Look what followed me home today, Mom!

lol... Me and the bf were walking around a local very wooded park earlier, and he goes "Chris! Look at that mangy cat in the woods". I looked into the woods and no exaggeration, the sun was shining through the woods (its dense) RIGHT onto the cat like it fell from the heavens.

I kneeled down and said "come here kitty kitty kitty" and he came running over, meowing. He rubbed up against me and did the "head butt" pet me technique

I started to pet him, but hes SEVERLY emaciated. He cant be any older than a year old and he was somebodies cat. There are other cats in the park that Ive seen before so Im guessing its dumping grounds for irresponsible owners I picked him up for a while and set him back down and he followed us like a lost puppy. It was cute but so sad. I picked him up and carried him the rest of the way through the park because hes so skinny, he has no leg tone at all. His hips, spine, neck, shoulders, EVERYTHING are poking through his skin like Ive NEVER seen in any animal before. This is truly something you see on tv when they report on somebody who abused and neglected animals

Anyways, I couldnt leave him - hes so skinny every bone in his body is sticking out. Strangely, he has no fleas that I could find, clean ears, and great teeth. I have an 8 year old orange maine coon at home (Meatball) so until I get the new cat into the vet, Im quarantining him in the sunroom. Hes gone potty in the makeshift litter box I made, so thats a good sign.

He eats like no tomorrow. I cant imagine the last time he had a meal. Ive been giving him dry food and some Hills Diet A/D that I have for when Meatball gets pancreatitis. Ive also been giving him Nutri-cal for cats that we have because of my Meatball. Its a gel thats full of vitamins, calorie and fat for animas that are mal-nutritioned or unable to eat.

Hello there!


Anyways, ever feel like a person or pet comes into your life for a reason? I have history of rescuing animals and have that "animal love", where they seem naturally attracted to me. I want to name him Tschotshke!

Tomorrow Ill make a vet appointment and make sure hes safe to let into the house.

 

Ha. We were outside on the patio and I turned around to check on him, he fell asleep over the back of the chair...LOL.

 

He is And super lovable!!

If we keep him (pending full veterinarian checkup), Im going to name him Tschotchke Ive always wanted to name one of my pets that (Ive already got "Meatball" - thats our Maine Coon, and "Rufus" - thats our black lab) covered..lol

 

Well so far, he has been ultra loveable all night. Slept in my arms earlier before dinner. Then after dinner, jumped up and curled up next to me on the couch and slept for an hour or so. I dont know what happened to him before meeting him today, but he dreams a lot and they seem like fighting/angry dreams

Other than that, hes eating and drinking and making potty in the litter box. Tomorrow I am going to call the vet and see if I can get him in tomorrow evening. I dont want my Meatball to meet him yet in case hes got a communicable disease from being out in the wild. Meatball is my baby, hand delivered him (yes, it was disgusting) and kept him. Hes now 8. Before you say anything, Meaty is huge framed. He weighs ~20lbs. Heres Meatball because its always enjoyable seeing an orange Maine Coon (they're rare!) :

 

I felt I should come update the thread here.

Today the cat displayed bizarre behavior and we are starting to wonder if something big is amiss.

The cat has been quarantined as to not infect Meatball or Rufus, should he have rabies or such. He stays in our heated sunroom with food, water and a litter box. Hes eating voraciously - and drinking well. Hes making many potties in the box inasmuch that I had to change out the litter today! The soonest the vet could get him in is tomorrow at 10:30am.

I got home from work and he greeted me at the back door with meows and purrs. I did bring him inside our house and sat down on the couch with him. He was laying on my chest, I was petting him and he was purring away, loving it.

Then suddenly he stopped purring, turned around and had this CRAZY angry look in his eyes and started to curl his back up. I sensed he was getting ready to lunge at my face/neck. I hurried up and pushed him off me and he jumped off the couch but this time with a much different demeanor. He was acting weird - pacing, meowing, looked very disoriented and this strange bout of aggressiveness really scared me.

With that being said, my bf was outside smoking when it happened and accused me of over reacting. He said to try it again (put the cat on my lap). So I did.

This time the bf was next to me on the adjacent couch. The cat was sitting on me. I told Brian "Im not going to pet the cat this time, lets see if maybe my petting him irritated him and he acted out". I had my hands crossed across my chest and the cat was on my lap this time. He was just sitting with his paws crossed, looked very cute. After a few minutes I felt him tense up and I looked down, he was starting at my face and growling!! he started to do that crazy lonnnggg screeching meow before two cats fight - you know what Im talking about if youve heard it. Again, he was looking like he was ready to attack me in the head!! He started to come close to me so I had to grab him by the scruff of the neck and put him on the floor. He walked away, again looking weird (head hanging low to the ground and meowing)

I dont know whats wrong with him. I checked the web for symptoms of rabies and distemper and it doesnt fit. He has a super hearty appetite and drinks water like a starving/emaciated animal would. I dont know if I should surrender him to the Humane Society before he gets our pets sick or bring him to the vet to fork out $200-$300 just to find out he needs more help than we can give.

Suggestions?

PS. in the meantime, I have stopped calling the cat "Tschotchke - his new name for the night is "satans spawn" lol

 

Yeah hes been isolated since we found him Sunday and I go into the sunroom every hour or so and pet him, check his food/water/litter and spend time with him. 99% of the time, hes been nothing but the most lovable cat Ive ever met. Hes always purring, head butting you so you'll pet him more, wrapping around your ankles in an affectionate way. Ive brought him into the house a few times so he can sniff around - hes no stranger, as soon as he found the toilet he jumped up and started drinking out of it...lol. He came and curled up next to me on the couch and slept for an hour or two.

But those 2 times he got aggressive on my chest/lap really spooked me. Ive had mean cats before - Ive never had one want to go for my face, especially one I just brought in that I found in a park.

Im surmising that either a.) Somebody dropped him off there (theres other cats Ive seen in the park too) because of an illness/disorder they couldnt afford to fix, b.) somebody dropped him off because he has bit/attacked before, c.) hes a really personable stray, d.) he really is the devils helper disguised as a cute little kitty...lol

 

Yeah I didnt think so either. But Ive never had an animal behave like that to me. I feel I gained its trust and then its like it gets this taste in its mind of being wild and wants to turn on me.

When I was ~20 years old, I was holding my cat that got spooked when a neighbor let their dog out and it ran to our front door where we were standing. The cat jumped atop my head and scratched me really badly. I had to go to the ER and get antibiotics and stitches. I know full well but a cat is capable of and it scared me when this cat acted that way. Life is precious and if I die from the complications of a cat attack, who will take care of the Prius?!?

 

Brought him to the vet today. Now money isnt totally a huge object but I asked how much the office visit, tests, immunizations would cost (for a cat that I may not be keeping). The vet quoted me $385. I cancelled my appointment at the veterinarian and then began going down my list of options... Our county animal shelter? no way, its a kill shelter. Another vet? Called it and they quoted me MORE than the first one, lol.

I ended up at our local Humane Society, which is a "no-kill shelter". I ended up leaving the cat there with a $100 donation and donated all of the food I had bought for it. They are going to keep it for 10 days under observation, get it up to health, and if I so choose, I can re-adopt it for $70. $95 if I have then neuter him.

The way I look at it is this: While the story didnt have a "happily ever after" story with ME, I did get it out of the woods where it will have eventually succumbed to either a predator, or going out onto the nearby roadway and getting hit. Now the cat will be brought up to proper health and re-adopted out to a loving family.

A funny ending to the story - remember how I said the cat became aggressive with me yesterday? Well the staff Veterinarian at the shelter took the cat out of the carrier, and was holding him commenting how well behaved and cute he was. Right after she said that, he got that crazy look in his eyes and BIT HER on the hand.