Found a small kitten next to a busy road!

Aylana

That is so sweet ndg!

Kitty has chosen the bathroom windowsill as his resting place (even though I have provided a carrier with blankets!). He is wary but not trying to hide when we go up anymore. His eyes are a hazely yellow colour, slightly darker than an adults eyes. So probably a bit older than I thought originally.

Some fleas have jumped off him in an escape attempt since we sprayed him and they are humungous! I have never seen such large beasties! Yuk! I suspect a repeat spraying may be in order at some point in the future. All other animals have been treated and rooms sprayed just in case!!

moggylover

Glad to know how things are going - even if your life does sound really difficult at the moment, what with a scatty cat and a silly OH:rolleyes: . I expect he is jealous of the attention it is getting;) - I know mine always was:rolleyes: .

Well done for managing the de-flea! Not much fun if they are really pannicky and all those claws and teeth and so forth! If you think those fleas are big - then you should have seen the ones on the fox I rescued once! I thought they were going to have my leg off at one bite! lol

I know it seems cruel, but if the kitty is older than you thought, you may need to go with the small area, easy access for stroking/picking up method and force the issue a bit. Once you have handled them a few times for a fuss they often just decide that they love it anyway!

My system came about as we had so many kittens coming in fast and furious (some with scatty ferral mums, some without) that there was simply no-where to put them and also to isolate each batch from the next until we were sure they had nothing contagious iyswim. Some had diarrohea, some had gunky flu faces, others were just under nourished and weak - but they all had to be seperate until really well and fit. Thus at the time I had a large room, sealed but not plastered at the back of my house (it is now my utility room, walk-in-pantry and dining room) about 30' long. A friend and I came up with the idea of rabbit breeding wires (horrible for bunnies but good for our use) which were about 4' long, and 2' wide. In between these I had large sheets of perspex so that we could reduce risk of cross contamination - and I had to barrier nurse VERY efficiently as well. The very worst count was all 12 of my cages inhabited:eek: , and a total of 30 kittens and 9 adult ferral cats either awaiting/recovering from neutering or nursing kittens of just unwell - between these cages!

The taming of kittens worked so well this way that even when things improved and I had better equipment to deal with the numbers, this remained one of the preferred methods of housing for a short while. I still take a few kittens for taming - but mostly I "facilitate" for others these days as I am now disabled and find it quite difficult to get up and down to the little ones as often as is necessary to keep them clean and fussed. I mostly arrange to pick up and deliver to other friends and so forth now - although they still send me the worst of the untamable ones cos I appear to have a knack with it:o . The sooner you handle kitty, the more chance he/she has of becoming tame. Some adults even responded to the method - but mostly became quite ferral again once allowed into the garden, and were then tame again once they plucked up the courage to come into the house .

Good luck again! Sounds like kitty spotted the right person to show himself to;) : I always say they can spot a cat mug at 100 yards!

moggylover

Milford_Cubicle wrote: »

I'm currently on the look out for a mini-kitty to join the family.
We have a steelworks not too far away and there are always feral kittens running around which you could quite literally 'steal', my auntie had one many years ago which came to her grey, but was actually white once it'd been washed in the bathroom sink :rotfl:

I have all the respect in the world for people who take animals and in and care for them. Keep up the most excellent work, moggylover

Thank you:o - and I shall certainly try! It has always been a part of my life (my parents were just as bad and even had a sanctuary for injured birds of prey) and I cannot imagine not doing it anyway.

moggylover

Aylana wrote: »

I

My mam got known for taking in strays which is how she ended up with 12 of them. Allsorts of people used to turn up with random cats for her.


That is kind of how it started for us as well - but with birds as well as cats and dogs and then anything else that happened to need some help! We've had swans, a deer, seagulls, a polecat (who was not at all happy with us:eek: ) owls, kestrels, buzzards, crows, a badger (who unfortunately did not make it) and lord knows how many hedgehogs and my wonderful Ferdie Fox who had been hit by a car and needed his pelvis pinned but eventually healed and returned to the wild!

I even used to get myself into all sorts of trouble at School cos I would cut the hedgehogs free from the nets surrounding the Tennis courts:o - eventually managed to persuade them that if we lifted the nets up about 9 inches the hedgies would not get tangled. End of boll*****gs:D

Optimisticpair

Came back read the thread through to see how tiny kitty was faring and noticed a bright warm light. On looking I saw it was a little beacon of kindness shining.

Careful_with_that_Axe

Moggylover - what a kindly soul you are too!
I've some experience of ferals having taken on 2 at 6 months of age (them, not me!) in a former life.
Was really successful with them and then years later have taken on a 4 year old semi-feral with violent tendancies!
I've had her for 4 years now and she loves people and is affectionate once she knows you, but still bites and scratches. I have many scars to prove it.
I can now spot when she's about to strike and usually manage to evade injury. She's very bonded to me and I wonder if this is now so much a part of her personality that there's no room for improvement anymore.
I've tried to reinforce the bond to prevent attacks by playing with her, but to no avail. Any suggestions?

moggylover

Careful_with_that_Axe wrote: »

Moggylover - what a kindly soul you are too!
I've some experience of ferals having taken on 2 at 6 months of age (them, not me!) in a former life.
Was really successful with them and then years later have taken on a 4 year old semi-feral with violent tendancies!
I've had her for 4 years now and she loves people and is affectionate once she knows you, but still bites and scratches. I have many scars to prove it.
I can now spot when she's about to strike and usually manage to evade injury. She's very bonded to me and I wonder if this is now so much a part of her personality that there's no room for improvement anymore.
I've tried to reinforce the bond to prevent attacks by playing with her, but to no avail. Any suggestions?

Nope! I have one like that myself:eek: is madame a tortie by any chance - they do have a reputation?

It isn't only ferrals mind, I had a domestic bred cat some years ago, a pale ginger called Fudge, who was just as bloody minded! He would come and rub against you, accept lots of fuss, and then lacerate your hand in thanks all without a pause in the purring!:eek: .

I have a suspicion that this has more to do with a mild sexual stimulation that some cats seem to get from being stoked/petted. I'm afraid that the cat sex act tends to be quite "rough" and the female will often lash out at the male (either if she does not want him, or during her excitement or when she has had enough:D ) and it is the only thing I can think of that accounts for this sort of behaviour.

I have found that those diffuser things that are meant to calm distressed or nervous cats help a little - but not enough to be worth the long term expense. Old age mellowed Fudge - Tortie is already quite old and I just have to accept it as a quirk of her nature and an odd way of showing her love and appreciation:rotfl: .

Sorry I cannot be of more help. A good homoeopathic vet might be able to give a remedy that would help - but it can be complicated identifying the right remedy so I have not bothered. We all just take care when Tortie Tart wants a fuss:o

ETA: I'm not sure I am a kindly soul so much as a soft hearted Mug - but thank you:o . I keep promising I will not "do it again" but just do not have it in me to walk away:rotfl:

Careful_with_that_Axe

LOL
She's a Ginger, so has the same rep as a Tortie. She sounds very similar to Fudge in temprament. I suspected it wasn't ever going to change. She can be a little hard to love, but I care for her and will cherish her to her dying day.
Have used Bach remedies with some success in the past when introducing new cats to household to alleviate any chances of WWIII, it's just a little difficult to know which one to choose when you aren't aware of the underlying cause of the actions.
Funniest thing is if she's feeling particularly mean and I manage to yank my hand out of the way in time, she'll wait til I'm standing in another room and bite my foot.
She has to have the last word!

rita-rabbit

trim the claws regularly (if any doubt about injuring moggy in process ask vet to show you how far 2 trim - I use large human nail clippers - I find that covers `affection scratches' to owners & damage to furniture. Scratching posts have a different role I have found - so they are still a necessary item for cat owners.

How regularly - well when the scratches get sharp is a good indication that a trim is due. 1 of mine wakes me up for food by pawing me & if claws are in need of a trim - I can tell by sharpness or his alarm-call!

Careful_with_that_Axe

How have things gone today Aylana? any update?