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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

We have found a kitten...

70 replies

Gabriola · 29/12/2014 16:32

She was found very early this morning and taken in because she was very cold and distressed and near a very busy road. The friends who found her passed her on to us. We've had her scanned and she's not chipped. we've checked all the local vets lost and found books and she's not in them. We've contacted the local animal shelter, but no joy there and we have knocked on lots of doors and posted lots of flyers.

Can we do anything else to get her home?

She's about 9-12 mths old and very sociable. She hasn't been neutered or chipped, but seems well cared for. She has a crusty nose and is sneezing occasionally but has eaten and drunk well. She's yet to use the litter tray, but she's sat in it a few times, so she knows what it's for. She's slept for most of the day.

The vets advice was to leave her where we found her but I'm really loathe to do this due to the weather and busy road. There is also a lot of woodland near to where she was found, so not that many houses.

What do you think?

OP posts:
Ohfourfoxache · 29/12/2014 23:26

Oh she's beautiful!

Definitely agree wih he poster ^ who said that cats find you - looks like you've got a new member of the family Grin They know when they find a loving, comfortable, kind home x

shaska · 30/12/2014 00:14

Yep, as others have said - the fates decide when you need a new cat, and the cat will come. Your cat has come. Enjoy her!

JuxaSnogUndertheMistletoe · 30/12/2014 00:17

The cat finds you, you don't find the cat. You've been found now! The Unverse has decided.

She is lovely.

Fluffycloudland77 · 30/12/2014 07:08

How did she get on overnight?.

Original poster
Gabriola · 30/12/2014 07:31

We kept her in the kitchen (she has still not had a poo in the tray) and she mewed plaintively for 20 mins then slept (presumably) till 7.15.

I have 3 missed calls from a number I don't recognise though.

I'm going to have to give her back aren't I? Sad

She is watching the guinea pigs at the moment.

OP posts:
NoisyOyster · 30/12/2014 07:54

Could be the vet calling.....or maybe the real owners.....

Aaaaaaargh I know you have to pick up the phone. But....... Sad

Fluffycloudland77 · 30/12/2014 08:01

She escaped & you've not seen her since.

MirandaWest · 30/12/2014 08:05

Think you need to try calling the number...

Original poster
Gabriola · 30/12/2014 08:11

Well, I rang, but it just rang out with no voicemail.

Will try again later.

The sneezing seems to have gone and her eyes look much clearer. I guess she was just cold.

OP posts:
DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 30/12/2014 08:11

My gut feeling is that she might have been abandoned. Especially as she's not neutered, chipped or wearing a collar.

If you had found the late SoupKitten you would have assumed she was abandoned then. The vet advised leaving neutering until her health improved or she came into season (and any consequences would dealt with if necessary), her chip had failed and wouldn't scan and she regularly lost her collar. As she wasn't very robust, she rarely strayed from the house.

She could be much loved and missed.

msrisotto · 30/12/2014 08:12

Missed calls but no message? I ignore those.

DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 30/12/2014 08:13

SoupKitten sneezed constantly and had runny eyes due to infections and cat flu as an abandoned kitten.

Original poster
Gabriola · 30/12/2014 08:18

turkeysoup I know. I'm not judging. I've nursed a sick kitten in the past too where everything had to be delayed.

I'm doing all I reasonably can to get her home.

OP posts:
DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 30/12/2014 08:26

Ues, it was months before SoupKitten was well enough to have all her vaccinations.

To be fair though, the fact that her chip failed on top of all her other "abandoned cat" markers was unusual and unfortunate :)

LoopyLa · 30/12/2014 08:31

The stroppy part of me would think if she hasn't been neutered or micro-chipped then perhaps the owners aren't quite responsible enough for a young kitten - so you'd be doing right by the kitty in keeping her Wink Grin

Lovely story & you're lovely too OP, wish I had this happen to me!

RubbishMantra · 30/12/2014 08:38

Thank goodness there's people like Gabriola to take care of lost/abandoned cats. Thanks

A sort of Cat Angel.

Gothgirl78 · 30/12/2014 09:17

Hugely off topic here (sorry) but the cat neuterer said that vets perform abortions.

Up to how many days? I just wondered nosey that I am. Presumably there would be a limit for safety and ethical reasons?

Just nosey and not judged.

thecatneuterer · 30/12/2014 13:32

Of course we're all assuming that the original owner must be a 'bad' owner as the cat isn't neutered or chipped. However we don't actually know she isn't neutered as you really can't tell with females just by looking. And while not being chipped isn't best practice it isn't really a hanging offence either. So may be we should keep an open mind on this one.

Gothgirl to answer your question. We spay/abort up to very late indeed, easily up until a week before the kittens would be likely to be born. It's not nice, but working in cat rescue you really have to be pragmatic. There are just too many unwanted cats. Every extra one that is born means we have less room and less homes for the ones that are already alive. In some rescues this means having to put some down, in others, such as ours, it means not being able to take in desperate cases. So we do anything we can to avoid cats being born in the first place. Of course if everyone got their cats neutered straight away we wouldn't be in this situation.

Private vets all have their own practices/cut off points. So if you have a pregnant cat, and one vet won't abort, you just need to 'shop around' for one that will.

Gothgirl78 · 30/12/2014 15:49

Thanks cat neuterer, my cat is neutered as my new boy will be.

Well done with all of the wonderful work you do x

Fluffycloudland77 · 30/12/2014 20:11

Have you still got her?.

Original poster
Gabriola · 30/12/2014 20:15

Well the missed calls were a complete red herring; about something else entirely!

I rang round a few other rescue centres a bit further afield and they haven't had reports of any similar kittens missing either. I've also had another drive round the wider neighbourhood and there are no posters up. Also nothing on facebook/gum tree etc.

Mittens finally had a poo in the litter tray and was allowed free run of the house. She had a good sniff round then settled herself on dd's knee and fell asleep.

I think she likes it here. Smile

To respond to all your comments about the vet. It's not our normal vet but the nearest one to where she was found. I was so glad when you all agreed that I shouldn't just put her back. We won't be going back there.

Thanks for all your lovely comments too Blush

OP posts:
Original poster
Gabriola · 30/12/2014 20:19

Settled in for movie night...

We have found a kitten...
OP posts:
thecatneuterer · 30/12/2014 20:32

Awww. May you have many happy years together:)

Incidentally she doesn't look anywhere near twelve months old. I would say 7-8 months from that photo.

Gothgirl78 · 30/12/2014 20:35

She's sooooo cute.??

BigcatLittlecat · 30/12/2014 20:37

Lucky Kitten finding you!
It's one of my dreams to find a kitten as that's the only way DH will allow another cat into house!