Pretty calico stray my wife just caught in a havahart

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Hendrick Cuddleclaw

Hendrick Cuddleclaw

Member Since 2022
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Her name is Taco, we know this is her name because she has been coming around for over a year, and my wife found a post on Nextdoor about her being missing. So we contacted the people and when we saw her around they came over but she ran away. They eventually caught her months later and we didn't see her for a while.

Then last week, suddenly she was back around every day about 3-4am. We have motion-sensitive cameras setup that caught her sniffing around looking for any food my wife might have left out for the neighborhood cats.

So my wife resolved to trap her in a Havahart, and did. But now what??? Her "owners" are such piss-poor caregivers they have multiple posts on Nextdoor about other pets that have gotten out and are now strays as well. And Taco here, was barely back home for a couple months before she was out again. After she calmed down from the trapping my wife tried to give her pats and SHE WAS LOVING IT. She flopped down in the dog crate we put her in and was just all about the scritches. As if she hadn't had pats and pets for ages or something. So sweet.

Keeping her is not an option we have six already in this 1000 sq foot 2-bedroom ranch, with one of them diabetic and another getting older (14).

So we shall see. Not sure we where go from here....
 

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btw mods, I wasn't sure whether such a thread as this was better for the Off-Topic forum or this one so I went with this one. Please feel free to move if I picked the wrong one!



I have broken the situation down into our options, as I see it anyway:

  1. Reach out to the "owner" and return Taco to a home where she is very likely to be back out again soon, an owner that seems to be dis-interested in her cat, distant and disengaged. In one previous instance of Taco getting out, she didn't realize she was missing for days.
  2. Call animal control (not really an option, she would be euthanized most likely, or they just return her to her "owner" and fine them or something as she has no collar or tag.
  3. call a local group that re-homes and fosters strays
  4. drop her off at one of the local no-kill shelters
  5. let her go

personally I think I am leaning towards option three.

....annnnnnnd my wife has just now stated Taco is going to live in our garage for a "few days" then she'll get a hold of the owners. Taco is attached to her already, following her around the garage, all rubs and purrs. Real sweetie this cat.
 
Taco sounds like the sweetest kitty ever, what a shame the owners could give a crap about her, poor baby seems like she just wants love and attention.
I wouldn't even get in touch with the owners , I'd go with option 3 also
Breaks my heart .
 
Sounds pretty simple to me. Taco has come to you twice for help. If she ran away from her people when they came to get her, this is not a good place and she obviously does not feel safe with them. Probably for good reason.

If you decide to go with option 3, be honest with the rescue group. Otherwise someone will see the missing post and send her back. Before turning her over, feel them out about what they will do with her, hypothetically. Don't tell them that she's currently in your possession. If you're not happy with the answer don't let her go.

I worked in animal control for 15 years and there were cases when my conscience would not let me return an animal to be abused or neglected. The law wasn't necessarily going to protect the animal so they disappeared.

Taco trusts you to help her - please don't betray that.
 
It's too bad you can't keep her; she's obviously found someone she really likes! But I agree with Deborah - if she ran away when they came to get her, I would NOT return her to them. I'm not sure how well Option 3 will work...? What if they say, oh she's someone else's cat, we can't take her?? What a hard situation; I feel for you!!
 
We had the same issue with a dog in the neighborhood, it has a home. Several times a week ended up at our door. First few times we took it back (had tags), after that started taking to shelter hoping the inconvenience and fees would help motivate. Nope. I won't say what my sister ended up doing but very similar to option 3.

Also...she's definitely your new cat, not sure why you deluded yourself into there being options! :joyful:
 
FrostD said:
We had the same issue with a dog in the neighborhood, it has a home. Several times a week ended up at our door. First few times we took it back (had tags), after that started taking to shelter hoping the inconvenience and fees would help motivate. Nope. I won't say what my sister ended up doing but very similar to option 3.

Also...she's definitely your new cat, not sure why you deluded yourself into there being options! :joyful:
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ROFL!
 
ugh, she took the clothing we put in the crate and dragged it into the litter box and slept there, apparently. I dont even know if she is litter trained tbh. Does not appear to have urinated or had a BM but the crate is a mess now. Wife is sleeping in as she does on Sunday mornings.

Taco was all purrs when I checked on her

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We believe she is 2-3 years old. Probably weighs about 5 pounds, she's pretty small. Definitely was never supposed to be an outdoor kitty, not this one, she is a indoor princess for sure
 
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They like to sleep in things with walls or semi-enclosed things, so you might want to put a box in the crate for her and then put the clothes/bedding in the box. You can also create a “wall” out of cardboard between the box and the litter box. Most cats will instinctively use a litter box so that’s not usually a big worry.

Sorry about the mess. You’re doing a good thing helping her.
 
Another piss-poor caregiver who never gets it and never will. We're the last house on the block before what I call Big Cement Land and the number of cats, dogs, raccoons and even opossums that show up here is shocking. Neither Daniel or Sam are my type of cat but the neighbors clearly didn't care much. No Posters, un-neutered, left out in the rain and the snow.
It's a huge commitment and there's no shame in option 3, hoping she's not chipped and being honest about your current situation.
If I get another cat now and get as lucky as I did with Leroy I'll be 88 making my last trip to some robotic vet in my flying pod. It's something to think about. We also got "lucky" that all our cats and dogs more severe conditions were untreatable. "I'll do anything for this cat" means something else when you have to refinance your mortgage.
Maybe someone near you (not us) would like another cat. o_O
 
Aside from being overly affectionate, what makes you think she's not spayed? Don't want to alarm you because it probably means nothing, but dragging soft material into a box is also a sign of nesting behavior. Any chance you can get her to the vet this week for a quick exam?
 
Deborah & Muffy(GA) & Wendall said:
Aside from being overly affectionate, what makes you think she's not spayed? Don't want to alarm you because it probably means nothing, but dragging soft material into a box is also a sign of nesting behavior. Any chance you can get her to the vet this week for a quick exam?
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my wife said that one of the comments made by her "owner" when she was previously out running around the neighborhood, gave her the impression she is not spayed. So really we don't know. She's not presenting or anything, or howling like a cat in heat. I only have experience with my mom's siamese cats and how they behaved in heat when I was a kid
 
well her owner is getting another chance. My wife posted on Nextdoor yesterday when she trapped her and she is going to come pick her up. But if this cat winds up on our doorstep at 3am again looking for scraps, thats it shes not going back
 
.........and she's off.

We now know exactly where she lives and a lot more. Owners are in their late 20s or early 30s, lots of tatoos and piercings, ripped clothing, counter-culture types. But I am not one to judge -- they seem like good people to me. A young woman and her boyfriend. They got a carrier and took her home, thanking us profusely and promising to get her spayed, chipped, and back into a collar. We knew they were nearby, didn't realize how close -- just a couple houses down.
They said they are not sure exactly how she is getting out. But they have an idea, the boyfriend admitted to leaving a window open sometimes.

....I nearly offered to help cover the cost of spaying/vet check-up but ultimately did not. Didn't feel like they would have accepted offer anyway. I'm not entirely sure they can afford it though based on their demeanor when talking about getting her spayed 'right away'

fairly sure we'll see her around my house again and my wife will at that point say well enough's enough, she stays. I'll let you all know! Thanks for the comments and those that sent me PMs.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
ugh, she took the clothing we put in the crate and dragged it into the litter box and slept there, apparently. I dont even know if she is litter trained tbh. Does not appear to have urinated or had a BM but the crate is a mess now. Wife is sleeping in as she does on Sunday mornings.

Taco was all purrs when I checked on her

XQRkOV.gif


We believe she is 2-3 years old. Probably weighs about 5 pounds, she's pretty small. Definitely was never supposed to be an outdoor kitty, not this one, she is a indoor princess for sure
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Oh my god what a sweetheart ♥
 
One thing that bothers us a little....well ok lots of things do but this kinda stood out:

When they came to claim their kitty, the young lady got out of her car and just stood there. My wife was about 20 feet away on the other side of a screen door holding the cat. One would expect a distraught pet owner to jump out of the car and run to the door, maybe pull on it, let me in let me in, reaching for their precious baby that for all they knew was gone forever!

but no.....

none of that. She just stood. The boyfriend hesitated, looked at her just standing there, and then walked up to the door himself and stepped into the porch with my wife, gave Taco some pats. Tried to see if my wife would just hand her over which she would not, not without a cat carrier. They went and got one, then we turned her over.

Sigh.

To quote Tony Soprano: Whatcha 'gon do, eh.
 
They seen like real weirdos. Love the Tony Soprano quote! Big fan of the show
You would think they would be so happy to see her ,give her kisses all over.
 
yeah I am trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe she is just socially awkward and wasn't sure if it would be ok to approach the house, as I met them in the yard and she only walked up to where I was no further. I like to picture in my head, that once Taco was back home inside the house with them, she got lots of cuddles, purrs and pats with her mom. I wish I knew their social media handles I'd stalk them for any posts like "OMG, Taco is home!! yay!!"
 
Hi everyone. Well Taco is back. She lives in our garage now. When she started coming back around again my wife scooped her up and plopped her in a crate, called the owner up and said

"Hey, I guess Taco got out again, I've got her here do you want to come get her?" And the woman said "uhh....well...see she is like, an outside kitty now....she just comes and goes as she pleases please let her go"

And my wife noticed that on this woman's FB profile, where she used to have pictures of her and Taco, those pictures have been removed. So it seems she has essentially washed her hands of this beautiful kitty.

She is super happy to be around our house and in our garage. Very friendly, a true people-kitty. Follows my wife everywhere around the yard.

So we put her in the garage at night and let her out during the day but she comes back every night now, for about a week or so. My wife set her up in there with a litter box, crate and a sleeping spot way up on top of a shelving unit with a little warm cat house and she loves it up there.

Picture of cat house (its supposed to be a pufferfish...wtf)
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She stays up there curled in a warm happy ball all night. (I set up a couple Wyze cams to keep an eye on her)

Long term, wife wants to get her to a vet, see if she is in fact in need of spaying, wellness check etc.

As far as her staying in the garage all winter --- well it can get very, very cold here in the winter. Like sub-zero sometimes. Our garage is not insulated, it is typically only a few degrees warmer in there than it is outside so not sure how that's going to work out.

And to top it off, I think having her around has caused an outbreak of "kitty flu" as every one of our indoor cats has suddenly had loose stool/diarrhea, and one of them some vomiting and inappetence. Thankfully Hendrick seems so far mostly unaffected, just a little loose stool.
 

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Hi Kyle Man I'd like to get my hands around that woman's neck! For her to say

uhh....well...see she is like, an outside kitty now....she just comes and goes as she pleases please let her go"

WTF is wrong with her. Obviously she could care less what happens to Taco
I am so happy that you and wife have her set up in the garage.

Like you said don't know how her being in the garage all winter is going to work out.
I feel so awful that your kitties are not feeling well , you must really have your hands full with them have diarrhea ,some of them vomiting and their lack of appetite. Poor babies. I'm glad Hendrick isn't that bad.

I wish I had a suggestion for you about what to do with this sweet baby.
I really feel for you and your wife ♥
Please keep us updated Kyle :bighug::bighug:
 
thanks Diane! We did give her a dose of Revolution and put a collar on her but she still disappears for much of the day, no idea where she goes.

when she is in the yard with my wife it is adorable, she runs and jumps and pounces on leaves, flops down at my wife's feet for rubs, then back to chasing leaves, always staying fairly close to my wife though. But I am not sure about having an outdoor kitty I have never done that. I would prefer she stay indoors but atm that is not an option.
 
She sure is attached to your wife for sure. What she does sounds so adorable!
Definitely not an option to keep her indoors , I wish you knew someone that would take her ,I'm sure you wish that too.
Just breaks my heart.
If you have a good relationship with your vet you can tell him or her the situation, maybe they can find someone to adopt her, put up a pic of her in the office saying Looking for a forever home
@Hendrick Cuddleclaw
 
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Is there anyone nearby that rescues cats? We have a lady who runs an animal rescue. I had called everyone about the abandonned cats and tiny kittens on our street. This lady took them all. They are all up for adoption. There's one left. I'm trying to get her to find him a home. He's a feral, but now comes for loves and rolls on the ground when we feed him. These babies deserve warm beds and sunny spots!
 
Kahluasmom said:
Is there anyone nearby that rescues cats? We have a lady who runs an animal rescue. I had called everyone about the abandonned cats and tiny kittens on our street. This lady took them all. They are all up for adoption. There's one left. I'm trying to get her to find him a home. He's a feral, but now comes for loves and rolls on the ground when we feed him. These babies deserve warm beds and sunny spots!
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yeah we may reach out to a local group that helps rescue strays
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
thanks Diane! We did give her a dose of Revolution and put a collar on her but she still disappears for much of the day, no idea where she goes.

when she is in the yard with my wife it is adorable, she runs and jumps and pounces on leaves, flops down at my wife's feet for rubs, then back to chasing leaves, always staying fairly close to my wife though. But I am not sure about having an outdoor kitty I have never done that. I would prefer she stay indoors but atm that is not an option.
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I have successfully transitioned outdoor cats to being indoor cats. It just takes time.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
thanks Diane! We did give her a dose of Revolution and put a collar on her but she still disappears for much of the day, no idea where she goes.

when she is in the yard with my wife it is adorable, she runs and jumps and pounces on leaves, flops down at my wife's feet for rubs, then back to chasing leaves, always staying fairly close to my wife though. But I am not sure about having an outdoor kitty I have never done that. I would prefer she stay indoors but atm that is not an option.
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Can you heat your garage?
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Hi everyone. Well Taco is back. She lives in our garage now. When she started coming back around again my wife scooped her up and plopped her in a crate, called the owner up and said

"Hey, I guess Taco got out again, I've got her here do you want to come get her?" And the woman said "uhh....well...see she is like, an outside kitty now....she just comes and goes as she pleases please let her go"

And my wife noticed that on this woman's FB profile, where she used to have pictures of her and Taco, those pictures have been removed. So it seems she has essentially washed her hands of this beautiful kitty.

She is super happy to be around our house and in our garage. Very friendly, a true people-kitty. Follows my wife everywhere around the yard.

So we put her in the garage at night and let her out during the day but she comes back every night now, for about a week or so. My wife set her up in there with a litter box, crate and a sleeping spot way up on top of a shelving unit with a little warm cat house and she loves it up there.

Picture of cat house (its supposed to be a pufferfish...wtf)
View attachment 65793

She stays up there curled in a warm happy ball all night. (I set up a couple Wyze cams to keep an eye on her)

Long term, wife wants to get her to a vet, see if she is in fact in need of spaying, wellness check etc.

As far as her staying in the garage all winter --- well it can get very, very cold here in the winter. Like sub-zero sometimes. Our garage is not insulated, it is typically only a few degrees warmer in there than it is outside so not sure how that's going to work out.

And to top it off, I think having her around has caused an outbreak of "kitty flu" as every one of our indoor cats has suddenly had loose stool/diarrhea, and one of them some vomiting and inappetence. Thankfully Hendrick seems so far mostly unaffected, just a little loose stool.
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This sounds like the exact same virus that ran through our house recently! Same exact symptoms and some cats were affected more than others. It was not respiratory at all. It was diarrhea and for some of the cats there was vomiting and some refused to eat for a few days. In our case, I assumed that someone caught it from the vet and brought it home to the other cats - since two of my cats had vet visits before this all started. It could be that Roxy brought it home after her vet visit? Or could have been Taco.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
This sounds like the exact same virus that ran through our house recently! Same exact symptoms and some cats were affected more than others. It was not respiratory at all. It was diarrhea and for some of the cats there was vomiting and some refused to eat for a few days. In our case, I assumed that someone caught it from the vet and brought it home to the other cats - since two of my cats had vet visits before this all started. It could be that Roxy brought it home after her vet visit? Or could have been Taco.
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ohhhh the vet visit. Good call Suzanne that was on Saturday 11/19 and symptoms began about a week later. Could definitely be the case.

Everyone's appetite is back, thankfully, but still some with loose stool. I'm going to be so happy to see normal poop again! OMG the smell of those "sick poops" is un-freaking-real. I knew immediately that our rescue, Kayla, was also having it from down the hall when the smell hit me. :stop: :blackeye:

heating the garage is tricky, even if we ran a space heater without insulation it wouldnt help much. And there's the fire risk as well. There's no connection to the house heat.

In Taco's case, she was apparently an indoor kitty at one time so it's not out of the question to make her an indoor kitty. In fact I think integrating her with the current population would be the bigger challenge, and then there is the competition factor. She sticks to my wife like glue and so does Roxy, and Shylo to a degree. They already compete for her attention and pats.

thanks for your input :bighug:
 
Ah, Kyle, my heart goes out to you and your wife... it's such a tough situation to be in. I have also heard the "what's one more" argument so many times but it's easier said than done with needy kitties already fighting for attention and affection :oops:
I have seen a lot of rescuers who feed outdoor colonies use little outdoor "houses" (sometimes homemade with large plastic tubs, foam insulation and hay, sometimes built out of wood with an electric heating pad inside, sometimes store-bought), but it seems like the extreme temperatures would be difficult to handle in the winters even just for her to roam outside like she likes to do... You'd think she would try to hang out in her little heated house if you provided one, but cats are notoriously unreasonable, so it would worry me as well. Since she is young and friendly, I hope you will be able to find her a new home or a rescue will agree to help.

Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
OMG the smell of those "sick poops" is un-freaking-real. I knew immediately that our rescue, Kayla, was also having it from down the hall when the smell hit me. :stop: :blackeye:
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Bahahaha I can smell this post... when Chewie and Isis had diarrhea just after we moved in, it woke me up several times out of a deep sleep in the middle of the night, it was that brutal... we joked that it would grow some hair on our chests (and burn the hairs inside our noses) :p
 
They do make those heated kitty condo sort of things. If she had been an outdoor cat all along I wouldn't think much of it, but a "newly outdoor" cat coming up on winter. ..eek.

My sister's cats always preferred to be outdoors, even in winter. She had a little heated dog house sort of thing on the deck that was blocked from wind/most of the snow
 
Hi Diane!

She has a pretty steady routine now of spending her nights curled up in her little warm spot in the garage and being out and about during the day. Sometimes she is gone all day until my wife gets home from work, other times she comes back after just a few hours. The garage is attached to the house by a small porch/breezeway area and my wife is working to try and insulate that area more so it stays warmer as well, and my wife also has an appointment for her at one of our local vets to get her checked out.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Hi Diane!

She has a pretty steady routine now of spending her nights curled up in her little warm spot in the garage and being out and about during the day. Sometimes she is gone all day until my wife gets home from work, other times she comes back after just a few hours. The garage is attached to the house by a small porch/breezeway area and my wife is working to try and insulate that area more so it stays warmer as well, and my wife also has an appointment for her at one of our local vets to get her checked out.
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Hi Kyle I'm glad Taco doing good, boy she is really attached to your wife. I hope the vet visit goes well. Bless you and your wife for taking care of her and your wife working on trying to insulate that area for Taco.
Have a good day Kyle and I hope all your kitties are feeling better :bighug::bighug::bighug::cat:
 
my two biggest attributes :rolleyes:
stating the obvious and repeating stories ad nauseam :blackeye:
- some cats will never be happy indoors but being outdoors may break your heart that much sooner.
- Daniel and Sam either followed us home or repeatedly showed up at our door. Our neighbors were not "counter-culture types", they were lacking of any knowledge or decency types and we've never regretted absconding with their cats. If I'd used the word "absconded" with them they may have thought it meant "I'm kind of sorry I drove over your cat" at which point they would have shrugged and walked away. It was easy for us but we're not you. The border is less than an hour from here but we're in no position right now for another cat. Wishing you sincere good luck.
 
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