A cat has claimed me as her own, what do?

[Stigmata]

This little cat, can't be over a year and a half old, showed up at my back door thirsty and hungry, and without a collar. Being on welfare, I of course saw fit to spend money on cat food, and she destroyed two bowls of it. Then I put her outside for some fresh air, went back to my room, and she started crying at the door to be let back in. It sounded so tiny and desperate and lonely and it broke my heart ;(

So now I have a cat I guess. I had one living at home, but this is the first time I'll be taking care of one myself. What should I do? I've given her food and water, and she's just chilling on the backdoor mat right now. I don't expect to be able to afford actual registration or shots or whatnot, so aside from that, what am I missing?

 

[Krynn72]

Shitbox. Shitlitter.

 

[unozero]

you mosdef wanna get the shots and spaying her out of the way asap.

 

[Krynn72]

Do animals get free healthcare up there too?

 

[LibDem]

If you really do not want the cat or you cannot afford it, you can always take it to an animal shelter.

 

[KiplingsCat]

If you want her, all you have to do is provide food, a bed (maybe your bed), love, and a place for her to poop (although once she's house trained you don't even really need this, she'll just go outside). That's pretty much all they need.

Take her to the vet, but it's possible she's already had the shots - does she look generally well looked after? If her coat is shiny-ish and she's not too scrawny or mangy looking, and if she approached you willingly, it's probable that she used to belong to someone else, so that stuff could be taken care of in that case. Best to just bring her to the vet anyway though, to be sure.

If you don't want her, try to find a friend who does before you resort to a shelter. They might just put her down

EDIT No 1: Ask around your neighbourhood; she could have wandered away from someone else.

EDIT No 2: Pictures!

 

[Warped]

yeah what he said ^

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

Enter 15 years of clawed furniture and lint rollers.

 

[Krynn72]

yeah what she said ^

Fixed.

Enter 15 years of clawed furniture and lint rollers.

And 15 years of this.

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

GOD DAMMIT KRYNN! Ugh.

 

[Stigmata]

Thanks bros. For the time being I'm just letting her wander out, and figure if she wants to stay, she knows where to go. Once she starts hanging around here regularly, I'll put up signs in case someone owns him, and then I'll start thinking about kitty litter and/or adoption. I've wanted a cat for a long time though, I don't think I'll be able to give her away :3

And 15 years of this.

I hope she does this every day.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

By the way, lots of people these days don't opt to give all the necessary vaccinations. I'm not saying don't get vaccinations but you don't need to consider them a priority as those diseases are largely controlled. What is important is that you get her spayed, you really don't want kittens - it's a standard procedure operation & certainly recommended. Call a local vet and get a quote for it and do it when you can afford it. I wouldn't bother with micro-chipping, too expensive.

Other than food...love, a lap, something soft to sleep on and some freedom so she can go outside to do her business. If she doesn't have an owner, I'm sure you could give her a loving home.

 

[Uriel]

Eat it

 

[Destructo-Bot]

Don't try to mix indoor and outdoor. Either it's a house cat or an outdoor cat. If it's going to be your only indoor cat, don't be too concerned about vaccinations (though it isn't a bad idea anyway). Vets aren't THAT expensive, when I call for a mobile vet (they come to your home in an RV type vehicle) they only charge about $50 for the visit to do a basic checkup. To do blood-work was $150, though it would be cheaper if you are willing to take the cat to a vet's office rather than have them come to you. Do get the cat spayed or neutered though, you'll be doing everyone a favor. Most vets will give you a payment plan option if necessary.

Cats are cheap once you get past the initial checkups, shots, and spaying/neutering.

That said, my own cat's kidney's are failing. The vet doesn't think he's going to be around for much longer

 

[Ennui]

Yeah I would say you should either adopt her and take her inside or just leave food out for her and let her be a wild cat. House cats eventually get pretty soft and fat and stupid and aren't too well equipped to handle the wilderness of the outside world.

If you do want to take care of her, you need cat food obviously, and a litterbox (litter training is VERY simple and easy, you basically just put the cat in the litter box and they figure it out). You should get her spayed as well. It's not terribly expensive and it will not only make the cat a bit calmer and less hormonal / territorial, but you can help solve the overpopulation problem that forces animal shelters to euthanize millions of cats every year.

You definitely need to get her to a vet. If she's been a stray she might have some health problems (parasites etc). There are also some shots you need to get her, at least here where I live it is against the law not to vaccinate your pet against rabies.

Owning a cat isn't very expensive but there are some incidental costs. My gf and I got one a little over a year ago... we paid about $100 for her spaying and vaccinations. Besides that it's just the regular cost of food and litter... and flea medicine. Frontline seems to be the only one that works well (we've battled fleas all year) and it's expensive, about $20 per monthly application (we get 6 months at a time for like $120 or so). I'd say all told we probably spend about $40-50 a month paying for the cat's flea medicine, food, and fresh litter.

I hope you don't find this too much of a financial burden because I think you should keep her. She sounds adorable. I love kittens :3

 

[Krynn72]

Why wouldn't you want to mix indoor/outdoor? We did that for one of our cats, and it was fine for years, we just let her out whenever she wanted out, and let her in whenever she wanted in. Of course, then she jumped out of a tall ass tree like an idiot and ended up bleeding internally until the vet put her down. But that'll happen to strictly outdoor cats as often if not moreso.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Indeed, my cats do as they please...coming in and out all the time. Sometimes cats need to be kept in if they are pedigree and risk of being stolen or you live by a very busy road. Otherwise cats need their freedom to run through gardens and whatnot then come home for food and sleep. People who leave their cats out most of the time end up with a more wild and distanced cat which will only want food from you and nothing more.

 

[Maestro]

I'm not sure if I envy those of you who are not horrendously allergic to cats.

 

[Acepilotf14]

My cat is great, she wanders around outside but will come in and sleep on my lap forcefully while I'm trying to play video games.

 

[Sheepo]

Perhaps you could trade it in for a dog?

 

[Stigmata]

Indeed, my cats do as they please...coming in and out all the time. Sometimes cats need to be kept in if they are pedigree and risk of being stolen or you live by a very busy road. Otherwise cats need their freedom to run through gardens and whatnot then come home for food and sleep. People who leave their cats out most of the time end up with a more wild and distanced cat which will only want food from you and nothing more.

I think that's just a self-selection bias, since more neglectful owners are more likely to put their cat out so they don't have to deal with it at night. My family used to have a cat that we put out every night from ~10pm to 6am, even in the winter, and he loved us because we were affectionate with him anytime he was around.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Our cats roam in and out just fine, not sure what the problem is. They're not fat or lazy either... maybe the problem is overfeeding.

 

[Link]

Don't forget to get worming tablets

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

This thread is ****ing adorable. Just sayin'.

 

[YROC]

I've had my cat "Bear" for about 5 years now. No shots and he's as healthy as can be.

Only bad thing about him is that he doesn't like cat food at all. Picky sonnavabitch needs tuna or bologna.

Pic related. Bear.

 

[Omnomnick]

I know one thing Stigmata is missing.
And one thing this thread is also missing.

Pics of the cat

 

[JUL3]

I've had my cat "Bear" for about 5 years now. No shots and he's as healthy as can be.

Only bad thing about him is that he doesn't like cat food at all. Picky sonnavabitch needs tuna or bologna.

Pic related. Bear.

[/QUOTE]

I swear this breed (whatever it is) looks entirely identical.

Banshee:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/2Zi1q.jpg

 

[morgs]

My cat used to be a stray. One day about 10 years back she just showed up in my back yard under this big tree. We didn't feed her or anything but she kept showing up. After advertising in the papers etc and no one claiming her we just decided to keep her.

Then she gave birth in my bed.

 

[YROC]

Then she gave birth in my bed.

Both of your lives were changed forever.

 

[Stigmata]

I read it as "Then she gave birth to my bed" and had so many questions...

Morgs your cat is adorable ^___^ I'm going to see if I can find a cheap digital camera today. It looks like it might rain, so I'm sure she'll be back soon.

 

[CptStern]

if the cat is a stray you should have it vaccinated right away as it could have distemper or a whole whack of feline diseases, some even harmful to humans. if it's not a stray then it could be someone's pet who's looking for it. or it could just have adopted you as a sucker. I had a similiar cat story and found out later that it visited 3 other homes in my neighbourhood and actually had a home of it's own. it just knew where to get free meals

 

[Stigmata]

Well we've already headbutted and she's sleeping on my pajamas, so I think that means she's in it for the long haul.

 

[CptStern]

and now you have fleas

pics goddamit