Need Advice From the Feral Colony Experts

[orange&white]

Also...

All the other "branches" of rescue group organization go back to referring people to either city or county services. I tried.

 

[surya]

That sucks, at least you tried.

 

[orange&white]

Kit Kit turned one-year old yesterday (by the birth date I "assigned" her by backtracking what I know about her).

The feral kitten I adopted (Farrell) will be one-year old October 1st. Kit Kit is small, lean, trim and muscular. Farrell is small and a bit roundish and pudgy. Guess that's a reflection on indoor versus outdoor kitties. Given the difference in the two kitties, I have renamed Kit Kit. Her new name is Miss Fit due to her athletic body type...which quickly became Misfit. I'm calling her Kit Kit Misfit lately, or just Misfit.

Other updates on her life: She has let me pick her up but not to snuggle...more at arms length...and move her from the ground to a table top outside. I'm leash training my dog not to chase her and need her to learn to get up high instead of running across the ground. She's a very smart cat and has already learned that she can "observe" the dog from a high place and I will keep him from barking at her and from lunging. Soon enough he'll decide she's part of the family, not an unwanted trespasser, and they should be able to share their yard without too much supervision on my part. He's already starting to ignore her.

I started her on a 3-day wormer (Fenbendazole) today, and need to go pick up flea treatment this weekend. She has an appointment later this month to get the normal feline vaccines. The TNR program only vaccinates for rabies. That's another reason I needed to be able to pick her up...she'll have to go in a kennel for her vet appt.

On another thread I had asked about winter bedding, trying to prepare her a warm place well before any cold weather. What I'm thinking now is that she may come inside if we have hard freezes. I'm getting her meds and vax now so that she should be safe to have around my other cats.

That's the update. Happy Birthday to Misfit!

 

[surya]

Happy Birthday Misfit!

 

[maggiedemi]

What color is she? You probably told us, but I forgot. She's come a long way really fast!

 

[orange&white]

What color is she? You probably told us, but I forgot. She's come a long way really fast!

She's a lovely little sleek black and white tuxedo cat.

One of these days (or years) I'll hopefully have some extra cash to replace my old camera (sorry).

 

[maggiedemi]

Is she short haired? Maggie is a long haired tuxedo.

 

[orange&white]

Very short, sleek, shiny coat. Her markings are very symmetrical left and right, and she has the cutest black "goatee" on her chin.

 

[orange&white]

This photo is probably the "closest" to Misfit's markings with a bi-color pink/black nose (except hers is left/right pink and black), black spot goatee on the chin, little white booties only on her toes (on the front legs), and the white strip that goes all the way up her nose to a fine point on her forehead.

However, Misfit's coat is much shorter and sleeker than the cat in this photo.

 

[maggiedemi]

She sounds beautiful. Tuxedos have always been my favorite type of cat.

 

[orange&white]

I've never owned a tuxedo cat. I guess I still don't, but Misfit sure owns me. All cats are beautiful, but I do think that Misfit is really striking and mysterious. (Of course, I also think my blue/cream tabby feral is gorgeous, in a "fluffy cat" kind of way, and my senior orange cat Tangent is quite handsome and dignified. Awww geez....I'm just a pushover...they're all great!)

 

[orange&white]

Trying to find a photo of Misfit's coat-type...short/sleek/shiny. This is it:

 

[vyger]

I hate to interrupt --- this sounds like a private conversation, but did I by any chance find your cat?
By the way the picture doesn't really show it but she is very small. You can get a sense of size by going by the boards which are standard 2x4. So 20 inches would be a stretch.
This is orbit. She just showed up one day. I actually think she was dumped but no way of knowing for sure. I named her orbit because she used to circle around and around me just out of reach. She wanted to be around me but was just too afraid. Her orbits got smaller and smaller until one day she stopped being afraid. Now she flops down in front of me demanding to get her tummy rubbed. In the picture she is about to pop because of the kittens she has but she still wants her tummy rub. Little stinker managed to have 3 litters before I could get her fixed. The timing with the clinics was always off. Anyway, now 5 years later she, and one of her kittens is still here.

 

[orange&white]

Yes, this thread is really intended to document Misfit's progress, but Orbit sure is a pretty kitty too! Until I started trying to find photos of a cat that "looks like" Misfit, I didn't realize how absolutely unique each tuxedo cat is. I can find pictures of cats that look very similar to my "orange cat" or my "blue and cream cat", but it's impossible to find a doppelganger for a tuxedo cat.

 

[orange&white]

This is cool...I was able to weigh Misfit today! She weighs 121.5 ounces, or 7.6 pounds.

She really is muscular with almost zero fat, so she weighed more than she "looks". I would have guessed her weight at 6-7 pounds. She looks so thin, but I can tell by petting her that she is well-nourished.

 

[orange&white]

I just watched Misfit spray (as in marking territory) the side of my house.

Isn't that unusual behavior for 1) female cats in general, and 2) spayed female cats in particular???

 

[surya]

I've only seen the unsprayed boy cats do that. I hope she doesn't have a urinary tract infection or something. The little boys who just moved in close to me are chasing my colony cats and dumping out their food and water right in front of their mother. I'm pissed.

 

[orange&white]

I've only seen the unsprayed boy cats do that. I hope she doesn't have a urinary tract infection or something. The little boys who just moved in close to me are chasing my colony cats and dumping out their food and water right in front of their mother. I'm pissed.

I know, me too, regarding thinking spraying was mainly an intact male cat behavior. Misfit appears to be quite healthy.

You ought to start a separate thread about the bratty kids and their mother. I'm sure lots of people would have input.

 

[surya]

I know, me too, regarding thinking spraying was mainly an intact male cat behavior. Misfit appears to be quite healthy.

You ought to start a separate thread about the bratty kids and their mother. I'm sure lots of people would have input.

I wasn't trying to hijack your thread, I just needed to vent. Sorry. I don't think anybody can help.

 

[orange&white]

No, seriously start a thread on it. Don't worry about hijacking...it's just that not many people are likely to read about it on page 7 of this "novel".