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Old July 8th, 2009, 08:17 AM
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Why all the meowing?

I hope this post won't be too long but I have to give as much back story as I can for accuracy's sake.

About three weeks ago a little cat ran up and touched noses with my 60 lb lab/shep/husky while we were out for a walk. We were just 2 blocks from home. My neighbourhood has a large stray population. Once Susie got playful with her though the cat backed off and then proceeded to follow us home, crossing two streets to keep us in sight. I was walking with a friend of mine and went ahead with Susie while she watched the cat. I told her to pick up the cat and bring it into the house if it followed us all the way home.

Once she was in my house she was mine(of course). Pathetically thin and weighing only about 3 lbs she was thrilled to be inside and spent the first 2 or 3 days here sleeping. At first we were afraid she was pregnant but the swelling in her teats went down so we changed our theory to that she had either just weaned or just lost a litter of kittens. Then she went into heat! I have never dealt with a female cat in heat - the all night meowing drove me nuts.

Chloe(that's what we've named her) has now settled in well and has been to the vet. She now weighs 5 lbs and has an appointment to get spayed on Jul 10th. The last two nights she's been meowing at night again(and a fair amount during the day too) is she in heat again?? If she is I'll have to re-make her appointment with the vet She doesn't seem to be acting the same way this time though.

She's eating and is playful and will purr and act happy when you pet her but then she wonders off and meows her head off. She doesn't appear to be in any pain and takes handling well but this seems more like "I want out!" meowing than "I'm in heat!" meowing. I've considered putting a small harness on her and taking her for a 'walk' but I'm not sure if that will help or hurt.

Any suggestions?
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Old July 8th, 2009, 08:40 AM
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A lot of free range kits will meow when they become house cats. Distraction is usually the best thing cuz most times she is bored...maybe a friend to keep her busy?
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Old July 8th, 2009, 09:26 AM
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Ummm...have you contacted your local shelter and fill out a found stray cat report? Someone may be missing their cat.

Also, I would put a harness on her and take her outside....if she has had kittens, she might be able meowing to get back at them. She might lead you too her kittens. These kittens will starve to death.

Please just don't think that this cat is a stray and has no one missing her.

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Old July 8th, 2009, 09:26 AM
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When Teiya went in to heat it was like that. I believe when cats go in to heat it is for something like 3 - 5 days for the most part and then can go back in to it shortly. Don't quote me on that but I remember that is what the vet told me when Teiya was in heat.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 09:47 AM
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Why would you have to cancel your appt for spay if she is in heat? That usually does not stop vets from operating. It does add a small degree of risk. They will usually charge you more for that. Phone and ask your vet what s/he suggests.
As ACO22 has said, please don't assume that she is not owned by someone. Did you pup up posters around after you found her? Someone may be missing their cat very much.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 09:53 AM
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Cats can recycle in and out of heat every couple of weeks for most of the year. Yes, the meowing can drive one nuts. I certainly don't recommend taking her out on a leash while she's in heat. That will only want her to be out even more. Cats can too easily worm their way out of a harness...been there, done that. It will be best for her if you can time her spaying between heats. Most vets prefer to spay a cat while not in heat. Spaying while in heat can be longer surgery time, and an extra charge.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 10:19 AM
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Since my post I have seen the posturing that she did during her first heat with us so, yeah, she's in heat. I guess I should have just waited and not bothered posting.

Re: her missing kittens/owners missing her

As I said she has been with me for about three weeks, there have been no posters up in my neighbourhood looking for a lost cat, my neighbourhood has a high stray population I only took Chloe because she went up to Susie - cats never do that. They hide, sit still or hiss/growl at her. Susie likes cats because I have an older male at home that she has known her whole life so she always tries to say hi.

My local animal control has, on average 70 to 90 cats and that's just the animal control not the HS or other cat rescues. Why bother them with another unwanted un-spayed cat? I have had a number of cats over the years and they were always spayed/neutered before heats/spraying became and issue. If at 1 year old this cat is still not spayed and probably already had a litter of kittens then her last home wasn't a fit home if she even had a home and wasn't one of last year's kitten strays grown to maturity.

She's probably never been to a vet and the vet checked her for a chip(I will be having her chipped when she is spayed) she had none. She is now my cat and has a good home. I have no interest in what passed for human company before she met me.(I can't stress this enough - don't start with me on it.) IF she had a litter then she was done weaning them because she had no interest in going outside until this second heat took her. Also since it has been 3 weeks if there was a litter waiting for her it is long dead and there is nothing I can do about that.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 10:22 AM
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I also have to ask...Have you put up any posters to say you have found a cat? Sounds to me that she is pretty friendly which would tell me she has an owner out there somewhere. Have you checked the lost and found in your local paper? Maybe someone has put an ad about a lost cat.

As for a spay with a cat in heat, my cat at my dads was done. She came into heat a couple of days before her appt..Called the vet and they said it was ok to do it..It did cost me an extra $25 and did take a bit longer for the surgery..This was 8 years ago and she is fine.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 10:31 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cassblonde View Post

Re: her missing kittens/owners missing her

As I said she has been with me for about three weeks, there have been no posters up in my neighbourhood looking for a lost cat, my neighbourhood has a high stray population

My local animal control has, on average 70 to 90 cats and that's just the animal control not the HS or other cat rescues. Why bother them with another unwanted un-spayed cat? She is now my cat and has a good home. I have no interest in what passed for human company before she met me.(I can't stress this enough - don't start with me on it.) IF she had a litter then she was done weaning them because she had no interest in going outside until this second heat took her. Also since it has been 3 weeks if there was a litter waiting for her it is long dead and there is nothing I can do about that.

Cassblonde:

I have to say that you have a bit of arragance in your post. Just because she is not spayed, does not mean that her family before..doesn't care or miss her. There are alot of uneducated people out there. It doesn't make them bad.

All we are asking is too contact your local shelter and fill out a found report. Think if one of your cats went missing and had your attutide with "oh well my cat now" and they never even brothered to look for an owner.

And so what...just because her kittens are weaned...then it is acceptable to just forget about them?

ACO22
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Old July 8th, 2009, 10:38 AM
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Wow, I never expected that type of a response. I certainly wasn't jumping on you when I asked about ownership. I was thinking of the possibility of the cat maybe escaping from her home. It happens every day. Someone leaves a door open for a fraction of a second too long and kitty is out. Also, if kitty came up to your dog it could be she is used to dogs because she lived with one in her home. Sorry to have upset you. I know if I was missing my cat I would want to know she is at the very least alive.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 11:04 AM
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Even if the kittens are weaned. or partially so, they still need Mom. Left alone to choose, kittens spend up to 6 months with Mom learning to hunt, and cat social skills. Most kittens are taken away from their mom way too soon.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 11:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ACO22 View Post
Cassblonde:
Just because she is not spayed, does not mean that her family before..doesn't care or miss her. There are a lot of uneducated people out there. It doesn't make them bad.
If they cared or missed her they would have tried to find her - I have seen no sign of this. Also lack of education is no excuse in this day and age. Ignorance of the law doesn't protect you from being prosecuted. No, being uneducated doesn't make them bad but being stupid doesn't make them forgiven.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ACO22 View Post
Think if one of your cats went missing and had your attitude with "oh well my cat now" and they never even brothered to look for an owner.
If my cat went missing I would post pictures in my neighbourhood and walk the streets asking people that normally hang out outside if they had seen him. Again, there has been no effort expended to find Chloe at all - I walk my neighbourhood frequently and would know if there had been.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ACO22 View Post
And so what...just because her kittens are weaned...then it is acceptable to just forget about them?
I see no way in which I could find her litter(if there was one) as cold as it no doubt will sound death may be better for them than living to create yet another generation of strays. No I haven't forgotten of them - not like whoever(if anyone) owned Chloe 'forgot' to get her spayed before her first heat.

I won't be responding to this thread any further as I can see there will be no meeting of the minds on this subject. I found her - un-spayed and massively underweight. She now has a good home and will be properly cared for. I know now she is in heat again and it will most likely not cause any delay in her spay. I have - to date - spent around $200 caring for this cat and will be dropping another $400 on her for spay, chipping and pre-op blood work on the 10th.

If she had owners before me they may have fed her, forgot to spay her, she got out and bred and (maybe) had a litter of kittens or lost a litter or reabsorbed a litter because she was not getting food. They(if they exist) have made no effort that I can see to find her.

She is mine - and after 3 weeks of being in my care I see no reason to go to any trouble in finding her possibly previous owners since they went to no trouble to properly care for this cat or find her once she vanished.

That is all - Mods feel free to delete or lock this thread or you can all just post about how horrid I am. I'm out of here.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 12:31 PM
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Just because you found this cat in your neighbourhood does not mean that is where the cat is from. Many cats will wonder off far from where they are from..They can travel for miles..No different then dogs.

Now here is the law aspect of this situation..Say the owners have posted in THEIR area and also posted at vet clinics, it gets out that you have the cat, be prepared to surrender her to them..Cause if they have proof of ownership(vet records,pics) they will get the cat back.

See YOU have done nothing to look for the owners. You never stated putting up flyers all over or even at vet clinics. YOU should have done this when you took in the cat.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 12:47 PM
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Cass, thanks for taking this cat in and giving her a chance. While it may be "ideal" for a person to go out of their way to look for previous owners, I know I'd be tempted to just keep a cat who was in that kind of shape, wandering around and had no identification.
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Old July 8th, 2009, 01:09 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dracko View Post
Cass, thanks for taking this cat in and giving her a chance. While it may be "ideal" for a person to go out of their way to look for previous owners, I know I'd be tempted to just keep a cat who was in that kind of shape, wandering around and had no identification.
ditto for me
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Old July 8th, 2009, 06:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dracko View Post
Cass, thanks for taking this cat in and giving her a chance. While it may be "ideal" for a person to go out of their way to look for previous owners, I know I'd be tempted to just keep a cat who was in that kind of shape, wandering around and had no identification.
Ditto for me, too.
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Old July 9th, 2009, 12:37 AM
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That cat doesn't sounds like it is a stray because it walked up to a dog! A stray would be in survival mode and wouldn't walk up to a dog.

I'm glad u took in this little girl cause it sounds like she definately needed food, but u should of looked for a prvious owner. I have known of indoors cats that had gotten out of the house and gotten lost! And she was only a block away from where she lived! This happened in my town last year and the cat was living in a garage for a couple of months and was very skinny until the owner went for a walk at the right time and found her!

About the chipped part....my cats are not chipped as we don't have that here. And she might have been meowing because she wants to get back home. She wasn't hissing at u so obviously she is use to being about people.

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