Found cat - what on earth to do...

mystra

Well, our quiet Monday night was disturbed by some veyr loud meowing outside in the pub next doors disused garden/yard.

Looked out the window and there's a small black and white cat staring up meowing its socks off! At first I thought it was a cheeky wanderer begging for scraps even though it's had 10 dinners elsewhere tonight, but then I saw it walked a little odd. So i went downstairs and round the gate of the yard and coaxed her out. Checked her over, very sweet but no obvious pain or injuries so i just put it down to her being a cheeky begging cat LOL.

An hour later she was back in the gardens again, sounding so pitiful, this time she was actually hiding under the old car parked there, and crying her heart out. Neighbour downstairs heard her too. She has a cat so she gave some food and she wolfed it down like she'd not eaten for a while. My neighbour has a cat herself, so knows bit better than I do, I was 50/50 on bringing her in the first time around, but we deiced to bring her in. She couldn't stay downstairs as my neighbours indoor cat doesn't like other cats so she's staying with us.

We've taken her to the vets - no microchip showed up. She looks just under a year old. She loves people, and seems to get distressed without human attention, so we've come to the conclusion she's an indoor cat that's got out. Guess her owners didn't bother to chip her as she wasn't supposed to go out (lesson to be learned right there).

We've posted on Gumtree, CatChat, National Pet Register, Animal Search UK, local online forums etc and put posters up in local shop windows and in the streets around us. We've also reported it to the vets in the area. I reported it to Battersea online too as there phones are jammed. (we're in London).

Is there anything else we can do that I haven't thought of? We adore her but at the end of the day she's not ours. I'm worried though she has something very wrong with her legs (she walks likes she drunk - the vet said it could just be that's she's weak and hungry, but she's not improved) that would be an excuse for even the no-kill shelters to euthanise her should they not find her owners. She just looks so sad, she's comfortable and content with us but you can just tell she's missing home.

How far could a cat go? Especially one used to indoors? Should we widen our search? I'm thinking of posting leaflets through doors soon. We're going on holiday in a week too. The sad thing is we want to get a cat but we haven't had chance to save up, get things organised etc (we were going to rescue an older cat from a shelter) so we're not in an ideal position to keep her, but I will if it stops her being put to sleep. Ideally I just want her reunited with her owners, we really care about the little mite.

Any suggestions on what to do next?

Dumbe

I can't think of anything else.. But just wanted to post my support .. And say well done the world would be a better place if everyone felt and acted like you have...

krlyr

Might be worth giving it a week or so before writing off a local owner - they might, for example, have gone on holiday and left the cat in the hands of a neighbour or even an automated pet feeder and have no knowledge of the cat being missing.
I would try to surrounding areas too, even if it's just logging in with vets in the next few towns.

picklepick

Aw poor thing. Well done you for taking her in. It sounds like you've done a lot to try and find her owners. Cats can wander for miles but if someone is missing her, they will check the websites you've listed her on.

picklepick

Have you read through all the 'missing' ads on those websites?

Fire_Fox

No kill rescues will not euthanise a young cat if she is not in pain, discomfort or distress, they will likely look for an indoor home tho. Have you posted on Purrsinourhearts forum, also check out their amazing shop if you do keep her? The more rescues and vets you can ring around the better, she may have travelled across the city as a stowaway in a car or van.

Might she be pregnant? Did the vet check her for kittens or can they see a spay mark in her fur? Is there any chance she has a hearing problem, that might explain the crying?

bazster

I think you've done everything you can. If you are anything like me you will not have the heart to take her to a rescue centre, you will take her to the vet, get her thoroughly checked over and vaccinated, and say hello to the new member of your family!

I've acquired two cats in this way. One of them was even microchipped, but the person he was registered to never replied to any attempt to contact her, never even answered her 'phone. I'm guessing she either died or was hospitalised. Speaking to neighbours it seems that poor puss was living on the streets for at least two years before he had the luck to wander through our back door.

Don't worry if you think she's homesick, she'll soon settle into her new home and forget about her old one.

Faith177

What a wonderful thing you have done for that little cat :T

I think you have done everything you can tbh

gettingready

Photos?

Thread not valid without photos

paddypaws101

I know you say you are not quite ready for the new cat you had planned, but it seems that Puss has other ideas.
If her owners do not turn up then surely it makes sense for you to keep her rather than putting her through the stress of being put into a rescue...if in fact any local ones have space!...

HeatherintheHills

Thank you for taking the poor little mite in and giving her such good care. :A

This sounds awful, but could you ask around locally if anyone in your immediate area has died or been admitted to hospital? The little cat may have escaped when the ambulance service arrived. Poor things are so stressed in those situations and either run off through the open door in a panic or try to follow when their owners are taken out of the house, then find themselves locked out. Other than that, I cannot think of anything more you could do that you haven't already done.

Re her leg, I have a little black and white girl who walks funny at times, one leg sort of splays out. She has an ongoing but manageable medical condition and the limp is an indication that she is stressed because she knows she isn't quite as well as she usually is. Her leg goes back to normal as soon as she is OK again. Perhaps with your little one her leg will be ok again once she feels settled.

If an owner doesn't turn up within a couple of weeks I hope you feel able to keep her. It sounds as if fate may have taken a hand in your decision to get a cat and you have been chosen

Has she told you what her name is yet? To find out, call different names to her and see which ones she flicks her ears at.