimes he will
	also go find Yoda and give him a bop.
	Sometimes he just can't even be bothered to acknowledge Slick is even 
	there, he's obviously boss cat.

	Yoda is another matter.

	He has this rumble, a sort of growl, that he emits non-stop if Slick
	is within 4 feet, even if Slick is asleep (I've never heard him do 
	this before). Unfortunaltey Yoda is too much of a scaredy cat to bop 
	Slick, and eventually runs and hides, or just goes out of the house 
	into the garden - even in the pouring rain - and I can't even tempt 
	him back with chicken.
	
	I had the cat-flap blocked off last evening, so none of them could 
	decamp.
	Slick and Cider were fine, Yoda is very upset, on tenterhooks, and
	just keeps trying to hide.
	I'm keeping slick in the spare room during the day, and overnight, so
	the other two can come and go with no hastle, but I don't want to have 
	to do this much longer.

	I think Yoda wants to be no2 cat, but knows he's not up to it. He's
	very unhappy. 

	Yoda hasn't had a collar because he itches and scratches all his fur
	away, however, I put one on him last night, as I was afraid he might 
	run off.

	He HATES it. He tries to bite it off. He managed to get his chin down,
	and paw the collar over his bottom jaw, so it was pinned there. I only
	had a 2-finger gap, so it was on the tighter side. I loosened it to a
	3 finger gap, and he managed to get ot off! (he has quite a skinny
	head)

	Any ideas on.........

	. How I can get Yoda used to the idea that he can be happy and stay with
	2 other cats in the house

	and in the meantime 

	. being able to get Slick out-and-about like the other
 	two (He seems to have no problems with the collar after the first hour).

	. and getting a collar on Yoda

	Heather

    The first thing that comes to mind is to give Yoda as much attention
    and fuss as you can manage. I'm doing that with Rosie at the moment as
    she was less than happy about our new addition - especially one that
    had the nerve to look like her! She's stopped growling now, and is more
    curious - I caught her sniffing at him whilst he was asleep yesterday.                                                           
                                                                  
    I'm sure I've read somewhere that the effects of neutering a male
    sometimes take a while for the cat to drop down the hierarchy. Slick
    might still smell like an entire male to Yoda and that's why he's
    unhappy.
    
    As for the collar - no cat I've ever had has liked them either. I don't
    know if you knew Tuija Veale when she worked here, but she told me one
    of her cats got both front paws stuck in the collar trying to get it
    off. Tuija found her collapsed on the front lawn and thought she was
    dying! I'm sure he'll soon get used to it.

	Well, Slick has gotten used to his collar really quickly, or maybe the
	scare put him off playing with it. Whatever it is, he's fine now.


	I let him out in the back garden yesterday - Cider doesn't like that 
	at all, obviously he's used to fighting the back garden as his territory
	but not the house.
	Anyway, Slick retaliates by playing with his tail. There's no fur
	flying, and Cider knows he's top cat.

	I'm giving Yoda all the attention I can, but he's still wary of Slick 
	and growls, and Cider still goes for him - much more aggresively
	than he goes for Slick.

	Ho hum.

	Slick might be renamed to Chalky - After trying to call him in the 
	garden, a one-sylable name doesn't seem to fit with Cider and Yoda, so
	a bloke down the pub, whose nickname is Chalky, suggested we call the
	cat after him.
	
	I hope Yoda setles soon, I won't let Chalky out of the spare room over
	night until he does - which means litter tray, and wrecked carpet by 
	the door.
	
	Heather	

	Good news, although nuerotic cat Yoda still thinks that having another
	cat in the house is ***the worst*** thing that has ever happened, he's 
	decided to, just about, put up with it.

	He comes in when it's cold or raining, or feeding time. He is out a bit
	more than before, but he hasn't gone AWOL.


	Cider has decided the new cat is deranged, because he insists in playing
	with Ciders tail, and doesn't stop until he's bopped - he then goes 
	on to chase his own tail. He goes faster and faster in circles until 
	he falls over.....and is so fat he just rolls!


	Well Chalkie is close to another name change. He eats so much he 
	permanently walks along with his belly wobbling from side to side.
	We thought "Piggy" would be a good name, "cause he eats so much, and
	black pot-bellie pigs look similar around the tummy!


	Chalkie also LOVES.........water - yup.  He was playing with the cold 
	water running in the sink, and put all his paw under, tring to "catch"
	it. Then his mouth...followed by his head.  Then he rolled on his back
 	in the sink, trying to catch the water from under the tap........
	he was drenched, and still trying to play. He wasn't even worried when
	I took him out and towell dried him - he just played with the towell.

	Well, I've found a way of washing him if I need to, pour on the shampoo,
	turn the tap on, and he'll wash and dry himself.


	That's it, Chalkie doesn't seem to be bothered at all, he's fine with 
	the catflap, so I don't need the litter out any more. 
	Cider doesn't care, he wouldn't lower himself to pass judgement, as 
	long as he has the warm spot by the radiator, he's fine. 
	And Yoda, well, he's sticking in there, maybe not quite the same - he 
	hides under the chair, and stays out a bit more, but he's still here.

	Heather

	Chalkie's ear mites are at last cleared up, they were clean Wednesday
	morning.

	Wednesday evening I had a knock at the door, his previous owner claimed
	"fluffy" back.

	She had two kittens at 3 weeks old, as the people who had them were
	going to get rid of them by dropping them off somewhere in a plastic
	bag.

	He is 11 months old. His bother has started spraying the house, she
	cannot afford to have him nutered. It sounds like he has ear mites too.
	The cats are currently living with her father, about 10 doors away from
	hers (and about 30 from where I live), until the child she is 
	expecting is due (about 4 weeks).

	She doesn't really know anything about keeping cats, doesn't have any
	money, but her heart is in the right place.

	So, I gave her the ear-mite medication, told her how to use it, and 
	how to check for earmites etc. I gave her my flea comb.
	She said her mum might be able to come up with a bit of money to help
	with the costs I had incurred, but nothing like the full amount.
	I explained to her the nessecity of nutering the cat she had, especially
	now "fluffy" is nutered, and the importance of vaccinations, and told 
	her that any money her mum gave her, to put towards the costs of having
	her other cat done.

	I gave her the number of the cats protection league, in case she had
	problems with affording the nuter.

	I also said that if she found Chalkie too much to handle once the 
	child was born, could she let me know, "cause I'd have him back.

	I will walk past where the cats will be about every other day, so will
	keep my eyes open and check they are OK.

	It's funny, I would have been really pleased if I'd found the owner
	in the first two weeks, but now I really didn't like giving him back.

	On the plus side, Yoda is VERY happy, he even sat next to me and 
	purred last night, something he only does about twice a year (he's a
	cat that "wants to be alone" most of the time).

	Heather

    I felt the same when our black stray turned out to have an owner: he
    was a "Fluffy" too. I'm trying hard not to get attached to the
    longhaired stray I've got at the moment. If it were up to me, I'd keep
    him: he's so affectionate, but Huw was really ill last weekend so I
    can't. :-(                                            

	Chalkie looks Okay, I saw him outside yeasterday evening, but went
	back to the pub for a while, so he wouldn't see me and follow.

	Ho hum, definately mixed blessings

	Heather

	Well, I had a "thankyou" card through the door yesterday, saying she
	didn't know how to thank me enough for everything I did for her cat.

	It brightened my day.

	Heather

	Well, Chalkie came in to visit twice since November.

	The last time was New Years day I got out of bed, and had quite a shock 
	to see him sat at the top of the stairs. (He's good at using cat-flaps!)

	I took him back, and repeated my offer of having him if she found a 
	new baby and two cats too much to handle.

	Friday she turned up on my door, complete with Chalkie, and said that
	he was too much to handle, and did I still want him.


	Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo   he's back.

	Yoda still has his nose out of joint, but as it's so cold outside at the
	moment, he's managed to overcome some of his grumpyness, and sit on the
	pouffe next to the radiator, looking down on Chalkie.

	Happy New Year!
	
	Heather

    That's great news! Chalkie obviously knew where HE wanted to live.