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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

Picking up our cat that's been 'missing' for years

459 replies

KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 14:57

Well not missing exactly but we lived at our old address and as our cat got older and we had kids and 2 dogs our cat spent more and more time with our elderly neighbour. We would try and coax him home but he always went back.

The neighbour loved him and spoilt him rotton.

2 years ago we moved house and we tried to catch him a few times to bring him with us but he evaded us. So we went to the neighbours house to ask him to catch him for us. The elderly neighbour said he would like him to stay (his wife and dog had passed away) as he was good company

So over time we check in on him, make sure he doesn't need vet care etc.
Neighbour has our number.

We just stopped by to check in and he asked if we could take him.

Of course!

But I'm worried as he's not seen our dogs in years. He's never been to this home and we have somehow adopted a stray cat here who treats it like his home and is basically out unplanned cat too now.

We are picking him up in an hour and I'm just a bit stressed at how to navigate this!!

We never planned to be apart from him but he chose the neighbour over us and at that time the neighbour really needed him.

Any advice please!

OP posts:
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Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 17:35

DazzlingCuckoos · 03/02/2025 17:34

I would say not looking up when the dogs barked probably does mean he's a bit deaf now.

As others have said, keep him away from the others and keep him in one room for a while before gradually letting him explore and be introduced to the other pets.

Definitely keep him away until you are sure he doesn't have any infectious diseases with that cough. He's presumably not had any vaccinations for a while?

Finally, are you definitely certain it's your cat? The picture makes him look rather like a tortoiseshell and if it's male then that's a very, very rare cat indeed as about 99.5% of them are female!

Yes he is a male tortie.

Was much excitement when we got his nuts off!

OP posts:
Marinel · 03/02/2025 17:36

I'm glad you are taking him to the vet, I agree he may well be deaf (not that you can do anything about that, but it would be useful to know).

A male tortie - very rare! We had a female tortie who lived to be 16, she was lovely.

WifeImprovementWorksInProgress · 03/02/2025 17:59

Oh he's a lovely looking old chap. I had several childhood cats, it's the tortie I really miss ❤️

Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 18:51

I think he may be deaf :(

He's not responding to any sounds bless him

OP posts:
Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 18:54

I took some photos of him but the photo option is gone :(

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 03/02/2025 18:56

Hope he gets on ok at the vets tomorrow , he looks lovely ❤️

amoreoamicizia · 03/02/2025 19:06

Crack open some celebratory Dreamies 🥰

Pinkissmart · 03/02/2025 19:09

Awww- he’s adorable

Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 19:45

amoreoamicizia · 03/02/2025 19:06

Crack open some celebratory Dreamies 🥰

I'm not sure he could eat them!

Maybe a lick-e-lick

OP posts:
Agapornis · 03/02/2025 21:36

Always a lick-e-lick for my cats! In this household they are known as cat tahini. Aldi and Lidl do good cheaper copies btw. Gourmet paté is easy to lick up, too.

I think they've temporarily turned off photos because a horrible troll was posting inappropriate stuff, but hopefully you can post some soon :)

Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 22:00

He's riddled with fleas :(

Found 2 on my bed after I applied a flea treatment about 4pm. Would it start to kill them that fast? They looked a bit drunk.

DH freaking out. He hates fleas.

Put him in the crate and will give him a comb through tomorrow and get advice from vet

OP posts:
Agapornis · 03/02/2025 22:10

Poor boy, it's good that you got him back. Yes, the first ones will die (and look drunk) within hours, might take 24h to kill all of them. Hope he enjoys his grooming session!

Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 22:16

Agapornis · 03/02/2025 22:10

Poor boy, it's good that you got him back. Yes, the first ones will die (and look drunk) within hours, might take 24h to kill all of them. Hope he enjoys his grooming session!

I feel really bad. I thought he was happy there because he always chose to go back to him and he always looked well.

Perhaps the gentleman struggled to keep up with his care as he was in poor health himself. I wish he would have contacted us sooner as we always said we would get him anytime.

He's used the litter tray twice.

I think I will get him a drinking fountain as he has no interest in the water bowl.

OP posts:
Whatisthisbs · 03/02/2025 22:19

Bless his heart, he's a beauty.

Agapornis · 03/02/2025 22:23

Don't feel bad. You know cats - they hide things very well. He may well have been flea free until very recently (e.g. picked them up from the large dog). He's with you now, and you'll do your best.

SnowflakeSmasher86 · 03/02/2025 22:25

Oh bless him, such a shame he’s not in better health but I’m so glad he’s back with his family and you can help him to feel better.

Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 22:32

Can you bath cats? He's very dirty, he's constantly cleaning himself but stinks and full of flea dirt. At a later date I mean, not whilst he is settling.

Or are there cat groomers?

OP posts:
SerenStarEtoile · 03/02/2025 22:46

You can use baby wet wipes if he’ll let you just wipe him over for now. The flea stuff and grooming should take care of the fleas. See how he goes.

Frostynoman · 03/02/2025 22:50

I’ve bathed cats a few times when absolutely necessary - I wouldn’t say they like it and I wouldn’t plan on it being a long one! Pop a towel into the bath for him to stand on and also cover yourself in a few so you’re not too wet and also don’t get scratched to pieces

Agapornis · 03/02/2025 23:18

I've used baby wipes, a tepid/warm shallow bath for poo paws, a warm wet towel, a silicone bath brush, and the purrito wrap. Trial and error, varies by cat, get someone to help you.

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 04/02/2025 01:14

Drunken fleas are dying, or at least impaired.

Take this lad to the vet for a checkup and ask the vet for prescription flea killer. Fleas are often resistant to OTC flea killers. CatOfHate had "drunk" fleas that wouldn't quite die with Frontline.

Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 04/02/2025 07:33

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 04/02/2025 01:14

Drunken fleas are dying, or at least impaired.

Take this lad to the vet for a checkup and ask the vet for prescription flea killer. Fleas are often resistant to OTC flea killers. CatOfHate had "drunk" fleas that wouldn't quite die with Frontline.

It was a prescription one from my other cat. I weighed him and used one from the vet

OP posts:
Marinel · 04/02/2025 08:21

I did wonder if the man's sudden need to get rid of the cat was because he realised he needed additional care and a trip to the vet and it all got too much trouble.

Your cat won't necessarily want to drink water if he eats wet food (like Whiskas) as his fluids will come from the food.

The flea treatment you gave him should deal with the fleas but you'll still see them stumbling around while they die.

If his coat is in a bad state, brushing may help (I use the rubber Zoomgroom type brushes for my cats). He shouldn't need bathing unless he has been living in very poor conditions, but you can ask your vet.

But a coat in a bad condition could indicate other health problems like kidney disease or hyperthyroidism. It's also likely he will have dental problems by that age.

Good luck at the vet, let us know how it goes.

LoafofSellotape · 04/02/2025 08:39

When our cat needed bathing I used a warm wash cloth,he loved it and purred like crazy. I wonder if it was because it was like being licked/groomed by his mum? Hope all goes well at the vet.

DazzlingCuckoos · 04/02/2025 10:49

Re the fleas, two cats I've got in the past have been riddled with them. The first was a kitten, who was easy to bathe as he was so small. A bath (where the water turned pink from his blood!) and a comb through cleared them. He was not a happy cat though and was desperately trying to get away, but as he was a kitten he could be held much easier.

My next cat was a grown rescue cat. I gave her a flea treatment then combed her through a few times a day until the comb started coming through clear. Thankfully she loved a brush so thought this was heavenly!

I kept a bowl of water next to her on the table, so I could drown the fleas in it as they came off her, then tipped it down the loo!

I (thankfully) never had to treat the house and she never got them again either.

I can imagine the vets' excitement at a male tortie! 😂 At least you know it's definitely yours - there won't be many of them around!

I had to take our female tortie to the vets for an op. When the nurse came out she looked traumatised as she'd had a massive battle trying to put the cone of shame on her. I apologised for her tortitude and the nurse said "it's fine, don't worry. It's just been quite the day - we've had 3 cats in for ops today and they're ALL torties!" I got the impression she was going to need a strong drink when she got home!