Cat Tales – Page 22

Big Day for Kitty Tomorrow

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Dec 192005

I’ve got an appointment with a nearby vet to take the little cat in tomorrow morning to have her spayed. Her pregnancy is still in the early stages, and while I hate to abort her kittens it’s going to be very hard on her to have them at her age. Not to mention how much easier it will be to find her a home if it’s just her. They’ll also give her a rabies/distemper shot and check her for feline leukemia.

I have no idea how I’m going to get her into the cat carrier. This is a canny little cat; there will be no tricking her into it—I’m going to have to simply nab her by the scruff and lower her in. It’s been over twenty years since I’ve picked up a cat who didn’t want to be picked up, so it’s anyone’s guess whether I remember how.

And just when she’s starting to trust me a little, too. *sigh*

Poor Kitty

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Dec 162005

Meriwynn dropped by this morning at my request to have a look at our little visitor; she has a lot more experience with cats and kittens than I have, so I wanted her opinion on the little critter.

The verdict: Our girl is about five months old, she’s definitely pregnant, and was very likely smacked around by her people. Meri observed that when she would touch the cat’s tail or hindquarters, she’d jerk away to get them out of reach. I hadn’t noticed this behavior—the first few days she was here she’d jump if you did anything, and after that she’d gotten used to me, and she’ll allow me to stroke her hindquarters or even give her tail a gentle tug (as I do with Phurball).

Poor baby. I didn’t want to think she’d been abused, but it was certainly a suspicion from the way she jumps and flinches every time you move towards her. As young as she is, someone must have been hitting her when she was just a kitten. She’s not particularly afraid of my kids, though—in fact she seems rather partial to my ten-year-old, even when he leaps across the room and drops down next to her to pet her—and she’s not spending all her time on the mantel any more. Now she’ll even let us walk up to her, if we move slowly. In fact, last night I accidentally kicked her when I was walking across the room; she ran right in front of my leg as it was swinging forward, but she seemed to realize it was unintentional and didn’t run or flinch when I went over to pet her and apologize.

She’s such a sweet little cat. I want to make sure to find her a good home with loving, gentle people who will be patient while she learns to trust them.

Our New Mantel Decoration

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Dec 152005

She’s feeling a bit less jumpy, although yesterday she suffered a setback when I vacuumed around her litter pan. She didn’t mind when I vacuumed the carpet, but when I brought the noisy horrible thing over into her little sanctuary she had no “safe” place to retreat to. She ran into the basement and hid for hours, until I got worried about her and rousted her out.

I’ve been e-mailing the local shelters. My first choice, Safe Haven for Cats, is completely full and their waiting list is so long that they’re not currently accepting new names for it. I’ve been contacting other no-kill shelters in the area, although naturally they tend to be full because, well, they keep ’em until they’re adopted. I’d like to avoid taking her to the SPCA; I know they do their best to avoid euthanizing the critters, but someone has to take all the animals that the no-kill shelters turn away, and resources are finite. Chances are the cat would be adopted, as she’s young and personable, but I don’t want to take the chance if I don’t have to.

Yesterday I also ran across a page describing the reasons you should never offer a pet as “free to good home.” After that I was rather depressed and didn’t want to contact anyone else about taking her. Man, people can suck sometimes.

On the multi-cat front, this morning when Phurball passed a couple of feet away from the new cat, she didn’t put her ears back or hiss at him. She continues to lurk around in the den; she doesn’t like to come into the living room. Her aversion seems to start at the line between the hardwood floor and the carpeting. I don’t know if she’s just decided the hardwood area is “safe,” or if she’s had bad experiences in the past that she associates with carpeted floors. I wish she’d quit flinching when we go to pet her, it makes me feel like an ogre.

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