Stray cat - would like to keep

[Mistressofnone]

Over the summer, a sweet little cat started to appear on our shed roof. Always too timid to be approached though.

In November, our neighbour remarked that it was a stray. In December I went in our shed and discovered it must be living in there - it had made a little bed from an old patio chair cushion, covered in its fur.

I built it a little den and put an igloo style cat bed inside and have started to leave out food and milk/water. She/he loves it there and looking much healthier already. She now comes in the house and is so gentle with the kids. We have no other pets and would really like to keep her.

I have checked with neighbours and our local WhatsApp group but no takers. Also checked the local missing cats Facebook page for a match, but am wary to post on there in case someone unsavoury claims her.

The vet has said to bring her in next week (now early Jan) to check for a microchip. This is where I'm curious, does anyone have experience of taking in a cat who turns out to have long lost owners, and if so were they ok with you keeping it and signing over details?

We're really quite taken with her!

@Santaisstilleatingmincepies

Well that dcat was obviously meant to be yours. It matches your soft furnishings just purrfectly!

😂 she looks the part in the kitchen too!

Poinsettias are toxic to cats btw, as are lilies, alliums, onions, chives, garlic, loads of houseplants and aloe veras.

@Mia184 thank you ☺️ considering how timid she was at first it's great to see!

@ofwarren thanks for reading - it must have been a long old slog towards the end!

@EmmaC78 thank you I'm so thrilled. Will get some Lix-e-Lix today!

@Fluffycloudland77 that's what I keep thinking, how cold she must have been in there. There is no plinth along the bottom so it wasn't even proper shelter!

@awesomekilick aww that's lovely. It seemed meant to be. Smart little things aren't they!

@TheMadGardener DH actually sat on the floor last night as she was sprawled across his side 😸

@Fluffycloudland77

Poinsettias are toxic to cats btw, as are lilies, alliums, onions, chives, garlic, loads of houseplants and aloe veras.

Oh right thank you for pointing that out! I'll move it to a high shelf. To be honest I'm surprised that poinsettia is still alive, I've barely watered it! They usually give up on me by now.

I don't like onions either!

Glad to see that her old owner was wise enough to realise Dusty wasn’t happy there.

Cat crack is sardines or mackerel in tomato sauce we can get ground up tablet eaten mixed in with that. DCat turns her nose up at the lick Stix stuff 🙄

Poinsettias are toxic to cats btw, as are lilies, alliums, onions, chives, garlic, loads of houseplants and aloe veras

Poinsettias are only “poisonous” in that they will cause some vomiting and drooling if eaten in large quanitities. They won’t cause serious harm.

www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/poinsettia/

Lilies on the other hand cause fatal renal failure if not treated before symptoms start.

I’d happily have poinsettia in my house, but never lillies.

@Nomoreusernames1244

Poinsettias are toxic to cats btw, as are lilies, alliums, onions, chives, garlic, loads of houseplants and aloe veras

Poinsettias are only “poisonous” in that they will cause some vomiting and drooling if eaten in large quanitities. They won’t cause serious harm.

www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/poinsettia/

Lilies on the other hand cause fatal renal failure if not treated before symptoms start.

I’d happily have poinsettia in my house, but never lillies.

Exactly. It's almost dangerous to lump lilies in with all the other things as the degree of danger is on a completely different scale.

With lilies the cat only needs to walk through a bit of dropped pollen and it will die (because they clean themselves and so ingest in that way). All the other things need to be actually eaten, and in reasonable quantities, and probably won't result in death. Lilies should never be in the same house or garden as a cat, but I wouldn't get that het up about a poinsettia.

What a fab ending
I was going to suggest some suitable lockdown boy cat names. Like Professor Sir Chris Kitty.
Welcome home Dusty!

Paracetamol, very toxic got to be careful with that one too, and raisins/grapes.

Welcome to the world of googling “is xxx poisonous to cats” in various shops or is that just me in the houseplant section.

My childhood cat used to eat curry, god knows how he survived. My Bengal ate a cheese with chives in it once and threw up. 80’s cats must have been bomb proof.

What a lovely ending. I'm usually an occasional poster, but kept coming back to see if there was an update, I'm so pleased it is a happy update

Loving that last photo 😍

What a lovely happy ending for you and Dusty.

@BitcherOfBlakiven thank you, I agree it must have been a hard decision knowing her kids would be upset!

@RandomMess great tip for tablets thank you! Will bookmark this.

@Nomoreusernames1244 and @thecatneuterer goodness I've really come to the right place! Had no clue about lilies. MIL often buys us lilies so I'll pass them on to my mum as she loves them. Everyone's a winner!

@Words 😂 Sir Chris Kitty! Female ones are hard. AstraZenecat?

@Fluffycloudland77 I'll be a Google addict now wherever I go! Still not sure how many times a day to feed her? Been going with 2½ but now she is no longer homeless & ravenous she grazes and comes back to it.

@TrainspottingWelsh actually your post was very helpful! I spoke to the nearby farm & stables to see if they kept cats but they just had the one so good to rule them out.

Thanks @KittensTeaAndCake and @Ellmau. I'm enjoying posts with pictures on here now. Love to see all your whiskered ones!

Wouldn't it be easier to just ask your MIL not to buy you lilies from now on?

I'm glad everything is going well. As for feeding - cats, unlike dogs, like to eat little and often. So if you can manage 4 or 5 small meals a day that would be her preferred option I imagine. But twice a day is fine, particularly if there is always dry food available for grazing. And on the subject of dry food try to make it a decent one. Wiskas and Go Cat and the ilk really aren't good for cats (and are positively dangerous for male cats). Go for something like James Wellbeloved, Applaws, Lily's Kitchen, Arden Grange, or basically anything that costs more than Go Cat.

@thecatneuterer

Wouldn't it be easier to just ask your MIL not to buy you lilies from now on?

I'm glad everything is going well. As for feeding - cats, unlike dogs, like to eat little and often. So if you can manage 4 or 5 small meals a day that would be her preferred option I imagine. But twice a day is fine, particularly if there is always dry food available for grazing. And on the subject of dry food try to make it a decent one. Wiskas and Go Cat and the ilk really aren't good for cats (and are positively dangerous for male cats). Go for something like James Wellbeloved, Applaws, Lily's Kitchen, Arden Grange, or basically anything that costs more than Go Cat.

It would be easier! I'm not sure how I'd word it without being rude.

Thanks so much. I've been giving wet food for breakfast.. Claude's Bistro so far which is going down well. Then dry food Purina Adult throughout the day. I haven't heard of a lot of the ones you listed so that's really helpful as I can start ordering online, rather than just relying on what's on the supermarket shelves.

How wonderful. Did you get the original owner a gift? Are you going to stay in touch? Christmas cards and so on with pictures.

I posted on this thread several years ago about the difficulties of getting cats where I live or conforming to the rescue rules. Some very restrictive rules.

Anyway my DHs colleague kept an eye out for us. We had to drive for more than an hour to the rescue and my lovely Dcats have been part of the family for 3 years November just gone.

They made this house a home. Even my DH loves them really.

They are insured as moggies but I'm pretty convinced one is a Russian Black and the other a Russian Blue. Found together as kittens - too young to be away from Mum.

Wishing you many happy years with your Moggy.

Wiskas and Go Cat and the ilk really aren't good for cats (and are positively dangerous for male cats).

Can I ask why they are dangerous to male cats? I knew they weren't very nutritious but dangerous?

Urethra blockages.

Just say you cant have lillies anymore due to the cat.

@KittensTeaAndCake Yes, as Fluffy says, it's to do with urinary crystals and blocked bladders. Apparently, and for reasons I don't understand, cheap dry food is much higher in magnesium than the more expensive stuff and magnesium, for reasons I also don't understand, is a risk factor for urinary crystals.

Oh right thanks. You think there would be some sort of health standard within pet food manufacturing.

@Nemorth aww what beauties! They have clearly led a lovely life with you. What sort of restrictions did you encounter from local rescues? That's interesting.

I've not come across a Russian Black before - how pretty!

Actually yes, the owner and I are now Facebook friends and I sent a family sized triple brownie from Sponge that the kids could enjoy, along with Prosecco. I'm likely to run into her lots locally what with the kids!

I must sort pet insurance now you mention it..

How interesting! Agree it should be regulated more. I know there were issues with toxic metals in baby food in recent years. Hopefully pet food will be looked into too.

@Mistressofnone local rescues wouldn't let me rehome because:

1. My DD was too young at 8 (they wanted youngest to be 10)
2. I worked out of the house 3 full days a week
3. DH had never had a pet
4. We had a holiday booked in 4-months

Rescues near us can be really picky as there is more demand than supply.