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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 don't need a kitten?

80 replies

Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 13:30

I found a kitten this morning, tiny wee thing in a wide open space. I dropped it in at the vets, they thought it might be wild and are going to phone me later. It's approx 6 weeks.

What will happen to it? Will they check it over?

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 17/06/2014 13:35

They'll likely check it over and probably give it to the nearest rescue to see if someone can be found to raise it.

Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 13:39

I did leave my number and said that if no one claimed her to phone me Confused

I thought she might have to stay there until she was a certain age

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 17/06/2014 13:41

Ah - so you're contemplating keeping her? What name have you given her?

Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 13:44

No I'm not, honest Chester

OP posts:
Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 13:45

I also have no idea if it's a she. I just decided it looked like a girl Smile

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 17/06/2014 13:45

(Sorry - that was a sneaky trick question which was unworthy of asking.)

So you've named it!!! That's your kitten now you do realize?

cozietoesie · 17/06/2014 13:50

By the way - the official Litter Tray term for this is 'to be Dudleyed' which harks back to a poster whose mechanic found a kitten (subsequently called Dudley after him) inside her car engine when it was taken in for a service.

It means, generally, to have a kitten dropped on you by the Hand of Fate.

Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 13:53

I told DH he just laughed. We have a dog, he is cat friendly. Our DC are young though, if the cat is feral will they get along? We have lots of sheds if she wanted to be outside and lots of nooks and crannys inside.

I can't stop thinking about her wee sad eyes.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 17/06/2014 13:56

Or 'his' wee sad eyes. If it's only 6 weeks old (the vet will advise with greater certainty) it should adapt fine even if it was born feral. issey (another poster here) is used to ferals and semi-ferals so keep your eyes peeled in case she notices this thread and comments though.

cozietoesie · 17/06/2014 13:57

PS - 6 weeks is pretty young of course so s/he isn't out of the woods yet.

Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 14:00

I will phone after school pick up see how 'she/he' is. Then I will ask to be talked out of it Grin

Maybe someone will claim it, then I will be brooding for nothing.

OP posts:
isseywithcats · 17/06/2014 15:07

around six weeks is when feral born kittens become visible as they get more adventurous and if you are thinking of keeping him/her then you are lucky that is so young with lots of tlc and handling this one will turn round and become as friendly as one that was born in a house, the ferals and semis i have had i put on my big fluffy dressing gown and carry them round tucked up like a mom with a baby in a sling and its surprising how quickly they relax

at around six weeks will be weaned and wont need bum cleaning should be able to use a litter tray but wont know what it is so putting in the tray straight after feeding and gently scrabbling front paws gives them the idea of what it is, and at first putting a little bit of garden soil seems to help as will have been used to going on soil,

the reason you have found him or her is that either mom has abandoned which usually means moms been sppoked or dosent think kitten will make it so get vet to check she/he is healthy or something has happened to mom and she cant come back for the kitten

isseywithcats · 17/06/2014 15:11

basically now you have to decide if you are going to keep and if not what the vet will probably do is get in touch with local rescues who if they are like the one i work for will find a foster home till kitten is old enough for rehoming and if you go that route dont worry he or she will be looked after either way xx

Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 15:18

Thank you issy, I'm going to pick DS up but if it's ok I will pm you as I have lots of questions.

OP posts:
chemenger · 17/06/2014 15:34

As these threads go you seem to be quite far along the "and then we decided to keep her" path already....just saying. As does your DH; has he not read the part where the DH always says "over my dead body" and is found with kitten sleeping on his face two days later.

I want to find a kitten, I find it difficult to understand why I never do. It's not fair.

Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 17/06/2014 16:41

Chemenger DH takes no persuading when it comes to more animals/children/general waifs and strays Grin

I found a kitten, I can't believe that happened to me, I thought it was a bird at first!

I met two people on the way to the vets who both said, that's how we ended up with our first cat Shock

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 17/06/2014 16:45

Chesters a good name, quite unisex.

This never happens to sparkling & me. Kitten free zone here.

NotACinderella · 17/06/2014 16:50

Ohh lucky you!I had to PRETEND to have found a kitten.

(i cannot wait to walk into a lost puppy gsd Grin)

Keep us updated pls

isseywithcats · 17/06/2014 17:17

dontstep have read and replied :)

timtam23 · 17/06/2014 23:21

Oh Dontstep have you had any word from the vet yet?

It was me who was originally "Dudleyed" - tiny 7 week old stray kitten found under my car bonnet.

My DH said "Oh my god you must be joking" when I did the emergency dash to the garage to rescue it. Then he said "there is no way we are keeping it". Within 24 hours he was playing peekaboo with it from behind his newspaper. Needless to say the creature is still with us and is very much loved. He is a dear affectionate animal and shows no sign of feral tendancies in spite of his bad start in life. He was fully weaned & could use a litter tray, his main problems were a flea infestation and being skin & bone (and he was so filthy I had to give him a bath)

The only issue which later developed was that I had forgotten how much chaos ensues with a small kitten around (had had kittens in the past but they had grown up to be very elderly cats by the time Dudley arrived). He did calm down quite a bit after having the snip though.

Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 18/06/2014 00:31

Thanks issey Grin just home from work!

The vet said no one has been in touch and Chester has been feeding and enjoying being fussed over all day.

I'm a bit scared of cats to be honest and keep thinking about the hissing and scratching when I first picked him/her up which is silly I know as it's just a bit nippy and I will keep kitty and kids separate till I know how things are.

I don't know the first thing about kittens and if the just roam the house that small or if they stay in a carrier, so many questions!

I must be mad...

OP posts:
Original poster
Dontstepinthecowpat · 18/06/2014 00:34

NotaCinderella, that made me laugh! I came home with a four year old lab once that someone was trying to get rid off and I couldn't bare what would happen to him, they wouldn't contact a rescue! He's been with us four years and is a massive part of our family! Hope you stumble upon a GSD soon Grin

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 18/06/2014 08:06

Has the vet told you whether Chester is a girl or a boy? And are you to keep him/her?

Oh -and don't worry about the hissing and scratching. You said that s/he is enjoying being fussed over at the vet so anything you experienced is likely just complete panic and a defensive reaction - imagine how you'd feel if you were used to Mom and a quiet place and you suddenly found yourself in the middle of an exposed spot and being manhandled by a big two legged thing!

There's loads of kitten and cat experience on this board so you're not alone if you decide to offer a home.

Smile
chemenger · 18/06/2014 09:16

Cinderella I'm intrigued, how did you pull off pretending to find a kitten? Thinking ahead to the next one, although at the moment we are "never having another cat when this one goes", as far as DH knows.

ChablisChic · 18/06/2014 11:43

I just came on this board to say I'd been 'adopted' by a stray kitten, and find I'm not the only one!

I think this one's about 3 months old, very skinny, but very affectionate and just wants to come inside the house (so I'm having to keep all the doors shut, even though it's about 27 degrees outside). It appeared yesterday and stuck around all day; I tried to ignore it but when (soft) DH arrived home he gave it some milk and a bit of ham. Of course it reappeared this morning and is looking for 'Daddy'.

We're happy to keep it if no-one claims it and I'll have it checked out at the vets on Friday if it's still here.

I got some GoCat kitten food but she's turned her nose up at it, even though she's obviously hungry. We're having fish tonight though, so I daresay DH will sacrifice some of his.

And after we had our old dog put down 18 months ago we vowed we wouldn't have another pet, as it's so nice to be free of responsibilities etc etc..