Hosting a visitor

[Rosendula]

On Thursday morning, OH left the house to go to work and was immediately shouted at by a young black cat. The cat hung around all day, trying to get the attention of people waiting at the bus stop - I was scared stiff he was going to be run over. In the evening he was still there, so we took him round to the back garden. Well, he sat on the shed roof shouting up at DD1's bedroom window all night. In the morning, he was still there. I decided to allow him to live in my greenhouse while we tried to find his home, and Katie spent nearly all yesterday in there with him. Now, he's in my living room fast asleep on the window sill (soppy OH let him in the house). He is absolutely gorgeous. I'm doing my best to find where he's come from and have told the RSPCA, the police, I've been all over the local streets looking for 'lost' posters and I've put it in the local paper. So far, we've only had two enquiries, and he didn't fit the descriptions. I really hope we don't find the owner. We all want to keep him.



Edited to add a picture

[Graye]

It looks as if he has already decided he will stay! I bet by tomorrow evening he will have a name, a bed and a posse of adoring slaves to pander to his every whim.

I suppose you could ask a vet to run a scanner over him to see if he has a microchip? Given that we are supposedly a nation of pet lovers I'm surprised more people don't have their pets chipped. It's easy to notify the central register if they go missing. Unfortunately, our beautiful white one, lost in France, has a chip but it migrated to under his "arm" so I don't suppose we would hear from anyone finding him anyway.

We just heard today that a friend in our village in Spain has found us a lovely blue eyed white kitten which I will have fostered while it is waiting for its passport. Unfortunately it will be January before we can bring it back to the UK but we are so excited to be having another Uffy at last!

[Rosendula]

Aw, I bet you can't wait. I've thought about whether he might have a chip, and it's something we could try. When we got our cat from the RSPCA, she was chipped there and spayed as part of the conditions of adoption. Our previous cat was also chipped and, erm clipped, by the PDSA. This little fella isn't neutered, so they can't have got him from either place, so I doubt he'd be chipped. He's well looked after, but it doesn't appear that he is being looked for. He's fantastic with my 3-year-old, so I think he comes from a house where they had children. I hate to think of some poor kid crying because he's missing. But if he stays with us, at least he'll have a good home, provided we can persuade our own cat to allow him to stay.

[Millymollymandy]

Please contact the locat vet or vets to see if they have heard of any missing cats - that's the first place most people would think of contacting (well, at least, I would!) if their cat went missing. Having lost several cats myself I hate the thought of you adopting a cat whilst someone somewhere is heartbroken because their young cat has gone missing. In France it is the law to have cats either tattooed or microchipped - shame the same law isn't in place in the UK. Anyway if you don't find the owner it does look rather cute!

[Rosendula]

Other than finding out if he's got a microchip, there's really nothing more we can do. I've searched all sorts of online registers, told the police, the RSPCA, I'm looking several times a day at the notices in the paper shop window, I've ridden all over the estate and further afield looking for posters and I've put a 'found' advert in the local paper. Other than getting an appointment with the vet to find out if he's chipped, if anyone knows of anything else I can do please say.

[invisiblepiper]

Yes - enjoy being a 'host'.
You are doing the very best that wee cat could wish for!

[Shutsumon]

The RSPCA and PDSA aren't the only places you can get a kitty chipped. Vets do it and so does my local council (as I found out yesterday - guess who's getting a chip ASAP) so not being snipped may not be evidence of lack of a chip.