Advice on taking on a cat

[Rousillon849]

A friend has found an abandoned cat on their street. They have made local enquiries but no owner has come up, and there are no posters or alerts on Facebook. The vet has confirmed she is about 1/1.5 years old, not microchipped or spayed, currently in heat. My husband and I are considering taking her on, as we used to have a beloved cat who passed away 2 years ago (leaving us brokenhearted), and feel ready to have another one. We feel very sorry for her and are not sure what would become of her if we don't step up - our friend cannot keep her.

We would want her to be an indoor cat for her own safety, and as recommended by our local vet with our previous cat. Our friend has kept her indoors so far, and thinks she would be amenable.

Would any of the above give you pause? We love cats, but are not the most experienced cat owners.

Well she may well be pregnant...

You sound well placed to take her. She's landed on her feet 😺

Do you think so? Is this because she's in heat? Apparently the vet said they couldn't detect this, but that spaying would sort out any early days pregnancy 😔.

You’d be doing an incredible thing for her. Hopefully the vet will be able to confirm soon that she isn’t pregnant.

Thank you. Our previous cat came to us in a very similar way, and since she left us I've believed our next one would find their way to us. Perhaps I'm just overthinking it.

Enjoy her

If the vet can’t detect a pregnancy now, then it’s going to be so early on that aborting won’t be a problem.

My girl was rescued at the age of five, pregnant & having had god knows how many litters. This cat is really lucky!

Take her in and love her. Have fun buying cat things! They recommend two litter trays, one per cat and a spare. I thought it was silly but mine uses both. Be careful opening doors as she will try and scoot out if she is in season. X

Are you sure she’s not feral? She’d never adapt to an indoor life if so, going by my own rather unfortunate experience of homing an abandoned cat. Just thought I’d mention it, but hope she isn’t and hope it all works out. 😺

You're definitely over thinking it! Get her spayed and ask the vet to microchip her at the same time. Congratulations, you have a cat 🐈

You sound exactly the home she needs! Get her to the vets to get everything done asap ie. spaying, chipping and vaccines.
If you're unsure about anything, the Cats Protection website has loads of information on it about all sorts of cat stuff.
Thank you for caring. Charities/rescues are full with waiting lists so that's one less waiting.

Our friend has kept her indoors since he found her a couple of days ago, and she seems happy. Would that be a sign that she's not feral? She doesn't look it, to be honest - she looks small for 1yo and a little helpless, ti be honest - but what do we know.

If she is pregnant then it will depend on if the Vet is able to spay her ( I suppose that depends on the gestation and if the Vet will do this )
So you might not be able to adopt her .
Our first cat ( Rescue ) was pregnant when the Vet spayed her , she was only 2yo and this was her 4th litter . Previous owners didn;t see fit to spay her
She was with us till she was 17yo .

If you do take her , you need to double check every exit route /escape route .
Everyone needs to be on board with keeping doors and windows shut .
She'll need a safe space to take herself to , and keep her in one room to begin with .
Find out what she's eating and keep with that , changeover is gradual
Insurance
Find out from the vet if there's any issues
When she's chipped then your details will be on it .

Hopefully you can give this little cat a new home and new chapter in her life .
Good luck

Thank you all for the encouragement and advice ❤️. I feared being told off for not looking harder for an owner, or for wanting to keep her indoors.

Nothing about that to make me hestitate. If she's early pregnancy then they just abort the foetuses, and I'd get her tested for FIV just in case, but no reason not to take her.

Mine's indoors, having been an outdoor cat for the first 2 years of his life in a very rural setting and now in a central city flat. (He was meant to be be here temporarily before moving abroad with his family but that fell through). He's adjusted remarkably well.

If she's been OK with your friend that's a good sign. This is a bit more to consider with indoor cats, especially younger ones (litter trays, window coverings for summer so you can open them, a cat tree for scratching, givng them exercise, lots of toys for keeping them entertained as they can get a bit bored on their own). Mine was always a slightly needy very talkative boy but has become much more so since being inside. He much prefers the days I work from home than go into the office! Have a look at Jackson Galaxy on YouTube for ideas on having an indoor cat (very common in the USA due to predators).

Mine were ex garden cats (brother/sister) and they do have a cat door (micro-chip operated)

They have adapted well to life with us CatSlaves and make sure that every day we appreciate them .
They're not the most friendly , they;ll sit on beds and chairs , the boy adores my DD but they don;t go for any of that cuddling nonsense !
But it is so nice having cats in the house , just their presence.

They ignore the scratching post .
They walk into the house to use their trays then back out .
They are time savvy to the minute for dinner/Dreamies/supper (Judgey looks if its late )
Animals love routine it makes them feel secure
With winter approaching this cat could be looking at the best news in her life .
Hoping she's not pregnant or at least she's sprayable otherwise she'll end up another cat in Rescue which we know are overflowing