Feline Dinner Guest

[pomba gira]

So I was just sitting here an hour or so ago, tryna figure out how to beat the Ultimate Boss of Doom level in Insaniquarium... and a friend came over & said "hey there's a kitty out here that wants to come in". Which was odd since all 4 of mine were inside. So I figure it's a neighbor cat & go to look... sure enough it's this pretty little grey longhair I've been seeing around for the past couple months. And it's definitely trying to follow her inside. Since my kitties don't seem to have any beef with it I let it in to see what it wanted. Very sweet little kitty, doesn't seem at all like a stray- fur is nicely groomed & he's very well behaved in the house, let us both pick him up. So he kind of wandered around meowing, & I thought he might be hungry... gave him a bowl of food which he just instantly bolted down. Since he & my pussy posse seemed to be OK with each other I let him stay in for a while till Kitsune (my alpha kitty) started objecting... then I put him out but he's still hanging around in the breezeway, occasionally crying to come in.

So I'm wondering what the deal is... maybe he got left outside when his humans went off for the holidays? Belongs to some old person who's passed away? I can't believe anyone would abandon such a wonderful little kitty but of course people do all kind of bogue shit to animals. He's so obviously not a feral kitty... but just as obviously hungry & starved for attention. I'd make a space for him in the garage but I don't want the neighbor cats to come in there & spray on my stuff. Sigh. He's sooo sweet... jumped right in my lap & let me brush him, responds immediaately to "no", was really mellow even when Kitsu started hissing at him... I hope his humans come back home or whatever 'cos no way can I manage another kitty... I'm only an apprentice crazy cat lady, not a full-fledged one yet!

[Fierce Critter]

Speaking as a full-fledged, past-crazy cat lady...

I often wonder what to do in situations like this. Is it an indoor/outdoor cat that has a home base to go to? Is it an abandoned, needy critter that needs help? Keep it? Let it go?

I can only offer this. If you have 4 cats, do not follow the same road as Jon and I. Stop now. 4 is workable. Any more, and things start getting sticky. We love every one of our 13. But we will never have this many again.

One thing you might do is take the cat to a vet and see if she's been microchipped.

Good luck!

[pomba gira]

Kitty Visitor came back this afternoon... had some lunch & is currently chilling w/Kitsu & Kids. Guess I'll wait a few days & see if he goes home. I hate to think he's been abandoned but it sure seems likely... I've seen him around before, socializing with my kitty set. But he's never come to my door asking for food & shelter before.

Thanks for the advice FC... I'm definitely not gonna add another kitty to my household. After a really soul-wrenching situation when Chango was poisoned & I couldn't afford proper care for him, I swore to never again have more animals than I could decently care for. The only reason I can afford four at this point is 'cos two of them technically belong to Estranged Hubby Rick & he helps with their food & litter costs. So Visiting Kitty is definitely a temporary guest. Checking for a microchip is a good idea... if his situation hasn't changed in a few days I'll haul him in to Ailurophile & have them check.