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Adopting a street kitten Anonymous
My girlfriend took in this kitten she found walking around in the alley in Chicago. I havent seen it yet, but I think I will keep her.
I have a few pics from her shitty mobile phone.
Any guesses as to age? Any issues I should know about getting a street cat of this age? If I had to throw out a guess, I would say 16 weeks.
>> Anonymous
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Here is another pic. Whats the cat's age?
>> Anonymous
I'm no expert but you're probably close in thinking 16 weeks.
She is friendly, right? Normally cats that old are harder to socialize but since she is posing for these pictures and you say your girlfriend took her in, then it sounds like she is pretty trusting and friendly already, unless your girlfriend had to totally fight the cat to pick it up and get it inside.
I think it should be fine.
The cat's a total cutie too!
>> Anonymous
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>>260551

Thanks. I think she is bringing this cat over later tonight or maybe tomorrow. All I know is that she said the cat is very active and playful, and sometimes will play-bite. She likes to climb screen doors and drapes (uh uh, possibly bad habits, hard to break?)
Cat had no problem using a litter box.
That is a flea collar you see, coming from the street she did have a few fleas. I suspect possible ear mites, and maybe worms... we'll soon find out, Ill be taking her to the vet within a day or two of getting her.
The coloration... are these cats called calico, or perhaps tortoiseshell? Or just an alley cat?
>> Anonymous
>>260561
Tortoiseshell and calico are pretty much the same gene, but you generally only call the ones with little to no white markings torties. So what you have here is a little calico.
>> Anonymous
>>260548
Definately a calico, very cute.

However flea collars arent good for any animal, i'd just stick to advantage etc. I'm sure she'll make a great cat! whats her name?
>> Anonymous
>>260561
>That is a flea collar you see,

remove it. Flea collars use outdated technology and are potentially harmful to cats. Go get some advantage/frontline instead, yeah, it costs $40 but it works and won't hurt the kitten.
>> Anonymous
If it's sort of friendly, it's probably not a typical alley cat. It is possible that its owners could pop up, even if the kitten wasn't anywhere near where your gf lives, weirder shit has happened. But I highly doubt anyone cares, especially since a kitten of that age is easily replaced if it just ran away.

About four to six months seems right, it could be slightly older, I see a lot of very tiny calicos in this area (adults that look almost like kittens except you can tell they're not because they've filled out).
>> Anonymous
Get its shots and neuter it, dammit!
>> Anonymous
>>260597
also your kitteh is very cute.
>> Anonymous
Since it's a calico, it's very likely a female. The biggest worries about having cats outdoors, other than fleas, are feline leukemia, worms like you mentioned and maybe other diseases. Depending on your area though, it could be quite healthy.

Taking her to the vet's a good step, and advantix is another. She does look about 3-4 months old, so if she's a good weight for her age, have her spayed. Or neutered on the off chance it's a boy.

And get it a tassel rod to play with, kittens love those things.
>> Anonymous
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So the flea collar will be removed ASAP. Just curious, whats the risk to the animal?
GF wants to call her "Tigerlily" or just Lily for short.
I hope the cat didnt have an owner, but if it did the cat will have a better home with me. Should I be concerned not knowing, if the cat goes for immunizations, could a "double dose" be harmful, I have no idea if the cat had gotten them before? I have to assume no, since she was found in the alley with fleas and probably has been eating garbage, mice, and handouts.
>> Anonymous
Take her to the vet. The doc should know what's best for her. Yeah, get her spayed and keep her as an indoor cat.
>> Jae
Flea collars are chemically treated, and technically every time you pet the cat around the head or neck, you should be washing your hands right afterwards, because the chemicals can be dangerous. They also have the nasty tendency of discoloring the fur around the neck. Advantix is a good idea, or else try Frontline.

Re-vaccinating the cat will not be harmful. You should just be assuming that the cat has never had any shots before, and you should just start from the beginning. At the very least, see about getting it the FVRCP (distemper) vaccine and probably a pyrantel dewormer, and possibly a rabies, if the vet thinks it's old enough.

If there are any other cats in the household, the kitten should be quarantined, and tested for leukemia and feline AIDS - it's also a usual prerequisite for them being spayed/neutered.
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
>>260604
The chemicals in the collar are quite poisonous, and if the cat ingests them, which is very very possible, it could send her into seizures and kill her. You really shouldn't be using over-the-counter flea products on kittens younger than five months anyway (I know the packages usually say "12-16 weeks," but really, cats are super sensitive). Also, if the collar gets wet (water dish, faucet, laying in sink), it could potentially drip chemicals into her food and water.
>> Anonymous
I was about to start a thread like this, but I'll just post here.

My girlfriend knows I love Siamese cats, and her neighbor had one taken off the street that was about to go to the pound. She offered to adopt it "for me" without asking me.

I've been busy with work and haven't even had the chance to meet it yet.

From what I understand it's a bit feral still, hides and hisses, but does come out and play a bit.

However seems to have fleas, and she's now whining that she doesn't have the time or money to make it a "nice cat" or go through all the vet bills to get it fixed/deparasited. Also she can't give me a positive on what gender it is? wtf...

...actually during writing this she called me to let me know her mother threw the cat outside. I told her yesterday to not do such a thing and to take it to a no-kill shelter.

Pretty pissed off now...
>> Anonymous
>>260620
forgot to mention it was a kitten of just a few weeks. Whoops. :P
>> Anonymous
>>260620

Wow, thats really unfortunate. People need to learn a few things before adopting an animal, and my god, please ask and make sure before making a 15+ year commitment on behalf of someone else!!
Anyway, if the cat is less than six weeks still, it really should still be with its mother. I wouldnt worry about it being feral, there is still plenty of time to socialize it. The cat may be a little older than you think, if its already learned to hiss at and hide from people! That cat needs some love, and quick!
>> Anonymous
>>260637
That's what I was telling her.
My love for Siamese cats came from a feral cat that had kittens in my yard -- siamese with black and white bits on them. They were feral, they'd run, they'd hiss... We managed to catch one and tamed him, and he became the best cat.

Unfortunately it seems it's too late, as the cat has been thrown outside now and abandoned. When I started to get pissed off over the phone, she defended her mother with "MY LEGS ARE ATE UP FROM FLEAS!!!" ...for lack of response, I just hung up.
>> Anonymous
>>260640
sounds like you need new girlfriend with the "animal compassion" and "stands up to her parents" upgrades.
>> Anonymous
>>260620
wow... you know what. She wouldn't be my girlfriend anymore after that. break up with the bitch.
>> Anonymous
Getting a lot of shit on the phone now.

Apparently I don't take care of MY animals, so don't be a hypocrite.

So yeah... Apparently my reptiles aren't taken care of because I just clean their enclosures and feed them, and don't take them out or do anything with them. I noted that aquatic turtles dosn't really like to play fetch and would rather just swim, sleep, and eat.

She then tried to knock that my mother has unfixed cats that breed sometimes. "But they aren't mine, so how is that relevant?"

So because I don't currently own a cat, I don't know what it's like. She has forgotten I had a cat of several years who had medical problems. I took good care of him and he was like a kid to me. My exwife stole him when we separated.

"I mean right now! Besides you said you didn't like to talk about that!"

But that doesn't mean it's irrelevant. You just like having the last word and you're fishing for things.

"Whatever, I don't want to be on the phone anymore."

...Clearly she's saying that she knows she did the wrong thing. :P

Well, whatever the case, it was living next door outside a crazy cat lady's house, so it'll probably return to there to it's mother.
>> Anonymous
>>260674

Dude, is this woman an escaped mental patient?
>> Anonymous
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Besides the fact that girls are sometimes frustrating, I wouldn't break up with her over this. It was a very spontaneous thing, and not the best timing... That's about the worst that I can say for it.

She's currently busy with work and was keeping it at her mother's. However since it has fleas, the mom got freaked out at the risk of the house being overrun and threw it out.

It's sad, but until I move in a few months, it wouldn't be an option anyway. Pic is said cat, at least.
>> Anonymous
>>260679
no sir, that is a woman cornered
>> Anonymous
>>260683

all hail ling ling cat
>> Anonymous
>>260683
It's beautiful! Awwwww.
>> Anonymous
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Really fucking cute!!

Vet treated fleas and ear mites
>> Anonymous
>>261539
Awwww...so that's OP's cat? It's fucking adorable, seems to have really settled in fast.
>> Anonymous
Awww

That calico is fucking adorable
>> Anonymous
That kitten is adorable...looks like a Twoface to me. :P
>> Anonymous
>>261539

That's really a wonderful photo, made me very jealous of you. The strays we've taken in at a young age often had their downsides (scoffing their food so fast because they were afraid something else would get it first, only to vomit soon after), but they were also some of the sweetest most well adjusted cats ever.

Do yourself a favour, do not stop taking photos. You won't regret it.
>> Kitty-chan
That is a gorgeous cat.
>> Anonymous
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Shes an awesome cat!
Her only problem is that shes a biter! She loves to play, and it doesnt take long before she begins to nibble my fingers and toes. She doesnt draw blood, just play bites, but she does it every single time. Its going to be difficult to break this habit. I had to lock her out of here for now or else I would not be able to type!
>> Anonymous
What the fuck is wrong with you, leave the vermin on the streets where they belong.

Better yet, kill it and toss it in the trash, there's far too many of the awful things wandering the streets as it is.
>> Anonymous
>>262231
WTF is wrong with you? It's varmint, not vermin.
>> Anonymous !ZAax4CLxaM
why should u throw out a perfeclty healthy cat?
>> Anonymous
>>262223
I have a 14-year old cat I adopted as a feral kitten. While I've never been able to stop him from play-biting or rough-housing, I've managed to train him to stop when you say "No" or "Ow!" to him. If this works for you, praise her every time she does stop following the pertinent command word so she realizes she's being good.
>> Anonymous
>>262233
>>262246
Trolled.
>> Anonymous
>>262223
My cat's always been around people since the say she was born. My friend's cat was pregnant and he saved the kitten for me. She's a biter too, unfortunately. She doesn't draw blood and she only bites from time to time when you're not paying attention to her. She's gotten a lot better at biting less. Just clap your hands or make a loud noise to shoo her away. Eventually she'll get the hint not to bite you.
good luck, she's a beautiful cat. =)
>> Anonymous
Yeah, you probably aren't going to be able to stop the play biting completely. My cat does that too.
How big is yours? Have you taken him/her to the vet yet? The vet can give you an answer as far as age. My cat was a stray too. When she adopted me she was about 6lbs. and already a year old. She can't weigh more than 8 now.

I would definitely suggest getting your cat front and rear declawed. I wouldn't want the tips of my fingers lopped off, but it'll be worth it for your arms, your drapes, your speakers...
>> Anonymous
>>262543
I'll leave it up to the owner to determine if it's a humane thing to do, but I will note it leaves them with teeth as their only defense.

Any cat I've seen that was declawed completely would play with you by viciously biting and drawing blood instead. :P
>> Anonymous
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>>262548
*shrug* True, totally up to the owner. I wish I hadn't had to do it, purely out of sympathetic response (srsly, OUCH!) At the same time, I don't regret it. It probably saved her life too, since my dad has some expensive speakers and he would have killed her if she'd clawed them.

I think it depends on the cat, too. I know a cat like the one you're talking about; vicious bastard. The one I live with on the other hand- I think we have a level of mutual trust... She's never acted viciously. And with the way my bro rough-houses with her, I wouldn't have blamed her for drawing blood. She's a much calmer cat.
>> Anonymous
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No way shes getting declawed, but she will get spayed in a couple weeks
>> Anonymous
>>263281
Her half black face is such a winrar!
>> Anonymous
>>262609
you know, it IS possible to teach your cat to play without the claws.
>> Anonymous
>>263281
So adorable...
>> Anonymous
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After only about a week living with me the biting has decreased quite a bit. Shes just a happy and very playful kitten. Awesome.