[Cabinanteerip]

Shortly before PB crashed, I posted about a starving young cat that showed up in my backyard. He was literally skin and bones. It was awful. I had to feed him. So he's been getting fed twice a day since then. He's gained a good bit of weight and looks pretty good. I'm getting him fixed in two more weeks. Then I need to find him a home. He's a very sweet cat. He loves to be petted and he has a calm disposition. So if anyone might want to give him a home, please let me know.

Ideally, I'd like to find him a home where he can keep his claws and still go outside. I think he's old enough (I'm guessing between 1-2 yrs) that it would be hard for him to adjust to being strictly an inside cat.

I don't want him to have to go to a shelter because they are so overcrowded right now that most of the animals get sick once they arrive there and most get put to sleep. Even the low-kill or no-kill shelters are having to put a lot of animals to sleep, so I really don't want to go that route. So I'm hoping to find him a home myself, and hopefully before it gets too cold out.

Pics to come! Thanks for reading.

[dgdhgjjgj]

Isn't Morris Animal Refuge no kill? We already have several pets in my apartment or I would offer him a home. Post about him on Craigslist? He needs to be in the country to keep his claws. He's lucky to have a friend like you.

[SantaClaus]

Shortly before PB crashed, I posted about a starving young cat that showed up in my backyard. He was literally skin and bones. It was awful. I had to feed him. So he's been getting fed twice a day since then. He's gained a good bit of weight and looks pretty good. I'm getting him fixed in two more weeks. Then I need to find him a home. He's a very sweet cat. He loves to be petted and he has a calm disposition. So if anyone might want to give him a home, please let me know.

Ideally, I'd like to find him a home where he can keep his claws and still go outside. I think he's old enough (I'm guessing between 1-2 yrs) that it would be hard for him to adjust to being strictly an inside cat.

I don't want him to have to go to a shelter because they are so overcrowded right now that most of the animals get sick once they arrive there and most get put to sleep. Even the low-kill or no-kill shelters are having to put a lot of animals to sleep, so I really don't want to go that route. So I'm hoping to find him a home myself, and hopefully before it gets too cold out.

Pics to come! Thanks for reading.

I just need to correct you on something here that most people get wrong about cats- they DON'T "need" to go outside, and whether they were "used to it" or not, they can get just as used to staying in. How do I know? Because I used to foster cats for an adoption organization and have had up to 12 of them at one point, (briefly) and have observed the 7 that we had, one a 8-10 yr old FERAL that I tamed and brought in, (who died in 2005 after 2 1/2 years, he had been through a lot before we found him,) and now in the 6 that we still have, over the past 8 years that we've had them, nearly 24/7 and what I can DEFINITELY tell you is that they ADAPT.

All but 2 of our cats were fosters or strays. I don't know what kind of lives they had before in some cases, but one was severely abused, wouldn't allow anyone near her when they gave her to me to "rehab," (she now can't get ENOUGH attention from ANYONE,) and at least 3 of the others had been living outside for some time, with the feral having been out there his whole life, and ALL of them adapted to laying on the couch and looking out windows.

People think cats LIKE to hunt, but in fact, they LIKE to SLEEP just as much.
I play with, talk to and teach my cats stuff when they're awake, but they're pretty happy that they don't have to hunt for their food anymore.

[Tjfyojlg]

Thanks for caring about this cat. When you get him fixed, be sure to test him for FIV and feline leukemia and get his rabies and FVRCP vaccines. He will then be 100% ready for adoption!

Bebe is right--cats adjust to being indoor-only very quickly. I've picked up strays as old as 8-10 years and even they adjusted to indoor life very quickly. But you do want to get him neutered before you bring him in, unless you want tom cat spray in your house. Once neutered, he will learn to use a litterbox naturally. There are just too many dangers outside (cars, dogs, feline diseases, kids, poison, etc) to justify letting cats outside in the city, so please try to find someone who will give him an indoor-only home.

Also, to answer another person's question, Morris Animal Refuge is NOT no-kill. They euthanize animals there, and due to their very small size, they have a fairly high euthanasia rate (or at least did a few years ago, when I knew someone who worked there). Really, any shelter in this city is not a safe place to take a cat. The PSPCA/ACCT save rate is currently a dismal 52% for cats. Your best bet is to find a home for the cat on your own. Here's a resource developed by City Kitties that may be helpful: Stray Cat Adoption Pack

It has guidelines and advice for advertising the cat and finding a proper home, a sample adoption application and contract you can download and use, and info on common medical issues. Good luck!

[Ceakicknunk]

Personally, if it were me, (and it has been,) I wouldn't allow anyone to adopt the cat unless they signed a contract stating they won't declaw it. That's such a brutal surgery on the cat, a lot of people don't realize, but it often causes behavioral problems, like inappropriate pissing. One of our cats was found neutered and declawed, had been "around the neighborhood," we were told, for "about a year." He wasn't more than 1 1/2 yrs. old, so we figure that after the declawing, he started the misbehavior that he's now on Prozac, I kid you not, for, and the owners probably tossed him out. In fact, we think the VERY PEOPLE who told us how long he'd been out there were the ones who did it.
That's where he hung around, the woman fed him once in a while, and said her husband didn't want her to, and that the cat would even try to get in her car with her....

One night, when he was eating at OUR winterized cat shelter, I decided to try to pet him, and after that, he cried the ENTIRE NIGHT at my bedroom window, cried himself hoarse until 8am.
He disappeared for a day, then came back and walked right into the carrier we had, he's been my very best buddy ever since.

[Flatlytaize]

As far as I know, PAWS is Philly's only no kill shelter but they are not doing intake because they don't have the space. If you are willing to foster the cat at your location, however- they will usually take care of the neutering, immunizations and adoption paperwork. I recommend calling and talking to the manager or stopping by their 2nd & Arch location for more info. If that doesn't work out for you- feel free to hang up an adoption flyer at my store at 53 N. 3rd St. (we have a bulletin board). I also have some sample adoption applications if you need to know the proper questions to ask a perspective adoptive parent. Good luck and great job saving an innocent life!

[indahouweres]

I will also support the idea that outdoor cats can easily and quickly become indoor cats. 2 out of 3 of mine were strays; one of those was an indoor/outdoor cat for about 5 more years and has been an indoor cat for 7. The third cat was born in a barn and became an indoor cat.

As for declawing, think of it this way. It's the human equivalent to having your fingers cut off at the first knuckle. Then you have to walk on them. Never declaw a cat. Even indoor cats can get out and then they're practically defenseless. And, yes, cats can be successfully trained to not scratch furniture. It takes some patience and persistence, but it can be done.

[rasiasertew]

I will also support the idea that outdoor cats can easily and quickly become indoor cats. 2 out of 3 of mine were strays; one of those was an indoor/outdoor cat for about 5 more years and has been an indoor cat for 7. The third cat was born in a barn and became an indoor cat.

As for declawing, think of it this way. It's the human equivalent to having your fingers cut off at the first knuckle. Then you have to walk on them. Never declaw a cat. Even indoor cats can get out and then they're practically defenseless. And, yes, cats can be successfully trained to not scratch furniture. It takes some patience and persistence, but it can be done.

What she said. We give ours something MUCH better to use, and I don't mean some store-bought post that they won't use. We bought cheap SISAL remnants on ebay, they came in 3-4 ft. long pieces, about a foot to 2 ft. wide, and we used paneling nails to tack them to one area of wall that's a half-wall that juts out from the side, like a short pillar. Add cats, stir. They climb it, scratch it, etc. NEVER use the furniture, and they had been doing it on our previous couch cover, it was kind of burlap-y, they like that kind of texture...

[Adiamant]

Thanks for all the info and advice!

Tomorrow is the big day. I've had the carrier in the backyard for a couple of weeks now so he would get used to it. I added a fleece bed last week when the weather got crappy, then made a tent out of a Tidy Cat bag to keep the rain out. He loves it! He pretty much lives in it now. There are no words for how much I dread going out there in the morning and zipping him into what he now considers his safe little space, then putting him the car and driving him 13 miles to hell.

Gotta go take away his food now.

[amberamuletuk]

Thanks for all the info and advice!

Tomorrow is the big day. I've had the carrier in the backyard for a couple of weeks now so he would get used to it. I added a fleece bed last week when the weather got crappy, then made a tent out of a Tidy Cat bag to keep the rain out. He loves it! He pretty much lives in it now. There are no words for how much I dread going out there in the morning and zipping him into what he now considers his safe little space, then putting him the car and driving him 13 miles to hell.

Gotta go take away his food now.

Manny had a big soft sided carrier that opened on the top and bottom. It was also his bed in the apartment. Taking him to the vet in it did not take away him seeing it as his "bed". In fact, if there was a break in his exam he would relax inside it like he did at home.

It was also very helpful that he was so comfortable with what was also his carrier when we had some 3am fire alarms in our building. Nothing is worse than thinking your building is burning down around you as you dig the carrier outta the closet and wrestle the cat into it cause you have to run down 6 floors in your PJ's with him NOW.

[VawSwaspamups]

He'll hate you now, but thank you later! You're doing him a HUGE favor getting him vet care and a safe, loving home. The alternative is dying on the street from disease or injury.

Thanks for all the info and advice!

Tomorrow is the big day. I've had the carrier in the backyard for a couple of weeks now so he would get used to it. I added a fleece bed last week when the weather got crappy, then made a tent out of a Tidy Cat bag to keep the rain out. He loves it! He pretty much lives in it now. There are no words for how much I dread going out there in the morning and zipping him into what he now considers his safe little space, then putting him the car and driving him 13 miles to hell.

Gotta go take away his food now.

[geniusxs81]

The drop off went well! He didn't make a sound the whole way. He just stared at me through his mesh window, as if to ask, "Don't you think it's time you traded this in for an Infiniti FX35?" To which I agreed.

I go get him at 4pm. I hope he'll be okay outside. I cleaned his carrier and bedding and the whole backyard. That's about the best I can do.

[lierro]

Just be sure you keep him inside for 24-48 hours minimum following surgery so he has time to recover in a safe and temperature-controlled place. A bathroom would work well. Outside, vetted and cared for is better than nothing! Thanks for helping him.

The drop off went well! He didn't make a sound the whole way. He just stared at me through his mesh window, as if to ask, "Don't you think it's time you traded this in for an Infiniti FX35?" To which I agreed.

I go get him at 4pm. I hope he'll be okay outside. I cleaned his carrier and bedding and the whole backyard. That's about the best I can do.

[antonyandruleit]

he's been my very best buddy ever since.

Great picture. Despite my avatar, I really feel that cats are just the best!

[arreskslarlig]

I ****ed up big time. They asked me if I wanted to get his ear tipped so animal control would know he's been neutered and they wouldn't pick him up, so I said okay. I should have asked what the **** that was. Now the poor kitty has the tip of one ear missing. How horrible! Why the **** didn't I ask? I'd have never imagined "tipping" meant something as awful as that and I'd never have agreed to that had I known. I'm so pissed at myself for not asking! I got him fixed so he'd be more adoptable and he comes back with half an ear. Like that's gonna help!

Other than that, he seems okay. He came home and ate, wobbled around for a bit making sure he was really back home, then crawled back into his carrier and is now sleeping.

Oh, they said he's between 2-3 years old.

This sucks.

[realfan87]

Stop beating yourself up!!!!

You have saved this cat from a miserable life on the street at best.... the worse case senerio is too awful to imagine.

You have given him love and care (well beyond normally expected)... and doing everything in your power to give him a healthy and long life. You will find him a home, even with his tipped ear. No one will be upset when you simply say, "it was a miscommunication that the vet thought that was going to be left on the street, but this sweet boy is ready for a home."

You def deserve a pat on the back, not a kick in the a**

[LongaDonga]

He'll be fine. They don't feel pain the same way we do. You're a good owner/ friend.

[LeviBrawn]

Thanks! I'm still sick about it, but I'm trying to let it go since there's no going back in time to undo it.

I just hope I can find him a loving home.

Will take some pics of him in a couple of days, once his ear looks better.

[Pznrrmaf]

How's the little man today?

[Jeaxatoem]

He's doing well! I don't see any indication that he's in pain.

Also, I don't think his ear is going to look that bad. Once it heals, I don't think it'll be immediately noticeable. At least that's what I'm hoping!