I've got a new cat......

[AllAboutThe'O']

At least temporarily. Co-worker and his wife found a stray a couple of weeks ago but they have more than enough cats at their place. So they gave it to me to keep for a trial run. Sort of a black-and-gray calico (which makes it a she) and she's still a kitten, probably no more than a couple of months old. She's staying at my place right now (I'm typing this at my office as we speak) so I hope she's doing all right. I've yet to give it a name but I'm thinking about a name also utilized by one of our women's hoop players. She still has her claws, so I'm a little concerned about that, not wanting her to tear up the furniture, though I did buy a scratching post. She did use the litter box the first time but after taking a nap in my bed I discovered she "dropped a deuce."
I mentioned this on the board before but almost two years ago I had a cat but she had a eccentric owner previously and was not in the mood to hang around someone else. Needless to say, she ran away about four months after I got her, so I've kind of been wary to get a cat ever since. Should I keep this new cat for a good while or am I better off giving her to a larger home and a larger family?

[StoopTroup]

Once I got married...

I quit taking in strays.


Should I keep this new cat for a good while or am I better off giving her to a larger home and a larger family?


If that cat dropped a duece in my bed...

It would be lucky to make it to another family.

[soonerboomer93]

cat's can be real funky to litter train. you have to make sure the litter is far away from their food or they won't use it. The 2 cats I had to train by leaving her in a spare bedroom during the day. All it had was food, water, toys and her litter box (about 10 ft from the food and water). Make sure to leave the claws in, just trim them every couple weeks and use a clipper like this (http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444178 0098&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025565&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1154914377728&itemNo=17&Nao=12&In=Cat&N=2025565&Ne=2) it's much easier to use. If they're used to having the nails clipped it's much easier. Also just reinforce the use of the scratching post. Take the paws and run them over the post, especially if they scratch something else. My cats only use the post and another scratch I have for them. Getting her while young makes it a bit easier to have her adapt to the scratching post.

[StoopTroup]

I'd be a lousy "Cat Whisper".

[RacerX]

Don't be that person...that person that people always bring strays to.

[BajaOklahoma]

Keep her.
They do suggest keeping them in a contained area to learn where their litter box is located. Some cats are very picky about the litter in their box - the feel and smell. Any change will often cause problems in a Litterbox trained cat.
My kitten was declawed, so we didn't have to worry about the front claws.
Check out some fo the forums on cats - lots of good suggestions for you.

[olevetonahill]

Take her by the hind legs and smack her head against a rock !
Now if you aint gonna do that then take the Baby to the Vet and get her fixed and Vaccinated
Ive paid for about 15 of em and they all run off . But I dont care cause they are NOT breeding ;)
Nuff said

[MamaMia]

I love kittens. You seem to be fond of her. I think you should keep her. I'm allergic though. My sons wife, the tramp, got a cat.

You could name her Coale. :)

[C&CDean]

Cat? Euthanize it.

[BeetDigger]

There is no such thing as taking in a stray cat on a trial basis. You bring it into the house, it is yours. Be thankful if it runs off like the other one. And get it to the vet fast: get it spayed, remove the front claws, back claws and perhaps even a few teeth. You can't be too careful. If you leave the claws on be sure to get rid of any leather furniture you have.

[Miko]

"Let's imagine for a moment that you get the smartest cat in the whole world. It still sh*ts in the house." -Red from That 70s Show

[AllAboutThe'O']

There is no such thing as taking in a stray cat on a trial basis. You bring it into the house, it is yours. Be thankful if it runs off like the other one. And get it to the vet fast: get it spayed, remove the front claws, back claws and perhaps even a few teeth. You can't be too careful. If you leave the claws on be sure to get rid of any leather furniture you have.
I think I'm going to have to go get her declawed in a few days. She's got some pretty sharp claws. That was also one of the reasons I didn't sleep very well last night; I feared she was going to scratch my face or something.
Tonight, I'm going to keep my bedroom door closed and see how she adjusts to that.

[olevetonahill]

If you get her declawed then get her spayed and NEVER let her out of the house . You have takin her only defense away from her

[BeetDigger]

I think I'm going to have to go get her declawed in a few days. She's got some pretty sharp claws. That was also one of the reasons I didn't sleep very well last night; I feared she was going to scratch my face or something.
Tonight, I'm going to keep my bedroom door closed and see how she adjusts to that.


I can already tell you how this is going to work out. One of the paramount rules about cats is that whatever side of the door that they are on, it is the wrong side.

[AllAboutThe'O']

If you get her declawed then get her spayed and NEVER let her out of the house . You have takin her only defense away from her
That's true. The previous cat I got was already declawed but always wanted to get out of the house. I wouldn't mind letting my new cat outside every now and then as long as it didn't run off, that is if I'm still up to keeping her after a few days. But I don't know if I can handle the claws much longer.

[picasso]

we had a family cookout about a month ago and my cousins kids found this one under our deck.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6d626b3127cce8bf8c655a13700000016109AauHLhk2a4
she was strictly an outside cat, we have an 8 foot fence around our place and 2 decked porches and a deck. however last week I came home and the thing was nearly dead from the heat. been inside ever since.

[sanantoniosooner]

Is that some kind of "stockade" for cats?

[picasso]

Is that some kind of "stockade" for cats?
I have no idea how the thing showed up at our pad.

"hows my hair" was on tonight.

[AllAboutThe'O']

Update on the cat (for those who have been wondering).....
She's getting very acclimated to the place. Right now, she is giving no indication she wants to go outside; personally, she would rather curl up in my recliner and take naps. Also I've kept her out of my bedroom at night and haven't had any problems with her. The one thing that has really surprised me is one day I opened the bedroom door after waking up to find strands of yellow everywhere near her scratching post. Apparently, she tore the toy attached to the scratching post to shreds. She does have pretty sharp claws, though. But I'm going to wait a while before I decide to have her declawed.

BTW, I've named her Leah, after #24.

[tbl]

I've never had a problem litter training a cat. Throw them in it once, and that's typically it.

For the claws, I would suggest not declawing her. We got one of those cat trees for our cat, and he goes nuts on it. He NEVER messes with the furniture, ever. The one we got goes all the way to the ceiling and has a spring loaded pole in the top to keep it balanced against the ceiling. It was only $30 or so, and it's been awesome. He climbs it, makes running dashes at it, claws the mess out of it, and takes naps on it.

Anybody I've ever known that had a cat tree would swear by them as well. If you're into making things, you can go nuts on creating one as well. All you need is a saw, wood, nails, and carpet. Do a google search and you'll find tons of different ideas. Again, I highly suggest getting one soon. She'll love it and you'll appreciate the headache it will save you.

Once she gets box trained, are you gonna let her sleep with you? If she's at home all day by herself, it might be good to let her in with you at night. Cats tend to get a little wild when they're alone a lot, so you want to keep her as social as possible.

[tbl]

This one is similar to ours, though ours is not as fancy.

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/bilder/1/12647_1.jpg

Once I get our basement bathroom done, I'm going to use some of my spare wood and make something more like this for our downstairs area.

http://www.katymcfurr.com/images/cat_tree.jpg