Rescuing a cat

We rescued a beautiful 12 year old cat three years ago. She has brought new joy into our lives. Of course, we didn’t know how much time she had left but we’re determined to give her the best life possible so that she, hopefully, forgets the bad times. We absolutely adore her and she clearly reciprocates this feeling.

Aww how lovely. Go you and Roo 🙂

We re-homed our two old boys in some trepidation. We'd always had cats from kittens before. However, these two were very calm and friendly and settled in straight away! Maybe they liked the comparative calm after living in a busy breeders house. She always brought up kittens in her house so they were well socialised and used to house noises like TV or hoovers. When we re-homed them there were 28 cats and kittens all around the house. (Paradise for me!) Our boys had done their duty as breeders and were being retired. Our enormous gain.

I adopted an 'older' cat. Judging by the way she acts, she's younger than previously thought. I also bought an expensive tower that she wouldn't go near. A small sisal mat lets her do her claws and saves the furniture. Good luck and I hope you find the right cat for you.

How did I miss this lovely thread? Wishing you many happy days with your new housemate, WWM.

We said no more cats after losing our Willow, back in 2016. We took her on as a tiny rescue kitten with heart problems, life-expectancy of a year. We had her for five and a half glorious years, then she succumbed to her heart issues. I sobbed every night for weeks and it’s bringing tears to my eyes even typing about her.

Somehow we ended up with two gigantic rescue Russian Blue brothers, (not abandoned, owners were moving abroad and couldn’t take them). They have both now died. Again we thought no more cats for us but we weakened and now have two more Russian Blues, from kittenhood. 😻😻

I’m not concerned for the future as I’m only 70 and all of my AC love cats so they’ll never be without a home.

Last summer our cat had to be put to sleep very suddenly after developing an aneurism which could not be treated. We then adopted a 9 year old female cat from Cats Protection, we were told very little about her other than she’d had at least two previous homes and her most recent owners were moving and could not take her with them. She’s gorgeous and settled in very quickly, she got us trained to attend to her every need in no time.

Whitewavemark2

1 day to go.

Rooms ready. Just got to pick the nepeta to scatter around - I’ll do that in the morning.

Just to say, surprisingly all the twos were reserved. There were two siblings that were absolutely beautiful, I’ve never seen such beauties - just opening one eye as we peered in.

Well done you !
We adopted two who were siblings 13 years ago after our former two died from old age at 18 , they were also siblings.
They had been dumped outside our local rescue centre at 6 weeks old , half maine coon half no idea ! Due to the fact they had no real socialisation from kittens they were not remotely cutesy , beautiful but angry . They had been in the rescue centre for a year when we adopted them. Anyway , after a month or so of patience and constant routine we opened the patio doors, they had never been outside. I was apprehensive , would they come back or go ferral. 13 years on and they are still wary of some people especially our small grandchildren but other than that so very pleased we took them on.

This is Dylan he’s 8 years old and a rescue from cats protection, it’s the best thing ever

Whitewavemark, sorry, no advice on cats (actually I’m trying not to encourage a neighbour’s cat which is determined to move in here), but I just wanted to join you in your sorrow at losing your Cairn. We lost our beloved Cairn almost 2 years ago, and life without her isn’t the same - not half as much fun. What characters they are!

He is beautiful Janburry. The image of my dear little Posy from many years ago, one of three, two kittens and an adult male who was obviously looking after the little ones, who came to me as strays.

What a lovely thing to do - so many poor cats are waiting to be adopted - if I had more time and space I could quite easily be that 'old women on the hill surrounded by cats' ! I hope you have many years of pleasure from you new little housemate!

After 40 plus years of having cats we were down to our last old boy now 17 when my beautiful but feisty Daphne died 2 years ago. I was heartbroken and we said we wouldn't have any more. At the time I'd been feeding a stray out in the wood behind our house for a couple of years - he was almost feral and wouldn't come near me for ages but over time he began to trust me and I was able to pick him up briefly. We'd given him a shelter where he would sun himself in the summer and keep warm in the winter. A few months ago I noticed an horrendous abscess on his leg which desperately needed looking at. To my amazement he let me pick him up and put him in a carrier so the vet was able to sedate him and clean it all up. They checked him to see if he was chipped which he wasn't so I made the decision to have him castrated, chipped and registered to me. He had to stay in the conservatory for a fortnight till he'd healed and the rest is as they say history! He's now almost totally a house cat, follows me everywhere and is the most affectionate boy who will go out for half an hour then I turn round and he's behind me again! Out of all the cats I've had he's the only one who will sit quietly in his carrier while the vet pokes and prods him and he loves being brushed and petted. He's a tuxedo which I've read are very placid and affectionate so we are lucky to have found each other

Good luck!

Delila

*Whitewavemark*, sorry, no advice on cats (actually I’m trying not to encourage a neighbour’s cat which is determined to move in here), but I just wanted to join you in your sorrow at losing your Cairn. We lost our beloved Cairn almost 2 years ago, and life without her isn’t the same - not half as much fun. What characters they are!

I have been absolutely devastated.

I am hoping Roo will help healing.

Fantastic plan. Do hope Roo comes up to scratch ( yes bit of a pun).

There are some beautiful cats out there. Thanks for the photos.

I mentioned the fact that there seemed a lot of black cats needing new homes, and the cats protection lady said that people don’t like black cats - superstition etc.

How weird is that?!

Well, one of my cats is black - Milo. We adore him. Our first ever cat (when we lived in Seychelles) was black. We called her Moggy. We had to give her away when we came back to England. We were distraught.

I was just reading the cat posts and this popped up free from Olio. There are always cat related things on there and our Freecycle too often almost new. Cats being so fussy that they often reject all the lovely cosy beds and toys that we lovingly buy. Well worth a look as I’m sure local cats will be just as fussy in your area too.

My Billy was almost 12 when I adopted him from Cats Protection, and it was one of the best things I`ve ever done. He was brilliant, unique, as my daughter put it, but unfortunately he had to be put to sleep aged 15 and a bit, as he had a cancer on his kidneys. I miss him so much, wasn`t going to have another at my time of life, I`m 81, but now, having lost my daughter just before Christmas, I feel I need the company, so will shortly be on the lookout for an older cat, preferably 7 to 10 years of age.

We've had cats all our married life (52 years) until recently. When our DD was abt 13 she did her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh scheme part of which was volunteering at a Cats Protection sanctuary and of course just HAD to have one of the cats. He was called Tenzing and was about a year old. Nothing wrong at all with him but the couple running the sanctuary were moving to Scotland and couldn't take him. Rob was worried sick about him till he met our DD and was more than happy for her to have him. Since then we've adopted several more from Cats Protection at different times. None was a particular problem. We once wanted one cat but there was a pair of brothers so of course we had to have both. One was quite a nervous boy but we managed it and both lived to be 19.

Both our DDs have had/have still got rescue cats. Wouldn't consider anything else but we took to going away more often after we retired and didn't think it was fair on a cat. We haven't ruled out never having another.

Personally, I wouldn't over-faze a new cat with too much "stuff" in the first few weeks, start with food, warmth and getting used to you and the house, and add other things bit by bit. I don't think any of our cats would have put up with an indoor litter tray for longer than a couple of weeks, we just had to let them out. Fortunately we are on a quiet cul-de-sac. One cat shot over the fence and disappeared on the first day out, but an hour later trotted back as it to say "What's up?".

And Tenzing? On his first day out he shot up the nearest tree!

Enjoy your new boss!

We’ve always had cats until a year ago when our lovely one was run over. We said no more. But I’d like another. I might look on cats protection myself.

I must say I was very impressed with the set up at cats protection. All the cats looked very relaxed and comfortable. They are kept pristine clean, with a washing machine in a room in use washing the cats bedding. I hope they don’t wash my wool gloves I left Roo to smell😮.

They also seem to have staff, who sit smoothing and brushing an individual cat. They also apparently have “rooms” that look like house rooms to familiarise the cats, to which individual cats are taken to give them more space for a few hours.

Talk about Staff! In fact each cat rehomed, must feel that they are slumming it for a time😊

Thought this might be appropriate 😂🐈!!

Well done Whitewave, lots of cats out there, and some old ones and black ones do struggle to find a new home (black cats are just a bit less popular).

Someone mentioned the 333 guideline, but things may differ. There are folk who take cats back to a rescue after a couple of days because it did or didn't do something, just a silly attitude. We cannot know that cat's back story, what sort of trauma it went through.

We've had nervy delicate souls, one spent the first few days behind the sofa (came out at night to eat a little), and another was terrified for several weeks (turned out she had an eye infection, couldn't actually see the new house and people very well). We also had a laid-back, confident ginger giant, when let out of the cage he looked at us, walked round the house twice, came back to the feeding area and wanted some lunch.

Our present chap was 14 when we took him on, that was nearly 3 years ago, and he's presently on the floor behind this chair as I type, he discovered a bit of floor that has a pipe feeding the radiator, so he lays on that. He likes sofa, chairs, but rarely a cat bed (he noticed that people don't use them, so obviously they're inferior). He's manic for food treats, so likes a bit of ham or cheese at lunchtime, and if there's a bit of raw meat or fish when dinner is getting prepped, he gets a little of that too.

Pet insurance is a nightmare area, something to consider as despite the expense, it can be be a godsend if you do get a chunky vet bill?! But shop around!

Jolly good luck!

All set - leaving at near 11 - takes about an hour to get there - appointment at 12.

Roo, was named Roo by the CPL because she was a stray with no name, so we could change it. But we have decided to keep it.

Weather buckets of rain and Gail force winds😮

Good luck, you’ll enjoy her once she has settled in. It’s really made me think about doing a similar thing. Nothing nicer than a sweet little cat cuddled up next to you.

Roo’s in her new home!

Tucked away hiding in her secret cardboard box. So no photos yet.

I sat with her on the way home and she started off crying pitifully, but after a bit with calm talking and able to to rub her chin and behind her ears she calmed down and started to purr, then had doze 😊.

She is in her own room which we will visit perhaps every hour to get to know each other.

She seems a very gentle little soul.

I was thinking apart from the fact that they are entirely different species, dogs have lived with humans for over 30000 years and cats only 7500, so cats will have much more wild left in their DNA