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I want a kitten!


Jeffrey

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Out back behind the warehouse where I work is a kitten, about 2 months old. We feed her but now that the weather's getting cold, my coworker said he thinks we should take her to a shelter. Well I would love to adopt "Socks" and I'm in the process of trying to convince mom to let me bring her home. I think the cost of bringing in a new cat is what's really got her saying no so I'm trying to figure out how much it would cost and whats involved with bringing in a stray because our other cat we got from the shelter.

So these are my questions to all you cat people, especially ones who have rescued a stray before. She would need to be spayed and get shots at the vet, what else should be done (at the vet) before bringing in a stray? Whats the general cost of these necessities? I definitely also want to bring her to be groomed once before I bring her in the house (dont want the other cat to catch something, if anything). Cost of that? We live in North Jersey a few miles outside NYC if that has any effect on prices...

If I can get all of the above taken care of for less than $300, there's a good chance I could get this kitten.

Here's a picture of Socks, and behind her, the shipping pallets she lives under. :D

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Oh, she's lovely! But I would keep her away from your other cat until you bring her to the Vet.They will test for diseases and worms etc...give her her first shots(I believe they get 3)She's way too young to be spayed yet but discuss that with the Vet.I think you might save up for the spaying...but I bet Mom melts when she sees her. And she will probably be a playmate for your other kitty.Here is a picture of the kitty that someone dumped in our bushes.She's frisky and rolls and tumbles with our other three cats( with an occassional growl or hiss) but they are always together!! :D

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Oh, she's lovely! But I would keep her away from your other cat until you bring her to the Vet.They will test for diseases and worms etc...give her her first shots(I believe they get 3)She's way too young to be spayed yet but discuss that with the Vet.I think you might save up for the spaying...but I bet Mom melts when she sees her. And she will probably be a playmate for your other kitty.Here is a picture of the kitty that someone dumped in our bushes.She's frisky and rolls and tumbles with our other three cats( with an occassional growl or hiss) but they are always together!! :D

Aww Llyn, she's adorable! who would dump that little one anywhere!?

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this is my other cat, Shadow. Twins? I think so! He just turned 15 in August but he wouldn't be Socks' big brother because he lives at my dad's house. Socks would be the younger sister of 5 year old Java.

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mom has seen the picture of Socks and she hasn't melted lol :D

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First of all, are you sure she's a "she"? The reason I ask -- it costs substantially less to neuter a male than a female.

The vet should spay/neuter her (this can't be done until she's 6 months old, usually, although some vets do it at different times), give her a rabies shot, a feline distemper shot, check for feline leukemia (a blood test), check for worms (when you take her to the vet, take a stool sample that you're sure is from her).

I'd think that your budget of $300 would cover most of this. Last cat that we took in, it all came to $100..but we're in the midwest.

Look around in your area for "low cost spay and neuter clinics", or call the humane society and ask. Ours has a "special" - -$50 for spay/neuter, so that would be well within your reach.

Sounds like you're working? Start saving your $$! Indeed outside cats live a pretty short life, particularly when they're hanging around commercial establishments with all the traffic in/out!

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The 300 sounds like a good price range. I had my cats neutered and spayed and it was cheaper to have the male done then the two females. I think that's partly because with males it's less invasive...I did my highschool job shadow at a vet and they were neutering a puppy and I was able to watch, took them less then 5 minutes...This was before I realized I have a fear of needles and tend to swoon at the sight of blood. That changed my carreer field in a heartbeat. LOL I think that's pretty close to what I spent on all three of my cats but I also remember getting a slight discount because we did them all at the same time. I live out west but I can't imagine the pricing for that to be too drastically different. I would go for it. She's a beautifull cat. Oh and they did make me wait till they were all 6 months old before they would neuter/spay. Good luck!

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Find out if there is an Animal Welfare League in your area. They will be able to tell you if there is a spay neuter mobile unit or something like that. I can get my cats spayed/neutered for $40 and that includes shots.

Also call your local animal shelter or dog pound so they can tell you if there is special help out there for shots and surgery. I would take that love in the second I saw. Such a cutie!

Good Luck!

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but if he/she is 2 months old, he/she has missed a substantial part of socialisation.

allthough i am a catlover myself, and i do think its a cutie, i think you should consider that too.

and as said above,please hold her/him seperate from your other cats untill you are absolutely sure the kitten is healthy.

can't say anything about costs where you live, as i live abroad, and my cats are not spayed/neutered because i intend for them to have a litter.

but having one cat chipped, the shots, deworming and anti-flee costs about 100 euros over here.

so i think 300 dollar would be more then enough to cover the costs.

then i buy food for the cats and a litterbox and cat litter.

and they have a scratch pole.

you can see in your local store whats the cost of that.

a last warning to keep in mind:when a pet does get ill, the costs for treatment can easily go skyhigh.

so try to get your kitten insured.

that should be quite inexpensive, a few dollars a month, and can prevent a lot of heartache.

(maybe you can even get the insurance to cover neutering/spaying)

i understand your mother totally.

another pet is another responsabilty.

anyways, i wish you and the kitten lots of fun!

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thanks everyone! I'll let you know what happens. i printed out copies of the picture of socks and taped it over every picture frame in the house and set it as my mothers background on her computer :D

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Three hundred should cover the things to be checked with getting a new kitten. The only cat I have that wasn't from a shelter is Cali. She was born outside to a cat not really well cared for. I took her to the vet first thing before bringing her home to my other kitties. She was checked for feline leukemia, given immunuzations and checked for parasites. She was only six weeks old so didn't get spayed or a rabies shot til she was six months. The total came to a little under $300 for everything by the time it was all done. The other three from shelters were not as much to start but sometimes one will get your attention like the one you want and it's hard not to pay the extra if you really want the kitty. My avatar has a picture of Cali at about eight weeks sleeping in a doll bed. I couldn't resist her. :D

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Good luck with the kitty! When I took Spunky in, he was also about 2 months. He was tested for feline lukemia, among other things, had all shots, was wormed, neutered, had one eye removed, and was treated for an upper respiratory infection (so medications plus an overnight stay) and I paid $375 for all of it. Obviously, he was a mess. I think $300 is a pretty safe estimate. He is more anti-social than my other two but he was less social than the other kittens even before I took him in. Sometimes he'll come over and love on you but that's when he wants too :D

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Cali is adorable and Spunky is super cute! My husband is worried I'd come home with another animal that is disabled in some way. My family dog at my parents has seizures, my first cat thought she was part dog, my spiny mouse was missing part of her ear, my bird had one leg and a deformed wing from birth, and all of the gold fish I had were missing fins or eyes. I couldn't not take them home! He's happy that the only thing "wrong" with my current 3 cats is one lost his voice as a kitten and never really got it back resulting in a very very strange meow, our grey cat I think might have asthma she wheezes when she plays and my beautiful black cat was afraid of heights when we got her. I would have taken Spunky in in a heart beat!

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thanks everyone! I'll let you know what happens. i printed out copies of the picture of socks and taped it over every picture frame in the house and set it as my mothers background on her computer :D

:D i think you will win :D

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:D i think you will win :)

I think you are right :D

She told me to sit down last night and she asked how you introduce a new cat to an existing one and stuff like that. Then she was quiet for a while. Then she said "But I dont like cats........." and then she turned to Java and said "I don't like you, no I don't, no I don't, I don't like you" in a silly baby voice. :lol: So I said "Wow you love him!" :p

It means shes thinking about it and may be considering it...

:D

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I think you're close! Way close!

Now you need to talk about how cold it is out there (or soon will be), how "a kitten that small won't last through the winter", how forlorn the little guy (gal) looked when you fed her...

As for introducing a new baby to an existing cat -- take your time. Lots of time. Don't expect them to be "best buddies" the first day..or first week. We usually keep the newcomer "in isolation" in a separate room (with a door that closes) for at least the first week. They'll smell each other under the door

and in our case, one of our cats would shove her paw under the door and "touch paws" with the newbie. :D

After the first week or so, under careful supervision, let the new guy out. The other will screetch and hiss and carry on. So long as no fur flies, let them screetch at each other. They're working out who is boss, who is "in charge". Given that this is a kitten and your other is an older cat, this might not be so big an issue (in our case, they were all "near adults" when they came in).

Put the new guy back into isolation, and "love up" the present cat, let her know she's still "top cat", and "I love you best!"...all that sort of mushy stuff.

Keep doing this..letting the new guy out, longer and longer periods of time. Sometimes this will only last another day or two..sometimes longer...let them sort it out for themselves a bit (but again, with no fur flying!).

Good luck!

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Ann is right. Jack up the guilt trip to 11!

It is cold and going to get colder. Baby needs to come inside where it is warm. We need the extra fuzz ball to keep our feet warm. :D

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Cali is adorable and Spunky is super cute! My husband is worried I'd come home with another animal that is disabled in some way. My family dog at my parents has seizures, my first cat thought she was part dog, my spiny mouse was missing part of her ear, my bird had one leg and a deformed wing from birth, and all of the gold fish I had were missing fins or eyes. I couldn't not take them home! He's happy that the only thing "wrong" with my current 3 cats is one lost his voice as a kitten and never really got it back resulting in a very very strange meow, our grey cat I think might have asthma she wheezes when she plays and my beautiful black cat was afraid of heights when we got her. I would have taken Spunky in in a heart beat!

Haha! That sounds like me.......special pets! My family always jokes about this but I swear it's like they seek me out. They know I'm a sucker and I'll take care of them. I actually just spoke with a lady about taking in her two horses b/c they can no longer afford them......I find out that the mare is 25 w/asthma and the gelding is 10 with a cataract in one eye :D Oh well, I think it's what I'm meant to do!

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WOW! I don't think I'd know how to care for such a large animal. Horses scare me anyways, I think they are beautiful creatures but I won't get to close to one. Horrible experience as a child kind of gave me a phobia about them.

I think taking in the unlucky animals runs in the family...I don't really know my dad's side of the family very well. I only know 2 uncles and 1 aunt and since he had ten brothers/sisters that's not much. But when he noticed the pets I was bringing home he told me that his brother is the same way and that people in his area knew it so they'd abandon their pets in his yard knowing he'd take them in. This led to him owning a 3 legged pig that became the family pet. He said that his brother felt so bad he went and had a prostetic leg made for it and when it was upstairs you could hear the close to 300lb pig running across the floor. LOL

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My Cindy is a "special" cat -- she was thrown into a bonfire when she was pregnant, and 1-1/2 years old. Suffered horrible burns on her face, stomach and back legs in particular. Lots of scar tissue --the vet worried when he went to spay her that her poor tummy wouldn't manage the extra surgery (but she did fine). We have her and one of her kittens (the others didn't survive). One of my boys has a "sensitive stomach"..we feed him a special diet or he'd be throwing up all over (and you don't wanna know about the rear end.. :D ). My other boy is just plain cat.

The girls (Cindy and her kitten) came from a shelter; the boys "just showed up", one year apart, in our back yard. We live in the country. People are forever dumping dogs and cats around here. There are a couple more wandering around in the yard as I speak..I'm hoping they find other homes before winter..or what I told Jeffrey (it's getting too cold!) is gonna be my excuse....

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Well right now it looks like shes coming home with me next friday November 12th. We have houseguests coming this weekend so all the commotion probably wont be good for a new kitten. Mom asked me whether I was going to bring her home regardless of her answer and i said most likely i would. she rolled her eyes and said ok...

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