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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.

Not sure what to do with this lovely little cat...help!

222 replies

Alabasterangel6 · 08/10/2019 19:51

I won’t dripfeed so apologies for the long backstory.

I had a cat for 22 years. I am a cat person. DS was born when DCat was 20, so for 2 years he was around cat, touched cat and grew up with a very furry environment.

When DCat died we said no more pets for a while. A year later, at 3, DS went into the home of a dog and with no warning at all had an acute and severe asthma attack. A&E blue light job. It isn’t the only dog he is allergic to because he has less severe but obvious symptoms if we even go in a car where a different dog has been. We are very very vigilant to avoid dogs (due to the acute and severe nature of the attack) and DS is now 8. We’ve always wondered if he is the same with cats but a) hoped not due to earlier exposure and b) daren’t risk finding out. Note we lived in the house that the cat had lived in for another 2 years but moved when DS was 4.

Minding our own business, going about life, and for reasons unknown to us this little cat arrives. She is small, fed (as far as I can see), clean, very used to humans and for some reason is also very very very determined to get into our house. We have NEVER let her in or fed her, not even once. DD (10) will stoke her if she’s playing in the garden but the cat is very affectionate and absolutely adores DD. When we come home from school Cat comes running miaowing. She spends hours every day miaowing on the kitchen windowsill or at the kitchen door. She stares at us through the door all evening and scratches at the living room door all evening (see photo!!). If DD or I go out to her she will literally jump from the wall or garden table to DDs shoulder. As I speak she is outside miaowing at the door.

I’ve been round circa 25 houses in the direction she most commonly comes from and everyone sees her but no one knows who owns her. So....

What do I do to locate her owner? I don’t want to take her to a vet, I don’t have a pet carrier for a start.

Should I put a note on a collar and put it on her? Would that work?

In light of the above, I don’t want to claim her as I am 80% sure she is owned but if she was your cat wouldn’t you want to know she was trying so badly to invade ours! I want them to know i haven’t fed her or tried to steal her!

DS has allergy testing at the end of Oct, but IF (if if if if) it turns out she’s a random, what are the chances of him being allergic to dogs but not
Cats?

Thoughts on the above, please?

Not sure what to do with this lovely little cat...help!
OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Iwantacookie · 12/10/2019 08:49

Definitely quick trip up the vets to be scanned.
When my cat went missing I went to a sighting and captured a cat (sadly not mine) took to local vets and it was a missing cat from about 3 streets away from where I found it.

Chelonia · 12/10/2019 09:03

Op did you say you had a cuddle with the wee cat while gardening recently? Did you thoroughly "decontaminate" yourself afterwards? As if you didn't, but your son didn't have a reaction it might give you hope that his allergy test will come back negative for cats!!

overnightangel · 12/10/2019 09:09

What part of the country are you in OP?

ladygracie · 12/10/2019 09:20

I am allergic to cats but not dogs if that helps at all.
Really hope you get a good outcome and that your son is not allergic.

Alabasterangel6 · 12/10/2019 09:50

Borrowed a carrier from a lady down the road.... to save time.

Sadly she has no chip. The vets are unsure if she is spayed but said they didn’t think she was but would need to ultrasound her to be sure. They say she has been a pet at some stage but possibly lost or abandoned.

As per their advice I will leave the collar on for 2 days and then try to arrange for her to be fostered till the tests on the 30th. I have already messaged the cat charity to ask about this. Yet to reply.

That way if she can’t live here she’d already be in the right place for adoption.

Vet said the same. She is a lovely cat with a lovely nature.

I’m really quite sad I want to keep her so much!!!!

Not sure what to do with this lovely little cat...help!
OP posts:
Alabasterangel6 · 12/10/2019 09:50

@overnightangel Staffordshire

OP posts:
Alabasterangel6 · 12/10/2019 09:54

I am going to get some cat food later too, she’ll have to have it outside but at least I’ll know she’s fed. Kind lady down the road who lent the carrier also gave me some cheese dreamies. She purred while she ate them, and is now sitting on the fence having a snooze.

OP posts:
DirtyWindow · 12/10/2019 10:02

Just a thought (and I am no where near an expert so obvs take advice from the charity): if you are able to provide the cat with somewhere to shelter outside (cat kennel, shed etc it may be less stressful for it to continue living in your garden for a few weeks until your son has the tests, rather than be moved into a foster/shelter and then come back. Cats are very territorial and get very upset at being moved, much more so than dogs, so the dealing with the cold might be less bad than dealing with the stress iyswim. Just a thought - I might be wrong of course.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 12/10/2019 10:02

Did the vet say how old she is?

AllTheNameAreTakenEvenThisOne · 12/10/2019 10:06

Whether the "hedgehog" food is meant for her or not that's likely what she's been eating.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 12/10/2019 10:07

Dirty Widow - I agree - but if she isn't spayed ...

Frazzled2207 · 12/10/2019 10:15

Whatever the outcome now you can be satisfied that you really have tried your very hardest to sort out the situation for the lovely cat!

I really hope your ds is not allergic and you get to keep her. Cats really do quite often "choose" their owners. Our dcat did years ago, though admittedly she was most definitely a stray.

DirtyWindow · 12/10/2019 10:35

@YetAnotherSpartacus good point!

Alabasterangel6 · 12/10/2019 10:35

Under a year old.

You know what’s really boiled my piss? I’ve just come upstairs to finally have the shower I was trying to have at 8am, glances out of the window and the foodbowl (which has been there for week) has mysteriously dissapeared. Me thinks he protested too loudly, yes? I am now reasonably sure that the cat was theirs and they’ve got bored of her. It makes sense as when I saw her as a young cat around Easter time she wouldn’t have been far from her home then. She was tiny, maybe 12-16 week max, and the shed roof she was on is in the garden between us and them. Too much stacks up.

I mean, why send that text last night? He’s shouting too loudly.

I’ll get some cat food later and make sure she has a shelter. I think I’ll move valuables out of the shed and leave the door propped open.

Re. The fostering. My thought is that as said she’s not spayed. Also, my DD is getting very attached and so am I and right now I feel responsible now she has no chip. If we continue this for another 2.5 weeks and we can’t have her,
It’s going to be horrible. If she’s already fostered then at least she is in the right place to be rehomed and we’ve had some distance which would make it easier.

Plus this isn’t doing me any good. I spend half my day and night worrying about the situation and looking out of the window! It’s breaking my heart.

OP posts:
YetAnotherSpartacus · 12/10/2019 10:42

@DirtyWindow - I am so sorry for getting your name wrong. I did wonder ...

OP - I do suggest that you foster with first dibs as it were. It will suit you and the cat if she can come home to you

Fluffycloudland77 · 12/10/2019 10:49

Yep they have washed their hands of her.

Alabasterangel6 · 12/10/2019 11:02

I’ll keep you all posted. I can’t put my mind to anything else 😞

OP posts:
Alabasterangel6 · 12/10/2019 13:32

No foster place available Sad

OP posts:
ClientListQueen · 12/10/2019 13:54

Can you provide a shelter anywhere? Basic food and water? Just thinking to help as it's getting colder for the time being

LondonSouth28 · 12/10/2019 14:08

Where are you based? I'd happily foster her and hand her back to you should tests for ok! X

Alabasterangel6 · 12/10/2019 14:21

Staffordshire

OP posts:
DirtyWindow · 12/10/2019 14:37

TBF foster places are pretty hard to come by, it's quite a lot of responsibility, especially in the first few weeks when you can't let them out.

What else did the charity say? Can they take her in to their cattery? Or at least spay her?
Maybe contact another charity for advice (cats protection league?). I'm sorry - this must be really stressful and I can see how it would just take over your life!

MotherOfLittlePeople · 12/10/2019 15:02

I have just had a mother and 5 kittens removed from a neighbours garden. We caught them when they stopped getting fed and were wandering in to our garden. Could she have possibly had kittens over the last 10 weeks and is hiding them somewhere? It's been a very busy kitten season i know that much!!

Not sure where you are but you could see if you have local cat charity like NASSL in the area? Or even ring cats protection?

DobbyTheHouseElk · 12/10/2019 15:03

I think if you provide a shelter for her. Food and water you’d be ok. Cardboard box with a old towel or fleece, old jumper or blanket for warmth.

Cats are good at looking after themselves. But it is cold at night, so a warm place would be useful.

I know how it takes over. I had a thread here about a cat that had escaped from my NDN and was living in my garden.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 12/10/2019 15:04

I’d also recommend calling the cats protection National number, I had a good lengthy chat with a lovely lady regarding my NDN cat and how to proceed.

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