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We had an appointment to take Chewy in for his regular checkup yesterday, but had to take Mama Cat instead. She is the little feral cat we feed every night at our shop. When she came to eat a few nights ago, her one eye didn't look right, it was partially closed. The next night it was no better.
So, we trapped her in the shop and put out an animal trap so we could take her to the vet yesterday. She fell for it, and went into the trap and was there Friday morning . Her eye looked much better at that point, but we decided to take her anyway, just to be sure.
They did a complete checkup, updated her vaccinations, and looked at her eye. She was so wired that it took 3 injections of sedative to get her to the point where they could handle her, they said she kept laughing them and saying "Is that all you've got ??" She is one tough little kitty.
They could not see anything wrong with the eye, but put antibiotic in it anyway, just to be safe. She is now current on all her vaccinations, and got a flea treatment, so she is good to go. They said she is in very good health with no issues at all.
She is such a clean little kitty, she held going to the bathroom all that time, but as soon as we opened the cage at the shop, she ran right to the litter box and went. We are keeping her in the shop office for a few days, we are trying to find her a forever home, we can't let her go back out on the streets.
We tried a new vet and they are FANTASTIC. Very friendly, they love animals and are very professional. We will be using them from now on.
Thank you for sharing. Mama really has a good home and the shop has a good cat. Can you employ her as shop office cat as she is used to it and to you and your crew?
Our "shop" is really my two sons and my hobby shop where we build cars for ourselves, so we are not there all the time. We do go every night to feed her though. We are mostly there some evenings and on weekends.
After she had her kittens in the office, we kept her in there for maybe 6-8 months, but we felt bad because it was like kitty prison, she was longing to get outside again, so we released her a year or two ago.
What she really needs is a home, preferably a single cat home, with an older, stable person who would understand she is probably never going to be a lap cat. She does like human company, but she is not just the type to want to be petted and held a lot. We have fed her for 4 or so years, and have never been able to pet her, but she does get within a foot of so of us now.
She is just such a nice little cat, and she has out survived probably 10 or more cats that used to come every night for dinner. One by one, they all disappeared. If we didn't have 3 at home, we would take her in ourselves, but it just isn't possible.
Thank you for sharing. Mama really has a good home and the shop has a good cat. Can you employ her as shop office cat as she is used to it and to you and your crew?
That is what I was wondering. She is used to it. She will get even friendlier as she spends more time. I would keep her inside if you can.
Thank you for caring for her. No matter what where she lives, she will be much better off.
Yay that you were able to catch her to get her eye cared for! I've been trying to catch the feral "Mama Kitty" on my property for more than a year and she's just too smart for me. I just keep neutering/spaying her kittens and hoping that I can shut down Mama's shop soon.
I'm glad that her eye was ok. You've mentioned this kitty before, and I think you're doing a great job taking care of her. Even if you never find her a traditional "forever" home you're providing a wonderful nontraditional home for her.
Do you think she would be happy living inside your shop with another cat? I ask because in June I caught a cat that had always lived outside for more than a year and brought her into a little building I have on my property. She had a medical issue that really needed inside care. She took about a month to let me pet her, but after that has slowly become very playful and happy, even though she'll never be a super affectionate cat. After she'd been inside alone for about two months I had to bring in a 5 month old male kitten due to his medical issues and had to put him in the little building with her. She growled and rushed at him for about a week, but after that they have slowly become best friends and now they keep each other busy playing, and sleep together very cutely. I go over and feed/check on them twice a day, and spend time playing with them, and they seem fine. They don't rush the door trying to go out when I come in and out, which to me means they are content inside.
So, if you can't find her a permanent home, maybe try bringing her in and also bring in a kitten to keep her company? If you're feeding one cat once a day you might as well be feeding two!
Thanks for all the replies. We have talked about leaving her in the office for a while again, but just not sure if it is the right thing. It is small and has no windows, so it is pretty isolated. The plus side is, she has all the food and water she wants and is not having to worry about any dangers, like she does on the outside. Just not sure what to do.
She is calmed down today, and is letting us get very close to her. I think she has forgiven us for the vet visit. She has claimed the recliner as her own.
So glad you're caring for her. Did you mention to the vets that you'd like to find her a home? Although they don't know her as well as you, they do have an idea what she's like so may know someone….
So glad you're caring for her. Did you mention to the vets that you'd like to find her a home? Although they don't know her as well as you, they do have an idea what she's like so may know someone….
I did ask them and they reminded me of a group here that I have worked with before to adopt out kittens from Mama Kitty. It is called Heaven on Earth Animal League (HEAL). They are wonderful people who spend a lot of their free time finding homes for little kitties.
I called the lady I know there, and am waiting for a call back. I think it will be a little tough in Mama's case because of her age and being so feral yet. Most of the kitties they get adopted are human friendly and kittens. It will take one very special person to adopt Mama.
Don
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Her eye looked much better at that point, but we decided to take her anyway, just to be sure.
She is one tough little kitty.
If we didn't have 3 at home, we would take her in ourselves, but it just isn't possible.
