Found stray cat in parking lot

tarasgirl06

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That's how it happens, tabbytom tabbytom ! And once it happens, it's the deepest bond you will ever have.
*PRAYERS* for it to be possible, scoutandmaxine scoutandmaxine -- adapting and bonding take time. It took the better part of a year before our sweet angel Sammi fit in with what at that time was a larger feline family including two other male cats, one very easy-going and social, and the other very protective and "alpha" -- and Sammi, adopted by us at 14, had been an only cat! but it did happen. There were a couple of furious rolling catballs, and quite a few standoffs, but it happened.
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Boyz Club: Calo, Samuda and Sammi angels (with someone else observing from the hallway)
 
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scoutandmaxine

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Thanks for the support everyone! It means a lot. tarasgirl06 tarasgirl06 I love hearing success stories in introducing cats to each other, gives me hope that I can do this and it will all be okay! Great news. He is officially in the bathroom. He wasn't too pleased at first. Kind of confused. But he peed in the litter box right away. And I sat with him on his bed in the corner until he calmed down and fell asleep. Hes doing great. Ate a little but not much. Maxine is on the other side of the door chirping non stop lol. She is SO curious. I will have to be careful opening and closing the door. But so far so good. I feel a lot better knowing he's going to be safe and warm tonight. ❤

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tarasgirl06

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Thanks for the support everyone! It means a lot. tarasgirl06 tarasgirl06 I love hearing success stories in introducing cats to each other, gives me hope that I can do this and it will all be okay! Great news. He is officially in the bathroom. He wasn't too pleased at first. Kind of confused. But he peed in the litter box right away. And I sat with him on his bed in the corner until he calmed down and fell asleep. Hes doing great. Ate a little but not much. Maxine is on the other side of the door chirping non stop lol. She is SO curious. I will have to be careful opening and closing the door. But so far so good. I feel a lot better knowing he's going to be safe and warm tonight. ❤

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He is so adorable! Very glad he's safe inside. Given time, I pray they will be loving bonded family members. My rule is to never give up. This is all so new to him and to your Maxine...love and patience should give great results! *And I have lots and lots of success stories with adoptions. Sammi's was the most dramatic because it took the longest.*
 

tabbytom

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But so far so good. I feel a lot better knowing he's going to be safe and warm tonight. ❤
Looks like he's adapting well.

Leave one or two pieces of your clean, non perfumed, unwashed garments with him. This is to let him know that he is safe as your scents are there with him. Visit him often and each time you go see him, (please give him name, he's staying for good), call out his name in a sweet gentle and loving voice and open the door gently. Best is to kneel down and open the door as this makes you smaller and not so intimidating and also if he should rush out of the bathroom, it's easier to grab him while you are at a low position rather than standing up.

Keep up with the routine, do some scent swopping with the other cats. Place some towels for him to lay on and after a day or so, bring that towel out for the other cats to check to out. Do the same for the other cats so that he gets use to their scents too. This will help in the introduction to the other cats later on.
Just remember, take a step at a time. Don't rush things.

Feel free to ask questions and there's no such thing as a stupid question.

I'm so happy for you and for him :clapcat:
 

Mamanyt1953

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I'm so happy for this boy! He found that soft place to land that so many never find. And your girls may surprise you. Females are distinctly more territorial than males, and they are also more territorial with other females than they are with males. This may go much better than you feared, and having Maxine chirping is not a bad sign.
 
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scoutandmaxine

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Looks like he's adapting well.

Leave one or two pieces of your clean, non perfumed, unwashed garments with him. This is to let him know that he is safe as your scents are there with him. Visit him often and each time you go see him, (please give him name, he's staying for good), call out his name in a sweet gentle and loving voice and open the door gently. Best is to kneel down and open the door as this makes you smaller and not so intimidating and also if he should rush out of the bathroom, it's easier to grab him while you are at a low position rather than standing up.

Keep up with the routine, do some scent swopping with the other cats. Place some towels for him to lay on and after a day or so, bring that towel out for the other cats to check to out. Do the same for the other cats so that he gets use to their scents too. This will help in the introduction to the other cats later on.
Just remember, take a step at a time. Don't rush things.

Feel free to ask questions and there's no such thing as a stupid question.

I'm so happy for you and for him :clapcat:
Thank you so much for all of the great advice. I've been doing just that. Baby steps. I let him sniff around my room while the girls were downstairs. He feels safer in the bathroom but he also enjoys napping on the deck during the day. And since I can keep an eye on him, I've been letting him do that. I did allow him to wander around the living area for a few minutes while Scout watched from a distance. She is not confrontational at all and it seems that he isn't either. I had to hold Maxine the whole time though bc she will pounce on him and I didn't want him to get scared. He is no longer as exhausted as he was before. I followed him while he explored the backyard a bit more. Eventually he settled for a nap on the deck and he is there now while I continually check on him. Now that he's moving around more, I don't want him going too far. When I noticed him going towards the neighbors yard, I called him to me and he comes right back. He listens so well, such a good boy. I will put him back in the bathroom later. I leave water on the deck and hes drinking that which is good. His eating has slowed down. He doesn't eat a whole can in one sitting anymore. He eats a little bit at a time but I keep offering as often as I can bc he definitely needs it.

And I have finally given him a name!

FLINT ♡

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scoutandmaxine

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He looks so much better and so content. He was starving and I knew that he would reduce his appetite once he knew that he had a food source and had filled his tummy. You always wonder what their sad histories are.
Yeah I keep wondering about that too. It seems like he was definitely a pet and somebody just dumped him in that parking lot. There are no houses around that area. It was such a strange place to see a cat. Smack dab in the middle of the parking lot. Makes me furious that someone could do that to a poor sweet kitty. And I watched as a whole bunch of other people drove by and saw him too and just ignored him. There was no way I could just leave him.
 

tarasgirl06

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Yeah I keep wondering about that too. It seems like he was definitely a pet and somebody just dumped him in that parking lot. There are no houses around that area. It was such a strange place to see a cat. Smack dab in the middle of the parking lot. Makes me furious that someone could do that to a poor sweet kitty. And I watched as a whole bunch of other people drove by and saw him too and just ignored him. There was no way I could just leave him.
Flint! What a wonderful masculine, strong, handsome name for him. It definitely fits! Glad to hear he is feeling confident that he has a good food source and does not have to snork a whole can now. He looks very healthy and contented! Have a great CATurday, all!
 

dustydiamond1

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So glad you saved this sweet boy. There is no way knowing what I know now that I would ignore a lone confused looking kitty. 5 years ago we had no intention of adding to our household until, after testing us for several months, a little gray and white kitty decided she needed a couple of beloved minions and it was several months of living inside for all of us to decide on her name, Gypsy. Please google how help pay for vet bills if no one here can explain some steps to take. I'll search and see what I can find out. Bless you, you are doing great.
 

lisalu

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I have a question, and don't want to interject a morbid tone here, but do shelters allow adoptions of black cats during October? I kind of hope not. I probably wouldn't even advertise for an owner until after Halloween, because some people can have bad intentions towards a cat like this.
 

dustydiamond1

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I have a question, and don't want to interject a morbid tone here, but do shelters allow adoptions of black cats during October? I kind of hope not. I probably wouldn't even advertise for an owner until after Halloween, because some people can have bad intentions towards a cat like this.
:dancingblackcat::bigeyes::purr: Lots of shelters won't adopt prior to Halloween and you are definitely correct about waiting til its over to advertise. Great call! :clapcat::bouquet:
 

fionasmom

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Fiona herself was rescued as a small kitten, maybe 8 weeks, in the middle of a huge park. Very unlikely that she got there by taking a walk herself. Schools, parks, parking lots, cemetaries, shopping malls with groundcover around the perimeter of the lots are all good places to dump an animal. I love his name!

Around here, shelters will not adopt out black cats at Halloween time.
 

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actually, I wouldn't let him on the deck from now until after Halloween. Firecrackers can scare a cat into running and it's a bad time to be lost.

but I'm happy you're keeping him. Please, be certain the humane society/shelter realizes you are keeping him, he is not theirs to keep in anyway no matter what they find out about him medically. If they take any and all cats, they can't possibly be no kill. I am glad they are willing to share their vet with you.
 
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scoutandmaxine

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Thats one of many reasons why I don't want to give him away, is because of Halloween and him being such a beautiful black cat. It definitely worries me where he'll end up. And I am going to have to make it clear to the humane society tomorrow that I do intend to at the very least, foster him. When I made the appointment after first finding him, I did mention I was hoping to get him a home. So hopefully they'll still help even though I don't want to give him up. I'm mostly nervous about him having something that he could pass along to my cats. He seems okay. Other than being so skinny and very lethargic. He is eating well and his stool is a little loose but not diarrhea. Hopefully they can let me know tomorrow whether it'll be safe to have him around my girls. They were in the same room today. I haven't let him back outside but I wanted to let him get used to other parts of the house. And since he is so calm and not confrontational, the girls seemed okay with him. Scout ignored him but she's also been ignoring Maxine for two years so that's normal lol. Maxie was curious at first but she leaves him alone if he is just laying around and not moving. If he gets up and moves though she wants to follow and I have to stop her from getting too close. Anyway, can't wait for tomorrow. Feels like it's been ages already. I just need some peace of mind that he's okay and that its safe to have him around my cats. Then I can focus on the next step which will be to get him neutered and fattened up lol.
 

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I did mention I was hoping to get him a home. So hopefully they'll still help even though I don't want to give him up. I'm mostly nervous about him having something that he could pass along to my cats. He seems okay. Other than being so skinny and very lethargic. He is eating well and his stool is a little loose but not diarrhea. Hopefully they can let me know tomorrow whether it'll be safe to have him around my girls. They were in the same room today. I haven't let him back outside but I wanted to let him get used to other parts of the house. And since he is so calm and not confrontational, the girls seemed okay with him. Scout ignored him but she's also been ignoring Maxine for two years so that's normal lol. Maxie was curious at first but she leaves him alone if he is just laying around and not moving.
I think the better choice for Flint and you is to keep him. Since he has been in the house and around the gals and not being confrontational, they need no further introductions. Looks like it's smooth going.

For Flint to have loose stools, I guess it's normal. Normal because his system is getting use to regular feeds and proper food. It takes awhile for his system to adjust. Looking at it, Flint looks like a fine kitty without or no health issues. Hope he passes the check at the shelter and that'll be less worries for you.
 

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I'd take Maxis being okay with him as a huge sign that he's meant to live with you guys. I say this knowing what it's like to have more vet bills than words. I can only say, peanut butter and long loaves of bread are your friend. Been there, done that, a tense, but not bad place to be.
 
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scoutandmaxine

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I'd take Maxis being okay with him as a huge sign that he's meant to live with you guys. I say this knowing what it's like to have more vet bills than words. I can only say, peanut butter and long loaves of bread are your friend. Been there, done that, a tense, but not bad place to be.
Its funny u say that bc I have seriously been living off of PBJ sandwiches lately lol! Pretty sure I spend more on cat food than my own but its worth it, for sure.
And it has been pleasantly surprising how easy going it is having him in the house. This week will have me so broke though. Maxine has a vet appointment tomorrow morning to get a ct scan on her skull for possible polyp. I'm so worried. I know its not a big thing probably but she is such a happy and playful cat and I don't want anything to ever ruin that. Hopefully all goes well and there is nothing very serious causing her never ending ear infection. Its just the idea of dropping her off and not getting her back until later in the day has me feeling crazy anxious. I did that with scout when she had dental surgery and my panic attack was so bad I thought I was dying. I worry too much, I think. Lol.
 
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