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  #1  
Old February 26th, 2006, 07:21 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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"Stray" cat rant

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:
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Old February 26th, 2006, 08:51 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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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..
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Old February 26th, 2006, 09:09 PM
joeysmama joeysmama is offline
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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.
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  #4  
Old February 26th, 2006, 09:25 PM
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badger badger is offline
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Can you not take him in? To hell with who owns him, he needs help.
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Old February 26th, 2006, 09:31 PM
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yoda900_ca yoda900_ca is offline
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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
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Old February 27th, 2006, 09:37 AM
loveyadogs loveyadogs is offline
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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
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  #7  
Old February 27th, 2006, 01:06 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by badger
Can you not take him in?
I already took in one and neutered him and then found out he actually had a home 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!
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Old February 27th, 2006, 01:12 PM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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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..
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Last edited by chico2; February 27th, 2006 at 01:15 PM.
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Old February 27th, 2006, 01:15 PM
poodletalk poodletalk is offline
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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?

Last edited by poodletalk; February 27th, 2006 at 01:19 PM.
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  #10  
Old February 27th, 2006, 01:45 PM
joeysmama joeysmama is offline
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Quote:
OMG,his eyes says it all
Chico--I agree with you. He has such a forlorn look in his eyes doesn't he? Heartbreaking.
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  #11  
Old February 27th, 2006, 01:53 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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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...

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.

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Old February 27th, 2006, 02:25 PM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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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
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Last edited by chico2; February 27th, 2006 at 04:32 PM.
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  #13  
Old February 27th, 2006, 04:37 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2
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? 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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2
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.



Last edited by kayla; February 27th, 2006 at 04:52 PM.
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  #14  
Old February 27th, 2006, 04:43 PM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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What a beauty and very lucky to end up with your sister
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
Good luck,you certainly have your heart in the right place:love:
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  #15  
Old February 27th, 2006, 04:46 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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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!

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Old February 27th, 2006, 04:56 PM
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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.
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  #17  
Old February 27th, 2006, 05:10 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2
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?

Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2
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
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Old February 27th, 2006, 05:15 PM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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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
As for liverspots on the teeth,I don't think so,he might have rotten teeth too the poor guy...
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Old February 27th, 2006, 06:40 PM
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cpietra16 cpietra16 is offline
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Kayla you're an . 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

Last edited by cpietra16; February 27th, 2006 at 06:42 PM.
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  #20  
Old February 27th, 2006, 07:59 PM
Inverness Inverness is offline
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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.
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Old February 28th, 2006, 08:15 AM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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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 on this Forum. and thank you!!
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Old February 28th, 2006, 10:19 AM
kayla kayla is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2
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
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Old February 28th, 2006, 11:01 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Quote:
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.

I was never so happy to leave a place behind!
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Old February 28th, 2006, 09:54 PM
Inverness Inverness is offline
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Correction to my earlier post: the spots would be lentigo and not vitiligo. Sorry about that !
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Old February 28th, 2006, 10:19 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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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!
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Old March 3rd, 2006, 10:14 AM
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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?
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Old March 3rd, 2006, 05:59 PM
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Frenchy Frenchy is offline
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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.
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Old March 3rd, 2006, 08:08 PM
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CyberKitten CyberKitten is offline
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$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"
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Old March 4th, 2006, 09:42 AM
kayla kayla is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CyberKitten
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
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Old March 10th, 2006, 03:25 PM
kayla kayla is offline
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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: .

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatito
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 .
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