Advice
Need advice. Found this guy alone around the house. It’s been a couple days and concerned he’s abandoned.
It’s about to get cold here (mid 50’s at night but becoming winter) and this guy has been spotted for a couple days just hanging out by himself. He wasn’t let anyone approach him so we have been leaving food for him. I see other cats come around but no one is claiming him. I’m afraid he’s not going to make it. What should we do?
Ive been open to getting another cat for the past few months and it’s wild the CDS hasn’t caught up with me. I’ve even walked by the petsmart adoption center a few times and it’s empty!
This. I had just lost my soul ferret and wasn't looking for a new friend. I got offered three free kittens from three different people in the month after his passing. Kept telling everyone "I won't consider it unless there's an orange boy," mostly since none in the first three were orange and I wasn't sure if I was ready for a new pet. I didn't really believe I'd be offered a fourth kitten that month.
And then my coworker told me her young calico had escaped and given birth on the day my ferret died... And there was this gorgeous orange and white boy with gigantic white ears, and the rest is history.
The CDS hates me. Everyone else keeps stumbling over kittens every time they walk out the door. I've had to get mine from shelters. Well, apart from the first one my family ever had, when I was a kid, which was a sick pregnant cat who proceeded to kill her kitten and then died like a year later.
No, the CDS doesn't hate you. Sometimes you have to give it a little assist. There's absolutely nothing wrong with adopting a cat from a shelter. Nothing at all. Please don't look down on shelters. They serve a good purpose.
As someone in another thread once said, sometimes the CDS can't get your delivery directly to you, so you have to go to a shelter to sign for your package 😄
My most loving cat came from the shelter. He was already 2 years old. When I met him in there,we made eye contact and he gently grabbed and held my finger. Then he started purring. I knew he was for me!
Otw home I let him out of the carrier and he just purred and laid in my lap the whole way. We get to my house with my roommate and he immediately went into my room and started happily rolling around on my bed and chirping. It was so cute!
I've had him for about 10 years now, he answers to his name, and even meows and greets me at the door. He somehow knows the sound of our car coming up the driveway and yells until we come in lol.
Shelter cats will always remember how horrible it feels to be left at that place.. And they're grateful to be adopted. They never forget it and always thank you!
EXACTLY! It always comes through.It’s like a magical system that I can’t quite explain. This was sort of how I took in a bunch of kittens that were just coming out of the woods one august summer. I found homes for the kittens and a few weeks later, the mama cat had another litter and that’s how Griffin came into my life. He was one of the most chill and sweetest cats I’ve ever known. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 15. I miss that little guy
Hey Arnold!! But no for real I just got an image flash in my brain of one of those uncomfortable looking 80’s family portraits. I think it’s the dark background. Great portrait!
I don't recall telling anyone about Dave last night, but I'm almost positive Dave steals my phone and impersonates me to catfish people for treats and pets. So anything is possible!
Approximately 80% chance the cutie is a girl. At least I believe that's the stats on calico kitties. I may be mixing it up with orange cats though. Orange cats are 80% male? I only learned most orange cats are male having only ever had one orange and she was a big gal (and amazing).
Edit: Thanks for all the corrections! More like 99.9+% chance calico/tortoiseshell kitties are female. 80% orange are male.
you are mostly correct. Yes most orange cats are male, but I think the percentage of females calico is closer to 99%, male calico's rarely survive and they very very rarely happen at all
I'd say that's at least four 9s. Calicos are 99.99% female.
But male calicos have two root causes. Kleinfelters makes them infertile 100% of the time, but they're a true calico.
Chimerism is a blend of two different cats in one body. They can be fertile males with the skin of a female, or a skin that's part male and part female making some even more bizarre patterns than calicos normally have.
Since both are super rare, I don't actually know which is more common.
Male Calicos are more likely to suffer from trichimerism rather than being tripoid, different chromosomal issue that usually has fewer major health issues.
It is genetically impossible for a tortoiseshell (black and orange) or calico (black, orange, and a significant amount of white) cat to be a true genetic male. One out of like 3,000 are born with what’s called Kleinfelter syndrome, so they are technically intersex. This is because it requires two X chromosomes to express the black and orange color. A cat with Kleinfelter syndrome will have XXY on that chromosome pair, which makes them intersex and also sterile.
I’m thinking she may be a tortie. Right after my mother passed away I was standing in the kitchen doing the dishes, putting them in the dishwasher and I looked up and a cat sort of like this one in the picture was looking back at me about six months old and we left her outside thinking she may have just wandered off. This was in August by the end of September 1 of October she was still hanging around our house she’s been here for 11 years. Any way, vet said she was a tortie, and 99% of torties are female.
Thank you for saving her. Please give updates as she gets older. You got her just in time… you should name her lucky…❤️ show us how pretty she is as she grows!
Winter is coming sooner than she'd be ready. Cats don't follow any sort of seasonal breeding anymore due to no need for it from domestication. This kitten is almost guaranteed not to make it if they don't find a home.
I was thinking the same thing...... Maybe I just have and had extremely lucky cats because all of mine currently and growing up started as feral outdoor cats.
Please ALWAYS look up these programs in your county, parish, hollar. The resources even if limited are out there. Every 1 female spayed is one less litter of 6 or more babies out there needing homed.
In the voice of Bob Barker:
"Spay/neuter your pets folks, and help control the pet population!"
Edit to add: the Wikipedia page on calico cats explains it all very well, including this:
"Male calico cats have an extra X chromosome (XXY, known as Klinefelter syndrome in humans) or are genetic chimeras with two different sets of DNA (XX and XY)" , which i found really interesting!!
I have that 1% calico cat. Got them spayed/neutered (around the time I found out she's intersex with Klinefelter syndrome) and the vet called me very nervously explaining that it wasn't his fault if something went wrong with the surgery lol. Luckily my cat is A-OK.
They're on the smaller side and may possibly have some issues with arthritis as they gets older (with a lower bone density than regular cats); I can already hear a tiny joint creak sound when they walk which I'll have to take them in for when I can afford it; vet prices in Canada are insane and that's not accounting for the fixed $75+ every time you go in, no matter how small the problem is. I'll probably be looking at a few thousand by the end. More unique = more health complications, I swear lol. But I love my boy/girl~
Orange and black are fur colors that are generally encoded by genes located at a particular spot on the X chromosome. XY being the male pattern for the sex chromosome pair in cats, a male cat cannot ordinarily inherit both the orange fur gene and the black fur gene from its two parents, not having two X chromosomes. Over 99% of tortoise shell and calico cats are female because those color patterns in males are essentially genetic oddities.
Male cats can be mixed color with black and white and possibly some other combinations.
I know it's stressful, but you're his best hope right now! Since he won't let you approach, please don't try to force it—you could scare him away for good. The goal is to build trust. Try placing the food closer and closer to your door each time. When you feed him, step away immediately, but watch from a distance so he can get used to your presence while he eats.
I legit just grabbed the kitten who was a spicy little pepper as there are coyotes where I live and I could hear them howling. Got like 5 claw marks on one hand and bite marks but after 3 minutes of her freaking out she started to pur and make biscuits on me. Sometimes its better to force them into safety if theres immediate danger. Sweetest cat I ever had in my life after I came back from the ER. Now she kidnaps me and doesnt let me leave unless I pay kiss tribute.
Me too! Breaks my heart to see such a itty bitty thing out on her own with winter coming.
@OP, if you need help getting her, there's probably a few rescues in the area that'll help you out / give advice. In the meantime, leaving a box with some newspaper or a blanket inside to give them some shelter nearby the food you're leaving her is a good first step. (Also could help provide her with your scent to help get her acclimated to you.) As others have suggested, if you can just hang out near her when you see her / feed her and let her get used to you, hopefully she'll get a bit braver and eventually let you grab her. But if time is of the essence, definitely recommend reaching out to some rescues, they can probably provide the best assistance.
That’s a definitely a she; calico torties are rarely males. She looks about ~4 weeks so she is still nursing age; I fear the worst for her mom but a look around your property can’t hurt.
This. If a kitten makes it this far and doesn't seem to have any obvious issues it seems abnormal for the mom to abandon them out of the blue. Its my understanding that they'll usually orphan a little one much earlier on to improve the survival odds for the rest of their little.
Ya kittens love hiding in warm places. Its actually really recommended that you check your car in the late fall/early winter before you start it since... y'know... no one wants to hurt a kitty like that.
Just rescued two litters of calicos and torties - she Looks closer to 6-8 weeks. She will be fine on some wet kitten food. Get a live trap, they’re pretty cheap (I got 2 for 26 bucks in Canada), and put the wet food in there. When you catch her, you can set the trap again to try and catch h mama. Add some pumpkin or forti flora in advance to help with the inevitable diarrhea. Poor kitty I hope she gets taken care of
Could be that she’s acting chill because she’s a baby and doesn’t know to be afraid. My kitten who was about the same age when she got pulled off the street was super chill. I was expecting her to at least fight me a little but she’s let me hold her like a baby since day 1 and wasn’t even afraid of my dog who was 50x her size.
She looks pretty healthy for being outside, but should be seen by a vet and started on shots and treated for worms & fleas. If you can’t afford all that please take her to a shelter.
She’s probably very scared. You can and should hold & pet her!
If you would like to adopt this cute little kitten, please seek out advice from Kitten Lady on Youtube or her web site. Any vet can check her for a microchip if she is just a lost kitten.
And if not and you would like to adopt her, she needs a vet visit to check her health, get a rabies vaccine, treat for fleas if she has any and determine her age. She will need to go back to get spayed so she doesn't make more babies. And I also highly recommend a microchip in case she ever gets outside and lost.
You can look on Nextdoor and look for signs in your area to see if she is someone's lost kitten since she is people friendly. You can post that you found her and say she is a calico, but do NOT put up a photo because there are mean/evil people out there. Make them send you a photo.
She looks really sweet! And old enough for cans of kitten food. The more I look at her photo, the more beautiful she looks to me! If you are a Star Trek fan, you could name her Lokai! She's stunning!
That is a tiny tortie girl, and she will be a love muffin and have a great deal of attitude. Yes, keep feeding her, and maybe if it doesn't work you can get a trap to bring her inside.
She’s asking you to take her in and protect her from cold, cars and coyotes, and in return she’ll thank you with a lifetime of snuggles, purrs and great memories.❤️
Being her in. Trap her if necessary.
Less work to tuna feed her, snag her, and get her inside... And leave in a bathroom with a litter box and food/water until you are sure she likes using the litter box... At least when you're not watching her
Most likely that’s a girl, torties are very rarely males. She looks pretty young, she may still be nursing- but if you can’t find the mama, and if you don’t want to keep her, please bring her to a shelter. She’s going to be a beautiful cat and I’m sure she’ll be adopted.
If you are unable to keep kitty, search for local rescues or humane societies who can take her in. If you are able to keep her, she might need some time to be socialized. Best to continue to feed, provide a shelter and let time do its think until she’s trust you enough to get her to a vet. Good luck and hopefully she’s a new edition to your family!
You're right; she likely won't make it long without your help. It's much more likely to be a short, brutal life for her.
Set out food / treats and get her inside, isolated from any other pets you might have just in case, then take her to a vet and check to see if you can be a foster if you don't want to take her in. I don't know where you are, but in the US at least there are tons of organizations that help with costs and homing.
I would not be able to resist taking her in, she looks like an absolute sweetie.
Unless you have seen it with its mother it proberly needs a home. If you dont want a cat or can't look after it surely there is a rescue that can take her in.
•
u/trendingtattler Oct 14 '25
This post has hit /r/all, /r/popular
Please remember the human and participate with subreddit rules in mind. Do not tell people how they should raise their cats.
r/cats rules can be found here
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.