Another plea for help
Mon, 23 Jan 2012A week ago I blogged about a stray kitty that has been holed up in my bathroom while we try and find her a new home. Unfortunately we have yet to find a home for her and she's still locked up in my bathroom. Since my last post I had someone email me who sounded very interested, but I haven't heard from them since Tuesday. I guess they changed their minds. :( One other person has offered to take her in, but this person lives a 6 hour drive away and I really don't want to put the poor cat through that long of a car ride. So far, that's all I've got. The good news is she was at the vets on Friday (for a checkup and her first vaccinations) and was tested for all those nasty feline diseases that typically get passed around to strays...she is thankfully in perfect health. The vet thinks she is about 2 years old. She's in heat right now which is alot of fun (OMG the howling...hilarious because my husband says it sounds like she's yelling out "HELLO!"). She has an appointment to be spayed in a week.
Again, if anyone out there thinks they could provide this cat a forever home (and lives in or near Ottawa), please email me @ desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com.
Help. Please.
Reader Comments (26)
You should give her to the person a 6 hours away. The vet can prescribe some tranquilizers to make the drive easier. A little discomfort would be worth it for her to have a home!
PS You're awesome to take such good care of her!
Have you posted up information about her at your local veterinarian offices? One because lots of animal people pass through there and two because everyone that works there is an animal lover. I work at a veterinarian's office in California and many of our techs have adopted/rescued some hopeless cases, including a Parvo puppy. Good luck with her, she's so beautiful!
I have many friends and family who live near Ottawa, so I have posted a link to this on my Facebook page. Hopefully it helps!
I'm about 8 hours away or I would take her!
You are such a peach for taking her in and taking care of her the way you are!
Hi Kim,
my second cat was rescued by a nice vet who found him in the street, in very bad condition. I followed his story on the internet and I was sure I wanted to offer him a definitive home. I drove ca. 5 hours to bring him with us. At that time, I was also scared it would be too much stress for him after all he had been through already, but it went really well and I think he does not regret that little effort after all :-)
If the people who offered their help are ready to drive that long, it means they have a keen interest and if he is gonna find a definitive home, it might be worth the effort.
In any case, it is lovely what you do, and this cat was really lucky to have you around.
Thanks for sharing and good luck!
Best of luck finding her a home. She's precious!
I think what you're doing is great! This kitty looks soooo much better since your first post. I unfortunately live all the way down in Los Angeles, which would be a really looooong car ride! But I'd like to donate some money to help pay for all the vet expenses you're incurring on his behalf. Do you have a PayPal account I could send some money to?
PS: I love your blog. It's the only one I make a point of looking at every day.
What a cute cat... Hope someone will give her a new home. If I haven´t my 6 parrots (I became a sort of help station for lonely parrots) and wouldn´t live in Perú - I would come over to take her... I had a cat exactly like this before and she was a very charming nice companion for me over 7 years long before I went to Perú.
Greetings from the sunny, hot summer of Lima,
Divena
Kim, you have taken this cat's life in your hands and done so much for her that I know you want her to have a forever home.
I would suggest that if you know the people 6 hours away as friends or family, then I would agree to adopt her to them but 6 hours in a carrier in a car without her even knowing the people would be tough. Our 3 cats howl when we drive 30 minutes to the vet's office and they've been with us several years.
In any case, she will need recovery time after the surgery (spaying).
I really hope someone that you know or that lives close to you will adopt her.
I'm hopeful we'll find someone eventually and SOON (that lives close - otherwise a 6 hour drive is what we'll have to do. The drive to the vet wasn't bad - she didn't make a sound). I just sent my vet a flyer to put up on their wall, and put an ad up on the classifieds at my work.
Thanks so much for the offer to help with her bills Linnea but I don't want to take money from anyone for this. I can manage - since I have 4 other cats with dental work happening in the next month too I'm just going to stick it all on my credit card. :-)
On your place I would take her together with my cats (have 3 of them in my apartment) :))))
On the end of the day she passed the vet test (as I remember it was way u didn't want to have her near your cats, but now....keep her she obviously likes you and your home and will have company...will not be on the street or in the bathroom alone (which is very sad, because cats love to have a window view and to enjoy sun).
Hope u will decide to keep her
kisses
Mirka
Kim, I agree with Mirka. Please consider keeping her. She does know and trust you and Jeff and you still have the spaying coming up and the recovery.
I think Jeff's first instinct to keep her was right on. Look at that sweet face looking at you when you're taking her picture. She wants you to be her forever mom.
If this is the part where I'm supposed to feel guilty and just keep her, it ain't working. LOL
Seriously tho', this has become a matter of my sanity. 7 cats are alot of work, and may I add 7 is beyond the legal number allowed in this city in one household. Not to mention, I want to one day be able to sleep peacefully at night, and sleep beyond 5 am. If I keep adding to the cat population in this house, that day becomes more and more a fantasy.
If someone is willing to drive 6 hours each way to pick her up, it's a pretty good indication of their commitment to provide a loving and stable home for her. The trip may be a little uncomfortable for her but it shouldn't be too traumatic and it's certainly better than all the available options.
I just wrote that person - we had been talking about meeting halfway. And so far, this is the only option. And one my husband and I are willing to go with if we have no one else come forward in the next couple of days.
Too cute: kitty was howling in the bathroom (you know, the hormones raging kind of howling) so my husband grabbed his iPad and he's sitting in there with her watching tv shows. She's been quiet ever since. :)
Kim, I hear you about sleeping past 5 a.m. and peacefully at night. We have three and it's a party all night long (for them) and 4:30 a.m. feeding for my husband. Still, we imagine life without them and I seriously tear up.
Can you keep her until she gets spayed? It would be terrible if she got loose on the other end of transport. Too bad the making you feel guilty part didn't work. It was worth a try (but still all true). What a great guy, that Jeff hanging out with her.
Hi Kim -
What a cute kitty! She has such a soft, sweet face.
I recently had to find a home for a cat and had incredible luck on Craigslist. I got dozens of offers - so many it kind of freaked me out. Who are these people who live in tiny houses with 8 dogs and 12 outdoor cats??? Lot's of animal hoarders stepped up, but I took my time and was super picky and found the dream home for my awesome cat - a lovely retired couple with two other cats, an enclosed cat porch, ASPCA members, loving and responsible. It took a few weeks of weeding out the weirdo's, but in the end it was well worth it.
Just a thought. Good luck!
Anne
She is absolutely georgeous! Six hours in a car is not that bad! She'll get over it, especially if it is a good home. (And a lot of cred to you, taking such good care of her, amazing!)
Oh, my...this is killing me! So, so, SO good of you to keep her until you find a perfect forever home (and you will!). I've always been a dog person because of my terrible allergies to cats. Then I found a little kitten on a cold, rainy January night. I explained very clearly to him that he could come home for the night but would be going to the shelter in the a.m. My 15 y.o. old little guy now has kidney disease. The vet said a year ago that he hasn't seen one go beyond two years w/his level of disease, but he's doing great and I treasure every day w/him, allergies and all!
But I digress. I meant to say that when we took him on his first road trip (a two day move), we allowed him to roam the interior of the car (had a small litter box) when he made his dislike for the carrier very clear. He had a great time exploring and we would return him to the the carrier upon making stops (before opening any doors). Though we only do trips to the vet now, he does well in the car and in his carrier.
And, Jeff? I heart you!!
I just transported mine to Europe. All told they were about 12 hours in their carriers. It caused them (and me) some stress, but when I got here, I opened their carriers in a quiet room and gave them some food and water and a littler box. They hid under the sofa for the first few days but they now appear to be doing fine. Obviously a six-hour drive is inconvenient for you--I don't know that I'd want to give up a day just to transport a cat--but in terms of how the cat will fare, I don't think it will be a big deal. She'll be comfy in her new home within a few days of arrival.
When I moved from NY to Houston I carried my two cats on board the plane. They were scared and the trip was hell for me b/c I was upset about them being scared. But we made it and they were fine once we arrived. The only other option was to leave them behind and I would not, so it was worth the upset to transport them. Skip the tranquilizers, dosage is tricky and only made the matter worse b/c they felt weird. You and your husband are real gems to help this kitty...spending time watching an iPad in the bathroom to keep her company shows what a sweetheart he is. Finally, I don't blame you for not wanting to permanently add #8 to your household. I know how much work 3 cats are. Thanks for sharing your stories.
she obviously is getting used to being looked after... you can tell she's looking more relaxed since your first blog. the folk over at 'design sponge' (i think) had a kitty situation over christmas too, but they found happy adoptive parents quite quickly. soooo glad she's got a clean bill of health from the vet (design sponge kitty didn't). good luck... she's be lucky to find you both!
OMG this kitty has the cutest face I've ever seen! <3
bless you, kim. i hope you find a home for her soon.
oxxooxo-
c.
I have 7 cats myself, so I feel your pain. There comes a point when you have to say no in order to take care of the ones you already committed to.
But the reason I popped in here is probably going to have your readers thinking I'm nuts, and I can't believe I'm actually going to type this here:
About the "in heat" thing and the yowling. Umm. Ok, there's just no way to be delicate here. Let me suggest that she can be quieted with judicious application of a damp q-tip in the appropriate area. It will hush her up until her body realizes she didn't conceive, and hopefully by then you'll have gotten to your appointment. Please don't ask me how I know this. *sigh*
ANd good luck with your home finding.