Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
I ADORE cats.
I have nine at present. I take all the ones that are helpless, abused, mistreated, neglected or homeless and i give them a home, pay all their vet bills to get fixed and healthy.. then three shots a year... until I can find them a loving and responsible homes.
All the ones that are unplaceable... missing limbs, emtionally distressed or otherwise impaired, will live with me forever.
I placed about 2 dozen cats and 2 dogs over the last two years.
I love teh kittays.
How do you tell if a cat is emotionally distressed? There's a stray cat family (2 adults, 6 kittens) that's been living on my porch for about 3 weeks now. We are taking care of them because the neighborhood has a stray dog problem. The kittens are all right but the momma cat looks....sad all the time. Maybe one of her kitties was killed by a dog?
Awww....
Well, most cats will, after some time, learn to trust and they will be friendly ... to some extent. There is a small percentage of them that will never, ever come around. They will always be unfriendly. I have had so many truly feral cats that have to varying degrees become less wild. Most even let me hold them for a time. Some just never, ever come around, feral or domesticated. I call them distressed.
Also, some cats that have been abused never get 100% over it. They will, again to varying degrees, always be skittish or scared or the like. Or they will be really needy and always wanting to be close because that is the only way they feel safe.
When I bring a new cat home... 90% of the time, they will adjust to everyone else within a few days, a week at the most. If they do not, I look for the problem. Even if they don't always get along, they usually give each other wide berth and get on with life. If that doesnt happen, I take extra effort to find out what is happening with the new adoptee. More times than not, it is emotionally distressed.