kayla February 26th, 2006, 07:21 PM I am so tired of seeing so many dirty uncared for cats outside on my balcony. I live in a neighbourhood full of people who either can't afford to, or just don't want to look after their cats. I was sad when I thought of the dirty cats on my balcony as strays, but recently discovered (after adopting one of these "strays") that many might actually have homes. Although you think this would make me happier, it in fact makes me even more enraged. To think that somebody actually "owns" these animals and yet they still look the way they do is absolutely horrifying. They all roam free around the streets, not sterilized, their entire bodies ridden with cuts from fighting, fleas, stinking of cat spray, fur dirty and matted, and meowing for food and shelter. How can people look at their cats in this state and not feel ashamed of themselves? Now I don’t even know which cat has a home, who was abandoned, who wandered too far and got lost, or who left because they were no longer cared for. I suppose given the state they are in it doesn’t really matter, either way they need help. Anyways, I just needed to vent. I am so tired of having to witness this every day. :sad:
kayla February 26th, 2006, 08:51 PM Here is one of my very dirty regulars. He likes to come in to hang out for food and catnip once in a while. He has frost bite marks on his nose, gingivitis, a weird sore under his chin, smells absolutely horrid and has matts all throughought his fur. He is quite well fed though, lucky guy! I don't know if this picture does justice to how dirty he is, but just to give an example..
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/721/fairchild2xd.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
joeysmama February 26th, 2006, 09:09 PM Oh the poor little guy !!:sad: He looks so cozy cuddled up at your place.
What kind of people would not take care of their pets like this? I don't know how people can be so calloused.
badger February 26th, 2006, 09:25 PM Can you not take him in? To hell with who owns him, he needs help.
yoda900_ca February 26th, 2006, 09:31 PM I grew up out in the country on a dead end street. We aquired most of our cats over the years from people dumping them off. People also dumped there dogs out there. We had a problem w/a pack of feral dogs running lose when i was a teen. Consisted of a collie, a st bernard, a couple mutts, and a schnauzar. Always amazes me that people get pets and then just dump them to fend for themselves. There was a case not about a month ago if a guy from a puppy mill dumping his parvo infected puppies along the side of a country rd. tossed them out a moving truck. SICK:sick:
loveyadogs February 27th, 2006, 09:37 AM :eek: my neighbour had 2 cats, outside ones, ridden with god knows what, flease and parasites and outside, crying all the time, the other day, i get a call and then her banging on my door, asking if we saw her cat....here it was dead under a car and had been there hopw many days...before she noticed. so now she has one cat and wants another??!! annoyed
kayla February 27th, 2006, 01:06 PM Can you not take him in?
I already took in one and neutered him and then found out he actually had a home:eek: I give them food and just hope for the best, I just can't take them all in :( I just wish some people were more educated. I don't think they are bad people, they just don't realize what leaving an unfixed cat outdoors means for the health of their cat and other cats and the unwanted kittens born etc etc. I don't even know how many of these cats have homes and how many are strays/feral. To all those people out there who let their cats outside please at the very least put a collar and identification tag on your animals. That way if they do stray too far to find their way home at least someone can call you to pick them up!
chico2 February 27th, 2006, 01:12 PM OMG,his eyes says it all:sad:He looks in desperate need of a vetvisit and clean-up....thank's for at least giving him food..
poodletalk February 27th, 2006, 01:15 PM It looks like he's inside though. Do you bring him in for awhile then put him back outside?
He's so cute, I wish I could have a cat.What part of Montreal are you in?
joeysmama February 27th, 2006, 01:45 PM OMG,his eyes says it all
Chico--I agree with you. He has such a forlorn look in his eyes doesn't he? Heartbreaking.
kayla February 27th, 2006, 01:53 PM Yes the orange one has started coming inside too. He's quite friendly but I don't leave him in unless I am sitting with him since he isn't neutered and last time I left another stray cat inside he sprayed and it still stinks and seeing as it is my bedroom...:o
Poodletalk I live in Pointe Saint Charles, AKA kitty hell.
Here is another with no collar and not fixed. He is in relatively good shape, although he does come around for food quite often so I don't know if he has a home or not. I've seen a few people around the neighborhood put out food so at least most find something to eat. There are a few really skinny ones though, especially those more scared of humans who won't come around except during the night.
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/4779/straycats0083yo.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
chico2 February 27th, 2006, 02:25 PM Kayla,do you still have Chaplin too??Or did the jerk owner get him back?
I understand you cannot spay/neuter all the cats in your neighborhood:sad:
It must be a hellish neighbor-hood for a cat-lover..and the cats.
The orange one,is probably also very matted,which can cause problems for him,he would be sooo beautiful cleaned up..
I've had problems lately with strange cats(not strays),because of a female in heat hanging around.But nothing compared to what you see every day.
It seems like an epidemic with ignorant people getting cats and then not caring for them:evil:
kayla February 27th, 2006, 04:37 PM Kayla,do you still have Chaplin too??Or did the jerk owner get him back?
My sister accidentally let Chaplin out and after a few days of him not coming home I got my bf to call them and ask if he was there (I couldn't talk to them because of my lack of french). He was and they mentioned they knew he had been somewhere else because when he returned home he looked and smelled nice. Um, the fact that he was missing for about 3 weeks didn't tip them off? :rolleyes: They mentioned that his masculine parts had been shaved and thought this was odd so are going to keep him inside now (they still don't even realize he's been neutered;) ). Anyways, he is now neutered and the people had a wake up call and are now paying more attention to him so I'm happy, although have to admit I miss the little bugger :( I will wait and see though, he may end up coming back if they decide to neglect him again.
The orange one,is probably also very matted,which can cause problems for him,he would be sooo beautiful cleaned up..
I agree, he is a gorgeous cat! We think the Fairchild (what I named the orange one) is related to Poe, who was a stray when we moved in and my sister took him under her wing. They are pretty much identical except one is black and one orange, oh and Fairchild has 6 toes. Same ice blue eyes though. The orange one appeared to have a home at first, probably because he was young and cute, then whoever "adopted" him stopped caring for him, or maybe moved and couldn't bring him with them, who knows. All I know is he is hanging out here a lot more than he used to, but then maybe that's just because he knows I'm a sucker with ample supplies of food and catnip.
Here's a pic of Poe, Fairchild's relative, now living a "well-rounded" ;) life of a king, the way it should be.
http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/407/poe0123jg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
chico2 February 27th, 2006, 04:43 PM What a beauty and very lucky to end up with your sister:thumbs up
I am sure,if you are able to care for Fairchild,he will be just as beautiful and forever greatful:love:
Sorry about Chaplin,the owners don't know how lucky they are getting a free neuter:pawprint:
Good luck,you certainly have your heart in the right place:love:
kayla February 27th, 2006, 04:46 PM Here's the frost bite on Fairchild's nose, and his lovely but very dirty paws. You can't see it in this pic but he's got a huge sore under his chin too.:( I tried brushing some of his matts out but there are so many he would need to be shaved or at least all his matts would need to be cut out. I am so tempted to neuter and take him in but after Chaplin I realize he might have a home and even though I don't agree with how they keep him I don't feel right adopting him. Maybe I could do the collar thing with him, like I did with Chaplin, and see if anyone calls back. This time I will give it longer than 2 weeks though, apparently some people don't see their cats for that long!
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9559/fairchildfrostbite2bu.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
chico2 February 27th, 2006, 04:56 PM My white odd-eyed cat Vinnie,gets little black spots like that on his nose and the vet said it's something like liverspots in humans,maybe it's not frostbite at all.
If he is severely matted,it can be very painful for him and he can even end up with infected skin,I think shaving him would be the only way,then his beautiful long fur will grow back again.
I cannot see anybody owning such a beautiful cat and neglecting him so severely,but then again,it takes all kinds:sad:
If he is friendly enough to keep inside,I would do that and if you can afford too,get him looked after,before his problems get to severe and not let him outside again.
kayla February 27th, 2006, 05:10 PM My white odd-eyed cat Vinnie,gets little black spots like that on his nose and the vet said it's something like liverspots in humans,maybe it's not frostbite at all.
Hmmm, you could very well be right, I was just guessing at frost bite because I remember seeing something similar on a dog with frost bite. He's got a similar thing on his teeth I assumed was gingivitis as Chaplin also had this and that's what the vet said it was, could that be liver spots too?
If he is friendly enough to keep inside,I would do that and if you can afford too,get him looked after,before his problems get to severe and not let him outside again.
Well I've made up a collar for him with my number on it. I'll put it on him when he comes back and at very least I can try to talk any sense into whoever owns him. Or if no one calls back and his collar stays on I can take it from there. Now what to do about the 101 other cats on my balcony :cool:
chico2 February 27th, 2006, 05:15 PM Awww Kayla,you do have a HUGE problem,I don't think I could handle living there,I would have 101 cats in my house and hubby would go for a divorce:D
As for liverspots on the teeth,I don't think so,he might have rotten teeth too the poor guy...
cpietra16 February 27th, 2006, 06:40 PM Kayla you're an:angel: . You and catsnatcher should get together and form a a rescue for hard to place cats. Dealing with mostly farms (for ferels). It's nice to hear that they get out of the cold every once in awhile
Inverness February 27th, 2006, 07:59 PM Looks like vitiligo to me. Is it the same thing as liver spots ? Vitiligo is very common in red cats. My red tabby female has had it for years - it comes and goes, on the lips, the eyelids, the nose, etc.
chico2 February 28th, 2006, 08:15 AM Inverness,Vinnies spots come and go to,which human liver-spots certainly don't.
I was thinking of it last night,thinking I was probably wrong and should not come up with vet-advice,Fairchild might very well have frost-bites since he's been out in the very cold weather and they do go black too.
Kayla,I agree with everyone else,you are definetly one of the many kitty:angel: on this Forum.:grouphug: and thank you!!
kayla February 28th, 2006, 10:19 AM I was thinking of it last night,thinking I was probably wrong and should not come up with vet-advice,Fairchild might very well have frost-bites since he's been out in the very cold weather and they do go black too.
I for one am glad you shared, I never even knew it could be something else until you and Inverness suggested otherwise! And frost-bite was my own "vet advice" and is just as likely or unlikely as any of the other suggestions! I don't think the nose is really a huge concern though, just the type of thing I'd ask about when I was at the vet for something else. The teeth on the other hand might be vet-worthy as bad teeth can cause a lot of health problems :(
Lucky Rescue February 28th, 2006, 11:01 AM Poodletalk I live in Pointe Saint Charles, AKA kitty hell.
Oh dear. Kayla, you have to move out of there!! I grew up in Verdun and that was terrible too!! Sometimes I would get up and there would be 3 or 4 cats on my balcony, none neutered or spayed of course. I thought I would lose my mind.:(
The fact that I lived around the corner from a petstore that sold intact kittens for 20$ didn't help.:mad:
I was never so happy to leave a place behind!
Inverness February 28th, 2006, 09:54 PM Correction to my earlier post: the spots would be lentigo and not vitiligo. Sorry about that ! :)
kayla February 28th, 2006, 10:19 PM I just looked up a picture of lentigo and it looks exactly like what he has. I took a closer look at his mouth too and saw that the dark marks look like whatever is on his nose and are on his lips, not his gums, which is good news. He's upstairs asleep in my bedroom at the moment, him and Poe get along so well I'm sure they must be litter mates!
Chatito March 3rd, 2006, 10:14 AM This morning I got up early and noticed there was a stray cat in my neighbour's backyard. I went out to give it some food but of course it never came over. I left out some food for them and now there's 6 stray cats outside! I feel so sorry for them. I'm about to cry! I was debating whether or not I should call animal services. I know that if they're not friendly cats they'll surely end up putting them down. I finally decided to call them but they said they couldn't do anything for them but they'd pick them up if I was concerned about disease.
It breaks my heart to see them out there in the cold. I'll continue putting food out for them no doubt, what else could I do for them?
Frenchy March 3rd, 2006, 05:59 PM Lucky;I grew up in Verdun too,and I remember pet shop selling kittens for $5!And it wasn't that long ado,1980"s.
CyberKitten March 3rd, 2006, 08:08 PM $5! Yikes. Granted, when I was a child, my grandparents had a small farm (they both had other jobs) and so my grandmither by default ran what we now know as a feral cat collony so there was always lots of kittens and we ended up with some at my own home of course!! In our residential neighbourhood, there was a family of very well means (financially) who had a tiny kitten - and when they went on a trip to England, she asked my sisters and I to care for Jenny, the kitten. For whatever reason - maybe she actually liked kids - Jenny decided shge much preferred our home. Her own family often allowed her outside when it was cold and that was also prob a factor. She was ALWAYS whining at our door and my mom did not want another cat - these ppl had much more money than we did at the time but inevitably, we felt sorry and took in the cat. We even spayed her! It was my early into to the fact that regardless os social position, money, education, etc, some people are just irresponsible cat "owners"
kayla March 4th, 2006, 09:42 AM It was my early into to the fact that regardless os social position, money, education, etc, some people are just irresponsible cat "owners"
This is so true, plenty of people have the money to look after their cats properly they just don't see the need!
Verdun kittens now sell for $70 usually including vaccinations, but of course all are unaltered :(
kayla March 10th, 2006, 03:25 PM Just thought I'd give a little update on the cat situation. I was away for a week housesitting and while I was gone Chaplin started coming back. My sister let him into my bedroom a few times. I guess his owners have decided to let him outside again:( . He isn't here as often though and not in the middle of the night so I think he is being let inside to wherever he lives at night now, which is a relief. I haven't seen the orange cat and neither has my sister this past week. I have kinda come to the conclusion that these cats must all have homes, although I use the term "home" loosely. I guess a better way to put it is that somebody feeds them and they have had enough human contact that most of them are pretty friendly. They just don't get groomed, neutered, and probably not even taken to the vet when they are sick:sad: .
It breaks my heart to see them out there in the cold. I'll continue putting food out for them no doubt, what else could I do for them?
This is kinda where I am at right now too. My intentions were never to take in someone else's cat so I'm just stepping back for the time being. It’s hard to feel so useless though! I am moving to a home in Ontario though at which time I will hopefully have room to shelter some strays, who is it on this site that does the same thing? For now I’m just feeding and have a shelter out for the neighbourhood cats. I took home a kitten from the rescuer I housesat for so I can’t let any stray inside until she is vaccinated on Tuesday. This kitten was found with its sister/mother in a box in a trash can... makes me wonder if they were also from Verdun. But then as Cyberkitten pointed out you can find people from any neighbourhood and position in life who see cats as disposable:( .
BMDLuver March 10th, 2006, 03:45 PM Until she is vaccinated twice, which means not for 8 weeks.
kayla March 10th, 2006, 04:38 PM aaaah I couldn't remember if cats needed two sets like dogs I was going to double check on Tuesday ;)
kayla March 11th, 2006, 01:48 PM Well the orange cat just came back with the collar I had put on him. It had a message saying that he was not their cat but to call their number. I called the number and got in touch with another neighborhood cat lover. She said he has been coming around since last summer, at which point he was a kitten so he is less than a year old. He spends every night at her house, which is why I don't see him around at night. She sounds like a very compassionate lady. She has 6 other cats which she rescued and had fixed, but has not fixed the orange one (who she calls Big Foot because he has about 8 toes on each foot) because she cannot afford to fix anymore cats. Apparently she has 13 cats who she feeds and shelters! She had decided that if by Spring she hadn't found him a home she would send him to the SPCA to get a home because she cannot keep taking in the cats herself. I told her about some rescues which would probably do a better job than the SPCA for finding homes for cats.
So I will probably adopt him now afterall. I will have to get him fixed and checked out and he will only be allowed in one room in the house until Miquette (my kitten) is fully vaccinated. Meanwhile he will probably spend most of his time at the other ladies house until I am ready to fully take him in. It will help make the move more gradual for him too. She also offered to give me all sorts of great spray odour remover and is going to start using flea spray on him, she is very generous! I told her about the cheap spay/neuter program BMDLuver has set up and was very happy to hear about this as she has another unneutered male cat who adopted her and apparently absolutely stinks and sprays everywhere. I guess with so many cats they get very territorial.
She says she has watched people on the balcony across the way get kittens to play with every summer, then they grow up and she ends up taking them in. I hate this neighborhood! At least there are a few good people in it! :)
chico2 March 11th, 2006, 04:38 PM Kayla that is good news,except for the flea-spray:sad: she sounds like a great lady.
Many years ago before Advantage was available,I sprayed my then cats with flea-spray,they were traumatized for weeks after.
It's awful stuff.
Big Foot however,looked like he needed a good bath and I am sure that will be another experience for her:evil:
I never bathed a cat in my life and I am not ever planning on doing so:D
It will be great if he will have a home with you and you know where to come if there is any problems:thumbs up
kayla March 11th, 2006, 05:12 PM I'd never heard anything bad before about the flea spray, what's wrong with it? Does it scare them or just smell bad? I've never had a flea problem with Kayla so don't really know much about the different methods. I think that once it warms up a bit more I will just take him in to the groomers, get him shaved, and start with a fresh palette.:crazy: I'm also worried I will have to do something about his many many toes, they look like they may be bothering him a bit when he walks, but it could just be that he walks differently but it's not painful:fingerscr . He actually makes a click click click noise as he walks, sounds like his toenails are all warped.
chico2 March 11th, 2006, 05:19 PM He probably has no more than 6 toes and that is not unusual and should not bother him,long untrimmed nails probably do.
As for the spray,it is after all a pesticide,just imagine someone spraying you with Raid,my cats used to absolutely freak out,foaming at the mouth etc...but that was about 20yrs ago.
There are much better methods now,I use Advantage,but only half the recommended dosage,it is also a pesticide ,even if only a drop.
If he does not have fleas,which is possible,it has been very cold outside and fleas are more prevalent in the summer,no pesticide is needed.
kayla March 11th, 2006, 05:26 PM I don't know I think it may be 7. I've seen a few cats with 6 toes but his feet are HUGE, hence his name Big Foot. I should get a picture to show, it's amazing!
I'm hoping he doesn't have fleas too, I guess I'll find out when I take him to the groomers. If I needed to get him on flea control I would use the drop method as it works so well. Never thought of it as spraying pesticide all over the cat! :yuck:
BMDLuver March 11th, 2006, 07:55 PM When he's under for his neuter they may declaw him on the extra toe if it interferes with his comfort. We had to do a cat we had because it caused him severe pain. Once that toe was declawed he never had another problem. Think of it as removing a loose dewclaw in a dog instead of a toe declaw.. it's painful during healing but the end result is a much more comfortable animal. I will now put on my rubber suit for the bashing I'm about to receive on this suggestion. :p
Get a tube of advantage for him when you are at the vet's on tuesday. Just buy a large dog one and split it into 4 doses... much cheaper and safe.
kayla March 12th, 2006, 10:12 AM I tried to take a closer look and it looks like the claws are curled around on his foot, probably causing the pain. He wasn't overly thrilled with his paws being handled though and he's got all this hair surrounding so it was hard to tell. Hopefully it's just a matter of keeping them trimmed, but if it is more than that and the vet thought the extra ones needed surgery I would do it. One of the kittens I fostered last year had 6 claws and had to get one removed as well. His owner was very hesitant but in the end it ended up being the best thing for him and he is much more comfortable now. Keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to though! :fingerscr
I can never remember, is advantage the one that deworms as well?
BMDLuver March 12th, 2006, 12:58 PM Nope, advantage only defleas, Revolution does both but for some reason my vet doesn't carry it. He suggests interceptor for deworming or purapam I think is the other alternative.
chico2 March 12th, 2006, 01:30 PM Polydactalism(6 toes)does usually no harm to the cats,it's even said they keep better balance than other cats.
I have never heard of removing the extra toe,but that does not mean I don't believe you:rolleyes:
I think Big Foots problem is more likely his nails beeing to long,or maybe he has an old wound on his paw.There are very few cats who like their paws handled,mine don't mind too much..as long as it is a quick touch.
It will be great to see him all cleaned up and groomed and in good care,I am sure he is a beautiful cat.
Lucky Rescue March 12th, 2006, 03:09 PM Kayla, is this orange cat very friendly? I have someone looking for a special cat.
She wants a young orange male, who is VERY cuddly, friendly and easy to handle - nail clipping, brushing etc.
She has some physical limitations and wants a sweet and easy going boy.
kayla March 12th, 2006, 03:46 PM Yes he is very cuddly, I have had him in my arms on his back and he was quite content and pushes his head into my hand for pets. He seems used to being handled although he did hiss when I was brushing him and he had had enough. I might have snagged a matt or something and that's what caused him to hiss, although Beverly (the lady who's been looking after him) mentioned the hissing as well. She said it's nothing to worry about as he stops when you say NO to him. He also threw a hissy fit once and bit me when I tried putting him back outside and he didn't want to go (it was cold can you blame him?). If you give him cat nip he forgives all though. Actually Beverly would be the one to talk to about his personality as she has been looking after him since last summer and knows more about him than me. If you're still interested I can pm you her number and you could give her a call.
poodletalk March 12th, 2006, 06:58 PM Lucky, if it doesn't work out with Kayla's orange cat, Peanut from Steri-Animal is still available.(check out cat adoptions on pets.ca, you can see his picture) He's very friendly, gets along with other cats, declawed, sterilized and vacinated.
Steri-Animal got couple of phone calls about him, but the people decided a long hair cat was too much work:(
Lucky Rescue March 12th, 2006, 07:04 PM The thing is that this lady already adopted a cat from a rescue. He turned out to be a biter and no amount of trying on her part could stop him. She's now wary of adopting, but still wants to try. The cat has to be the type who will let you do anything to him without protest, who is not fearful or shy and who will not bite, hiss or scratch.
These type cats are out there (I have one) and if you think the orange boy at Steri-Animal is that type, I'll tell this lady to give them a call.
Sorry to hijack your thread Kayla!!
poodletalk March 12th, 2006, 07:11 PM Lucky, I sent you a PM.
I have my fingers crossed....
kayla March 12th, 2006, 07:12 PM Yeah I don't think Big Foot is a good match then...
No worries about the thread hijack at all! Hopefully a cat will have a home out of it!:fingerscr
chico2 March 13th, 2006, 08:46 AM Poodletalk,I thought he was adopted??Did it fall through:sad:
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