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There is a cat prowling around my house right as we speak. She is a cream-colored cat with ginger ears and a bit of buff in its coat. The vet tells me she is a medium-hair cat. She has extra toes on both front feet. It has ice-blue eyes, and she purrs constantly. My friend who lives in the apartment complex where we found her suspects her of being at least part Maine Coon Cat. Her microchip says her name is Polly, but if her owner cannot be found, we'll probably call her Angel.
We went over to a friend's apartment last night to meet her puppy and go to the hot tub for a bit. As we're exiting the hot tub, this cat appeared and kept coming over to look at us, then shying away. We walked back to the apartment and it followed us, eventually starting to meow. David and April, one of our friends, went down to look at it. She let them pick her up and bring her inside without the slightest fuss, apparently quite relieved to be indoors again. The friends had a collapsible cage that we borrowed. One of the friends was allergic to cats, so she couldn't stay there. We couldn't tell whether she'd been declawed or not (not as it turns out, they were just cut very short) and she had no collar, and a bit of stuff stuck in her tail fur) and we couldn't just leave her out there, so we took her home.
She began purring as soon as we let her out of the cage in the house. She slept on a corner of my bed. I've never seen a cat like this before, and I admit to being a sad she had a microchip. Friends are looking for flyers in their neighborhood, and I've started checking the papers for "lost" ads. I'm going to put a "found" ad in this weekend.
Although -- The address of the lady listed in the microchip is hell and gone from Kirkland where we found her, though, and only gives a P.O. Box. The phone number apparently hasn't been right for some time. We have a work number, but we've thus far been unable to reach anyone there, and the two ladies mentioned on the answering machine... well, neither one matches the name given on the microchip.
I've never had a cat, but I'm already loathe to give her up. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
We went over to a friend's apartment last night to meet her puppy and go to the hot tub for a bit. As we're exiting the hot tub, this cat appeared and kept coming over to look at us, then shying away. We walked back to the apartment and it followed us, eventually starting to meow. David and April, one of our friends, went down to look at it. She let them pick her up and bring her inside without the slightest fuss, apparently quite relieved to be indoors again. The friends had a collapsible cage that we borrowed. One of the friends was allergic to cats, so she couldn't stay there. We couldn't tell whether she'd been declawed or not (not as it turns out, they were just cut very short) and she had no collar, and a bit of stuff stuck in her tail fur) and we couldn't just leave her out there, so we took her home.
She began purring as soon as we let her out of the cage in the house. She slept on a corner of my bed. I've never seen a cat like this before, and I admit to being a sad she had a microchip. Friends are looking for flyers in their neighborhood, and I've started checking the papers for "lost" ads. I'm going to put a "found" ad in this weekend.
Although -- The address of the lady listed in the microchip is hell and gone from Kirkland where we found her, though, and only gives a P.O. Box. The phone number apparently hasn't been right for some time. We have a work number, but we've thus far been unable to reach anyone there, and the two ladies mentioned on the answering machine... well, neither one matches the name given on the microchip.
I've never had a cat, but I'm already loathe to give her up. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 11:42 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 11:57 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 12:48 pm (UTC)From:Kitties are great--I wouldn't give my three up for the world. Here's hoping you have a new and permanent furry housemate. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 01:11 pm (UTC)From:No it isn't. A competent vet can perform the surgery with only a minor risk of complications. Proper treatment of the paws post-surgery will prevent scaring and infection. Two weeks later, cat won't even notice their claws are gone. I've owned 12 different house cats over the years, all of them front de-clawed, never once had a problem. My vet has performed the surgery thousands of times, never once had complications.
What declawing will do is save your furniture, save you stress, and save your cat stress. Cats by instinct sharpen their claws on things, and trying to train them not to is a very stressful process for both you and the cat. Frankly, it borders on cruelty in my opinion. Better to declaw the cat in the front, and just save everyone the trouble.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 07:57 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 01:35 pm (UTC)From:One of the things I love about you anti-declawing whackos is that you make it sound like I used a rusty pair of pliers and some cheap whisky to declaw my cats. The truth is vastly different, but I don't suppose you really care about facts or truth. I'll explain the procedure anyway, on the off chance you're interested. The cat is placed under sedation for the operation, the claws are removed in a simple procedure, the wound is cauterized with a heat gun, and then the paws are bandaged. For two weeks the cat is given anti-inflamatories and pain killers to reduce post surgery pain and chance of infection. Every 48 hours for the first week you take the cat back to the vet to have the wounds checked, to make sure they healing properly. When all is said and done, the cat probably won't even notice it's claws are gone. As a matter of fact, removing her front claws does not seem to have done anything to impede Cancer from climbing the door frames.
The way I see it, if you're going to get a cat, you should actually care about it's long term health. Any vet with half a brain will tell you that declawing your cat is harmless procedure that will improve the overall health of your cat by reducing the friction between you and it. Cats are incredibly empathic, like most animals, and even if you don't yell at it, it will know you're upset at it for clawing up the couch (unless of course you're one of those people who enjoys living like poor people).
Animals have very short memories. Two weeks after you declaw it, it won't remember. Animals generally have to be subject to extreme trauma and/or continuously repeated trauma in order for it to effect them long term. Declawing is hardly extreme trauma, and it saves them from the continuous trauma of always getting in trouble for doing something they do by instinct. Morris and Cancer are now free to sharpen their non-existent claws on the furniture all they want (which they do).
Operations such as declawing and neuter/spaying are neccesary surgeries to allow an animal to interact with the modern world with considerably less stress then they otherwise would. Far from being "acts of cruelty" as the psychos often term them, they're actions taken by owners that care very deeply for their cats.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 01:03 pm (UTC)From:(On a side note, have you flea dipped it? If it's been outside for any length of time, it almost certainly has fleas and ticks. Also, I would recommend getting it declawed in the front. I know the animal rights whackos hate that, but I suspect that in the long run you will find it makes life much easier to handle for both of you.)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 01:20 pm (UTC)From:Also, not sure what your plans are for indoor/outdoor, but I would recommend checking your local laws on cats without leashes. More and more communities are going to leash laws for cats because allowed to roam unsupervised they become nuisances (digging holes in people's gardens, crapping in kid's sandboxes, eating song birds, etc). Just call county animal control, they should be able to tell you.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 01:38 pm (UTC)From:I will keep in mind the thing about two cats, though. The next few days will tell us how she fares during the day without us there. (and actually, it's about 9 AM to 6 PM she's alone... which isn't a short span of time, but isn't really egregious.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 01:52 pm (UTC)From:Amazingly enough, I have found that two cats get into less trouble then one cat. My vet says that this is because they act out their anger at being left alone far less.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 03:20 pm (UTC)From:Of course, YMMV depending on the cat's personality. In our case, Meep would probably be fine by herself, but if we left Tenshi or Ozzy home alone we'd probably come home and find that they'd either ordered internet porn from Singapore or else they'd invited all the other neighborhood cats over for a party and trashed the place. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 04:34 pm (UTC)From:Not just lonely, their brains apparently measurably shrink. What that really means, who can say, but it's a medical fact. The Sci guys have too much time and not enough focus. "You guys solve World Hunger yet?" "No, but we found out a cat's brian shrinks when it's left alone." "......"
;)
A note on polydactylism in cats...
Date: 2005-06-06 05:01 pm (UTC)From:They were SORE, after all. :P
Once we figured out the problem, we had the one claw removed (sadly, since this vestigial little nub was only one joint, the vet had to remove the entire "toe") and he's been happy and pain-free ever since.
So, check between the toes and make sure there's not a little extra surprise waiting for you, is my advice.
Oh, and pictures of said kitten? Hm?
-E
Re: A note on polydactylism in cats...
Date: 2005-06-06 05:09 pm (UTC)From:Oh, and all the information from the microchip has turned out to be a bust. I guess that's a lesson to keep the registry service updated if you want it to be the least bit useful. Friends have put up flyers around the apartment complex already, and I'll be putting an ad in the paper toward the end of the week ($8 a line! For lost and found animals! It's robbery!).
A visit to PetSmart is also in order, I think. Need pet things to keep her entertained--and more pet food.
Re: A note on polydactylism in cats...
Date: 2005-06-06 11:41 pm (UTC)From:As far as two cats, consider her personality. We only have our one cat, and she's been fine. She was a rescue cat, though, and we're pretty sure she was traumatized at some point, as she's very timid. I worry that a second cat (or a dog, or whatever) might just bully her around, and I'd hate to see that happen.
Of course, these days she's got me and the kids home all the time, so she's hardly ever alone anymore.
0wned.
Date: 2005-06-07 09:52 am (UTC)From:I woke up this morning to kitty eyes, followed by delicate paws padding over my chest,. I didn't even mind. Sigh.
Re: 0wned.
Date: 2005-06-07 01:39 pm (UTC)From:Re: 0wned.
Date: 2005-06-07 02:27 pm (UTC)From: