Dammit, I Am *NOT* a Cat Person!

[Wenchie]

He's adorable! And yeah... I'd put him at about 6 weeks.. maybe 5 if he was recently abandoned.

And it looks like he's claimed you. ^_^ Welcome to being a cat-person!

[MaggieTheCat]

Chances are, its just abandoned like the other 34928479327984232 kittens that are birthed every year.

My thoughts exactly. This is how we acquired our most recent addition to the family. One of my husband's co-workers was on his way to work on a rural country road and saw this little black thing wandering around in the middle of the road. No mama cat around, no collar or other ID, no houses it could have escaped from. Very clean and friendly, no diseases or even parasites. He had to have been dumped. Lucky we found him when we did.

Make sure to bring a stool sample to the vet tomorrow, if you can get one (if you can't, they can likely...erm...go in there and get some, but it's a bit unpleasant for the cat to have to do that.) If it comes up clean (no worms) you know he was dumped; all cats get worms as kittens from their mother (the worm eggs lay dormant in a female cat's mammary glands and kittens get infected when they feed, or something like that.) So if he has no worms, it likely means someone de-wormed him, then decided they didn't want him (this is what we suspect happened to our kitten.) Also you'll want to check for fleas. Again, if he has no fleas, chances are good someone had him and dumped him. Usually strays and ferals will have fleas. (make sure to treat your dogs, if you haven't already, if he does have fleas, and make sure the dogs don't get into the litter box, especially if he has worms.)

Also, he is CRAZY ADORABLE. *squee* I wanted to reach through my screen and squeeze him.

[Pedersen]

Depending on the type of 'mouth opening,' it might be a Flamen/Flemen(sp...) reaction, basically a type of smelling.

He just started spitting at one of our dogs. Then again, that dog gave him (and me) neither space nor peace until about 5 minutes ago. I was tempted to spit at her

He seems to have settled for a bit, at least. I was worried that I was not going to be able to get any sleep at all. And, of course, as I type that, he decides it's time to mew for attention

Chances are, its just abandoned like the other 34928479327984232 kittens that are birthed every year.

Allow me to simply say: That is a seriously depressing thought.

Definitely a precious little kitty! It's my humble opinion that it's already too late to avoid attachment. Thanks for taking him in.

Yes, it is. But if his home is elsewhere, I'll send him there. Far better to have had a home where you're wanted from day one, I think, as opposed to where someone stumbles across you and takes you in. No matter how loved, it's not totally the same.

(A non-cat person wouldn't bother taking him to the vet for a check-up, either.)

My response to that? I'm an animal person. This kitten came to us needing help. If nothing else, it needed a warm bed for the night. Since I don't know what it's condition is, I'm going to make sure it's as okay as I can make it be. That's not being a cat person, that's being an animal person.

[Retail Associate]

Definitely a precious little kitty! It's my humble opinion that it's already too late to avoid attachment. Thanks for taking him in.

(A non-cat person wouldn't bother taking him to the vet for a check-up, either.)

[Whiskey]

So, the question becomes: How do I know I'm not taking someone else's cat?

hes too young for a chip. I'd be surprised if he was owned by someone. He looks too skinny to have been feeding off a mama kitty. Post up "Found Cat" flyers and if anyone can describe the cat appropriately, its theirs. Chances are, its just abandoned like the other 34928479327984232 kittens that are birthed every year.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

(snip)
Napping on my chest right now. I'll wake him up for better pics in a little bit.
(snip)

... you're a cat person! There's a poem out there by ... Omar... somethin' his last name begins with a "K," it's about how he doesn't want to wake up his pweshs kitteh~ ... or it might have been the Prophet Mohammed cutting off his sleeve so he wouldn't wake up his own furball...

Depending on the type of 'mouth opening,' it might be a Flamen/Flemen(sp...) reaction, basically a type of smelling. He might be meowing...? Just make sure he knows where food and water and such is-- with the litter box, the run-of-the-mill training is... quite literally putting the cat in the box whenever. They usually get the point. He is pretty young though, so he may not quite have all the Cat Social Graces.
Ferals usually just hide and are scared.
Good for trying not to get attached.
Good luck!

[Whiskey]

That cat has crazy face

you took five photos when one would have done it

you're a cat person now.

[Pedersen]

What does he do to make you do the flip flop between Feral/Not feral?

It's hard to say. On the one hand, he seems incredibly needy. To the point that, if I'm not actively petting him, he's mewing at me nearly constantly. Makes me worried for how much sleep I'm going to get tonight. He's also not at all afraid of me, my wife, or the two dogs. If anything, he seems quite curious.

On the other hand, he was found outside, in a neighborhood where we know we have several feral cats, alone. None of the immediate neighbors know him at all, and all of them believe he's one of the unowned kittens they've seen living under a nearby trailer. Some places in his fur are distinctly dirty, but (for the most part) he seems very clean.

Whenever I pick him up, he clutches me like he's worried about being dropped, and doesn't even let go when he can feel that he's back on solid ground.

ETA: I forgot, he's frequently opening his mouth at me. I'm not sure if it's to bare his fangs, or to ask for food/water. For now, I've got him in an old dog crate (which the bars should be narrow enough to prevent escape), along with a litter box (which I now suspect is useless for the time being), some mushy food, and water (and the improvised kitty bed).

On an amusing note, I took an old towel of ours, lined an old shoebox of mine with it, and he's comfortable and has lots of room in this improvised cat bed. He's laying there right now, in fact.

He's not feral. He isn't old enough to develop the habits of a feral cat. Hes just an asshole like all kittens are. At 8 weeks (i'd say six based on his size), all you need to do is love on him for a week and hes an immediate housecat.

So, the question becomes: How do I know I'm not taking someone else's cat? I'm going to have the vet check for a chip tomorrow, but at the young age he looks to be, I'll be surprised if he has one.

Oh, btw, invest in a cheap laser pointer, at a minimum. The results are enjoyable.

The only issue is that our dogs love the laser pointer too

Kittens are generally supposed to gain about a pound a month until they're around 7-9 months of age, so you can try weighing him to get an idea of his age, too.

1 lb, 4.75 oz. So, 5 weeks if his weight is spot on, 6 if he's underweight. Very very unlikely to be someone's kitten then.

And he IS adorable, as all kittens tend to be.

Yeah, he is. Dammit.

[Cat]

I actually snorted out loud, he is soooo cute.

Yeah, I agree with everyone, he's younger than I thought. Wee bitty thing!

I heard that "non cat" people give messages to cats that they see as friendly...something about no eye contact and aloofness.

[NotSoInnocent]

Newest pics put the little bitty at 5-6 weeks. Small scraps of boiled down chicken or cat food made mushy with water ought to do it for that little guy. Buy a small can of soft kitten food when you can. He'll get bigger on that stuff.

*falls over from adorableness* Ok. So CUUUUTE!!!

[Talon]

Dammit, I Am *NOT* a Cat Person!

If the kitty could talk, it would no doubt say something like this:

"You are now. But don't worry, I'll train you."

Seriously if someone does own the kitty, hope they show up before you become too attached.

[Pedersen]

He looks big enough for kitten food, judging by that photo.

Well, some more photos, and they are noticeably better (I broke out the good camera instead of the cell phone camera):

• http://photos.icelus.tzo.com/v/MiscS..._1131.JPG.html
• http://photos.icelus.tzo.com/v/MiscS..._1132.JPG.html
• http://photos.icelus.tzo.com/v/MiscS..._1133.JPG.html <-- used my current cell phone (the Samsung Galaxy S) to give some idea of size comparison
• http://photos.icelus.tzo.com/v/MiscS..._1134.JPG.html
• http://photos.icelus.tzo.com/v/MiscS..._1135.JPG.html

If you have any canned food, that would be even better for the first couple weeks.

Right now, I don't. I am taking him to the vet tomorrow to make sure he's okay. Hopefully, they can do some sort of quick scan to let me know if there's anything seriously wrong. Since I don't know if he's had his shots or not, I can't let them do any of those yet.

If all else fails, boil some kind of lean meat (like chicken), let it cool, then chop/shred it into tiny bites. That should at least get him through the night.

That, at least, I can do. He's not eating any of the other kitten food yet, but that could just be a case of not being hungry. I don't know when he last ate, or how much. I do know he hasn't even been been hanging out here for a full four hours yet. If you don't count the time I spent touring the neighborhood with him, I don't think he's had three hours here yet.

Also, my husband says you are clearly a cat person and you just don't know it yet.

Negative. We have two dogs. I love dogs, and always have. They want attention. Cats, though, have always had the attitude of "go away. I don't need you at all." Except, of course, this one.

Dammit. I'm not supposed to like cats.

[MaggieTheCat]

I don't think he's 8 weeks either, based on that photo. Probably 6, as Whiskey thought. Kittens are generally supposed to gain about a pound a month until they're around 7-9 months of age, so you can try weighing him to get an idea of his age, too. Though, if he is a little underweight as you thought, you might have guess he's a little older than his weight would suggest.

And he IS adorable, as all kittens tend to be.

[Krivak]

If you desire him to be solely a housecat, do not let him near the door. Our cat, despite several adventures with him running back to the house with his tail and belly dragging the ground, still has that insatiable curiousity of the outside. >_>

Oh, btw, invest in a cheap laser pointer, at a minimum. The results are enjoyable.

[Whiskey]

I'm going to hold off until tomorrow night, and only get a small amount at a time. His behavior makes me flip-flop between "he's a feral/not a feral". I don't know enough about cats to be able to tell for sure.

He's not feral. He isn't old enough to develop the habits of a feral cat. Hes just an asshole like all kittens are. At 8 weeks (i'd say six based on his size), all you need to do is love on him for a week and hes an immediate housecat.