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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

I can't kick a stray out in this weather can I?

78 replies

HeadFairy · 11/10/2013 20:28

A little ginger cat turned up on our doorstep this evening, utterly bedraggled and sounding really distressed (loud mewling, sounding quite unhappy). Feeling sorry for it in this horrible weather we gave him some food. He absolutely wolfed it down in seconds and was miaowing for more. He ate three bowls of dried food like he hadn't eaten in days. He looks quite healthy otherwise, and quite young. He's now purring loudly and sitting in front of the fire.

We have another cat (also a ginger youngster) who's oblivious and fast asleep on our bed. I'm not sure how he'd react to another cat in the house. The weather is horrible out, pouring with rain and a howling wind. I can't bear the thought of chucking this poor cat out in it. He hasn't got a collar, but as I said, he looks quite healthy. I haven't seen him before. Not sure what to do.

OP posts:
thecatneuterer · 12/10/2013 19:31

Gosh. Why don't people get their cats chipped?! For the sake of a tenner, or even a fiver at some places, they could have got a chip when they had him neutered and they'd still have a cat.

I agree with suggestions above. But don't use a photo/give too many details. Just put up a notice about a Found Cat and let the people who reply give you the details.

I do think though that if you want to keep him (and no one claims him) it wouldn't be too much of a problem. The fact that they were both sitting together on the stairs (so cute!) without trying to kill each other means that they would almost certainly come round quite soon. A bit of hissing and spitting and even the odd skirmish is quite normal in the first couple of weeks, but if they're not actually trying to attack each other it would be fine given a bit of time.

DiaryOfAWimpyMum · 12/10/2013 19:34

You could move their food bowls together, try rubbing the ginger cats face then transfer the scent onto your own cat, sometimes they just need a bit of space to suss each other out, I used crate the new cat and that way the other cat can get a good sniff without them hurting each other.

Sometimes cats just don't get on, I have cats and one detests the others, I separate them at night and they do there own thing during the day.

Best of luck finding his home, my mum has a cat visitor, he has a family but likes to come to my mums to get fed their too.

Lovethesea · 12/10/2013 20:12

Feeding them together helps and slowly move their bowls closer each mealtime until they are ok.

Your cat would adjust fine - if Tortiecat sees another feline within 30 yards of our house she just attacks. No sitting on stairs would ever happen!

Perhaps check with the cattery, maybe they charge less for two cats in one pen than you'd think .....

Original poster
HeadFairy · 12/10/2013 20:15

Thanks everyone, will try all the tips. Our visitor (we've called him Elvis as our cat is named after Fireman Sam) is currently sprawled on the sofa with us treading happily in to my thigh as Sam is out. We'll try and get them to become friends so if Elvis stays they can be friends (with an uncanny resemblance) Grin

OP posts:
JenaiMorris · 12/10/2013 20:21

I spent an entire night in the (small, chilly) study on hard chair with a little Burmese who wouldn't let me go. I had to stay in there because our cat would have gone ballistic Hmm I didn't get much sleep but it was quite nice to feel needed, a bit like when you have a newborn [wistful]

We'd found him utterly terrified in the jungle shrubbery in the front garden. Took him to the vets the following morning and it transpired he live just one street away. We think he was harassed by some of the rough cat neighbours and had become disorientated.

Clearly it was super news that he had an actual home and didn't have to stay with me. Kind of :(

Housesellerihope · 12/10/2013 20:27

Agreeing yours will adjust. Ours hated each other and fought for weeks but in the end used to curl up together to sleep. Love the name elvis, btw, it suits him!

Fluffycloudland77 · 12/10/2013 20:37

You have a matching pair though, I mean what are the chances of that?

It is fate.

timtam23 · 12/10/2013 21:07

Awww he sounds lovely. I hope you are able to keep him. Maybe try some Feliway (plug-ins) - they aren't the cheapest but there are some better prices online with quick delivery and they can help to make the cats feel more secure. I used them recently when we took in a stray kitten - we already had 2 old cats who were not best pleased with the incomer at first. We also separated their feeding areas for a bit, the older cats then started finding the kitten food & scoffing it which I took to be a good sign. The initial unhappiness is probably your own cat asserting himself and establishing the pecking order, I really hope it all settles down soon. Where I live all of the rescues are full to bursting Sad

Original poster
HeadFairy · 12/10/2013 22:21

Just fed them both in the kitchen, Sam was wary but no spitting or hissing. He's gone out again now. I hope it means everything's ok. I dont want him to disappear in a strop.

OP posts:
Lovethesea · 12/10/2013 22:25

He'd soon strop back once it rained on him. Huntercat keeps going out, getting wet, coming back, looking at me pointedly, glancing at the cat flap etc. How he has come to think I control the weather is a mystery.

Fluffycloudland77 · 12/10/2013 22:26

I think it's going really well, my cat would be ripping it to shreds. When we had the chinchillas we'd quite often come home to another cat in the house, it's never happened with this one we have now.

If the weathers as bad where you are as it is here he won't be that long.

mignonette · 12/10/2013 22:30

I am Envy as Ginger cats are my favourite.

Chances are he was lost as cats out in the rain in familiar territory know where to hide out to keep dry.

Original poster
HeadFairy · 12/10/2013 22:42

It's not bad weather here at all... Hideous last night, but calmer tonight. Forecast is for it to chuck down tomorrow so hopefully Sam won't sulk too long.

mignonette I used to be a black cat king of girl but I fell in love with the ginger tom down the road and leapt at the chance when someone had a bunch of ginger kittens to home.

They are so alike it's uncanny... Like twins really Smile

OP posts:
ZebraOwl · 12/10/2013 22:55

It does sound rather as though you may have found a new cat. So frustrating owners didn't see fit to get him chipped when he was neutered: I think it should be mandatory, as it is in much of Australia & will be for dogs in the UK soon.

Obviously is definitely important to try to trace Elvis' owners still - maybe try using the Animal Search UK (free) service as well as putting up posters/leafleting? A cat who's got lost & ended up outside their own territory may not be able to find their way home, so it could be Elvis has a family not too far away.

Original poster
HeadFairy · 12/10/2013 23:25

I've already added him on to that site Zebra, thanks. I can't upload a photo at the mo because I've only got an iPad but his details are on there, I'll add a picture when I go to work on Monday.

OP posts:
ZebraOwl · 13/10/2013 01:21

Sorry if I missed that somewhere, tiredness tends to increase my propensity for skimreading.

Is v lucky Elvis found such a nice family to look after him, however long it turns out being for Smile

KittieCat · 13/10/2013 07:31

He's a very lucky little chap to have found you!

I have a terribly huge soft spot for gingers... So much so that if things really don't work out and you happen to be anywhere near London, please do let me know before he gets sent to a rescue...

We lost our 19 year old girl back in August and so there is a cat shaped hole in our now only two cat home...

That said, I really do hope he and Sam get on. In my experience some catteries don't necessarily charge double for two cats, so if this turns out to be a worry I'd double check with your cattery first.

Also to echo the feeding together idea to get them used to each other. Always good to have more than one litter tray to ease tensions. I've also used Feliway with generally good success rates but it's not universal. Giving them treats when they're together helps, too.

Ours all eventually got on fine, while I can't say our oldest girl really loved either of the other cats they didn't fight. That said, the other two did realise relatively swiftly that she was In Charge!

Good luck...

StUmbrageinSkelt · 13/10/2013 07:41

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/10/stray-ginger-cats-pros-cons

We have a wee ginger sweetie who turned up on the backstairs in the pouring rain. He's still here 4 years later despite us being determined that we were not in need of an auxiliary cat. Primary cat, Sid, has adjusted.

Sparklingbrook · 13/10/2013 17:36

Ooh he's back. Why do people have their cat neutered but not chipped? Sad

minnisota · 13/10/2013 18:14

Hope it all works out. I have a black cat sitting on me who turned up lost with gungy eyes. A trip to the vet and no takers from posters and lost/found lists, he is still with us twenty years on. Lots of health problems now but he's happy and potters about.

Original poster
HeadFairy · 13/10/2013 21:10

Sorry about the delay in updating, been at the mn screening of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 Grin

Well he spent most of last night on our bed and then this morning at 6am was frantically miaowing so I opened the front door to see if he wanted to go out and he scarpered so I think he needed a wee.

No sign of him tonight, but we do have a lead on who owns him. Someone had seen our ad on one of the missing cats websites, and she'd worked out the rough area and started knocking on doors. They only live a 15 min walk away but he has a history of bolting. He went missing the day before he was due to be chipped and has been seen only sporadically for the past 11 weeks! They've not been able to catch him. The woman gave a good description of him and she nearly burst in to tears when I showed her the photo I had taken of him. They've clearly really missed him Hmm

I've said we're going to try and catch him and we've got their number so when we do catch him they can pop round and collect him. Then lock him up until he's chipped Grin

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 13/10/2013 21:32

Naughty little boy. Poor woman I'd be devastated if our cat did that.

Sparklingbrook · 13/10/2013 21:34

Oh no. So he has a home but doesn't want to live there. Sad

Slight derail but was the film any good?

Original poster
HeadFairy · 13/10/2013 22:34

Sparkling, the woman seemed really lovely. She's very pregnant and when she choked at the picture I felt very sorry for her Hmm

Film was fab! Ds absolutely loved it and hasn't stopped talking about it all afternoon!

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 13/10/2013 22:42

She's got a problem if he prefers your house - but at least you know whose cat he is if he turns up in the future and she'll know where he's possibly staying if he can't be found.

Here's hoping he turns up to be sent back home. You've done well.