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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

So this cat showed up in my garden yesterday…

193 replies

Inarightpickleandpreserve · 29/12/2023 12:05

Yesterday morning this little small kitty showed up meowing really loud at the door. Never seen it before. Went out and came back and it’s still there. Went out again and it’s still there so I gave it some tuna from a can which was wolfed down.

The weather was awful yesterday and I couldn’t bear thinking about leaving it outside so I set up a little bed in the garage with a blanket in a laundry basket which a heat pad. Makeshift litter box with a shoe box and hastily purchased corner shop litter.

My girls and I took it to the vet and today and they said he’s a boy cat about 10 months old, no chip, not been neutered and did we want to take him home?

so £100 in pets home later we have one kitty that’s moved in with us!! He is very purry and seems happy to be inside and warm.

ive got a litter box, carry case, scratch thing, got him chipped and have some sachets of food.

what else do I need to do??? Help!!

So this cat showed up in my garden yesterday…
OP posts:
titchy · 29/12/2023 13:23

Even an owner who never intended a cat to go out would have it chipped because there’s always a chance it will get out

Neither of mine are chipped - and they go outside 🤷‍♀️

Other than the lack of neutering he looks quite healthy. Eyes and nose clean, no signs of scrapping on the ears. And only a little underweight. Could well be someone who has gone away for Christmas and made arrangements for cat to be fed that have fallen through.

Santaisscouringindeedfornewjob · 29/12/2023 13:23

June 2024 for legal chip of dcats...

Newuser75 · 29/12/2023 13:24

For him to be so friendly he must have had an owner. He doesn't look in terrible condition either.

redboxer321 · 29/12/2023 13:25

RubySundayy · 29/12/2023 12:12

Can’t believe you’re all preaching at the OP to find the owner of an underweight, unchipped cat.

This

ValkyrieAssassin · 29/12/2023 13:27

Santaisscouringindeedfornewjob · 29/12/2023 13:23

June 2024 for legal chip of dcats...

Aah thanks. Our Cattery won’t take them without a chip now (which is fair) so I thought had come in as a rule already. If you do find the owner OP then maybe go to rspca after new year for a new family member of your own. You are clearly natural cat slaves!

inigomontoyahwillcox · 29/12/2023 13:28

"a cat that friendly has had a home at some point."

Our cat is the most affectionate soul in the world, absolutely adores people and just wants to be with you and cuddled at the time. He was rescued by Battersea as part of a stray litter and we adopted him at 11 months.

Missingmyusername · 29/12/2023 13:29

RubySundayy · 29/12/2023 12:12

Can’t believe you’re all preaching at the OP to find the owner of an underweight, unchipped cat.

This.

He is yours now Op. Thank you for saving dcat.

Newuser75 · 29/12/2023 13:29

@RubySundayy because you have absolutely no idea how the cat came to be in the garden.
You have no idea if it's a cat that a family have just got and were planning on having neutered, if it is an indoor cat, if it is used for breeding (obviously the ethics of that is another point).
There could be kids crying missing the cat. You just don't know!! I find it absolutely maddening to think that someone has taken someone else's cat in with no effort to find the LEGAL owner of it and everyone is praising them for it!
The cat looks like it's in pretty good condition, it appears friendly and not really timid. It doesn't look like it's had a hard life!
You can't just find something and decide it's yours. It's not finders keepers!!

Newuser75 · 29/12/2023 13:30

inigomontoyahwillcox · 29/12/2023 13:28

"a cat that friendly has had a home at some point."

Our cat is the most affectionate soul in the world, absolutely adores people and just wants to be with you and cuddled at the time. He was rescued by Battersea as part of a stray litter and we adopted him at 11 months.

Yes but that cat will have known no cruelty and would have been looked after nicely while at the shelter.

StarDolphins · 29/12/2023 13:30

If you take pet ownership seriously then you get it microchipped before letting it out. If he has/had an owner they haven’t looked after him properly.

Well done for taking him in op. He looks very happy!

CurlewKate · 29/12/2023 13:31

Blimey! What did you spend 100 quid on?

TedMullins · 29/12/2023 13:32

RubySundayy · 29/12/2023 12:12

Can’t believe you’re all preaching at the OP to find the owner of an underweight, unchipped cat.

I agree! If he isn’t chipped then he clearly didn’t come from a responsible home (if he even had one at all). Don’t chip your pets? Don’t expect to get them back if they escape/run away (I say this as a pet owner)

TedMullins · 29/12/2023 13:34

Newuser75 · 29/12/2023 13:29

@RubySundayy because you have absolutely no idea how the cat came to be in the garden.
You have no idea if it's a cat that a family have just got and were planning on having neutered, if it is an indoor cat, if it is used for breeding (obviously the ethics of that is another point).
There could be kids crying missing the cat. You just don't know!! I find it absolutely maddening to think that someone has taken someone else's cat in with no effort to find the LEGAL owner of it and everyone is praising them for it!
The cat looks like it's in pretty good condition, it appears friendly and not really timid. It doesn't look like it's had a hard life!
You can't just find something and decide it's yours. It's not finders keepers!!

If it’s not chipped there isn’t a legal owner.

Original poster
Inarightpickleandpreserve · 29/12/2023 13:35

A carry case, litter box, a scratching post thingy, food and water bowls, a scooper for the litter box, a little bed igloo type thing and a blanket. Oh and some felix cat food.
I did join the app and get 10% off though!

OP posts:
FreshWinterMorning · 29/12/2023 13:35

Santaisscouringindeedfornewjob · 29/12/2023 13:17

The dcat my dd found had a loving owner.. She didn't drive as was disabled and he wasn't chipped or neutered as she didn't want to put people out asking he be taken back and forwards to the vet. She was very emotional when dd took him home. You don't know other people's circumstances..

THIS. ^ There could be numerous reasons why kitty is not chipped or neutered. Yes of course it's the responsible thing to do to have them neutered and chipped, but it doesn't mean someone is a terrible person/bad pet owner if the cat is not neutered and chipped!

I am going against the grain here. @Inarightpickleandpreserve You seem very kind, and a lovely person, and I am sure your lovely daughter has fallen in love with this gorgeous cat, but kitty is very likely just lost.

We had a wee black and white cat coming into our garden last summer 2022, and it was so affectionate and loving, and it was quite scruffy and dishevelled and a bit skinny. Looked like it was homeless/a stray...

I went onto my local facebook page - hadn't been on it for a week or so - and there was a photo of this exact cat, with a very upset and distressed owner - a 70 y.o. lady who had had him as a kitten 9 months ago. He was only 11-12 months old. He was currently on a course of meds, and she needed him home quickly. 'I beg you to bring my Sammy home,' she pleaded on facebook.

He had been missing 5 days. Lived 2 miles away. So he had only been missing 5 days, and looked rough and skinny ... It doesn't take a cat to be 'stray' for many months to look a bit skinny and dishevelled.

The fact you say this cat is friendly and loving tells me it IS owned by someone and is NOT a stray.

PLEASE advertise it on your local facebook page, and keep the posters up in the neighbourhood. Despite the 'he/she has chosen you' and 'he/she is yours now' comments, he/she is not yours. This is someone else's cat. Someone is missing them and looking for them.

.

Newuser75 · 29/12/2023 13:36

@TedMullins the person who paid for the cat.
It is also possible that the cat is chipped but the chip has migrated. It does happen.

Original poster
Inarightpickleandpreserve · 29/12/2023 13:37

Just to be absolutely clear I am not stealing a cat I’m keeping it indoors and comfortable and have made an effort to find out if there is a family missing their pet.
have called various local vets to ask if anyone has reports their pet missing and put pictures on social

OP posts:
Santapaws3 · 29/12/2023 13:38

I’m on the fence with this one. Responsible owners really should get their cars chipped and neutered. It’s a good thing you took him to the vet to check for a chip first. There are so many stray cats it does make me angry when they’re not looked after. Most likely he’s been someone’s pet, he’s got out because he isn’t neutered and roamed to look for a mate - he could have been miles and has probably got several females pregnant in the meantime!

By the way don’t fall for the ‘he was starving he wolfed down a can of tuna’ my cat would do this even if not starving. And if you keep him don’t let him out until he is neutered.

Baffledandalarmed · 29/12/2023 13:39

DONT put up photos of the cat! People will claim it’s theirs when it’s not!

Someone did that when my dog ran away as a child - stuck bloody photos of her on Facebook and a bunch of arseholes claimed she was theirs! Thankfully she was chipped (why they didn’t check that first I will never know)!

Post saying you’ve found a cat, has anyone lost one. Then ask for a description of the cat from anyone who claims to have lost it. Do not put photos of her up.

RedHelenB · 29/12/2023 13:39

RubySundayy · 29/12/2023 12:12

Can’t believe you’re all preaching at the OP to find the owner of an underweight, unchipped cat.

This

mamma65432 · 29/12/2023 13:40

It's been one day! and if the cat does decide to go back to its owner then the OP has spent £100.

redboxer321 · 29/12/2023 13:42

Sounds like you are doing everything right to me, @Inarightpickleandpreserve
It's just there's always someone desperate to have a go on MN.

I am no expert on kitties but I believe you should feed them wet food as if fed dry they will live their life dehydrated because they don't feel thirsty even though they should. Just something I picked up and might come in handy with this one or, if the rightful owner does come forward, the one you adopt from the shelter ;)

Original poster
Inarightpickleandpreserve · 29/12/2023 13:42

I do think if the cat does have a family then we are going to rescue shelter to get another one, we are not going to be wasting the items I bought

OP posts:
AllTheOtherCats · 29/12/2023 13:44

No chip? Not neutered? Don't listen to any of these posters telling you you're stealing a cat. You're not. Any person who did not have their cat chipped/neutered in the first place is completely irresponsible and doesn't deserve this beautiful creature.

Thank you OP for not turning your back on him and for doing the responsible thing. He's absolutely gorgeous xx

TeacherPlease · 29/12/2023 13:45

If a cat isn’t chipped, it’s either stray or the owner didn’t care enough about keeping it. So I don’t think it’s morally wrong to keep it.

Anyone who thinks differently should chip their cats to avoid this very scenario.

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