Anyone adopted a "free" cat

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Donnager

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We had a neighborhood cat that got hit by a car/motorcycle/mule/horse (I suspect horse or motorcycle--this cat is underfoot to a very high degree). She didn't appear to be run over by a car, but.....

Broken leg (and pelvis), honestly thought the leg would have to be amputated (daylight between the ankle and the tendon on the front of the foot at the ankle).

After a month or so, she's still a little wobbly, but she's now an indoor cat and we will make her life pretty awesome. She's as nice a cat as I could ask for.

Don't ask about the vet bills.
 
My wife and I were "adopted" by a cat back in 2001 and we lost her on 2012 never knowing her history. We then rescued three more over the years, including a 3 month old from a storm drain. We lost Stormie last November at 15yo and then Effie in January at over 16yo. Leaves Morris (14yo) as the Lord of the Manor. Don't ask about the vet bills, indeed.

Thank you for rescuing your cat. Sounds like she has a received a second chance from good folks.

Chas & Cindy
 

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We had a neighborhood cat that got hit by a car/motorcycle/mule/horse (I suspect horse or motorcycle--this cat is underfoot to a very high degree). She didn't appear to be run over by a car, but.....

Broken leg (and pelvis), honestly thought the leg would have to be amputated (daylight between the ankle and the tendon on the front of the foot at the ankle).

After a month or so, she's still a little wobbly, but she's now an indoor cat and we will make her life pretty awesome. She's as nice a cat as I could ask for.

Don't ask about the vet bills.
Yep. I've never 'purchased' a cat, but I did pay the bills to cover the vet costs to get 'em back up and running. :)

First cat: College girlfriend rescued off the highway on Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte. That's a 3 lane (at the time, not sure what it is now) divided highway, 55mph speed limit right next to the airport. No clue how she got to him or how he lasted as long as he did, but she said he was sitting, scared to death, on the line between lanes. He was a great cat for the 16 years I had him. His name was Helpful.

Second cat: Took first cat to the vet for typical checkup etc., and another cat opened the door to the room and jumped up on the vet table. Cat 1 had never tolerated other cats and would go full-on psycho if there was another cat near him. She sat down, he made a mild hiss and he sat down. By the end of the visit, I owned 2 cats. She was with us for 14 years. Her name was Friendly.

Cat 3: After losing the previous cats (and my wife's cat she brought to the marriage, roughly 18 years old - Pudstein), we got through the process and decided to go to the shelter and see if we could get a cat. She had one picked out from online stuff, but once we got there, it was no longer available. Not wanting to waste the trip, we looked at other cats and as I was looking at one, a cat from the cage above grabbed my hat, pulled it off my head and dropped it on the floor. We were now again a cat family. He passed too young, 10-ish years and was honestly the best cat I've ever been around. . .it hurt a mega-ton, not just the regular ton. His name was Nuzzle.

Cat 4: My wife was working in GA 3 days a week and commuting down from Charlotte to Gainesville on Tuesday, returning late Thursday for a while. She stopped at the Kings Mountain rest stop around 11pm in October to walk around/etc., and there was a tiny kitten in the middle of the parking lot scared by the cars (thankfully few) moving around. My wife went up to her, she came over and she coaxed her into the car and brought her home. As Cat 4 was a completely unknown quantity (i.e. feline leukemia or other disease concerns) she lived out in the garage (where my office is) in a cat bed in a drawer of my toolbox for the weekend and once she got the all-clear, the two cats got to meet. They never got along as well as I'd hoped, as he was very strong and dominant and she was small and scared of everything. She is still with us and has come out of her shell a bit as she's gotten older. Still a good bit skiddish at times, but loves her combing time and she's the only cat I've ever trained to give me a high-5. Her name is Olive.


So, thankfully, we've never adopted an extremely injured cat, I think Helpful and Olive were likely within hours of death before being scooped up and saved.
 
There is no such thing a a free cat. The last "free cat" at Chez Dickinson has incurred a few hundred dollars of vet bills; and I would not change a thing!
 
Twice. About $900 in vet bills and no cat to show for it.

First one had a broken leg. Tested positive for feline leukemia. The surgeon told me he had attempted bone fixes on cats with feline leukemia previously and the bones never grew and healed. Had to put the cat down. Would have been smarter to do the blood work before all the other money I spent.*

Second one was a kitten from a barn cat. Got him shots and flea medicine, everything good. Super cute and sweet. But about a day and a half in, I realized I couldn't breathe. I was allergic. No runny nose, no sneezing, just very significantly decreased ability to absorb oxygen through my lungs. "A little bit of anaphylaxis" isn't really a thing, so he went back to the people I got him from. They thought I was a deadbeat cat abandoner until I handed them the invoice showing all the money I'd spent at the vet (of course, only a total a-hole would ask them to cover any of it, and I'm not a total a-hole) and wished them luck in finding a loving home for the little cutie.

My sister's last free cat has cost her more money than the used Honda she drives.

Overall, I don't like this game and don't intend to play it again. All three people now living in my house have cat allergies to some degree or another, so I don't expect it to come up.

*Lesson learned: If you're going to rescue a cat, get blood work before you spend any other money at the vet. Period.

I still love cats, though.
 
My wife and I were "adopted" by a cat back in 2001 and we lost her on 2012 never knowing her history. We then rescued three more over the years, including a 3 month old from a storm drain. We lost Stormie last November at 15yo and then Effie in January at over 16yo. Leaves Morris (14yo) as the Lord of the Manor. Don't ask about the vet bills, indeed.

Thank you for rescuing your cat. Sounds like she has a received a second chance from good folks.

Chas & Cindy
I'll post a picture or two when she's a little more photogenic. She's about half shaved, but it's growing back. She's doing very well and is very nice.

I made a mistake. Wife worried she was an outside cat and would be difficult to bring into the house for litter tray training. I thought she'd get hurt by cars/coyotes/etc. if we didn't bring her in.... And was waiting for the injury/death/dissapearance. We should have brought her in (and litter trained) before she got hurt.

Hindsight/penance is expensive.
 
I had a young cat run into my apartment on a very cold winter morning while I was in college. She never left and made a few moves with us during her life. She was great kitty.
 
Shortly after we got married a zillion years ago, my wife and I were living in an upstairs duplex. No pets. One morning at about 5 am we heard this plaintive "meow, meow" and my wife said, "Oh honey, go take a look." I saw this little kitten standing at the foot of our stairs, and I turned around and said "Nope". The kitten followed me up the stairs... hobbling on three legs. At that point, I knew we had just adopted a cat. $300 later, the cat was just fine.

We didn't tell the landlords (who lived in the lower duplex), but they found out anyway... and were 100% fine with it.
 
I had one pedigreed Chartreux cat. Read up on the history. It's said they went to live with Catholic monks/priests in monasteries and took a "vow of silence".
The adults have kitten like voices they rarely use but purr like a regular feline. All dozen or so cats my wife took in over the years I was fine with were strays and they learned early to get along. Only had to turn away one silver gray cat who reminded me of my then deceased Chartreux. Had 6 cats in the house at the time and they couldn't take Charlie as number 7 and started spraying. I was able to give him to a co-worker at work and she'd keep me up to date with pictures on him. He had a good long life. My wife would adopt a new stray as one of the older cats died or had to be euthanized. Our house was perfect for cats. They had the run of the tiled floor kitchen, and the linoleum floored basement. My basement cement floored work room was where I ran three or 4 litter boxes under the workbench. If they had an accident, it was no big deal to clean up. That was more of an issue when the cats aged as they couldn't squat as well from arthritis. I never made a big deal out of it as they attempted to use the box and I had plastic mats on the floor that were easy to clean.
The kitchen door in the house kept the cats out of the carpeted living area. Was a perfect house for indoor cats. My wife stipulated that when she died, she gets the cat's ashes in her casket. She didn't like the Chartreux but no matter as I buried my Alise in the backyard years ago. All the strays were cremated and my wife years prior bought a large cat shaped jar to put the ashes in. She said the cat's go with her. Unfortunately my wife died in 2019 which is another long story. She reminded me she "gets" the cats in her casket months before she died. I was fine with that. Cripes, I'll be next to her when I go so I didn't mind. We had one torbie female stray cat left that my wife loved and Abby cat loved my wife who was alive before my wife got sick. Sally told me after her diagnosis, "Last one in gets Abby." Sort of a morbid humor response.
Oh the funeral director smiled and said there was no problem with putting contained pet cremains in a human casket. Did it all the time. Said he'd put them at the foot of the casket and sure enough we looked and they were there.
I smiled and said about Abby cat. "Well for cripes sake she'll be with me right next to you!" Wife died 1/2019 and Abbey I had to euthanize for metastatic cancer 8/2020. She made it to 22 years of age which is pretty good. The pedigreed cats live shorter lives than the mix breeds in my experience. Had a couple of mixed breeds that made it to 20 but some died of cancer at a slightly younger age. We always isolated strays in the garage and when adopting made sure they were FLV negative with a vet visit. Our cats had routine vet care $$$$$ and we kept them up on their shots though they were indoor cats and never went outdoors. My brother did have a female Chartreux cat (Urfee) he'd let out for supervised walks and she would stay in the family home's yard. Just about caught a muskrat one time between the neighbor's house! Urfee would also walk on a leash too which is highly unusual for a feline. It's hard to explain but Urfee and my Alise were friendly but aloof at the same time.
 
Shortly after we got married a zillion years ago, my wife and I were living in an upstairs duplex. No pets. One morning at about 5 am we heard this plaintive "meow, meow" and my wife said, "Oh honey, go take a look." I saw this little kitten standing at the foot of our stairs, and I turned around and said "Nope". The kitten followed me up the stairs... hobbling on three legs. At that point, I knew we had just adopted a cat. $300 later, the cat was just fine.

We didn't tell the landlords (who lived in the lower duplex), but they found out anyway... and were 100% fine with it.
Been there, done that but the outside apartment door was busted in my building and the stray torbie cat was standing at the top of the stairs to my third floor hallway. Only difference was pets were allowed in the building. Adopted her and she had a good long life except she had a chronic virus and blew/sneezed snot all over the place. My wife who I dated and married later was very understanding. The cat had vet care and antibiotics could tone down the snot blowing but it was never cured. Carrie cat was exceedingly friendly and seemed to me appreciated being adopted in spite of blowing snot all over the place which was something she couldn't control.
 
Twice. About $900 in vet bills and no cat to show for it.

First one had a broken leg. Tested positive for feline leukemia. The surgeon told me he had attempted bone fixes on cats with feline leukemia previously and the bones never grew and healed. Had to put the cat down. Would have been smarter to do the blood work before all the other money I spent.*

Second one was a kitten from a barn cat. Got him shots and flea medicine, everything good. Super cute and sweet. But about a day and a half in, I realized I couldn't breathe. I was allergic. No runny nose, no sneezing, just very significantly decreased ability to absorb oxygen through my lungs. "A little bit of anaphylaxis" isn't really a thing, so he went back to the people I got him from. They thought I was a deadbeat cat abandoner until I handed them the invoice showing all the money I'd spent at the vet (of course, only a total a-hole would ask them to cover any of it, and I'm not a total a-hole) and wished them luck in finding a loving home for the little cutie.

My sister's last free cat has cost her more money than the used Honda she drives.

Overall, I don't like this game and don't intend to play it again. All three people now living in my house have cat allergies to some degree or another, so I don't expect it to come up.

*Lesson learned: If you're going to rescue a cat, get blood work before you spend any other money at the vet. Period.

I still love cats, though.
Yup, I isolated "new" cats to the garage and took them to the vet to make sure the were FLV negative back in the day. My late wife picked up a kitten at the local library parking lot. I had it isolated in a nice space in the garage as it was acting odd. Turned the heater on as it was wintertime. Took her to the vet and indeed she was FLV positive She was in dire straights so I had the vet euthanize her. Between testing and vet fees it was $$$$$ but I don't regret it as the cat got care and love in the short time she lived. I'm too old to have pets now as most of 'em could outlive me! Don't want to have my daughter to have to deal with it when I croak! I M.D,'d for a living and was used to end of life care practicing geriatrics. Easier with pet animals than with humans.
 
Wow, the number of Cats I've had since childhood is at least a dozen. Started with an Orange Tabby found just outside my grade school when I was 6 meowing at us in the rain. Left it with the librarian while my siblings and I attended class. Snuck him home, and for almost a day, my parents did not know we had a cat. When I lived in Queens we had several indoor/outdoor cats. When I moved to Jersey City in my late 20's a co-worker brings me a meowing cardboard box. He'd been feeding it, caught it and gave me an all black, long-haired cat (except at the time, she was so dirty we could not tell she was a fluff-ball. Instead, it looked like a cat struck by lightning as only her tail was puffy).

When I bought a house in Belleville, I knew right away I had to have more than one because there was enough room. I've had as many as 4 at a time, but currently enjoy the company of two females, Pixel and Sassy, who are the current loves of my life and have won the kittycat lottery, as I like to say, because they get the best of everything.
 
We had a cat that adopted us when I was a teenager. He was quite nice, but had to be cleaned up. Ear mites. I think he'd been a barn cat at a nearby farm. He died early, maybe from jaundice, which we thought he'd recovered from.

When I was younger, we'd adopted a kitten from the people up the street. Or maybe I should say rescued, because the two kids in that house were cruel. She was fierce. One of the things she would do was sort of run up a tree for 10 feet or so, then run back down. She brought a live bird into the house once, and another time left a live bat under my bed. At night sometimes, I'd hear her running, then a sliding noise, and then a thump as she hit the wall. We used to visit an island on weekends when the weather was good, One day, we couldn't find her when it was time to leave. She was not to be found the next couple of visits, late in the season. Her body was found later, with long fur as if she'd lasted into some pretty cold weather, with a wound from some other animal.

After I'd left home, my parents were adopted by another cat. Eventually, it turned out it was a neighbor's cat who didn't like the new cat added to her first home.

We also adopted a dog from a shelter when I was a teenager. Half shepherd and half wolfhound and probably the nicest dog I ever knew. Very friendly, though at least once a non-dog person who was running didn't understand that his bounding meant he wanted to play. And once, the meter reader came to my mother, asking her to get him out of his car. I guess he wanted a ride.

We had a cat and a dog when I was much younger, and I don't remember where they came from. I suspect from neighbors or a shelter. The dog was a mix of several breeds. My mother knew which ones, so maybe we got that one from a neighbor.
 
We've had quite a few- things happen, they show up, ...
When my wife and I got married she had a cat, then we rescued one from a parking lot on one of our trips, found another one, she rescued a couple from the neighborhood where she worked, we rescued a couple from under our neighbor's garden shed when they were just old enough. At one point we had 6, but they don't last forever. We are down to one now, one that was rescued from under the neighbor's garden shed. He follows my wife around the house like a little puppy even though he's over 12. His brother was my wife's favorite.
 
Yup, I isolated "new" cats to the garage and took them to the vet to make sure the were FLV negative back in the day. My late wife picked up a kitten at the local library parking lot. I had it isolated in a nice space in the garage as it was acting odd. Turned the heater on as it was wintertime. Took her to the vet and indeed she was FLV positive She was in dire straights so I had the vet euthanize her.
I had the grey tiger stipped kitty which moved in with me in college and my now wife had adopted one from the shelter which ended up having FLV. That one declined quickly and had to be euthanized while my grey stray tested negative twice. I think it was about 5 years and a new city later and I took her to the vet panting with audible congestion. She almost sounded like someone with congestive heart failure. The vet had the records of the negative FLV tests but said even exposure to the virus that might not cause an active infection and a positive test can still do damage causing those symptoms. There's no messing around with that disease, it's devastating to them.
 
Brat and Sistra (Sissy) are Russian Blue mixes. I brought them both home as kittens when it found out the person I worked with was going to”dispose of them”
Both were and are strictly indoor kitties. One night the sister in law left the patio door open, Brat went outside exploring and got tangled in the neighbors smoker. That little trip set me back $1100. He survived and for the most part as never strayed from the door.
He and his sister are now 15 years old. Sissy is on thyroid meds and takes a monthly injection in her spine to calm the arthritis in her hips. I now call her wobbly butt!
Both are slowing down and showing sign of their age. I fear I will lose both soon. Not looking forward to that at all.
The home will not be without a cat or two for very long.
 
We had cats before we left for England. We found a lady that had a ranch. She took our 3 cats, 2 ferrets and a tank of fish. For years she would send us letters about how they were all doing. When we were in England a lady came to our door with a box of kittens. We took two. We brought them back with us. We had been back about 6 years and the female got sick. The vet said she only had one kidney. She faded fast. The male developed intestinal problems. We had to give him stool softeners and enemas. Eventually and sadly the vet said it's time. I cried and sobbed uncontrollably for a long time. After that emotional loss we said never again. No more cats. After we had been in Pahrump a few years I noticed a cat in our yard. There was no way he got into the yard himself. Someone had to have dropped him over our fence. He would run when he saw me. On day he was near the open garage door. I told my wife, quick get a can of tuna. He must have been hungry and came into the garage. As he was eating I closed the door and he hasn't been outside since, except to go to the vet. His name is Mr Moto. About a month later we went to a shelter to get him some companions. We looked at two cats. One of the staff told us that their mother was mean to them and that they had been in that cage for 6 months. In unison we said we'll take them. They were just about feral. Took a long time before they were comfortable around us. They are Trinket and Katnis. Then two years ago I started seeing a feral cat in our yard. We started feeding her. How she grew to be an adult with the coyotes around was a miracle. Then one day she came to eat and had five kittens with her. I looked at my wife and said how are we going to catch 6 cats. I went to a shelter and was told about a cat rescue. Before they could come out a coyote jumped over our 5' fence. My wife saw it but the damage was already done. We think the coyote grabbed a kitten and the mother went after the coyote and was killed. The cat rescue helped us catch the other four. They are Thor, Loki, Nebula and Gamora. My wife has named them all. They are all indoor cats. It took a while but all the cats get along now. We aren't getting any younger and have worried what would happen to the cats if we died before they did. One our neighbor friends will take the three original cats. We or I should say our estate will pay them $10,000 a year to take care of them. I'm working with the cat rescue to find someone they trust to take the four babies. They just turned two. My wife is 72 and has MS. I'm 68 and have my own issues. We hope the babies go before we do. But we will find them a good home first. We'll offer them the same deal as our neighbor. Probably some more money since there are four. Now I need to go dab my eyes.
 
Grew up with Mother Cat moving into a box in the garage during a particularly cold winter around 1983/4. She brought one kitten - Kitsy. Kitsy crawled into the fan shroud of the Chevy parked on the street and didn't survive. It almost killed my mother when Kitsy passed at around a year old. Mother cat had another litter before getting spayed. My childhood best fried adopted one and he lived a good long life. Grey Paw, a young male from the same litter didn't fare well on the freeway behind the house - he was my boy. The rest of the litter got homes to go to. Spaz, a Callico, came wandering into our yard and stayed not long after. She was my cat and obviously my favorite. Quite the personality. Suffered a broken leg - expensive vet trip. College and family splitting happened, leaving Spaz and Mother Cat with dad at home. Last I saw Spaz was 1995. She disappeared. Mother Cat, in her old age (definitely in the teens) was laying on the driveway and didn't move when a vehicle was backed out of the garage sometime around 1997.
1998 brought a dog into my life and he became my family. 15-1/2 years later, on Dec. 9, 2013, he crossed the rainbow bridge and the hole in me still remains. No more dogs - ever. For me or my wife.
Twenty years later (from 1997), after moving to and from Florida then to Ohio, an old classmate was trying to find a home for a wandering, young, neutered, cat. I was living by myself and had space in my heart and life for a cat. Jupiter Finnegan became my bud. Moved back to Florida and took my now wife with me and Jupiter. She brought her cat, CeeCee. Joopy/A55hole/F'tard/"Richard Cranium" is now around 7 - 7-1/2 and CeeCee is around 9. Two years ago, a small grey kitten came into the yard with a clipped right ear. Gracie (Grey Cat - Grey C) is now my shadow and if I call her, she comes running. Jupiter loves to go for walks on his leash and hang out in the backyard. CeeCee is scared of everything but doing better. She was a "left behind" my wife found after the stray mother took the rest of the kittens elsewhere.
All rescues or adopters.
Oh, and I'm very allergic to cats. Yayyy.
 
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We had cats before we left for England. We found a lady that had a ranch. She took our 3 cats, 2 ferrets and a tank of fish. For years she would send us letters about how they were all doing. When we were in England a lady came to our door with a box of kittens. We took two. We brought them back with us. We had been back about 6 years and the female got sick. The vet said she only had one kidney. She faded fast. The male developed intestinal problems. We had to give him stool softeners and enemas. Eventually and sadly the vet said it's time. I cried and sobbed uncontrollably for a long time. After that emotional loss we said never again. No more cats. After we had been in Pahrump a few years I noticed a cat in our yard. There was no way he got into the yard himself. Someone had to have dropped him over our fence. He would run when he saw me. On day he was near the open garage door. I told my wife, quick get a can of tuna. He must have been hungry and came into the garage. As he was eating I closed the door and he hasn't been outside since, except to go to the vet. His name is Mr Moto. About a month later we went to a shelter to get him some companions. We looked at two cats. One of the staff told us that their mother was mean to them and that they had been in that cage for 6 months. In unison we said we'll take them. They were just about feral. Took a long time before they were comfortable around us. They are Trinket and Katnis. Then two years ago I started seeing a feral cat in our yard. We started feeding her. How she grew to be an adult with the coyotes around was a miracle. Then one day she came to eat and had five kittens with her. I looked at my wife and said how are we going to catch 6 cats. I went to a shelter and was told about a cat rescue. Before they could come out a coyote jumped over our 5' fence. My wife saw it but the damage was already done. We think the coyote grabbed a kitten and the mother went after the coyote and was killed. The cat rescue helped us catch the other four. They are Thor, Loki, Nebula and Gamora. My wife has named them all. They are all indoor cats. It took a while but all the cats get along now. We aren't getting any younger and have worried what would happen to the cats if we died before they did. One our neighbor friends will take the three original cats. We or I should say our estate will pay them $10,000 a year to take care of them. I'm working with the cat rescue to find someone they trust to take the four babies. They just turned two. My wife is 72 and has MS. I'm 68 and have my own issues. We hope the babies go before we do. But we will find them a good home first. We'll offer them the same deal as our neighbor. Probably some more money since there are four. Now I need to go dab my eyes.

Biggest problem at my age (55) is I don't want pets I can't take care of. I have 4 chickens (all named--don't get me started), and now, 3 cats. I simply will not take a pet animal and provide it poorly.

I have a couple, or maybe only one more cat(s) in me, but that will be the end of it. I absolutely hate outside cats that run un-monitored.

My inside cats know that the door is a serious thing. Two of my cats don't care. The new one may care. I'll have to be vigilant. Not a big change, I used to have a Bengal cat that would shoot outside the door to play a game of "catch the cat". I had more than one night saying I don't care if I catch this Ahole cat, or not, when he'd get loose. A couple of hours searching through the neighborhood garages gave perspective.

But I searched for him anyway, and gave him treats when I got him back in the house.
 
Can't say they were free as we paid the adoption fee to the foster but they were not "purchased" in the sense of a store or breeder.

George and Fred, brothers, now just about one year old.View attachment 646370
Gotta be honest, these cats seem to need more soft padding. :)

They seem to have trouble sleeping.

All my cats are girls, now, and that's not really a problem, but boys tend to play better with others.

2 male neuters (OK)
1 male neuter and one female spayed (OK)
2 females spayed (will fight or be at each other for the rest of their lives at times)
3 females spayed--I'll have to let you know, this is new territory for me.

Prior to these cats, I was an "only get a male cat" person.
 
I'm allergic to cats so can't have one (dander and saliva). I also live on the edge of town with farmland within a stones throw. I have seen several cats/kittens be taken by hawks, eagles, foxes and coyotes over the years. Now whenever I see a cat/kitten in my yard, I put my have-a-heart trap out. Once trapped, I take it around the neighborhood to see if it lives nearby. Nearly always, I return it home and explain about the predators in the area and I don't see that one out again. When no one claims it, it goes to the no-kill shelter. Twice over the last 25 years of living here, I have found an abandoned litter of kittens in the grass next to my shed. Those are always the hardest since they're so small and innocent.
 
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