New cat in the neighborhood

A juvenile tabby was eating at one of the bowls by my front door. I
had just biked into the driveway and saw it. It looked at me but
didn't run until I got a bit closer.I couldn't see clearly but it
looked like it had some kind of collar. I immediately notified the
block's cat lady, Serene. I guess I'm the cat guy.

We asked around but no one knew where it came from. A new cat shows up
from time to time and I get a bit worried because we have two
non-fixed males so if this is a female then we're going to have work
to do.

Luckily the new tabby is very friendly and the daughter of Betty, the
alternate Cat Lady on the block, was able to pet it and pick it up.
They brought it inside and kept it in the bathroom overnight and it
has now moved into the daugher's room. They have four yappy little
poodles and a cat, so one more would hardly be noticed. Apparently the
now named Lucy was perfectly happy having the dogs around.

I was going to take her to the ASPCA because TNR certified folks can
get the neuter done for free, but it often requires taking a day off
from work and is a lot of trouble for one cat. Plus you have to
schedule appointments in advance and sometimes they are difficult to
come by.

I offered to take it to a local vet that gives a discount for ferals
and it came to around $200 with all the tests and neutering. She had
no chip and the collar was some kind of flea collar. So someone had
had the cat but no one seems to know who. No fliers showed up.

The vet said that it was so friendly that we should try to get it
adoped, which was my idea anyway, but Betty just decided that they
would keep it. So, Lucy now has a permanent home.

On 10/28/2013 2:20 PM, dgk wrote:
A juvenile tabby was eating at one of the bowls by my front door. I
had just biked into the driveway and saw it. It looked at me but
didn't run until I got a bit closer.I couldn't see clearly but it
looked like it had some kind of collar. I immediately notified the
block's cat lady, Serene. I guess I'm the cat guy.

We asked around but no one knew where it came from. A new cat shows up
from time to time and I get a bit worried because we have two
non-fixed males so if this is a female then we're going to have work
to do.

Any particular reason why you haven't had the males neutered? (Not to
sound judgemental, I'm truly curious as to why the cats haven't been fixed.)

Luckily the new tabby is very friendly and the daughter of Betty, the
alternate Cat Lady on the block, was able to pet it and pick it up.
They brought it inside and kept it in the bathroom overnight and it
has now moved into the daugher's room. They have four yappy little
poodles and a cat, so one more would hardly be noticed. Apparently the
now named Lucy was perfectly happy having the dogs around.

That's good.

I was going to take her to the ASPCA because TNR certified folks can
get the neuter done for free, but it often requires taking a day off
from work and is a lot of trouble for one cat. Plus you have to
schedule appointments in advance and sometimes they are difficult to
come by.

I offered to take it to a local vet that gives a discount for ferals
and it came to around $200 with all the tests and neutering. She had
no chip and the collar was some kind of flea collar. So someone had
had the cat but no one seems to know who. No fliers showed up.

That happened with my Persia, although she didn't have even a flea
collar. She just showed up. But she'd been spayed and front-declawed.
So she was definitely living with someone before she insisted I'm her
staff.

The vet said that it was so friendly that we should try to get it
adoped, which was my idea anyway, but Betty just decided that they
would keep it. So, Lucy now has a permanent home.

I'm glad she has a permanent home. As long as she doesn't mind the dogs
yapping.

Jill

On Mon, 28 Oct 2013 19:12:33 -0400, jmcquown
wrote:

Any particular reason why you haven't had the males neutered? (Not to
sound judgemental, I'm truly curious as to why the cats haven't been fixed.)

It really requires a drop trap and I have to borrow one of those.
Maybe I'll just break down and buy one. The other cats are all done so
putting out regular traps won't be very efficient. I did try to trap
Buddy a few months back when he had a bad paw but there was a one inch
drop in the concrete where I had the transfer trap and he dug his paw
in there and lifted and got out! Clever little guy. But his paw got
better and I had to return the trap.

Him and Elmer (the new tom) both need to be done but since there are
no intact females, there really isn't much urgency.