I successfully avoided getting a new kitten

It's almost 10pm, I'm swiching between the Presidential debate and the
loosing Yankee game when the doorbell rings. It's my neighbor Serene,
a bit bloody and holding a kitten tightly to her chest. I have a bad
feeling about this. As I offer some alcohol (the rubbing kind) and a
bandaid, she tells me that the kitten just came running up the block
with the rest of the cats when Serene put out some food, so she picked
it up and got bitten for her trouble.

But the kitten is very friendly and must just have been scared.
Surpisingly friendly and not at all feral. The troubling thing is that
we don't know about any kittens and we're known as the cat folks on
the block so most sightings of new cats are reported to us. Only two
new arrivals, Buddy and TUK (the unknown kitty) are not known to be
fixed, so TUK is the likely culprit with Buddy being the daddy. We
need to TNR them soon.

It's possible that it was a small litter and only the one survived but
we may see another soon, or maybe someone just dumped it. Maybe the
latter since the cat is not scared at all and if not socialized that
is unusual but not unheard of. Some cats are just friendly.

Serene tells me that since Espy died recently I must need a new one.
Ah yes, that is likely so, but I promised Baby that I would take her
in, or maybe I would get an adult off death row at a local shelter. An
adorably kitten like this will get adopted quickly so I'll take
him/her to North Shore Animal Hospital the next day. Or, wait a minute
Serene, you just lost Shave a few months back, and he was black like
the kitten. Surely you need to keep the Kitty?

She of course did want it but was concerned that her husband Jim
wouldn't want another (they have five) and they had just had a fight
so she brought the kitty to me. Ok, I'm putting it in the carrier
(after removing several matts from its fur) and Serene is to take it
home, show it to Jim, and report back to me.

Ten minutes later their son calls and tells me to come over. The
kitten is on Jim's stomach wrapped in a blanket purring away. So, Lucy
(pending sex confirmation) is going to North Shore today, but to be
tested and checked out, not for adoption.

And I still am trying to decide whether to stay with three cats, take
in Baby, or adopt one from Death Row.

dgk wrote:

It's almost 10pm, I'm swiching between the Presidential debate and the
loosing Yankee game when the doorbell rings. It's my neighbor Serene,
a bit bloody and holding a kitten tightly to her chest. I have a bad
feeling about this. As I offer some alcohol (the rubbing kind) and a
bandaid, she tells me that the kitten just came running up the block
with the rest of the cats when Serene put out some food, so she picked
it up and got bitten for her trouble.

But the kitten is very friendly and must just have been scared.
Surpisingly friendly and not at all feral. The troubling thing is that
we don't know about any kittens and we're known as the cat folks on
the block so most sightings of new cats are reported to us. Only two
new arrivals, Buddy and TUK (the unknown kitty) are not known to be
fixed, so TUK is the likely culprit with Buddy being the daddy. We
need to TNR them soon.

It's possible that it was a small litter and only the one survived but
we may see another soon, or maybe someone just dumped it. Maybe the
latter since the cat is not scared at all and if not socialized that
is unusual but not unheard of. Some cats are just friendly.

Serene tells me that since Espy died recently I must need a new one.
Ah yes, that is likely so, but I promised Baby that I would take her
in, or maybe I would get an adult off death row at a local shelter. An
adorably kitten like this will get adopted quickly so I'll take
him/her to North Shore Animal Hospital the next day. Or, wait a minute
Serene, you just lost Shave a few months back, and he was black like
the kitten. Surely you need to keep the Kitty?

She of course did want it but was concerned that her husband Jim
wouldn't want another (they have five) and they had just had a fight
so she brought the kitty to me. Ok, I'm putting it in the carrier
(after removing several matts from its fur) and Serene is to take it
home, show it to Jim, and report back to me.

Ten minutes later their son calls and tells me to come over. The
kitten is on Jim's stomach wrapped in a blanket purring away. So, Lucy
(pending sex confirmation) is going to North Shore today, but to be
tested and checked out, not for adoption.

And I still am trying to decide whether to stay with three cats, take
in Baby, or adopt one from Death Row.

She should tell them that the kitten bit her, though. They will want to
quarantine the kitten for 10 days to make sure it doesn't have rabies.
That's not a disease Serene wants to fool around with. It's rare, but it
does happen, and if she's been exposed, she needs treatment ASAP.

I once didn't report a cat who bit me at the animal shelter where I was
volunteering, because I was afraid that would get the cat euthanized. Turned
out that the shelter wouldn't euthanize a cat just for that, but he did
need to be quarantined. I got quite a lecture from their animal control
officer for not reporting it - not specifically for the cat's sake, but
for my own sake, as well as for the sake of any other person who handled
the cat.

Since Serene doesn't know this kitty, she can't account for where he/she
has been, or been exposed to.

--
Joyce

Who ever thought up the word "Mammogram"? Every time I hear it, I think
I'm supposed to put my breast in an envelope and send it to someone.
-- Jan King

Bastette wrote:

She should tell them that the kitten bit her, though. They will want to
quarantine the kitten for 10 days to make sure it doesn't have rabies.
That's not a disease Serene wants to fool around with. It's rare, but it
does happen, and if she's been exposed, she needs treatment ASAP.

BTW, I meant to say that the quarantine can be done in a person's home,
if the right conditions are met. As long as the animal can be isolated for
10 days, they don't have to spend it in a cage at the shelter.

--
Joyce

"Sentimentality" -- that's what we call the sentiment we don't share.
-- Graham Greene

On Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:43:17 +0000 (UTC), Bastette
wrote:

Bastette wrote:

She should tell them that the kitten bit her, though. They will want to
quarantine the kitten for 10 days to make sure it doesn't have rabies.
That's not a disease Serene wants to fool around with. It's rare, but it
does happen, and if she's been exposed, she needs treatment ASAP.

BTW, I meant to say that the quarantine can be done in a person's home,
if the right conditions are met. As long as the animal can be isolated for
10 days, they don't have to spend it in a cage at the shelter.

I did speak to her about potential rabies before I even started
cutting the mats off of the kitten. The cat got a clean bill of health
from North Shore and did mention gettng bitten to them and then didn't
seem concerned. Of course, they don't test the cat for rabies since
the only way to do that is from a dead animal's brain.

So while there is no official; quarantine underway, Lucy is being
watched for any sign of anything being wrong. I went over last night
to see how she is doing and she was playful and pretty much fearless.
Lucy will not be her name though; they're entertaining suggestions
while rejecting every possible name. And she is a girl.

The vet did say that the kitty was likely dumped. She is a least two
months old and far too friendly to have been raised without humans. In
fact, he could hardly get her to stop purring long enough to listen to
her heart.

She is very tiny, under two lbs. And of course, full of worms. But she
is being dewormed and is learning to use her little litterbox. We may
learn more about her origins as we quiz the neighbors but, as with
most of our charges, probably not.

dgk wrote:

Bastette wrote:

She should tell them that the kitten bit her, though. They will want to
quarantine the kitten for 10 days to make sure it doesn't have rabies.

I did speak to her about potential rabies before I even started
cutting the mats off of the kitten. The cat got a clean bill of health
from North Shore and did mention gettng bitten to them and then didn't
seem concerned. Of course, they don't test the cat for rabies since
the only way to do that is from a dead animal's brain.

So while there is no official; quarantine underway, Lucy is being
watched for any sign of anything being wrong. I went over last night
to see how she is doing and she was playful and pretty much fearless.
Lucy will not be her name though; they're entertaining suggestions
while rejecting every possible name. And she is a girl.

The vet did say that the kitty was likely dumped. She is a least two
months old and far too friendly to have been raised without humans. In
fact, he could hardly get her to stop purring long enough to listen to
her heart.

She really doesn't sound rabid. She sounds like a wonderful kitten!
I'm really glad she has a good home.

--
Joyce

And for those who are constitutional originalists and worry about
mustering a militia, let's go with what the founding fathers had -
allow them muskets! -- NancyE

On Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:56:30 +0000 (UTC), Bastette
wrote:

dgk wrote:

Bastette wrote:

She should tell them that the kitten bit her, though. They will want to
quarantine the kitten for 10 days to make sure it doesn't have rabies.

I did speak to her about potential rabies before I even started
cutting the mats off of the kitten. The cat got a clean bill of health
from North Shore and did mention gettng bitten to them and then didn't
seem concerned. Of course, they don't test the cat for rabies since
the only way to do that is from a dead animal's brain.

So while there is no official; quarantine underway, Lucy is being
watched for any sign of anything being wrong. I went over last night
to see how she is doing and she was playful and pretty much fearless.
Lucy will not be her name though; they're entertaining suggestions
while rejecting every possible name. And she is a girl.

The vet did say that the kitty was likely dumped. She is a least two
months old and far too friendly to have been raised without humans. In
fact, he could hardly get her to stop purring long enough to listen to
her heart.

She really doesn't sound rabid. She sounds like a wonderful kitten!
I'm really glad she has a good home.

A bigTNR is going on a few blocks from me, and I wsa checking out the
progress. At least 10 cats have been neutered already and a few more
are going in today. But extra good news, five kittens have been taken
to the ASPCA for permanent homes. I was wondering what was going to
happen to them. But Lucy whould have had no problem getting adopted if
Serene didn't take her in.

On Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:19:20 +0100, Judith Latham
wrote:

In article , dgk
wrote:
On Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:43:17 +0000 (UTC), Bastette
wrote:

Bastette wrote:

She should tell them that the kitten bit her, though. They will want
to quarantine the kitten for 10 days to make sure it doesn't have
rabies. That's not a disease Serene wants to fool around with. It's
rare, but it does happen, and if she's been exposed, she needs
treatment ASAP.

BTW, I meant to say that the quarantine can be done in a person's home,
if the right conditions are met. As long as the animal can be isolated
for 10 days, they don't have to spend it in a cage at the shelter.

I did speak to her about potential rabies before I even started cutting
the mats off of the kitten. The cat got a clean bill of health from
North Shore and did mention gettng bitten to them and then didn't seem
concerned. Of course, they don't test the cat for rabies since the only
way to do that is from a dead animal's brain.

So while there is no official; quarantine underway, Lucy is being
watched for any sign of anything being wrong. I went over last night to
see how she is doing and she was playful and pretty much fearless. Lucy
will not be her name though; they're entertaining suggestions while
rejecting every possible name. And she is a girl.

The vet did say that the kitty was likely dumped. She is a least two
months old and far too friendly to have been raised without humans. In
fact, he could hardly get her to stop purring long enough to listen to
her heart.

She is very tiny, under two lbs. And of course, full of worms. But she
is being dewormed and is learning to use her little litterbox. We may
learn more about her origins as we quiz the neighbors but, as with
most of our charges, probably not.

This is such a lovely post. That Kitty must have had a message from the
mothership to tell her to go to Serene.

Judith


I think the fact that quite a few cats head over there might have been
a clue. And she now has a name, Lacey. Apparently she really likes
playing with ribbons and lace, so Lacey it is.