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A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (Pics)

Sky56

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

I love it! What a happy cutie! And now he is a she! Thanks for putting a smile on my face. :appl:
 

momhappy

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

So glad that it's working out for you so far! And yes, it sounds like you've done everything you can to find a previous owner. I wonder how long you have to wait before you can assume that Oreo is yours? By the way, I absolutely love the name Oreo :D
 

OreoRosies86

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Well that's what we are wondering as well. We said a month, but I can already tell that the longer it takes, the harder it would be to give her back. If the owners surfaced 6 months from now? Totally heartbreaking. We will be happy for the time we have with her, however long that might be.
 

missy

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Elliot86|1397147267|3651203 said:
SHE is doing great! At first she had no clue how to play, but now she is loving tearing apart those feather on a string toys. Caught the two kitties rolling around in catnip earlier this morning :lol: She's pretty wiped out from all the activity, but I sneaked a quick picture. I called around to all the nearby vet's offices and shelters but no one has reported a missing black and white cat. The spca is obviously totally over extended in terms of taking more "tenants" so they are happy with the current arrangement, as are we. It will be important to have her spayed sooner rather than later even though she will be exclusively indoors and our male cat is neutered. It feels like the to-do list is a mile long but we'll get there.

Oreo is a beautiful girl! Spaying her will also prevent her from getting certain cancers so it's a good idea for many reasons to be sure. Love her name (our Fred's original name was Oreo-another black and white but more black than your Oreo) and love her disposition. So glad she found you. The fact that she didn't know how to play makes me think she was a stray and didn't have a previous owner. She's in a loving home now and many congratulations on the new addition to your family. :appl:
 

momhappy

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Elliot86|1397166974|3651416 said:
Well that's what we are wondering as well. We said a month, but I can already tell that the longer it takes, the harder it would be to give her back. If the owners surfaced 6 months from now? Totally heartbreaking. We will be happy for the time we have with her, however long that might be.

Yes, I could have an animal in my house for a day or two and become emotionally attached, so I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have to give one up. When we got our last puppy, we got two because my mother-in-law wanted one too. For a whole week, I had both puppies in my house and it was glorious!!! I fell in love with both of them and it was really difficult to give the other one up. He now lives out-of-state and I see him maybe once or twice a year.
I would think that it would be pretty safe to assume ownership of oreo after about a month. At that point, I might even start taking down signs, ads, etc.
 

OreoRosies86

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Sleeping with twitchy paws. Good dreams I hope!

_16864.jpg
 

movie zombie

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

twitch paws means she is really relaxed and into very Deep Sleep.
she feel safe.
personally, I'd stop the search. why? you called the vets and the SPCA and there are no reports of missing cats matching the description. maybe wait a week and call again. the prior person caring for Oreo didn't care enough to get her spayed.
I'm leaning towards the "she was dumped in the neighborhood" camp.........
 

Maria D

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

The one other thing you could try is to post a "Found" craigslist ad, and check the "Lost" ones for your area. I had luck reuniting a cat that had been missing for 3 months and was about a half mile away from home. It turned out it was an indoor cat that got out, hence no collar. They hadn't micro-chipped because they didn't expect the cat to get out. I never saw their Lost Cat signs because it wasn't a neighborhood I had any reason to go to. Just like Oreo, this cat showed up on my doorstep and was happy to come in. I was very surprised when I later found out it had been missing for so long as it appeared in good shape and well fed. We figured people must have been feeding it all along. A mystery only the cat knows the answer to!

I'm wondering how you know the cat isn't spayed? When I adopted one of my cats as an adult from a shelter they didn't know she had already been spayed until they shaved her belly and found the scar.
 

Meezermom

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

I think it's time that you both get used to the idea that you are now the proud new "parents" of another kitty, so I think you should stop the search. You left word everywhere possible, and at this point, all of you are emotionally attached. Congratulations! :):)
 

OreoRosies86

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Maria D|1397174026|3651495 said:
The one other thing you could try is to post a "Found" craigslist ad, and check the "Lost" ones for your area. I had luck reuniting a cat that had been missing for 3 months and was about a half mile away from home. It turned out it was an indoor cat that got out, hence no collar. They hadn't micro-chipped because they didn't expect the cat to get out. I never saw their Lost Cat signs because it wasn't a neighborhood I had any reason to go to. Just like Oreo, this cat showed up on my doorstep and was happy to come in. I was very surprised when I later found out it had been missing for so long as it appeared in good shape and well fed. We figured people must have been feeding it all along. A mystery only the cat knows the answer to!

I'm wondering how you know the cat isn't spayed? When I adopted one of my cats as an adult from a shelter they didn't know she had already been spayed until they shaved her belly and found the scar.

I don't know 100%, I only followed the very basic SPCA advice (cat comb/wet paper towel flea test, check for a spay scar). I was just saying, knowing she is female now means getting her spayed will be at the top of the medical care priority list in case she is not yet.
 

Gypsy

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Elliot86|1397176842|3651522 said:
Maria D|1397174026|3651495 said:
The one other thing you could try is to post a "Found" craigslist ad, and check the "Lost" ones for your area. I had luck reuniting a cat that had been missing for 3 months and was about a half mile away from home. It turned out it was an indoor cat that got out, hence no collar. They hadn't micro-chipped because they didn't expect the cat to get out. I never saw their Lost Cat signs because it wasn't a neighborhood I had any reason to go to. Just like Oreo, this cat showed up on my doorstep and was happy to come in. I was very surprised when I later found out it had been missing for so long as it appeared in good shape and well fed. We figured people must have been feeding it all along. A mystery only the cat knows the answer to!

I'm wondering how you know the cat isn't spayed? When I adopted one of my cats as an adult from a shelter they didn't know she had already been spayed until they shaved her belly and found the scar.

I don't know 100%, I only followed the very basic SPCA advice (cat comb/wet paper towel flea test, check for a spay scar). I was just saying, knowing she is female now means getting her spayed will be at the top of the medical care priority list in case she is not yet.


if she isn't spayed there is a much higher chance that she isn't owned or that she was abandoned.

You need to know her age and her spay status ASAP, I agree.
 

NOYFB

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

She's too cute for words! Seriously. Please feel free to post more pics! I agree that if she isn't spayed and nobody has come forward yet that she was probably a stray or abandoned. If either of my babies got out I would be putting signs up everywhere, calling every vet known to man, the SPCA, and scouring the streets myself until I found him/her. The fact that nobody is out there doing that for Oreo tells me that she didn't have a loving home...until now. So happy that she feels safe now. :love:
 

hippi_pixi

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

by Lil Misfit » 11 Apr 2014 05:53
I agree that if she isn't spayed and nobody has come forward yet that she was probably a stray or abandoned. If either of my babies got out I would be putting signs up everywhere, calling every vet known to man, the SPCA, and scouring the streets myself until I found him/her. The fact that nobody is out there doing that for Oreo tells me that she didn't have a loving home...until now. So happy that she feels safe now. :love:

just because nobody has come forward yet doesn't mean she was stray or abandoned. they might have just not found you yet or the cat may have travelled a great distance, maybe they are away on holidays and someone careless was watching the cat.

i had the similar thing happen to me. during heavy rain a really fat cat we had seen (and heard) the last few days followed me into my apartment complex and chased me up 3 flights of stairs and pushed past me into my apartment. made itself at home and demanded food. he/she had no collar and found out later no chip. we happily fed and sheltered it and in the morning it occurred to us she wasn't fat she was pregnant! we are not the ideal fosters for a heavily pregnant cat! so we took her to our local animal shelter / vet who told us we needed to take her to the pound next door where she would stay for 3 days and then if no-one came forward she would be taken in by the shelter and cared for, her and her kittens fostered and eventually adopted.

we felt this was a great outcome for our pregnant stray cat! my heart sank when i came home one day 2 weeks later to find little flyers under every apartment door with a name and phone number looking for their lost cat. i didn't question them on why it'd taken 2 weeks because I was pretty shocked that i had given away someone elses cat! i thought i was doing the right thing! and shocked it had taken them 2 weeks. i never found out what happened in the end because i was too upset to follow it up.

i would say enjoy oreo but never consider her adopted. who knows when oreos loved ones might turn up!
 

TC1987

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Such a gorgeous cat. I could look at her all day. :) I love to see cats so obviously relaxed and happy like that.
 

dk168

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

I would have kept her, if Jess the cat allows me to do so that is.

Not knowing how to "play" with toys also makes me think she is a stray and lacks human contact/interactions.

DK :))
 

Meezermom

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

We have three cats (all inside). All three are spayed, have i.d. tags, and all three are microchipped (in case one of them got out of the house). Just as someone else has said, if any of my cats got out of the house, I would be looking all over, leaving signs, pictures, calling every Veterinarian and rescues, leaving ads in the local newspapers. The fact that no one came forward pretty much says it all. BTW, I'd steer clear of Craig's List. When we were looking for a siamese companion cat for our siamese, we answered an ad, went to their home and I've never seen so many dogs and cats in one little house. The cat we came to see couldn't get away from this woman fast enough - it also wasn't a siamese as advertised. We think they were "pet collectors" - probably responding to ads for "found" pets, claiming they were theirs and selling them. We reported it.
 

Andelain

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Elliot86|1397169823|3651442 said:
Sleeping with twitchy paws. Good dreams I hope!

Next time you find her conked like that, take a bit of tuna or lunchmeat and put it in front of her nose. It's funny to watch them wake up like that. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

Maria D

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Meezermom|1397229405|3651773 said:
We have three cats (all inside). All three are spayed, have i.d. tags, and all three are microchipped (in case one of them got out of the house). Just as someone else has said, if any of my cats got out of the house, I would be looking all over, leaving signs, pictures, calling every Veterinarian and rescues, leaving ads in the local newspapers. The fact that no one came forward pretty much says it all. BTW, I'd steer clear of Craig's List. When we were looking for a siamese companion cat for our siamese, we answered an ad, went to their home and I've never seen so many dogs and cats in one little house. The cat we came to see couldn't get away from this woman fast enough - it also wasn't a siamese as advertised. We think they were "pet collectors" - probably responding to ads for lost pets, claiming they were theirs and selling them. We reported it.

Just because you did i.d. tags and microchips for indoor cats doesn't mean that someone who didn't doesn't love their cat every bit as much as you love yours. It isn't known for sure whether Oreo is spayed or not. I wasn't talking about craigslist to adopt a cat but to find the owner of a missing one. As in, Found: Lost cat in (general vicinity). When I did it, the person emailed me a picture of their lost cat so there was no question it was theirs, nothing sketchy about it. They were beyond thrilled to be reunited with their cat. They did look everywhere, called vets, put up signs and ads in local papers - none of which I saw. The cat was only half a mile away as the crow flies but much further if you took human routes. When I found the cat I didn't call every vet in the area - I put an ad in craigslist. The owners didn't see it (not being craigslist users) but people they knew did and notified them.

tl;dr Just because it appears to YOU that no one has come forward doesn't mean that someone isn't heartbroken and looking for this cat. And, craigslist is a great resource for lost/found ads. No difference between a craigslist ad and any other method of announcing a pet has been lost - it's just casting a wider net.
 

OreoRosies86

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Maybe I should close this thread? I really did not want to continue a back and forth about finding the cat's owners, because I feel I have done all I can and quite frankly I'm not convinced one even exists. I'm not going to hold a press conference on the town square, I'm just doing the best I can with the resources I was given and it's a happy thing to find a new friend, but also a lot of pressure that I'm not doing everything 100% perfectly. I'm not trying to be defensive and I do appreciate all the advice, but this is an emotional time :(sad
 

Meezermom

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Elliott - You have done everything you possibly could. I'm glad this beautiful kitty found you and your SO - it will have a good and safe life with you.
 

isaku5

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Oh puleeeeze! This kitty looks as if SHE is at home right now :appl:

Yes, get all necessary testing and spaying done, BUT the proof is that kitty didn't know how to play. It may seem unimportant now , but a kitty that can't play is a very unhappy girl.

Get her checked out, by all means, but kitty loves you and your home :love: If there is an owner, where oh where is he/she? If I lost my kitty, I'd be out there day and night calling his name and rattling his treat box.

IMHO Oreo belongs to YOU!!! :wavey: :appl:
 

madelise

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Elliot86|1397230909|3651785 said:
Maybe I should close this thread? I really did not want to continue a back and forth about finding the cat's owners, because I feel I have done all I can and quite frankly I'm not convinced one even exists. I'm not going to hold a press conference on the town square, I'm just doing the best I can with the resources I was given and it's a happy thing to find a new friend, but also a lot of pressure that I'm not doing everything 100% perfectly. I'm not trying to be defensive and I do appreciate all the advice, but this is an emotional time :(sad

I'm sorry this is turning out to be an emotional time for you. IMO, you've done everything right. Someone will always have an opinion on how you can do better, no matter what. You have an amazingly big heart, and your partner does too. I'm glad people like you two exist. For everyone else b*tching, let's ship them one of those millions of cats that are abandoned, abused, and eventually put down by the "humane" society.
 

Maria D

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

wow, what a touchy bunch!

My last post was directed at Meezermom. I suggested to the OP that one more thing she could try was craigslist. Meezermom came back with "craigslist bad". I wanted to correct that as it is clearly a great resource for this type of thing AND because *someone else* may lose or find a pet some day and end up finding this thread.
 

OreoRosies86

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Sorry for being "touchy" I suppose.

Anyway, after I hopped out of the shower today I sat down to dry my hair and Ms. Oreo settled right down on my lap and is back in twitchypaw mode. It is worth noting that she is sleeping on a wet towel. Don't most cats dislike water? :lol:

_16886.jpg
 

Madam Bijoux

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

I trust Craigslist about as far as I could throw the Empire State Building. It's full of cruds up to no good. You have done everything for that dear cat- keep her.
 

missy

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Oreo is now your cat Elliot. There's a few things that point to the fact that she either she was a stray or not in a safe and loving home. Now she is in a safe and loving home and please keep it that way. Be careful of anyone stepping forward to claim her if they do. I do not trust Craigslist at all. Totally agree with Madam Bijoux-there are a lot of weirdos and people up to no good there.

And for the very few posters here who are complaining you are not doing enough well I wonder how many cats they saved from certain death. How many of them went to shelters and rescued the cats that were about to be put down? How many strays do they own? Ridiculous they are criticizing. Just ignore them and good for you and your dh for saving beautiful Oreo. She's a lucky girl and you are her lucky parents. :appl:
 

lulu

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

missy|1397254545|3652045 said:
Oreo is now your cat Elliot. There's a few things that point to the fact that she either she was a stray or not in a safe and loving home. Now she is in a safe and loving home and please keep it that way. Be careful of anyone stepping forward to claim her if they do. I do not trust Craigslist at all. Totally agree with Madam Bijoux-there are a lot of weirdos and people up to no good there.

And for the very few posters here who are complaining you are not doing enough well I wonder how many cats they saved from certain death. How many of them went to shelters and rescued the cats that were about to be put down? How many strays do they own? Ridiculous they are criticizing. Just ignore them and good for you and your dh for saving beautiful Oreo. She's a lucky girl and you are her lucky parents. :appl:[/quote

I absolutely agree. Responsible pet owners spay and neuter. Period.
 

dk168

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Apparently my cat was a stray and had a litter before she was neutered and re-homed.

However, she was not chipped by her previous owner, and I had her chipped as soon as I could after collecting her.

She had to be kept indoors until she was chipped for a couple of days, and she was so unhappy being indoors all the time she p'ed on one of the chair cushions! :rolleyes:

DK :))
 

NOYFB

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Elliot86|1397241073|3651886 said:
Sorry for being "touchy" I suppose.

Anyway, after I hopped out of the shower today I sat down to dry my hair and Ms. Oreo settled right down on my lap and is back in twitchypaw mode. It is worth noting that she is sleeping on a wet towel. Don't most cats dislike water? :lol:


Oh my! She looks so happy! :love: She looks healthier, too. Her fur looks so much better than in the original pic you posted. She has definitely found her home. Don't let the naysayers turn this into a negative experience for you. You have been chosen. Enjoy it.
 

VapidLapid

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Re: A cat sat on my steps meowing to come in... Now what? (P

Isn't craigslist where people get bedbug ridden mattresses, proposals from Nigerian Princes and terminal sex dates?

If you are confident that you have done due diligence in looking for a possible previous family of Oreo (and I think you can be) then you should relax and enjoy the new member of your family and be proud that you did a good, noble and kind act
 
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