Ok, I'll admit it... My Name Is Kate and I'm a Cat-Aholic

[katekat]

A few weeks ago we had a visitor of the furry-cat variety on our back deck.  He'd been spotted around the neighborhood before, and had run to and fro in the back yard on occasion, but never gotten close.

Until now.  Apparently we've been adopted.  He's been out on the deck for three weeks.  He flirts with Felix (and, what's more, she doesn't beat him up for it but tolerates him - the first time that's EVER happened with any other animal besides the snakes).  He lets us pet him, he meows and walks through Neil's legs, and he's the cutest gray little guy.

We named him Spooky.

And yes, once he gets relaxed around us enough, there will be a trip to the vet so he can get checked out.  For now we're washing hands after every pet and being very careful with him and Felix (although she did just get her shots, so it should be ok for her to fraternize)

Comments

[mishloran.livejournal.com]

You should be careful, he looks like he very probably belongs to someone. I know he doesn't have a collar, but frankly, he's beautiful and looks like possibly some sort of pedigree type cat, too (the sandybrown makes me think this, though I suppose he could just be a handsome Heinz cat)? ... You could take him to be scanned for his microchip (do you have those in the USA?), if he'll let you, just in case?

When we first moved into our house now there was a black and white cat, rather thin, with three legs, who used to come visit us. We nicknamed him Tripod and fed him. About a month or two down the line, we got a ring on our doorbell and a very angry lady lectured my Mum about how it was NOT okay to steal her cat, etc etc.

It could also be a case of someone moved away but forgot that cats take time to get used to their new surroundings etc - and sometimes really don't like their new homes, so go back to the old neighbourhood to be all smooth and sophisticated and find a new family. Like our Old Mikita Cat who when we left to go to Thailand we gave away to this lady who was bedridden. When we came back to England, unbeknownst to us, the lady died and her family took Mikita away with them to live with them. Only Mikita kept escaping and returning to his old house. Where a new family lived, who didn't want a kitty. It was a case of every weekend he would return - so the family got in touch with us, and said did we want our old cat back?! We did, and thus Old Mikita was returned to us. But you know. I worry a little it might be summat like that, maybe?

I hope that he can be Your cat, you know, but just in case...! I do not want you to get into trouble!

[katekat]

You're very right about the provenance of cats (and their decisions to wander from their families). A couple of things I didn't mention about this little guy is that we're pretty sure he's part of a feral kitten litter that was born at the very beginning of last year - he and two other cats have been haunting the neighborhood for that entire time... the entire group has actually been hanging out in our backyard (at the edges) since last spring - it's only in the last month that he's become bolder and come up on the deck, but we've been seeing him around for far longer than that. As far as his possible parentage - as soon as we have developed enough of a relationship with him to be able to take him to the vet and get him checked (and spayed) we'll totally check for microchip, although they're not terribly common around here. That's also part of the reason why we held off actually feeding him until the really bad rainy night the other night - so as not to encourage him to hang around the house if he had somewhere to go back to - but we're as certain as we can be that he doesn't actually have a home to go to.

But yeah, I'll steel myself for his possible alternative family status ... i wish we had more of a community bulletin board or something so i could post up a picture of him and see if he's anyone's...

[mishloran.livejournal.com]

Ah, excellent, then you have researched 'real good' and all is well :)

I can't believe microchipping isn't common in the US (at least in your state), it's pretty much What You Do as soon as you get a pet (well, cat/dog type pet, not, like, a hamster!) in the UK. Costs very little and could potentially save him from being stolen etc!

[snash-attack.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure he is just a stray. We've watched him grow up from the time that he was a little bitty kitten...I almost had him eating out of my hand last summer, when he was only as big as a shoe. His mama cat is feral too, and we see her from time to time, along with at least one other littermate (who visited one night, but hasn't been back since then).

And the way I feel about it, if you don't love your cat enough to collar him, then you don't deserve him! =) He's all ours now...mwa ha ha! But when we can eventually catch him and take him to the vet, we will ask them to scan for a chip--that's a good idea.

Plus, he is a mighty hunter! I watched him catch/eat a bird the other day that was almost as big as he is...and now our backyard is much quieter, since I think the birds are afraid to come back! =)