kitty update, and a bit of a rant

[rivendellrose]

The kitty previously known around our house as "Little Dude," turned out, in the course of a visit to the vet today... to be Little Dudette. Yes, after 25 years of cat ownership, I am apparently still not reliably capable of sexing young cats. My one mitigating plea is that she was not cooperative about my attempt to check under her tail, and that she wiggles a lot whenever I tried. Ahem. Anyway. The really great news is, she's healthy, and she was apparently spayed at some point (which is good, because although the vet gave us a really wonderful steep discount for having rescued her, as soon as ninjascript told me "she's a girl," I thought "oh, crap, that's going to make getting her fixed a lot more expensive and please tell me she isn't pregnant, she's way too skinny and malnourished to be pregnant..." She's not. Everything's fine.

She did break her leg at some point, and it healed weird. I'd thought there was something funny about the way she stuck out one leg while she slept, but I've seen perfectly healthy cats with weirder sleeping habits, so I hadn't paid much attention. No harm done, she'll just a bit walk funny all her life.

The Boy also spoke with one of our neighbors while he was taking her out to the zip-car, and they recognized her and said they'd seen her around for a few weeks. A few weeks. In the parking lot of an apartment building right next to one of the busiest streets in Seattle. This poor cat has been starving and living in a dangerous area, and has been ignored for weeks by people who saw her, but apparently couldn't be assed to do a thing about it. Seriously? If you're afraid to deal with it on your own, call the Humane Society. They will send people out with humane traps to catch her, and they'll do their best to take care of her. I can't help thinking it's better than leaving her alone, hungry, and cold on a city street. I did not have a hard time catching this cat, all things considered. It took me maybe 15 minutes of quiet determination and patience. On some level, she wanted to be caught - she was desperate to be touched and petted. I can't believe people saw her and didn't do anything.

Comments

In mild defense of the neighbours...

[kusanivy.livejournal.com]

If a cat suddenly showed up in the neighbourhood, unless it was very clearly limping/hurt/bedraggled I would assume it belonged to someone who just moved in nearby and they happen to be the type of people who let their cat roam, because I know quite a few of those (yes, even without a collar).

It's true you said he - err she - looked like she was starving but as someone who's never been around cats a lot (I'm totally far more a dog person) I'd have a really hard time judging that - at least based on the pics you posted. I'm sure it's more obvious when the cat is standing up, but when it's lying down like in your pictures it just looks to me like, well, a fairly normal, if small, cat.

And having a) had a friend attacked quite viciously once by a stray cat she tried to help and b) knowing the overwhelming work load/seeming indifference of at least our local Humane Society/animal control I probably would have just left it be too - again unless it was very clearly in distress.

As I said, mild defense only since I don't know your area, what the cat was acting like, your neighbours, etc. So they might have indeed all been asses but I just thought I'd play devil's advocate.

Re: In mild defense of the neighbours...

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeeeeeeeeeah, so would I if I didn't live right in the middle of the city. In the middle of the city (and I mean really middle) you don't see cats that aren't strays. It just doesn't happen. And strays are pretty uncommon in downtown Seattle (I can't think of even seeing one, before this). In my old neighborhood outside the city, heck yes, we had people who let their cats out all the time, and nobody, including me, thought much of it, except to worry a little vaguely about one particular cat who had a tendency to dart into the street while she was playing. Fortunately, that was a pretty quiet neighborhood.

Your point about attacks and the Humane Society is well-taken - particularly the latter, as our local Humane Society really is overworked and underfunded. And, to be clear, I'm not advocating grabbing a cat that doesn't seem friendly, particularly if you're not really used to cats and reading their body language. I've lived with cats all my life, frequently including lots of cats (my aunt and uncle had 9 at one point while I was living with them), and I made a point of making sure the cat approached me first, determining that she didn't mind if I touched her lightly, coaxing her close, and then grabbing her in such a way that she would have a really hard time biting me even if she'd wanted to. I'm a long way from trained, but I'm definitely experienced. ;)

Edit to add: Sorry for the tl;dr, but I realized I hadn't made clear something that I think makes a difference in the whole grabbing scenario. I didn't pick her up until The Boy got back with the carrier, and only then once he had it open and ready to take her. I won't even pick up my boyfriend's cat, because he gets angry and scratches, and he's damned heavy. :P I held her facing away from me, her feet on the ground, with my hands around her ribcage just behind her front legs, thumbs on her shoulders. It sounds weird, but it's really hard for a cat to bite you in that position unless they're big and strong enough to break your hold. Probably not a technique that would have occurred to anybody who isn't used to cats and how to hold them, though.

Still. A lot of people live in our building, and it pains me to think nobody cared enough to even call the shelter.

(Oh, and re: the weight thing: part of why I immediately thought she was skinny was that my first glimpse of her was standing and running. Her belly is a bit concave, and while that's normal for some breeds of dog, it's not at all for a normal tabby/'mutt.' You're right that I wasn't completely sure about how thin she was until I touched her, though. Until then, she could have just been a slim tabby-cat with some Siamese or Abyssinian in her genetic background. Once I touched her... I can count every rib and vertebrae, and I'd be worried about that in even a purebred Siamese.)

Re: In mild defense of the neighbours...

[kusanivy.livejournal.com]

Yes, see didn't know about the super-urban no-cat-in-their-right-mind would be here thing ;)
Was thinking of suburbia.

Re: Human Society - one of my co-workers called them a few months back because, while out on a walk they came across a ground hog/raccoon/some wild animal (can't remember exactly what) that had gotten itself stuck/partially impaled while trying to squirm under a chain link fence. So they went home and called the HS to say "this animal is stuck and in distress, please come help it". And was told "oh yes,yes, we'll look into it"

The next day? It was still there, so my co-worker brought a tray of water and some food and pushed it near to the animal with a stick. The next day? STILL there and the HS clearly had not come so she finally went to the person who owned the house and they got some wire cutters and cautiously cut it loose, where it ran like hell for the bushes.

So if they won't come out for a wild animal very clearly in distress I would not trust the HS to come out for an animal that may/may not be someone's pet and may/may not be in distress.

Re: In mild defense of the neighbours...

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, totally. Entirely understandable.

That's just awful about the raccoon or whatever it was. Poor thing! I know all the agencies are having trouble right now, but it's just appalling that they couldn't get someone out there to deal with that. :( Good on your co-worker for dealing with the situation!

[parhelion-spark.livejournal.com]

Yes, after 25 years of cat ownership, I am apparently still not reliably capable of sexing young cats.
....BAHAHA. Nicely put? XD

Re: that last bit? GOD DAMN IT, PEOPLE SUCK. I can understand trying and failing, or not wanting to disrupt a dynamic and just leaving food (I often do this for ferals when I meet them, in case they have kittens particularly) ..but just IGNORING a starving kitty, especially a clan-less one? I can see it for a few days, in case of it just wandering, y'know? BUT WEEKS? Fuck off, world. Fuck off so hard. I sincerely hope your neighbor gets punched by a mysterious stranger, and witnesses ignore the shit out of it. Karma and whatnot, of course.
I'm not -just- malicious. I'm malicious with a purpose! :D

Any leads in finding wee Dudette a home?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It's kind of embarrassing, but... hey, it's hard to tell sometimes, when they're little and wiggly!

Thing is, I figured nobody had seen her. Cats hide when they're scared, she's small and grey, I could see how she wouldn't be noticed. But seeing a kitten out alone? In a neighborhood that is definitely way too urban and high-traffic for a cat to be outside? I mean, seriously - I've had indoor/outdoor cats in the suburbs, and while my current cat is indoor-only, I respect that some cats don't do well with that lifestyle. But in the middle of a big city? On a street that has massive traffic and is between several very busy hospitals and a major downtown freeway entrance?

Not yet! Now that she's had her vet visit and been deemed safe we're going to make a flyer-type-thing and make more public noise about it at our company and so on - until now I'd been leery of not having her exact details. Unfortunately, most of my direct friends either already have their personal or apartment limit of cats or can't have cats in their apartments.

[parhelion-spark.livejournal.com]

Lol.. that's so not the bit I was snickering at. XD

I can understand that, and yeah.. while a kitty may do ok in a highly urban environment in some circumstances.. IF IT'S TINY AND ALONE and you've never seen it anywhere else? IT LIVES IN THAT PARKING LOT. And that is damn sad. Poor kitty. So glad that some at least care more about other living creatures than their own convenience.
A+ at life, you.

Hrm. If you'd like, I could put a sort of shout out to some of my friends? I don't know anyone in Seattle, but my boys ex has a fairly large flist (and she loves cats, too) so.. maybe she knows someone? Totally understand if not, though, and no offense would be taken!
Just trying to help. :)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

:P

A+ at life, you. Yay! I win! ♥

But yeah - at my university there were some ferals, and while I felt badly for them I certainly wasn't about to try to take one in - for one thing, they were pretty clear about being very "BACK OFF, HUMAN" if you tried to go anywhere near them. I fed a few of them occasionally, by setting down food in a spot I knew they frequented, but otherwise, no. Bad situation for them, and some campus groups tried to catch-spay-and-release and feed them and all, and rehabilitate the kittens, but they did pretty well on the whole. A lonely kitten who begs for petting, though? Different situation entirely.

Please feel free to pass on, yes! Just send people to my LJ if they're interested, and we can go from there.