stray cats

[zenithblue]

Question: if there were a stray cat you had become friendly with in your neighborhood, and you were pretty sure you could not take him in due to already having as much cat as you can afford, what would you do

Comments

[zenithblue]

I'm in negotiations with roommates about if the cat can crash here short-term or not. The problem is he looks kind of mangy, and I guaruntee he has fleas, and then too the other cats barely get along with each other so adding cat number three even temporarily is problematic. I don't want to be unfair to the cats I already have a committment to.

Things to mull over, none of them without solutions.

[antarcticlust]

C) Take him to a no-kill shelter. More and more shelters don't euthanize...a quick google found House of Dreams in Portland, and I noticed several others.

Good luck!

[zenithblue]

The no-kill shelters are totally wonderful, but the only problem is they will turn away cats that they deem hard to place. This guy looks a little the worse for wear, so I don't know what his chances are.

But I suppose it couldn't hurt to call and talk to a staff member, and see if it's feasible. Thanks, I hadn't really thought about that.

[antarcticlust]

The one I posted takes any cat if they have room- there are some animals that have some "permanant residents" because they're blind, or deaf, or have leukemia. :)

[zenithblue]

I gave them a call--they sound awesome, by the way. They don't have room right now but they gave me some other numbers to call.

It also might be a few weeks before he trusts me enough for me to grab him anyway, so maybe something will open up by then.

Thanks for the webwork, spidergirl. :) Good call.

[bluescissors76]

We had a stray come up to our porch last week. It might have been in heat or possibly even pregnant - its meow sounded like a moo, and it REALLY wanted to come in. Unfortunately for this poor cat, it was neither cute nor friendly. I saw it the next day on the street, and then never again. I wonder what happened to it, but I can't take in another cat.

There was a cute one on the street in the summer and one of my neighbors took it in. Any possibility of that for this one? Anyone else feeding it or taking an interest in it?

[zenithblue]

One of my neighbors is trying to trap him and take him to the pound. I am hoping that by "pound" she means "Humane Society," because our HS is really wonderful and has like an 80% placement rate, but our pound is a county organization with limited funds that puts animals down very quickly.

[scarredbyitall]

If you're able to afford it, take the kitty to neutered and tested for FIV. Males recuperate from the surgery faster than females. Keep him in a spare bedroom, away from your other cats, for the healing time, which shouldn't be more than a day or two. Or, keep him on a screened back porch if you have such a thing. Then let him back into the yard and allow him to be your outdoor cat. I assume you've already asked around to see if anyone would like to adopt him, but keep asking. Maybe it's just a matter of time before someone will say yes.

I know what a hard situation it is. I've rarely been able to say no to a kitty. I also know my suggestion may not be feasible, dependent on a number of factors, but it's what came to mind. The neutering thing is so important, so there won't be more stray kitties to tug at your heartstrings.

[zenithblue]

I am totally game to take him to the vet, I'll find a way to afford it, but I am a little afraid to let him hang out in my house with the other cats. They don't really get along with each other, and I don't want to inflict a third variable into the equation--we don't really have space to sequester stray kitty away from the boys I already have.

I know the feral cat coalition in Portland will neuter cats for low fees and also I think they have a holding area for them to recover...maybe I'll give them a call too.

[zenithblue]

Bathroom is a good idea. The boyfriend says as long as I "promise not to get super attached to a cat I can't afford" I can have it short-term in the bathroom, so that is a possibility.

[lagizma]

He's yours as soon as you do A.

And the Humane Society people are going to look at you like you are a complete crap-head when you do B.

[zenithblue]

...so than what's C?

I don't think the Humane society would think I was an asshole for bringing in a stray. That's what they're there for, after all. They don't want the cat wandering around in the cold winter any more than I do, and OHS is really an incredible organization--they do a lot of outreach and work really hard to find good homes for animals. I think I'm going to call them and ask if they have some advice before I do anything.

I am such a sucker.

[lagizma]

You expect me to do something other than say your life sucks???

With B, unfortunately, I have experiece. They are going to want to charge you, which actually, is probably fine. I'd pay $30 or whatever.

But I had a friend who adopted a dog, not realizing that she was NOT a dog person. She spent a couple weeks loathing the damn thing and its dog-like neediness and care requirements (she was, yes, a cat person). She brought it back to say, dude, I tried, but I hate this thing, and I am going to end up neglecting it, and they gave her a major guilt trip. She's a bossy loud-mouth, so she got rid of it, but they would have made a lesser woman feel so guilty that she kept the darn thing.

[zenithblue]

I didn't mean to imply my life sucks...it doesn't, really. I just want to make sure this guy is somewhere secure before the weather gets too cold. I'm not angsting away, I'm trying to decide on the best course of action.

I've had lots of good interactions with Oregon Humane Society--they do a pretty good job counseling and screening humans and placing critters. I know they probably give guilt trips from time to time, and that's mostly because they see a lot of bad decisions made. We got one of our cats there and they made it a really good experience for us (I have a huge fear of going into a pound/shelter so the fact that it wasn't horrifying was a plus). OHS has a reputation for being one of the better humane society branches in the country, though, so it might be different elsewhere.