Our New Cat Goes to Emergency Pet Care

Fifteen hours ago we rushed our newly adopted stray cat to the emergency veternarian because he was straining to urinate but could not. They treated the cat for urinary tract infection and cystitis

Our newly adopted cat was given an antibiotic and a steroid shots, and we were told to increase his liquids which we have by feeding him canned food mixed with water several times throughout the day. The cat eats very little and is urinating no more than a teaspoon.

I have been so worried about our new cat but needed to wait for my husband to come home due to the one car situation.  My husband said to wait until the morning to take him to our veterinarian since the costs and emergency vet so expensive. I told him I did not think it was wise as cats can die from a ruptured bladder from not being able to urinate.

 My husband did not need to be convinced as he saw the poor cat straining to go to the bathroom and only a teaspoon coming out.

Presently we are on route to the animal hospital. I fear that there is blockage and the cat must be catheterized or the cat was poisoned and is in kidney failure. I am so worried because this cat was fine, symptoms showed up only after he got out of the house ran to his former home, before adopting this cat he had been abandoned when his people moved away. This is why when he got out of our house he ran to the only home he knew. 

I found him twenty minutes after he got out of our house and picked him up from the porch of his former home.  The women of the house came out and yelled at me, and told me she hated cats. I cannot help thinking that she has poisoned my newly adopted tabby cat. Of course I have no proof. Another thought is maybe this cat has been eating food with corn, soy or wheat and these ingredients are GMO danger foods.  My mind is racing this way and that, because so many of the stray cats are getting sick.

Okay we are at the emergency vets now.  We are going inside, please say a prayer that my new kitty will be okay.

Tabby Cat on the day we adopted him, December 2014

Newly Adopted Cat Cannot Urinate

Whenever a cat shows signs that they cannot urinate then you really need to pay attention to this cat health symptom. Recently we adopted a stray cat and and took him to the veterinarians for exam, neuter, vaccines and in general made sure he was okay and safe to around our cats.

This little tabby that we call Louie is one sweet cat and he quickly acclimated to his indoor surroundings. His appetite was good, he used his litter box and got along well with other cats. Then three days ago he got out of the house and took off running to the neighborhood where his people used to live.

Louis was abandoned when his people moved and this means that he wants to go back to his birth home every chance that he gets. 

I went after him and I found him, and picked him up off the porch where he was laying. As I turned to walk off the door of the house opened and a women screamed at me to put a leash on that cat that she hated cats and did not want him lying on her porch.   I tried to tell her that he was born in that house and only went back to find his people and she yelled me again and slammed the door. I took Louie home and he seemed nervous, then that night he is straining to urinate.

Was he poisoned? Did this cat hater cause my cat harm. I don't know all I know is that we rushed him to the veterinarian emergency hospital and he had a fever, and was treated for a urinary infection and idiopathic cystitis.

Know that my other cat had idiopathic cystitis and there were symptom of this illness that occurred weeks before, the symptoms did not occur immediately after the cat returns for being outdoors.  I think there was foul play and have contacted my veternarian.  If need be I will take him to the veternarian tomorrow when they open for business. 

The emergency veternarian gave Louis two shots, medication for home care, I am watching and taking care of my adopted stray cat because he is sick and suffering from an infection that has caused him to be unable to urinate.

Here is a photo of Louie in September, he was visiting us and as you can see he is healthy.  This is when the neighbors were taking care of him, but none of us could adopt him due to our cities pet laws.  We adopted him in December after my cat needed to be euthanized and I could legally take in another cat.

This next photo was taken of Louie one month ago on the day we adopted him. 

And now he cannot urinate and I am worried about our adopted cat.

Caretakers Adopt Abandoned Stray Cat

For the last two years my husband and I along with the neighbors have been caretakers to a cute five year old tabby cat that was left behind when his people moved. We all put out food and water for this cat and have opened up our heated garages by installing a cat door for the abandoned and stray cats. Along with the garage shelters many of us have bought outdoor cat shelters for these animals that were left behind by their people.

We all wanted to adopt this cute tabby cat but couldn't.

All of us were over our pet limit and could not officially adopt this cat as the pet laws are very strict where I live and if you break them you risk of having all of your pets taken away by animal control. So we all follow the rules and do our best to take care of the abandoned cats in our neighborhood.

Last winter we found this tabby abandoned stray cat outdoors when it was in the single digits. Husband picked him up and put him in a cat cage in our mud room for overnight, it was too darn cold outdoors and this cat could have gotten frostbite. So the stray cat stayed in the cat cage, that was located in our mud room, where a door closed off the rest of our house, for three days.  Then  when the snow  melted and temperatures was warmer the cat went outdoors again.

The cat went back to his routine and all of the neighborhood watched out for him. Then in September of 2014 I had to put down three of my cats due to cancer and diabetes. Then in December we adopted this stray cat and got him neutered, vaccinated and provided him with flea and parasite treatment.

He came indoors to live with us and while he seems to like it, he does miss going outdoors. For the next three months we intend to keep him indoors so he knows that we are his people and he has a home . 

We would like to let him go outdoors to play in our yard.  But we fear that he will run to the home where he was born to look for his former people, they are not there and the “new family” could care less about the former cat who lived in the house. So it is best that the abandoned stray cat relate to us as his new family.

When Kittens Bite and Scratch

When you look at my hands you will see scratches. Know that these scratches are from the kittens that I care for.   When the rescued or abandoned kittens get to be a certain age they tend to play a little roughly by scratching and biting. Their  sharp little teeth hurt and sometime the scratch or bite gets infected.

Generally this rough playing with the biting and scratching occurs when kittens are about 7 to 8 weeks old. One day your kitten is sweet and the next morning something is different because your adorable kitten has discovered that her teeth hurt and she wants to bite everything and she also discovered that she has claws.

Discourage your kitten from playing with your hands or feet. Instead buy dabird (bird with feather on a stick) and run the bird across the floor. Your kitten will chase after the bird and find this to be amusing. If there are no litter mates for kitten to play with then buy your kitten a stuffed toy. Spray the toy with catnip and now you have a toy that kitten can play with and you hands are not their source of entertainment. 

 In addition to the cat toys, now is the time to teach your baby cat to use a scratching post.  I recommend buying a medium sized cat tree that is covered with carpet.  This tree will provide your kitten with hours of entertainment plus the cat tree will be their place a safe area to scratch.

Note:

Sometimes those dagger claws will puncture the skin and let me tell you this darling kitten’s playful behavior is not fun at all. So clip those claws so that they will not scratch you.  

I recommend that before you handle any stray or feral kitten that you make sure that you have on protective clothing; arms and legs covered with long sleeve shirt and if possible a jacket plus leather gloves to protect your hands.  Helpful to be current with your tetanus shot. Other than than enjoy the kittens as they are babies for only a short time.

Gray Cat at My Door is Injured

Not sure why cats find their way to my house but they do.  Our home is at the bottom of steep hill and it backs up 29 acres of dense woods with creek in the valley.  There is nothing around except a dead end street where cats and dogs are usually abandoned.   It should not surprise me but it always does when an animal finds its way to my side door. 

Tonight a large mature cat shows up at my side door and knew to scratch at the screen. I opened the door expecting to find my own cat wanting to come inside but instead there is a large gray and white cat sitting in front of the door looking at me.

My first reaction to this cat is to think that it is lost. So I turn on the porch light and go out to see if there is a collar and hopefully an identification tag. No such luck, this big boy with the shiny coat is well fed and I suspect either abandoned or lost.

I went indoors  to get some food and a bowel of water and set the cat bowls off to the side and that is when I realized that this cat was injured. His left hind leg is hurt because he is limping.

I called out to my husband and he examines the cats paw  to see if something is embedded but he said that the paw bed looked fine and he suspected cat got hurt in a fall or a fight with another cat. But again no bite or puncture wounds were noticed.  Maybe cat tried to climb a tree to get away from danger and fell?    We do not know but we both agree that this kitty that is injured must spend the night in our heated garage. 

 At this point we have no idea if this is somebody’s cat from the joining neighborhood.  All we know is that the cat is hurt and it is best that he is not spending the night outdoors tonight when coyote are in the area.  So there is another kitty that has found us and is of need of help.  We will do our best to care for him and hopefully we can locate his owner.

If you do not have a identification tag for your cat then I recommend this one. You can personalize it with your contact information.  If gray cat had a tag he would be home with his people tonight, instead of in my garage.

Cute identification tags for cats | Personalizable Pet ID Tags 

Spring Like Weather Means Cats will Mate

The last couple of days have been warm and the mild temperature is enough to make the unaltered cats eager to mate.

Feral Cat Bob was always eager to mate, he was neutered in December

In December we had taken in four cats to be neutered and thought we were all up to date with the feral and stray cats in our neighborhood but today I look out my back window and what do I see, a tomcat getting it on with a queen cat. What the heck is this and better yet are these stray cats or the lady down the streets cats that are not sterilized. 

January is not a good time for an outdoor cat to be pregnant because this warm weather is just a break in winter, snow in the forecast for this weekend and bitter cold weather. Not a good idea to have those kittens during the winter even if queen is held up in a thicket den, the weather will be too darn cold.

Since I am not about to let those kittens freeze to death I decided to get out the cat trap and try to catch the stray queen cat. Take her in for a spay and vaccines. Then I am going to go down the street to have a chat with the women with all of the unaltered cats and if she does not listen to me then I may report her to animal control because she is way over her limit and we can no longer continue to pay for her cats sterilizations. 

Ornamental Grass Garden Attracts Cats in Winter

In winter when the outdoor cats are seeking shelter the ornamental grass gardens if left in a natural state will attract cats. These cats will burrow under the grass leaves and will gain a comfortable resting spot where they are not noticeable.

Today while I was in the back part of my garden I had the feeling that I was being watched. I looked into the woods expecting to see a cat watching me but saw none. Then I looked at the feral cat feeding station and again there were no cats there or hanging around.  I suspected that it was just a feeling that I had of being watched so I let it go and continued with my garden needs. Then I heard movement and heard leaves cracking and there was no doubt I was not alone in the garden.

So I moved toward the grass garden as the sound that I had heard seemed to be coming from that location.  I looked for the animal and again saw nothing.   My ornamental grass garden is thick and anything could take up residency there and would go unnoticed. 

Instead of going in for a closer look I walked back to the house and got my camera with the telephoto zoom lens. This is when a zoom lens comes in handy. My grass garden rather large and nestled behind is a private brick patio and a small pond. 

While viewing through the camera lens I passed over the garden rather quickly and saw nothing. Then I sat and listened for sounds of movement. Sure enough, I heard the leaves crack and pointed my camera in that direction. There at the base ornamental grasses close to the karely rose border grass and Karl Forester grass lies a large gray tabby feral cat, that we call Fatty Boy. This feral cat has boundaries and if I had crossed them he would have lunged at me, hissing and showing me his claws. 

So very thankful that I found the whereabouts as to where cat was and learned what was watching me in the garden today.

Fatty boy is the in the photo that you view above.

Watching Cats at Backyard Feeding Station

I always feed the feral cats at the same time daily but since the weather has gotten cold I found that they are not running to the feeding station in the morning. I do not blame them because the last couple of days it has been really cold outdoors.

I normally put our dry Evolve chicken maintenance food mixed with Friskies whitefish pate. But since it is freezing I have taken away the canned food and I am only putting out kibble. Now if I see the cats in the woods I will put out the canned food because the aroma from the whitefish food lures the cats out of the woods and to my backyard feeding station.

Here is a photo of my insulated feeding station.  There are two doors and we set it on cement blocks to keep the snow and rain water out of the cavity.  Inside is a bowl of food and water.

Today we waiting for the cats all day to come to the feeding station, they did not come until midnight. To my surprise they are now in my yard. I guess fox or other animal ate the food because the cats are taking turns at my backyard feeding station. Soon I will have to o out and refill the bowls.

Do you have an outdoor cat feeding station in your yard ?

View this video to learn how to make inexpensive feeding stations for outdoor cats.

Interviewing Cat Caretaker Voulenteers

As a feral cat colony caretaker since 1999 I have learned that not everyone is suited to be a volunteer. That is why I have an informal interview with all people who are interested in helping out with the cat colony. This interview helps me to determine the right position for the volunteer.

Some Caretakers care for feral kittens 

As an example; a friend contacted me today and told me that she would like to help out with taking care of the  cats in our neighborhood, She said she would like to participate in feeding the cats that were close to her home. 

I told her that I would do a schedule for her and that she would be responsible for providing the cats with their food and water and that she must be punctual that there was no excuse for weather, they cats had to be fed during rain, snow or sleet. I also noted that if she could not feed the cats at a specific time that it was up to her to find a replacement caretaker.

My friend told me that if it was pouring rain or snowing that she would not leave her house to feed the cats and I reminder her that they were dependent upon their human caretaker to feed them and if she was not going to leave the comforts of her home then how would they eat? My friend replied they are cats and are resourceful so they will have to hunt for their meal on a rainy or snowy day.

All cats must be fed daily, no excuses

From her response to my question I knew we cold not depend on her for regular feedings and that she did not take the cats seriously so I offered her the position of cleaning out the cat beds, changing the straw and or helping with trapping the cats for spa or neuter or maybe she would be interesting in networking community for cat adoptions. 

Setting up Feral Cats Winter Feeding Station

The weather is getting colder  and husband and I thought it would be best to move the feral cats feeding station closer to the house. We may have snow or icy weather and the location in the woods would be difficult to get to. 

 In order to get to the feeding station I need to hike a good 70 feet from my home and normally this is not a problem but coyote have migrated over into our woods and personally I do not like setting up the woods station with food because it puts cats in harms way.

Cat inside thicket den in woods

It would be better to have the feeding station close to my detached garage where there is a kitty door and warm beds inside.  Better and safer for the cats to be in the shelter rather than in their thicket dens in the woods.  

Feeding station close to house

With the help of my husband we shut down the feral cat feeding station in the woods and set up a new one closer to the house. 

 We selected an area that has a windblock due to the backside of the detached garage, it also provides a safe passage to our yard from the back entrance to the park. then there is an overhang from the garage roof that protects the station from rain.  

The front of the feeding station is blocked from view due to the ornamental grasses and then the entrance to our garage shelter is eight feet away from the new winter feeding station.  

Here is a photo of one of the feral cats sleeping in straw bed inside our garage shelter.  I am hoping that with the feeding station closer to the shelter that feral cats will enter and be safe and warm this winter.

Feral Cat Sleeping in Winter Shelter Post Card Postcard 

.

I am glad the feral cats feeding station is located in the back of our yard because it is a safer place for the cats and it also enable us to provide them with food even if there is a bad weather;  snow, sleet or ice.

.

K&H Verses Wooden Cat House Comparison

We take care of a few stray and feral cats and because our winters can be long and cold we did buy K&H outdoor cat houses.  The cat houses are great but they were not intended for large cats or for setting up in an open space in the yard. 

Here is my review of the heated thermal cat house and the birchwood manor

The roof after one light rain. This house needs to be set up on a
a porch that has a covering or in a garage or cool basement.

If you plan on setting up the K&H cat house in your garage, shed, workshop, or on a covered porch then this lightweight outdoor cat shelter will serve its purpose. But you cannot set it up in the middle of your yard.  It just does not hold up well in wind rain or snow.  

The K & H cat house is easy to assemble; it goes together quickly and stays together with heavy-duty Velcro. It has a heated pad with a fleece cover that is nice too, but this house needs weather protection and it is not meant for the cat to sit on top of it because the house will flatten like a pancake. 

Also, the thermo K&H kitty house needs to be protected from the wind as it can easily be uplifted.

In comparison to the above-mentioned K & H  cat house, we liked their birchwood manor outdoor houses.  It's made from wood and is more durable.  You can set it up anywhere and this house is heavier and withstand, wind, sleet, and snow. 

We set this house up against a hard service; backside of my garage or privacy wooden fence. This location blocks the wind. We also lift the wood cat house up by putting it on cement blocks, this keeps the rain runoff away from the entrance and also keep snow out of the cavity. 

The birch cat house is built well, treated with water protection, and will withstand the weather.  We added a hefty layer of straw to keep the stray cats warm this winter. 

When it comes to choosing a heated or unheated cat house by K&H we choose the birchwood for outdoor usage and the Thermo kitty with a heated pad for the garage or for our covered porch. 

Note: The only thing that was lacking in both houses was the overall size.  Both cat houses could be a tad larger as large cats like a Main Coon have difficulty getting into this cat house.

My Kitten Has a Disability

Day we found kittens

My rescue kitten has special needs but we do not care because she is so sweet and loving. 

We took good care of this little rescue kitten because we knew she was not quite right. This  kitten is very small for her age, in fact her siblings are three times her size. But even though she is petite she has a big heart and tries her best to keep up with the other cats.

I suppose in nature the mother cat would have left this baby go, after all she was the runt. She was frail when I found her on the side of the road.  We always had a problem with getting her to eat and so we needed to bottle feed her, and when we weaned her we still had to feed her away from the other cats. 

My special needs kitten

We found out when she went in for her wellness exam that she is a special needs cat; underdeveloped for her age and vision disability.

  

Her disability makes her a special kitty, but know that we love her all the more and will eventually find her a forever home where the cat adopter will care for her and treat my rescued kitten "Sally" like a princess for the rest of her cat life.

 

Adopters Love Funny Kitten Photographs

Whenever I get  cats ready for adoption I always fuss with them by grooming, brushing and clipping their nails before I take their photograph.  Last week I got a call from the veterinarian’s office where I have hung a flyer and the girls suggested that I pose the kittens for a cute photo because a client was coming in that they thought would be interested.

Here us a flyer template that i use for my cats.  It is good for hanging on bulletin boards and handing out to neighbors.  I wanted to update this flyer with adorable kitten photographs.

Cat Adoption Template Flyer Flyer 

Kittens are fast so you need to spend a day with them to get the perfect photographs.  Well that is exactly what I did, I watched them play and tried to pose them in flower pots but they really did not like posing for the camera. I wanted to get the perfect photo that would tug on the adopter’s heartstrings, but needless to say the kittens were not cooperating. 

Generally I have my camera set for motion because kittens are fast and that darling shot may be  gone in a second. Well after an afternoon of failed attempts I happened to see my tuxedo and tortoiseshell kitten sitting on the table and I thought it was a perfect shot.

Well those buggers showed me what they thought of the camera because both of them stuck their tongue out at me.  I laugh so hard when I saw the photo but brought it with me when I went to the veterinarians office the following day.  

Well everyone fell in love with the kitten giving me the raspberry and that was the photograph that got my kittens adopted. An adopter saw the photo, and wanted to meet the kittens.  She loved them both and  here is the photo that tugged on the cat adopters  heartstrings.  

My kittens got adopted because the photo showed off their adorable personalities.  

Find Best Cat Adopters with Screening and Placement Fee

Since rescuing the five kittens  I have learned many things about finding the right adopters.  I learned that a screening interview is imperative as well as a placement fee. These two steps help me to find the best adopters for the cats.

Rescue kitten Hairy

You would think that anyone would be overjoyed to get a well-trained cat that had all of their vaccines, including feline leukemia preventative, worming, and spay or neuter and microchip.  Basically, all of the expenses of owning a kitten or cat have been taken care of and adopters need only transfer paperwork.

 Kittens are expensive and we have taken care of all of the medical expenses plus training them to be perfect little housecats.

All we asked for was a $50 placement fee which I thought was nominal considering PetSmart pet charities charge $60 and humane society $75.  Many times you will need to spay or neuter and get a microchip on top of the placement fee.

I was surprised when the adopters that I interviewed said no to the fee.  I thought this refusal was a red flag to the cat’s well-being as many said they did not believe in getting cats vaccinated spayed or neutered because they were cats.  (Not sure what this meant but knew they had little regard for the cats)

I kept my ground and said I am sorry this kitten is not a right match for you.  

This is why I say that it is important to screen all adopters and charge a placement fee for all cat adoptions because it enables you to determine if the adopter is a good match and will take care of the cat's medical needs.  

Some People Should Not Adopt a Cat

In my search to find adopter for kitten I have learned that many people want cats for the wrong reason and that finding responsible cat owners is not an easy task.

Some people want to adopt kittens because they are cute, but they do not want them to bite, scratch or play too hard. They want the kittens to be trained to play on command and then sleep the rest of the day.  I suspect that these are the people that put their kittens out of the house.

Other people want a cat because all you need to do is feed them and change their litter box when it stinks.  These people think that you do not need to play with them or pet them like a dog,  because unlike a dog cats are not affectionate. So you can leave them to travel for a week an not worry.

My tortoiseshell cat in her cozy purr-pad bed in garage.

Then there are the cat adopters who only want a cat to live outdoors under their porch all year round to control the rodents, and I suspect these people have no intention of giving cat proper shelter or cat food.

Some people are eager to adopt a cat but do not take into consideration that somebody in the household is allergic to cat dander.   Even with good intentions to keep house allergen free it never works out for the benefit of the cat.

Then there are the cat adopters that associate black cats as being evil and will adopt them only to torture them and let’s not forget the people who raid the shelters for black cats for their Halloween party and then put them out of the house the next day without providing the black cat with food or outdoor shelter.

This is why I say that some people should not adopt a cat.