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I am not a cat person, dont know the first thing about them.
aftere hurricane Ike, my daughter adopted a stray kitty. I have several questions. It is going to stay an outdoor cat. We have been leaving the garage door slightly open so it can have shelter.
1st question: I was thinking about getting a small dog house type of thing to put in the back yard with some bedding, under our porch cover. I was not able to do that right away because it blew off. Our new one is almost done.
DH says you cant train a cat to do that? It went to the garage without a problem.
2nd & 3rd thing. I am going to get it spayed. I think it might be in heat now, vet said it could already be pregnant. they said they could take care of it, if it is. How horrible is that for the cat? they also said it only needed to be kept inside for 2 days after? I know with my dog it was much longer. I was going to put it in the big dog crate I have, dh said it would be better to just make a place in the garage. wont it jump and have problems with stitches? will it automatically use a kitty littler box even though it hasnt in the past? am I asking for trouble? we have our garage carpeted w/ indoor outdoor carpet.
DH also said that even after spayed male cats will come in our yard and spray and it will stink? is this true?
thanks for your help, I am a complete moron when it comes to kitty's.
If the cat absolutely cannot be an indoor cat, which is best because outdoor cats are at risk of being struck and killed by cars, attacked by dogs and predators, and prone to disease, then by all means try to provide a shelter. Keep in mind that if there are predators around, they can and will go into the shelter and attack the cat, so any shelter should be placed in an elevated or secure location or the cat won't use it. Cats like high places and enclosed areas with small openings. If you feed the cat in the shelter you'll help make the cat feel at home there. Don't use cloth or anything that can hold moisture as bedding and don't be upset if the cat chooses another place to sleep.
Spaying a pregnant cat is done all of the time. It's not ideal, obviously, but it is better than having more kittens come into the world. There's a serious overpopulation of feral cats, so I applaud you for not contributing another litter to the problem!
Two days of confinement is not long enough, in my opinion, after a spay. Particularly for an outdoor cat, whose agility may be compromised by the surgery. A sore and stiff cat can't run away from danger as fast, and that's not good. I'd give her at least a week to recover and make sure the incision heals properly. Restricting activity for any cat is almost impossible. She should do fine in a crate with a litter box. Most cats do. Even shredded newspaper would probably work. See what the vet says you should use for litter. Sometimes they are concerned about clay litter getting in the incision.
Male cats are not attracted to spayed females. Male cats spray to mark territory, and it's a particular problem when there are many male cats in the same area. This can happen even if you don't have a cat of your own.
Also, when you bring her home from surgery, you have to check on her constantly to make sure she's not a licker and pull her stitches out!
My Jamie was and on the 3rd day we had to go back to the vet and part of her incision had to be glued shut.
Personally I wouldn't let her back out for at least 7 days or until your follow up appt with vet so not to risk complications or infections.
there is no way she can be an indoor cat. she's lucky that my DH is allowing this. She did the little paw thing on one of our outside chairs and he almost flipped. wanted to take her to the woods and drop her off.
He's okay right now so I dont want to push it.
although I have to say I am amazed at how well her and the dog are getting along. they dont play but they tolerate each other. its pretty funny actually.
I called the vet I picked for my dog yesterday. they are booked for a month for spaying. there is a Humane society in the next city. It was about $20 cheaper to do it there, but I decided it might be better to go with a regular vet.
basically I have to go 20 miles to fill out paperwork and pay. they will give me an appointment and I only drop the cat off for 4-6 hrs. I am worried they do so many and kind of overworked, maybe it would be better to wait a month and get it done by a vet. what do you think.
I say if you can Not have kitty be inside ever, ... I would find some one who would, a person or bring to a shelter.
Too much can happen to kitty outside and especially if kitty is Always outside. IMO, why have a kitty that is always out...??? or any animal for that matter.
But I am so glad that you are taking the initiative to care for kitty Now!!! That is absolutely Great!!! I just don't know if it is best for you and kitty, for you to keep her...
And if you are gettin her spayed, I would just go to the Humane Society. Sooner the better! I won't think there is a difference. And they want kitties fixed because of overpopulation and costs to their shelter too.
But, Hummm, kitty Needs to stay inside after surgery... Where would you keep her? What about a laundry room? Needs somewhere quiet, and warm.
She'll be scared, and needs peace and comfort.
I say if you can Not have kitty be inside ever, ... I would find some one who would, a person or bring to a shelter.
Too much can happen to kitty outside and especially if kitty is Always outside. IMO, why have a kitty that is always out...??? or any animal for that matter.
But I am so glad that you are taking the initiative to care for kitty Now!!! That is absolutely Great!!! I just don't know if it is best for you and kitty, for you to keep her...
And if you are gettin her spayed, I would just go to the Humane Society. Sooner the better! I won't think there is a difference. And they want kitties fixed because of overpopulation and costs to their shelter too.
But, Hummm, kitty Needs to stay inside after surgery... Where would you keep her? What about a laundry room? Needs somewhere quiet, and warm.
She'll be scared, and needs peace and comfort.
when I spoke to the lady at the humane society, when dd first started to feed the cat, she said they were putting down cats daily and werent taking anymore. they had more than they could handle b4 the hurricane and then all of a sudden were bombarded. I figure it is better to feed and spay this cat and leave it outside than to have it killed. I understand the issues people have with this but I did not go out searching for a cat.
I will leave it in the garage which has insulated walls and the weather here in tx is not bad. I dont consider where I plan to keep it bad.
Actually, the humane society vets are usually pretty good. They get a lot of practice because they do so many procedures. Many times the vets are also in private practice and donate their time to the spay neuter clinics. Do check and see if they give pain medication to bring home with you. Sometimes they don't, and pain control with a spay procedure is very important.
I say if you can Not have kitty be inside ever, ... I would find some one who would, a person or bring to a shelter.
Too much can happen to kitty outside and especially if kitty is Always outside. IMO, why have a kitty that is always out...??? or any animal for that matter.
But I am so glad that you are taking the initiative to care for kitty Now!!! That is absolutely Great!!! I just don't know if it is best for you and kitty, for you to keep her...
And if you are gettin her spayed, I would just go to the Humane Society. Sooner the better! I won't think there is a difference. And they want kitties fixed because of overpopulation and costs to their shelter too.
But, Hummm, kitty Needs to stay inside after surgery... Where would you keep her? What about a laundry room? Needs somewhere quiet, and warm.
She'll be scared, and needs peace and comfort.
I absolutely agree. We have 3 cats. We never let them outdoors though because our town has so many stray cats, and it doesn't help the next door neighbor feeds them
With all the feral cats carrying diseases, and who knows what else, and also the busy street outside our house, i would be highly upset if one of our cats was run over, i know the driver would just keep on going, and not even care more likely than not. Our oldest cat makes it out the door once in a great while, but i catch him quickly so i can get him back inside.
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I just don't know if it is best for you and kitty, for you to keep her...
