j.man Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Named after one of my favorite Spanish players. We're very fortunate to have a backyard in our New York apartment. My wife got a new job in the Midwest that we're relocating for, so after helping her settle in, I came back to NYC to get everything wrapped up for the move and to redeem as much of the security deposit as possible. We'd previously had a stray cat I'd occasionally put food out for hoping she'd come by often enough to keep to be a nice buffer between the apartment and critters outside. Upon returning to the apartment last month, I was shocked to see this little girl tailing her mama as she came out from the brush. She's getting fed well, and I just took her in today to get treated and vaccinated. Fortunately, she was negative for both FeLV and FIV. A big tomcat started coming around, and given the kitten isn't weaned yet, I was worried he might go after her. Now I've got both the mama and the kitten cozy in the sunroom. Got an appointment to get the mama spayed, and I'll release her again into the backyard. She's definitely too old and feral to become a house cat. The wife half-seriously says the kitten has to stay in the city. She knows who she married, though. I'm fine sleeping in the doghouse for a bit. Kitten's gonna make a great lil' barn cat. Link to comment
Realitynut Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 awww....white with blue eyes. We had a cat that was all white with a dark spot on top of her head....and bright blue eyes. Maybe she/he can sleep in the doghouse with you!! Link to comment
bluecastle Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Love this! My cat, who recently went to play in the kitty amusement park in the clouds after 18 years by my side, approached me many moons ago in the feral wilds known as Brooklyn. Her flirtation was not without an agenda, as she'd met a tomcat or two in the streets and needed a safe shelter for her litter. I provided that, until the kiddos were weaned, and always liked thinking about the lives those kids went on to live and are maybe still living. Who knows? Maybe one or two found their way to a barn in the heartland. Feels like kismet, even if you take some flack from the wife. A great token from a past life to hang with y'all as you get settled in the new one. Link to comment
Cherylyn Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 j.man, You're doing the right thing. My mother takes care of stray cats, spays them and they come back for dinner every night. Two of them sleep in her garage where she has a large cat bed set up for them. She also has an indoor cat and one of the outdoor cats ventures indoors sometimes. I like animal lovers! You have a good heart, j.man. Link to comment
WithLove Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Too cute! Thank you for taking in the little one! Link to comment
abitbroken Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Why not take Momma to be a barn cat if she is feral? Package deal. you don't know if the next person who moves into your apartment will be nice to her. I know i am a bad influence. Link to comment
maew Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Awwwww omg so cute! Good for you! One of my cats was a feral rescue... she was rescued as a kitten and is now 4, is skittish around strangers and sometimes pees on my laundry but otherwise is a wonderful and sweet girl. Link to comment
SherrySher Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 My heart just melted! Awwwwwww, what a cutie pie!! Link to comment
Dahl Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Congratulations!!!! Lovely, lovely, lovely, all around! Link to comment
j.man Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 Why not take Momma to be a barn cat if she is feral? Package deal. you don't know if the next person who moves into your apartment will be nice to her. I know i am a bad influence.Every single word of this has been a repeated thought of mine. It's a difficult decision. And truth is I've actually grown a bit attached to her, especially watching her taking care of the kitten. It's been a privilege to see. Thing is she's *really* feral. Not violently, but just that's the extent she's never going to get along with humans. It's actually a bit surprising considering she's a Manhattan cat. She'll trust me with the kitten and after like half a year has just now gotten to where she's willing to walk within five feet of me so long as there's a meal in it for her. It's been a genuine toss-up as to whether all the trauma of travel would be worth such a dramatic change in scenery. Adding to it is that we're transitioning with a cheap house (big backyard, though) while we develop the land a bit further out that will become the homestead. The kitten's very attached to me and is young enough to condition with some sense of an outdoor perimeter, but the same issue of there being some ***hole is a concern of mine should she wander through 100 backyards of people more accustomed to it being *their backyard* just because that's what the mama knows to do. For as much as I'll rail on people in New York for being jerks, your life here is going to be pretty miserable if you can't at least tolerate cats being around. My instinct is that the odds would be better in her favor here. If we were talking a 9 or even 90 mile move rather than a 900 mile one, it'd be a different story. Unfortuantely, due to an eye injury in the Army, I can't drive, so I couldn't even provide her the relative luxury of caging her and tossing her in the back for a straight shot. I've gotta navigate a train and some buses due to the kitten being too young for most airlines to fly. Adding her to the mix unfortunately complicates things that much more. Again, if i were convinced she'd enjoy her life better, I'd jump through all the hoops necessary. But I just don't know. You and I are definitely on the same page emotionally, though. It'll hurt a bit having the kitten without the mama around, and if she did take to it, one more cat to look out for the crops certainly wouldn't hurt. Maybe (hopefully) I can come to some epiphany that would rationally justify it, but for now I think the best I can do is get her spayed and let her live out the only life she's known. Feels good to write this all out because it really has been a moral conundrum for me. Link to comment
bluecastle Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 For what it's worth, as you're looking for that epiphany to justify what sounds like a hard, but rational, choice: my cat was so clearly over being a mama after about 4 weeks. She nursed, and so on, but then she'd go hide someplace where the little ones couldn't find her. When they whined enough she kind of cat-sighed, revealed herself, and made herself available for feedings. When I talked to the vet—when I was absurdly contemplating going from being a man with zero cats to a man with six cats—he said that's how it goes, that cats don't really have the same kind of interest in their kids as we have imagining them being interested in their kids. Anyhow, I love this story, whatever choice you make. Link to comment
itsallgrand Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Oh my god, I predict a barn full of cats within the year! Lol Soo cute, and thanks for looking out for the little guys. It's nice seeing some positive posts ! Link to comment
greendots Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 So cute! Cats are awesome. Wishing you all the best with whatever decision you make. Link to comment
Heather Dawn Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Awww! Love this! And I love that you're such a softy. Link to comment
tattoobunnie Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 How old is the momma?? She may be an old feral, but man, they are excellent to have on a farm for rodent control. TAKE THEM BOTH!!! My hubs would do a double-take it he heard me say that. I let him adopt two rescues, and I'm mad allergic to them. That kitty is so cute Link to comment
abitbroken Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Because i am a horrible influence, there are people who volunteer to transport pets -- they hand them off from person to person on a route - everyone drives an hour or two. They would not even have to take her out of a crate if a larger crate was used to have water and a litter box in it. bad influence bad bad bad Link to comment
catfeeder Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Thank you sooo much for doing this, jman! Link to comment
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