about a week ago i was walking home and saw a cat on the sidewalk. not at all unusual in brooklyn - there are a lot of people that feed strays. however, this cat didn't run from me. it let me pet it and then followed me 2.5 of the 3 blocks home. the thing that really gets me - she looks just like my current cat.

i do try to resist these things but i decided it would be okay to feed it. i retraced my steps and found it attempting to follow a couple into their apt building. they made sure it stayed outside. it wolfed down the can of food and i left. i fed it again the next day, finding it pushed back outside by different people. i checked around and didn't find any "missing cat" adds. this girl is so friendly - and so out of place for a stray that i'm quite sure it was abandoned. i've never seen a stray that tries to make friends with everyone that passes by.

the next two days i look for it but don't see it. i'm assuming it finally found its home. i go on vacation for a week.

i'm back today and look around to see if i can find it. i really didn't expect to. it was a block away from where i had fed it previously.

i call up a friend who just moved in next door that talked about getting a cat. i meet up with her and we go back and find the cat. she pets it, it purs, we take it to her place without much struggle.

i'm going to take it to the vet this week to make sure its in good shape. i may have the cat for a while when she's out of town but otherwise its hers.

wish me luck at the vet!






my guy -

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cool. When I was a kid several of our cats came to us as strays. One lived on the porch for a few weeks until she got pregnant so we took her in, and then of course we had to keep the kittens (only 2).

Wow, nice job. And now you and your friend have matching kitties! (And yes, she does look wayyyy too affectionate to be a regular stray...)

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2008 11:25PM by PeterB.

You are an angel for kitties.
That kitty will be very grateful and your friend very happy.

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And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
Western Massachusetts

cute little kitten. Looks like it needs equal parts food and love.

<i do try to resist these things but i decided it would be okay to feed it.

Once you feed 'em, your life is theirs

Stay on the lookout for "missing kitty" flyers..

But otherwise, it looks like you've been a sucessful Cat Matchmaker!

And a handsome one she is, too. (And your friend has real nice dimples, BTW...).

---

Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

The girl's a bit of alright, too.

I'm just sayin'....

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

The cat who finds you is always one of the best. This one sounds like a real keeper.

Lucky cat!

I think Paul F likes that little tilt to her eyes in the last pic. the cat is cute too......

Awwww. Good ending.

I say thank you. Yeah, she sounds abandoned. She'll probably take right to the box.

Hey, did anybody besides me notice (I just noticed this, I guess it's the geneticist in me)...

matt's new kitty (or his friend's) has EXACTLY the same markings as his old one ... in particular, the forehead marking, slight stripe down the nose, little bit of white under the mouth, also both have white whiskers and I'm guessing matt's old kitty has white paws too... where they differ is the chins, being black in the new kitty and white in the old kitty. I wonder if that's a pattern mutation of some sort, it seems too coincidental that they have nearly the exact same pattern.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

My folks have 2 really cool cats which were strays. Glad to hear this story has a happy ending. Cute kitty!

Nice story. Happy ending! You and your friend most likely saved that little one's life. Good job!

My neighbor's cats (she has five) come over regularly for treats. They know us well as we take care of them when she's out of town, which is fairly often.

I love cats that purr for you as soon as you pick them up. It's so nice to feel that little motor going.

Good on ya! Sounds like someone abandoned that kitty and it was just looking for a new home. Ferals are almost always too skittish.

the tuxedo style coloring is very common among strays around here so its really not a surprise that they match along such general lines. as for such a similar pattern to it - maybe its due to temp differences when they're developing? i know that some patterns work that way.

i'll have to check in to see how kitty did overnight. i'll post an update.

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Have you already been to the vet? Looks like he's had some blood drawn.

Quote
Biff Lugnut
Have you already been to the vet? Looks like he's had some blood drawn.

I noticed that shaved patch on kitty's arm, too.

I'm glad you and your friend gave kitty a good home.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

I'm not sure why she (?) has that bald patch. hopefully its nothing too serious.

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You did your good deed for the year with that new addition. I picked up our family cat in a similar fashion 11 years ago. She just loved to hang out with people living on the streets of Jersey City, and she still does in my house.

With those near identical markings, I'm thinking "My Guy" is the father and just won't own up to his meanderings. No wonder the new one is so friendly.... you may be related.

just got an email update -

Quote

ok, so for the first hurdle: how do you change their sleeping patterns? she was up from 5am on and being totally crazy. i fed her to quiet her a bit around 5:30, and she ate almost everything but was still totally wild. i think she was bored.

heh, someone has a new kitten!

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Nice read first thing in the morning. You deserve some kudos for doing a real good thing.

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JoeM

She's used to getting up at that time since she has been outdoors and needs to get moving to protect herself. She'll get used to indoor living again eventually. I don't know how long "eventually" will be--it was about a week in the case of my street cat. Your friend could try wearing her out with a toy right before bed.

Your friend will quickly learn that cats do whatever the heck they please, whenever they darn well feel like it.

You can try to regulate the sleep patterns by when you feed them, that is they tend to want to eat when they wake, but that doesn't mean you can tell them when to sleep.

Uhhh..cats are nocturnal animals.

And do not feed them first thing in the morning! They will get used to the idea that they will be fed the moment you wake up. They will then get the idea that the SOONER you wake up the sooner THEY will be fed. They work on pretty simple logic...

Quote
IronMac
Uhhh..cats are nocturnal animals.

And do not feed them first thing in the morning! They will get used to the idea that they will be fed the moment you wake up. They will then get the idea that the SOONER you wake up the sooner THEY will be fed. They work on pretty simple logic...

Yes, you can train a dog, but a cat will train you.

My brother has a cat that by 6AM if no one has let it out starts looking for open windows. Has jumped out the second floor bedroom(s) many times. Knows how to squeeze the air conditioning baffles out of the way. Will howl in a sleeping person's ear, too (Siamese).
None of his cats will use the litterbox they used when they were kittens.
Want OUT.

Congrats to your friend -- she has officially been pwned by the cat. [saramthomas.spaces.live.com]

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

What a wonderful kitty!

My ex-boyfriend made me get rid of my kitties. Now he's an ex, and my best friend has my kitties. I don't have the heart to ask for them back. My new boyfriend's kids are allergic to cats and have asthma, so no kitties for me for awhile.

Anyway, I can live vicariously through your story...thanks so much for finding the kitty a home!

: ) Kat

First rule of thumb - if your boy/girlfriend wants you to get rid of your dog/cat/snake/horse - RUN - the pets will be a far better bargain.

Any new relationship that wants you to dispose of your family (and that is what pets are) is not one you should be cultivating. If you had kids, would you ditch them for a new boy/girlfriend???

I know someone who was adopted by a beautiful calico. The cat was someones "outside" pet, lean and very healthy.

The adoptee gave it shelter during the harsh winter nights, but had to be careful as the apartment owner didn't allow pets. At the slightest <meow> the cat got the boot.

But the cat learned to "mouth" the meows, making no noise at all, when it wanted out. That was *not* very often. And when the cat was hungry, it would go to the 'fridge and sit, licking its lips until it got fed. Early on it would disappear behind furniture so as not to be put out.



The cat learned to be "sound asleep" when the adoptee was getting ready to leave. While she was getting ready the cat would raise its head and watch her. But when she turned towards the cat, it would *quickly* lay its head down and close its eyes. If she started moving, the cat would again watch her. Some times the cat would cover its eyes. It did not, however, pretend to snore.

We like to anthropomorphize animals in general, and pets in particular, but this cat is something else.

It never gets on furniture, scratches furniture, or causes any kind of trouble. Interesting beast. And once inside, Kitty is in ABM (Absolute Stealth Mode).

Amazing.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

>>My new boyfriend's kids are allergic to cats and have asthma, so no kitties for me for awhile.

I'm exactly the same. If the allergies aren't severe then they're likely to subside with exposure. (but only for animals you live with) a lot of people find they're allergic to cats only after moving away to college - 'cause their tolerance goes away and then they rediscover it when they come back home.

>>Uhhh..cats are nocturnal animals.

my cat typically sleeps through the night 'cause thats what everyone else is doing. but not all cats are like that.

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Quote
mattkime

Cute kitty....
































and the cat's not bad either. Sorry, couldn't resist.


Cats really do adopt you and not the other way around. I had 2 cats while growing up. I wish I weren't so darned allergic to cats, otherwise, I'd adopt one now. The truth is that cats can be trainable---but not easy. The one thing cats absolutely hate to smell is vinegar--so if you cat goes anywhere you dont want it to, just put a little vinegar into a dish and place that dish in the no go place. Even when the dish has dried up, the cat will avoid it...they've got a much better sense of smell than us. That's how we trained our cats from pooping in my mom's indoor plants.

GL

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

>>That's how we trained our cats from pooping in my mom's indoor plants.

I place small rocks around potted plants to prevent my cat from digging. he things digging is a great game - fast movement, dirt flying, etc.

my cat typically sleeps through the night 'cause thats what everyone else is doing.

Our cats sleep through the night, usually in our bed, too. Of course our cats also sleep through most of the day.

Boo, the lap cat, usually sleeps on a pad on my desk in the morning, while I work. As the sun moves through the room, Boo moves from the desk to the next sunny spot. In the afternoons, both cats are usually upstairs asleep in a sunny spot in the guest room, as the sun has moved to that side of the house.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

And do not feed them first thing in the morning! They will get used to the idea that they will be fed the moment you wake up. They will then get the idea that the SOONER you wake up the sooner THEY will be fed. They work on pretty simple logic...

I've had a lot of cats over the years, fed them AM and PM, and not one of them has ever woken me up early to be fed. Sometimes I wish they would.

As soon as I show signs of getting up, they come for their morning cuddle.

Matt, good save. That is a very lucky cat: bad things often happen to kitties who wind up outside and are too trusting with strangers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2008 02:21PM by ka jowct.

Quote
vicrock
First rule of thumb - if your boy/girlfriend wants you to get rid of your dog/cat/snake/horse - RUN - the pets will be a far better bargain.

Any new relationship that wants you to dispose of your family (and that is what pets are) is not one you should be cultivating. If you had kids, would you ditch them for a new boy/girlfriend???

Isn't that the truth!! After that two-year relationship, I'm happy to say I'm with someone who wouldn't think of forcing me to abandon my pet (actually, I accept responsibility for giving up my pet...but I was faced with "it's me or your pets" and I made a bad decision.

There was a WONDERFUL article in "O" magazine in June 2008 about abusive human relationships and animals that get caught in the crossfire. It talked about how abusive spouses isolate their mate, cutting off family and friends, and leaving the person relying on their pet for companionship. Then they torture the pet to terrorize their spouse. They said many people won't leave an abusive situation because they fear for their pets.

It made me want to get involved with an organization that fosters pets of abused women (it's usually women) while they get out of a bad relationship and get back on their feet. Check it out. [www.barryyeoman.com]

It talked about how abusive spouses isolate their mate, cutting off family and friends, and leaving the person relying on their pet for companionship. Then they torture the pet to terrorize their spouse. They said many people won't leave an abusive situation because they fear for their pets.

Our rescue group has run into a couple of those situations. We got a 6-month-old kitten from a girl whose boyfriend had swung it against a wall hard enough to break off the top of one of the kitty's femurs. I hope the girl had the sense to dump the guy after that experience. This kitty was mellow and loving despite everything she'd been through..

We also got two cats from a woman who told us that her abusive boyfriend had gone away for the weekend and she had to pack up and get out of town while he was gone. She was afraid to leave her cats behind, for obvious reasons. No way of knowing whether it was true, or just a story virtually guaranteed to get us to take the cats.

nice kitty, good luck.