Brand New "Non-Cat" person - adopted by a stray!!

[zestygirl]

Thank you again!!!

This board has TRULY been an inspiring support for me this past couple days learning the ropes!

By the way, I named her that because when I met her - Hurricane Dolly was just hitting - and, because I said to her "you're not alley cat at ALL! You're just a sweet little Dolly, aren't you??" I thought - this is a perfect name!

Today, I went out and bought Dolly a scratch post (she was "enjoying" my leather couch" and a bag of catnip to sprinkle on it. I also bought a bag of dried sardines - which she was interested in until I brought out the KITTY CRACK! Wow!! I've never laughed so hard at a cat! (I'm a dog person, btw. And of the 2 kinds - big dog people & small dog people, I'm the former....)

[14+kitties]

Wtg on the conversion to cat person!! It's always good to have more around. And thank you so much for bringing this little girl into your life! You will love having her around and so will your kids. She is precious!

Just a hint on the scratch post. The one you have is fine for now but as she gets bigger you will want to get the tallest one you can find. When cats scratch they want to stretch their whole body up. If you watch Dolly you will see what I mean. She will try to go up as high as she can on the post to scratch. It's something they do. Don't ask why. They just do. If you don't get a bigger post she may end up using your furniture again or even the trim around your doors. Anything where she can stretch her body up to scratch.

She is going to give you years of unconditional love. Thanks again for rescuing this little angel.

[kashtin's kin]

Looks like everyone else pitched in to answer your queries/concerns already; what a gung-ho bunch of helpful critter 'peoples' ! My take on the camping is, I've heard of it working out, but I find things complicated enough with dogs; seems a bit safer/easier to let Dolly hold the fort ??

No one on here would-very! needless to say-tolerate, let alone advocate animal neglect of any sort. That being said, most folks with cat(s) are okay with the idea of leaving them for a weekend...as long as cats-if plural-get along, and there is water and food set out in untippable bowls, and of course clean [to start] litter box[es].

For anything longer than a day or two, it's usually not too difficult to just have a friend or neigbour pop in daily or every two days; you can make things really easy for the human in terms of renewing food/water, and even scooping litter (although I once paid a very responsible teenage boy a decent amount-without being a fortune, although if possible err on the generous side!-to check on 2 cats daily for 2 weeks, and couldn't bring myself to ask him to scoop...so put out about 7 litter boxes ).

Compared to dogs and ponies, cats, although sometimes little [cute!] martinets, are sooo low-maintenance when necessary. So please don't let the 'expensive cat-sitter issue' be a barrier!

Most reputable cat boarding spots will require proof of vac's and flea control, as they should for the safety of all cats. There are at least a handful of spots that offer really NICE environments for only cats; two are just outside the Toronto area (city is more $) for a very reasonable rate...I imagine most? urban areas have some decent choices.

LOVE the cute pics of Dolly; you've caught on very quickly just how keenly BB'ers like their 'stories' illustrated to help us to really relate .

[Love4himies]

You took the bate and now she owns you! Welcome to the kitty world!!! We are servants to their every whim

[hazelrunpack]

I'm glad to hear that things are going so well, zestygirl. Dolly sure is...well...she's a doll, for sure! You're going to have so much fun watching her grow up!

[rainbow]

What a heartwarming story. Dolly is a very pretty wee girl and thank you for giving her a home.

As Chico mentioned it is an absolute must to get her spayed and since the vet estimates her at 5 months old you should make an appt. as soon as possible as she will be coming into heat soon.

[Love4himies]

We often left our kitties alone for the weekend to go skiing and they did fine. I would hesitate to take her camping as cats don't like go wonder from their territory so it may be better to have somebody come in to give her fresh water/food and litter box cleaning. She could get very stressed.

[chico2]

Wow Zestygirl,it looks like you are all equipped already for little Dolly,so much for"not-a-cat-person"
I am an anything-person,anything furry,feathery,even scaly,small or giant
It's the 2-legged skin-animals I seem to have problems liking sometimes..

Back to Dolly,I would never take any of my cats camping,too many riskfactors,a cat is always better off in her own home-environment and probably ok for a couple of nights alone.
I have never left mine alone,I fret even leaving them for one day,but I am lucky, my own son will live here with the cats when we go on holiday.
Why are you worried about your daughters??
I am sure they'll love Dolly at first sight of her,what a great surprise for them

I have a couple of larger scratch-posts,but my cats really love the card-board scratcher,which you can get cheaply at any Zellers,Wal-Mart store.
Here's a pic,so you know what I mean. Good Luck!!!

[yettiyodamarlo]

Thanks for being so kind and taking the time to care for a lost little soul
She sounds absolutely adorable... and extremely well behaved!

Well, if the vet said she seems to be healthy, I'd go with that, especially since I am no vet myself. I'd give her a bath, though, just because

Good Luck!

[Jim Hall]

well you have been well and truley adopted congrats

[danaekitty]

Please don't re-home Dolly! Your story is so amazing - it really sounds like you were meant to have this cat in your life.

You can tell by the way you laughed at the kitty-crack -- having a cat is super fun! The only thing better that having a cat is having TWO cats... but let's make sure you hang on to this one first! She's a real catch, smart, beautiful, and she loves you. You'd be crazy to give her up.

As for being away - she'll definitely be fine by herself for a solid 48-60 hours, I would say, as long as she's got clean water, litter, and lots of food. Cats are incredibly self-sufficient, and this girl is obviously a survivor. I don't think you need to worry about her well-being at all.

You're such a great person for helping this little kitty out.
Thank you!

[chico2]

I would not say cats are selfsufficient,mine certainly are not,first off,they don't eat dry food and I would never leave them alone for 60 hours,but that's me.
Every cat-owner feels different

[danaekitty]

Yes chico, I suppose wet food would be an issue if you were to leave them alone.

But I bet your cats would probably take care of itself quite nicely were it to be left alone for a weekend with something it could eat. Besides, ultimately, you as the owner will decide what your cat should eat, and if you were one to be away frequently, and still feel able to give your cat suffucient care, then dry food would obviously be the choice to make, IMO.

Maybe they could invent one of those self feeding doodads for wet food. It could be refrigerated, and smoosh the food down through holes into a dish at intervals, like those play-doh heads that you give haircuts.

That would be cool.

[Guinness' mom]

lol...what a great story.....If you can keep her.. cats are the best for most working busy families they can even be left as previous mentioned for a weekend if nessesary with extra food and water....btw I have seen at pet stores these automatic pet feeders you set on a timer and releases food daily. Keep us updated on your decision...she's a cutie

[zestygirl]

So - I went on my camping trip and followed ALL your awesome advice!

I fed her wet food the morning she left, and left her lots of kibble PLUS 1 bowl of this food she doesn't like....figuring if she pigged out while we're away, she could still resort to the food she's NOT so crazy about. (worked like a charm by the way - she DID pig out the little scamp - but, she ate about half the "yucky" food by the time I returned).

I also put out 2 clean litter boxes. She was not impressed with the condition of either of them when I arrived home and demanded that I clean them IMMEDIATELY. When I did as I was told, she promptly proceeded to pee in the first one and poop in the second one - the first being duly soiled We've had a chat and she now realizes she is NOT entitled to 2 litter boxes "just because".

I was thrilled to find that she had not done anything naughty whatsoever to my house. But - when I arrived home - she meowed like crazy and jumped all over me for an hour.

I guess I will have to get her spayed and dewormed AND vaccinated in the coming weeks....geez! I hope it's not going to be to expensive....

I am happy to have her. As I updated in the health forum - I told my sister of the big surprise the kids were in for and she was just tickled - having an old grouchy himalayan herself who she for some reason adores to pieces....

Guess I have to keep her... What else could I do??!! Send her off to live with some stranger?!? How totally sad. I've completely gone insane.

[krdahmer]

Awww... another crazy cat lady in the making!!!

Glad to hear all went well while you were away!

[chico2]

Awww Dolly and the magic of little felines,you're now officially also a cat-person,congrats

[Love4himies]

Another cat cunningly sneaks its way into a non cat person's heart.

[danaekitty]

YAY!!!

[Guinness' mom]

YEAH!!!!!!
I had to check out this thread after my holidays to see what happened...I knew you would keep her...lol...

[Love4himies]

Any updates, zestygirl?

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

You could always contact a professional pet sitter to come in once a day. Not sure how much it would cost in your area, but here's a link to a pet sitter locator that could help you find out: http://www.petsit.com/locate/

That is an excellent solution.

Sometimes we are blessed in the most mysterious ways.

I just want you to know that your kind heart has probably touched many here. People in rescue or animal lovers sometimes only see the worst in people - it is so refreshing to know that there are people out there that truly do care and will do what is necessary rather than pretending not to see.

Cats are truly great! I was converted about 20 years ago. I vowed never to own a cat - now I have 4 rescues. At one time I had 21!!! Luckily saved most (lost about 3) and placed them other than my very own of course.

Black cats and Black/white cats are the hardest to place for some reason. Shelters are swamped with them for whatever reason.

You saved a life! You may be surprised to find out that maybe you need one another.

Bless you!

[Guinness' mom]

I thought I would bring this to the front again...hoping for an update...I am a sucker for happily ever after stories...

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by Guinness' mom

I thought I would bring this to the front again...hoping for an update...I am a sucker for happily ever after stories...

Good idea - I also enjoy all the good in people and their pets. It is so refreshing to have updates.

Do tell...

[Tundra_Queen]

LMBO......I'm so glad u took Dolly into your heart......LOL

I'm laughing cause six years ago I didn't like cats,,,,,had no use for them. Thought they were not good for much.I was a dog person...until Wilbur adopted me.

He was born in our garage and his momma left him. He was the runt and has aa bad eye. He meowed out in the garage for over 5 hrs. I was so scared of him, at 4 weeks old. I put on great huge leather gloves and went out and got him....LOL That was six year ago and he is my sweet boy and he also loves dogs! I adopted 2 more kittens found in a junk cat a few days ago.......the rest they say is history!!

And I'm not a crazy cat person... I'M A CAT HOBBYIST! LOL Welcome to the club!! LOL

Debbie