Undecided On What To Do With Stray

[esco98]

so my boyfriend made friends with a new stray that came up to our house late last night. He gave her food and water and made a little space for her on the side of the house with a shoe box. He said she looks malnourished although you won’t be able to tell in the photo he says she’s very skinny and is looking rough. He is growing attached to her but he hasn’t taken her into the house yet because he wants to get her vetted first as we already have another cat and a dog. I told him if he wants to keep her I’ll take her to vet this weekend when I’m back in town to get checked out and to get her shots. But if he doesn’t want to keep her I really want to take her to our local no kill shelter so she can get the proper vetting she needs and is able to find a good home. It took her a while to trust my boyfriend but once she did she was very sweet and followed him everywhere so I’m sure she’d get adopted. He doesn’t want to take her to the shelter even if we don’t keep her but I think it’d give her the best shot a life as she’s been hiding under cars and I’m scared she’s going to get ran over. And we live in Texas so the heat out here is no joke right now. Am I in the right or the wrong wanting to take her to the shelter if we don’t keep her?

 

[shadowsrescue]

Oh, please decide to help her. She really needs a home. I would not be leaving her outside for any length of time right now. She needs vet care and most importantly she needs to be spayed. Young cats can get pregnant.

Just be sure she has a room of her own. She will need time away from your other cat and dog. Cats are very territorial and take time to adjust to new additions. You can use a bathroom if necessary. Give her time to adjust and settle in before jumping into introductions.

Be sure to have her SNAP tested for FIV and FELV and be sure she has all vaccinations before coming in contact with your other cat.

I really hope you can help this kitty. If you decide not to take her in, please please get her right to a no kill shelter. Life is very hard for an outdoor kitty. If she is left alone, she will certainly become pregnant soon. Then you will have more and more kittens to care for.

Thank you for wanting to help. I hope the best for this sweet little one.

 

[fionasmom]

Absolutely help her....you have presented two very logical options, both of which are responsible, so please choose one of them. I only ever leave true TNRed ferals outside...the ones who are too old and wild to bond or to be brought safely into a house or handled.

 

[esco98]

I’m coming back in from out of town so I should be home in a about an hour. Our vet won’t be able to see her til Monday so I’m going to clean up the garage so she can stay there until we are able to take her to the vet or decide to take her to the shelter. I will update soon. Unfortunately both the vet and the shelter won’t be an option til Monday as they don’t accept drop offs over the weekend

 

[esco98]

Oh, please decide to help her. She really needs a home. I would not be leaving her outside for any length of time right now. She needs vet care and most importantly she needs to be spayed. Young cats can get pregnant.

Just be sure she has a room of her own. She will need time away from your other cat and dog. Cats are very territorial and take time to adjust to new additions. You can use a bathroom if necessary. Give her time to adjust and settle in before jumping into introductions.

Be sure to have her SNAP tested for FIV and FELV and be sure she has all vaccinations before coming in contact with your other cat.

I really hope you can help this kitty. If you decide not to take her in, please please get her right to a no kill shelter. Life is very hard for an outdoor kitty. If she is left alone, she will certainly become pregnant soon. Then you will have more and more kittens to care for.

Thank you for wanting to help. I hope the best for this sweet little one.

Yes unfortunately me and my bf have different opinions on strays. He comes from a big city where seeing strays is very normal and I come from a town where we would never see strays. If we don’t keep I’ll have to put my foot down and take her to the shelter myself

 

[shadowsrescue]

Do be careful about putting her in the garage if there are chemicals and things she could get into. Cats are curious. Also I would gather it would be quite hot in the garage this time of year.

Is there a spare room or other area where should could stay?

There is a saying that goes.. if you feed them, they will breed. So feeding this sweet kitty is making her strong and healthy so she can breed. One kitty will turn into many and many more. The shelter would be a kind place for her to go as long as it's a no kill.

Thank you for taking good care of her.

 

[esco98]

Our garage is connected to our laundry room which has AC so I was thinking about leaving that door open but closing the door that goes from the laundry room into our house? We also have 2 spare fans we can hook up in the garage. We have roommates so we don’t have a spare room however one of the roommates might be okay with letting her stay in his room over the weekend as he seems to like cats so we’ll probably discuss that and see if that’s an option.

 

[Jcatbird]

I hope you can keep her. That is her very best hope for a good future. Make sure you check how long she can be housed at the “no kill shelter” if you take her there. Sometimes cats are moved to make room for others if they don’t get adopted.

If you are from a place where strays are never present, that is wonderful! I live in a rural area where strays are plentiful. The shelters stay overwhelmed.

She may be thin but she is absolutely adorable! Welcome to the site and thank you for all you are doing to help her. If she stays with the roommate, maybe they will adopt her if you can’t!

 

[kittychick]

First I want to say I'm so glad you and your boyfriend found her and are showing her the kindness of wanting to do what's best for her. So many people look the other way - - it's great for this little girl that she found two people who aren't doing that!

Already you've gotten great advice from two very good, knowledgable site "advice givers"!!

I think your boyfriend's right that she's definitely is looking a bit "rough." Even from just those 2 photos it does look as though she's too thin (if she were at a healthier weight, she'd have more "cushion" on her legs when she's in "meatloaf position" and on her spine). Her coat looks dull (also likely from malnutrition). And since cats are notoriously clean, seeing a kitty with eyes and face that are a little "dirty" like hers is also a sign that she's likely not fending for herself very well out there alone in the world. But despite that - - she's absolutely adorable! Since she's so frightened by the world around her but warmed up to you/him so quickly that she could be held almost immediately - - it's a good chance she was someone's house kitty until (for whatever reason) she was thrown out into the world to fend for herself. Sadly, many people don't understand it doesn't usually work that way - even if she does learn to fend for herself better, if she stays outside, her life will likely be a short, tough one. She's obviously already chosen to trust you two very quickly, which to me, says she sees you as caring people who'll hopefully take care of her (kitties are pretty good judges of character )!!!!

You're definitely doing the right thing by not letting this little one to be around your current kitty or your dog yet. A vet visit first is critical to make sure she's ok medically to be around them. Should you decide to keep her - a slow introduction to them is ENORMOUSLY helpful in getting things off to good start. Most people want to skip this step and "put all of the furry family into one room immediately because they'll just work it out." Trust me (as someone who's worked at/volunteered for shelters for way too many years to admit - - and fostered well over 125/150...something like that...cats and kittens) - - -a slow introduction is beyond worth it for everyone! And if keeping her is the direction you decide to go (again - - ), lots of us on this site can absolutely walk you through the best ways to do that!

The garage does sound like it would be awfully hot this time of year (don't know where you are in Texas, but my weather app says that at 2 am in the morning it's 94 degrees there already!). But the laundry room sounds like a great option (and, if you keep her, could even be a good place to keep her while you work through introductions to the furry members of your household. Since it's got AC, you may not even need a fan if she's in there (if you do set up a fan - make sure she can't knock it over and that it doesn't scare her. One of our cats is - oddly - far more frightened of fans than vacuums! And make sure she has a really good supply of water at all times.

And as both shadowsrescue and Jcatbird said - - please please please, if you decide you just can't keep her, take her to a no kill shelter (and do a little digging to make sure it's a true no kill shelter - - some shelters sound as if they're no kill, but do euthanize when they're overcrowded). Most shelters operate on the verge of always being at or slightly above capacity - - especially since we're in what's known as "kitten season." Letting her back outside is by far the least desirable option for her. A completely outdoor cat (feral or not) generally doesn't live more than 3-5 years (and it's a very rough few years), while an indoor cat often can live to be 15-20. And even though she's young, she's plenty old enough to get pregnant - - making even MORE kitties out there who'll have a hard time getting a home.

All that said (sorry so long!) - - -I do hope you're able to keep her, but if you're not (and I understand that sometimes it just isn't possible - - but you two sound like you'd make a wonderful two-cat family!) - - I'd first try checking with your friends (thru social media's a fast way to spread the word - - -altho if you go this route - many of us here can offer suggestions for the best, safest way to do that). But taking her to a good no kill shelter is definitely the next best option.

Please keep us all posted - - - regardless of whether you end up being her forever home, or you help her find another one - - you've already shown her the kindness and caring it looks like she desperately needed!!!!!