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Old May 19th, 2008, 09:42 PM
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kashtin's kin kashtin's kin is offline
Critter Cult Peon!!
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: small, decrepit-but improving!-farm in Southern Ontario
Posts: 563
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Welcome, Yadkin Supremo. Onster really gave you some comprehensive and good advice, as well as the other dependable BB folks who posted above. As mentioned, it will cost a bit for the initial vet check, but it's a good investment re: cat health (i.e. with unknown history) and your peace of mind. I'm always wincing over bills, what with 5 indoor cats/2 dogs/2 feral-friendly cats/2 ponies!! , but hopefully you have or can find a vet with reasonable prices...and who is 'good'.

When having feral (and other) cats spayed/neutered, I found there is a real range in costs, without being related to the competency etc. of the vet/clinic. Having 'overpaid' a LOT at first, I'm now at a great clinic with much lower fees...in the same area! So it does pay to shop around!

I will also echo the above posters in thanking you for giving a cat a home, and being responsible re: health. There are never enough cat for all the cats in this world; even taking in one cat and making sure it is spayed/neutered et al. helps a lot, so a big 'pat on the back' for your decision. And this BB is a great place to start, especially if you're just learning how to 'talk cat' .

It's amazing how cats actually educate US...I went from being the slave of one or 2 indoor cats to caretaking a very small feral colony, and having more indoor felines...and those furbuddies were always incredibly willing to supervise me! They don't mince words when it comes to letting you know what they want; it's amazing how one learns to 'serve' the cats in one's care just by reading the looks they give one .

And, if you need any help with interpretation (or practical details), there are always people here to give you a hand. As a person who USED to be more dog/PONY-oriented, I've found that cats are not really the aloof creatures that they are often portrayed as. Of course, cats come in every shape and personality, but in general I've found the vast majority to be very loving and 'interactive'.

Even the feral cats who would barely let me catch a glimpse of them at first
have-after a year or so of gradually getting closer!-turned out to be total lovemuffins. This is not true of all feral cats, but if wild felines can learn to trust, think how far ahead you are with a 'friendly stray' ! Here's hoping your cat experience goes as well as possible...keep in touch with the BB via your thread, and you'll be amazed at how much it adds to your life!

I've had tons of encouragement/advice/words of support since first posting, which is why I try to sort of 'pass it on'; this BB in particular just has a lot of kind and knowledgable people. Just one word of warning...learn to post pictures if possible, as it really helps BBer's know you/your critter[s]. We loooove those pics .
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Don't be a critter litterer!! ...also, R.I.P. OTTB [severe neglect] 'Monte Devil'-unforgotten.
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