My all black foster cat needs a forever home

  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #41

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence
@sarthur2 and @GoHolistic: I don't think the lady was the right match for him as she wanted an outgoing friendly cat and Patrick is just not like that. My other black cat, Panthera, loves everybody and goes up to everybody, sits in their laps and starts licking them. Of course he was promptly doing that with this lady. This is the kind of cat she wanted so Patrick was a total disappointment to her.

Yes, when I first got him he was the biggest scaredy-cat ever but that was not surprising after the conditions under which he had lived. But now he has been here going on 2 years and he is a sweet cat who just does not like everybody, he is used to me but still runs from me at times. That is why I think he will be with me forever and the only reason I do not want to adopt him are his medical problems and the accompanying bills which I cannot afford. As long as he belongs to the adoption program on paper they have o come up with paying for the bills. I have already said I would pay for the routine vet bills but the program should pay for the out-of-the-ordinary bills and the prescription food. So far they are grumbling but paying for it. 
 

stewball

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 11, 2013
Messages
11,747
Purraise
809
Location
Tel Aviv
Somebody actually came today to have a look at Patrick. The prospective new mom had recently lost one of her cats and her other one was moping and needed a companion. Just looking at what she put in e-mail I did not think she would be happy with Patrick as she wanted a friendly cat who would play with her other cat. She did not get much of a look at him either. He was sitting on a chair on the patio, she thought he looked beautiful. But the moment I opened the patio door he zoomed off that chair and past us into the apartment and under the table, barely peeking out. When I tried to pick him up he ran under the big easy chair, making these pitiful noises as if somebody had done something awful to him and he was afraid it would happen again. So we settled down to chat about cats and this one in particular, hoping he would eventually venture out. She finally decided that she really wanted a cat that would be more friendly and which would come up to her like my other black cat, Panthera, had done right away. The whole time Patrick did not come out and even after she had left he did not come out for several hours. Then he acted like he was really scared, when I finally did manage to pick him up he was shivering although he was purring at the same time. Yes, I know that cats can purr when they are scared, I think something about this woman scared him, who knows what, she wasn't loud or anything, didn't come near him and he just zoomed by her, actually bumping into the wall on his way past her and under the big chair. 
Maybe the smell of her cat bothered him.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #43

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence
Here it is over 6 months later and Patrick still acts like everybody but me (and sometimes even me) is going to do something awful to him. However, I have tried giving him 4 drops on 4 pieces of his favorite kibble (which he is not supposed to have as it will get him constipated) and he will mellow out at least for someone else to be able to pet him and hold him on their lap. He's had several people look at him and they all think he's beautiful and some even thought they would take him, BUT: one took a week to decide that her shy cat would just learn bad habits from him, another was totally unsuitable bringing her little yappy dog with her without warning and decided that Patrick and her dog would not get along, she is also planning on moving to Tennessee as soon as her condo sells and she told me her whole life story which is totally crazy, this woman is nuts! Who would divorce a spouse after 50 years of being mistreated and still keep him around at least once a week and he's moving to Tennessee also? Nuts! I would not let Patrick go to her no way no how. Another thought she could take Patrick home and let him out on her patio with her other cat right away, like the same day - what's wrong with people like that? He would have run away immediately, she thought he would just stay on her patio with her other cat.

So he's still up for adoption, and as long as he has Rescue Remedy in him he acts like a sweet cat instead of a neurotic. I just wonder if I can give it to him every day or will it have a bad effect on him or eventually not be effective anymore? Does anyone know? Or have experience with it? 
 

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
35,988
Purraise
17,680
Location
Sunny Florida
I have no experience with Rescue Remedy. Hopefully someone else can comment soon! Neither of those folks sounded like the right home for Patrick!
 

pippen

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Messages
269
Purraise
10
 
Here it is over 6 months later and Patrick still acts like everybody but me (and sometimes even me) is going to do something awful to him. However, I have tried giving him 4 drops on 4 pieces of his favorite kibble (which he is not supposed to have as it will get him constipated) and he will mellow out at least for someone else to be able to pet him and hold him on their lap. He's had several people look at him and they all think he's beautiful and some even thought they would take him, BUT: one took a week to decide that her shy cat would just learn bad habits from him, another was totally unsuitable bringing her little yappy dog with her without warning and decided that Patrick and her dog would not get along, she is also planning on moving to Tennessee as soon as her condo sells and she told me her whole life story which is totally crazy, this woman is nuts! Who would divorce a spouse after 50 years of being mistreated and still keep him around at least once a week and he's moving to Tennessee also? Nuts! I would not let Patrick go to her no way no how. Another thought she could take Patrick home and let him out on her patio with her other cat right away, like the same day - what's wrong with people like that? He would have run away immediately, she thought he would just stay on her patio with her other cat.

So he's still up for adoption, and as long as he has Rescue Remedy in him he acts like a sweet cat instead of a neurotic. I just wonder if I can give it to him every day or will it have a bad effect on him or eventually not be effective anymore? Does anyone know? Or have experience with it? 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #46

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence
I had posted pictures of him last year showing how his fur had turned color. I am happy to say that he is all black again with just a bit of chocolate around his pantaloons. I have been feeding him 500mg of L-Thyrosine twice a day on his food, just opened the capsule and sprinkled it on his food and it has done the trick.Thyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that some black cats with longish hair need to make melanin, the stuff that makes them black. Some cats do not have enough of it and so they fade, sometimes quite handsomely, but Patrick just turned brown and orange with whitish on his belly, it was not attractive at all. To stay black he will need Thyrosine for the rest of his life but it is not essential, so if somebody does not care about his color they can let it go. 
 

doomsdave

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 2, 2016
Messages
7,200
Purraise
9,817
Location
California
Segelkat:

Did you ever manage to re-home him?
 
He's really a very sweet cat and after this long a time it would be hard to give him up but if there were a kind soul who would take him I would be happy nevertheless. It could turn out like the cat who went to San Diego: new home for the cat and a new friend for me. One can always hope. 
Did you ever manage to re-home him?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #48

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence
 
Segelkat:

Did you ever manage to re-home him?

Did you ever manage to re-home him?
He's still here, getting older every year and becoming harder to adopt out on account on his age. I talked to his vet today because he had another episode of not being able to poop. He said I should feed him a stool softener that should take care of THAT problem besides the MiraLax he gets every day.. Also we talked about giving him Rescue Remedy, the vet said I should be able to give him that every day to calm him down, like catnip some cats react to it and others don't and that perhaps it had alcohol in it but does not anymore. So I will try that and see what happens. The few times I gave it to him when someone was scheduled to look at him it seems to have calmed him down enough where  he did not go batshit crazy as soon as a stranger came inside as he usually does.

 As much as I have grown to love this cat I still want him to find a home of his own, I have too many cats and I can't afford his vet bills besides the ones of the cats who are mine. Would you like to adopt him?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #49

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence
The stool softener did the trick but it's expensive. I tried an OTC stool softener made for human babies (asked the vet about dosage) but nothing doing he won't swallow it, not by itself , not on food  or in drink. So I have started to give him a double dose of generic MiraLax and id it ever do the job. The next morning I found the biggest ever poop in his litter box and he is obviously feeling better.  He is locked in his room at night so that I can make sure he eats his food (with the MiraLax on it) and not some other cat and also to see the results the next morning. The box in that room is the only one he will use, even during the day although I have no way to keep the others out of it. Usually they don't use it.

I have resigned myself to the fact that he will be with me forever, however, if he starts getting plugged up again even with the double dose of MiraLax, and he must be miserable when he does, the vet and I have agreed that it will be time to release him from his misery.
 

gothceltgirl

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
Messages
36
Purraise
33
Location
Virginia Beach VA
I love Patrick. My kitty Darragh would probably love a cat she could boss around. Two kitties w/Irish names. That'd be so great but I'm all the way on the East Coast. I can barely care for the one, I'm afraid. I just managed to finally get the low-cost spay appt. which is 9 days away. I am so tired of her stinky pee everywhere. She woke me up today peeing under the bed, right underneath where I sleep, after only 4 hours! 
 She's wearing me out with her heat cycles. So trying. I regret rescuing her some days.

Good luck finding a home for Patrick.
 Too bad there isn't a Kitty UPS. CUPS.
 

Especially since black kitties are the least loved...

-gothceltgirl
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #51

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence

Summercats

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2017
Messages
408
Purraise
248
@segalkatt
Is Patrick still living with you? I did not quite understand why you could not surrender him to a rescue.
I am in Europe and recently adopted my black kitty from a shelter.
Your Patrick is gorgeous, best of luck with him!
Try a wet food diet for his constipation.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #54

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence
@segalkatt
Is Patrick still living with you? I did not quite understand why you could not surrender him to a rescue.
I am in Europe and recently adopted my black kitty from a shelter.
Your Patrick is gorgeous, best of luck with him!
Try a wet food diet for his constipation.

Yes, he is still here.
The shelters here are overrun with kittens this year, it has been kitten season all year, probably because of the weird weather we've had, even plants are having a hard time trying to figure out what season it is.
Black cats have a notoriously hard time getting adopted in the US. Still too much superstitious garbage floating around. Even shelters will not adopt out a black cat in October because of it.
From what I hear black cats don't last long in shelters in the UK and Australia, everybody wants a black cat there, that there are even waiting lists for black cats. But not here.

Patrick eats wet food at night and does a little nibbling on dry food during the day although he and the other cats sleep most of the day, come out from wherever they have been hiding around 5 pm.

Yes, Patrick is still here.
S Summercats : My health has taken a downturn lately including a hospital stay of several days. My blood pressure has been going up and down and my physician has said I need to avoid stress. How can I do that when I worry about Patrick every time he has a day without poop which could mean another trip to the vet to get cleaned out and which I can't afford? It has not happened since January 2017, but it could happen again tomorrow.
The outfit that gave him to me to foster and socialize now says that he is NOT a foster but MY cat and that they will not pay for any more of his expenses. They have become rather hostile about the whole thing and have hung up the phone on me several times.
Between this and my doctor's advice to avoid stress I see myself forced to find a forever home for Patrick as soon as possible or to send him to the Big Sleep. This cat has been through enough, this is not what he deserves.
He is a sweet cat who comes and hangs around my legs almost every evening, particularly when I am on the computer, making little endearing noises, begging to be petted but not picked up. If I do manage to pick him up he purrs his head off and can't get enough petting. Sadly, this does not happen very often, if he senses that I will pick him up he runs from me and hides under a big chair (I think that's where he sleeps all day).
This is a cat that I think is neurotic due to the treatment he received from the caretaker of his former human "mom" (probably for a year or so when he was under 2 years of age, still a toddler) and even after all this time, almost 3 years, has not gotten over it and probably never will.
That is why I am again asking for the cat-loving community to help find a forever home for him. So far all the people who have said they would love to have him all live on the other side of the country, thousands of miles away, or overseas.
 

Summercats

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2017
Messages
408
Purraise
248
segelkatt segelkatt
For his health issues, if they are expensive can you try a go fund me or similar pitch? Also are there any way the agency could take him back, as you say you may have him put down?
Best of luck to Patrick and you.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #57

segelkatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
2,696
Purraise
4,448
Location
back in Laguna Woods, CA after a 2 yr absence
segelkatt segelkatt
For his health issues, if they are expensive can you try a go fund me or similar pitch? Also are there any way the agency could take him back, as you say you may have him put down?
Best of luck to Patrick and you.

The agency will not take him back (long ugly story), they insist that he is not a foster but that he is MY cat.

As long as he gets a rather large dose of laxatives every day he seems to be doing ok, he has not had an episode where I need to take him to the vet since January. My vet is pretty reasonable (considering that this Southern California) and his prices are about half of what everybody is charging in this neighborhood, but it is still more than I can afford ($150 to $200 each episode depending how bad it is). It is the stress on me, worrying about it every day, that is wearing me out and my doctor has said I need to reduce my stress. That is why Patrick needs to find a new home.
I have had someone come look at him today for someone else who loves black cats and has several. I had him in a large carrier and he was very quiet when they came in. I took him out of the carrier, of course he wanted to escape immediately but I scruffed him which makes him turn into a boneless cat. So the visitors got to see him, his face, his wonderful tail, touch his fur and scratch him a little on his head while I was still hanging on to him. He calmed down a bit. They were both enchanted. However, as soon as I let go of him just a little he panicked and was gone. We chatted a bit about where he had come from and why he needed a new home when he has it good here, also about any health problems and bad habits (Patrick does not scratch furniture or countersurf).
They will now give a report to the prospective new mom while I wait for medical records from his vet.
So everybody out there please send good vibes for Patrick and me so he will soon have a forever home and I can calm down.
 

catwoman707

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
7,689
Purraise
2,263
Location
Vallejo, CA
Well I sure hope he gets his forever home finally!
Much appreciation for those who are willing to foster cats who's owners passed leaving their pets behind. I feel for and understand your position.
The very idea of euthanizing a young cat simply because he has constipation issues at times is simply heartbreaking. Not sure a vet would be willing to do this on a young healthy cat even.

If I find him either a home or a foster until he has a home are you able to drive him to me?
I am 25 minutes from San Francisco.
I will see what I can do, I have tons of cat connections here.
I don't really know of another way to get him up here, and I do want to help.

By the way, his behavior is due to lack of socialization at a very young kitten age, classic. He will always be this way except in a quiet home once he gains trust and adapts, and lots of time spent, treats and toys :)
 
Last edited:

Kat0121

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
15,036
Purraise
20,363
Location
Sunny Florida
segelkatt segelkatt you are an angel for taking such good care of sweet Patrick. He sure is handsome. I'd love to meet him if I were in California. We're in south Florida. He and Sophie could pass for siblings.

This was taken today

 

catwoman707

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
7,689
Purraise
2,263
Location
Vallejo, CA
Wow my post is getting a ton of attention and is shared to others in rescue, including Southern CA near you! Will let you know further.
 
Top