Last night, my husband and I were discussing the possibility of adopting another cat now that we only have four. Five cats seems like the perfect number for us. Of course, we both would love to welcome a new family member, but practicality won out and we decided our finances are a little too tight right now. We should wait until I am working again before we take on another responsibility.
Today, my husband went by his good buddy's shop, and wouldn't you know it, there is a stray kitten hanging around. The guys at the shop have been leaving food out for it all week, but no one can approach it. My husband called the kitten and she(?) came right up to him. Sigh. He is a cat whisperer. He tried to look at her privates while he was holding her and thinks she may be female, but wasn't 100% sure. She is all black and he estimated around 4-5 months old. None of the guys can take her home and my husband's buddy just took in another stray kitten from the shop yard a few months ago.
They haven't ever seen any adult cats around the yard, but there must be a few somewhere. The other theory is that both kittens got lost in the storm drain tunnels and both happened to pop out in the shop yard. The shop owner loves animals, so we are going to try to convince him to set some traps and do TNR to control the population. We can't afford to do it ourselves. We are fairly new to this county, so I am going to call the ASPCA and Humane Society tomorrow for rescue recommendations and local laws, etc, to get the ball rolling on this project. It just figures this is happening in the middle of kitten season.
But that still leaves the kitten. For now, she has a make-shift shelter in the shop yard the guys built for her and daily food and water. It is raining today. Sigh. I am worried about her and I haven't even met her yet. It looks like we are getting a new kitten. It is just so strange we were discussing getting a new cat only hours before this happened. It is like it was meant to be. I don't know exactly when we are going to take her, we need to get Advantage on her first. And with her age, it needs to be ASAP so we can get her in to be fixed before her first heat. It is all so sudden, especially after the decision we made last night to wait on getting another cat. I am thinking of maybe doing a two week quarantine inside the shop? We have several large dog crates and can set her up a safe and cozy area with a litter box. That may be a little much for the owner, especially since we plan on asking him to do TNR, so the other option is to quarantine her in the spare bedroom here at the house.
I am half thrilled and half apprehensive. Pooper is much younger than my other cats, so it will be great for her to have a playmate closer to her own age. Bob was her best buddy and I think Pooper is still mourning her. Poops has been kind of mopey since Bob died, and that is what prompted our conversation last night.
The main issue, besides money, is we are still are not fully done introducing my housemate's dogs to our cats and still have the baby gate up on the bedroom door. It has been four months and we only let the cats wander the whole house when the dogs are crated at night. I don't yet trust the dogs to be gentle when playing with the cats. They are young and bonkers and might hurt one of the cats accidentally. The dogs adore the cats and lick them through the gate. And I see the cats playfully tapping the dogs with outstretched paws all the time, so we are getting close to dog-cat mingling. Right now the baby gate is working and everyone is happy and secure. I don't know how a kitten would affect this balance. A baby could be helpful in teaching the dogs to be even more gentle, or it might make them more bonkers.
It will be crazy having a kitten, but I don't see any other acceptable option. Don't get me wrong- I am ready to open my heart to another kitty and make a life long commitment, I just don't know if now is the best time. On the other hand, if I wait for the perfect time, I'd never get another pet. Barring major health issues, we will be able to scrape together enough cash for vaccinations and neutering. We are already used to buying enough food and litter for five cats, so that is not a big deal. I am full of worry, as usual. I am so bad at making decisions (although this feels like a done deal).
Today, my husband went by his good buddy's shop, and wouldn't you know it, there is a stray kitten hanging around. The guys at the shop have been leaving food out for it all week, but no one can approach it. My husband called the kitten and she(?) came right up to him. Sigh. He is a cat whisperer. He tried to look at her privates while he was holding her and thinks she may be female, but wasn't 100% sure. She is all black and he estimated around 4-5 months old. None of the guys can take her home and my husband's buddy just took in another stray kitten from the shop yard a few months ago.
They haven't ever seen any adult cats around the yard, but there must be a few somewhere. The other theory is that both kittens got lost in the storm drain tunnels and both happened to pop out in the shop yard. The shop owner loves animals, so we are going to try to convince him to set some traps and do TNR to control the population. We can't afford to do it ourselves. We are fairly new to this county, so I am going to call the ASPCA and Humane Society tomorrow for rescue recommendations and local laws, etc, to get the ball rolling on this project. It just figures this is happening in the middle of kitten season.
But that still leaves the kitten. For now, she has a make-shift shelter in the shop yard the guys built for her and daily food and water. It is raining today. Sigh. I am worried about her and I haven't even met her yet. It looks like we are getting a new kitten. It is just so strange we were discussing getting a new cat only hours before this happened. It is like it was meant to be. I don't know exactly when we are going to take her, we need to get Advantage on her first. And with her age, it needs to be ASAP so we can get her in to be fixed before her first heat. It is all so sudden, especially after the decision we made last night to wait on getting another cat. I am thinking of maybe doing a two week quarantine inside the shop? We have several large dog crates and can set her up a safe and cozy area with a litter box. That may be a little much for the owner, especially since we plan on asking him to do TNR, so the other option is to quarantine her in the spare bedroom here at the house.
I am half thrilled and half apprehensive. Pooper is much younger than my other cats, so it will be great for her to have a playmate closer to her own age. Bob was her best buddy and I think Pooper is still mourning her. Poops has been kind of mopey since Bob died, and that is what prompted our conversation last night.
The main issue, besides money, is we are still are not fully done introducing my housemate's dogs to our cats and still have the baby gate up on the bedroom door. It has been four months and we only let the cats wander the whole house when the dogs are crated at night. I don't yet trust the dogs to be gentle when playing with the cats. They are young and bonkers and might hurt one of the cats accidentally. The dogs adore the cats and lick them through the gate. And I see the cats playfully tapping the dogs with outstretched paws all the time, so we are getting close to dog-cat mingling. Right now the baby gate is working and everyone is happy and secure. I don't know how a kitten would affect this balance. A baby could be helpful in teaching the dogs to be even more gentle, or it might make them more bonkers.
It will be crazy having a kitten, but I don't see any other acceptable option. Don't get me wrong- I am ready to open my heart to another kitty and make a life long commitment, I just don't know if now is the best time. On the other hand, if I wait for the perfect time, I'd never get another pet. Barring major health issues, we will be able to scrape together enough cash for vaccinations and neutering. We are already used to buying enough food and litter for five cats, so that is not a big deal. I am full of worry, as usual. I am so bad at making decisions (although this feels like a done deal).
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