A Home for a Sweet Kitten?

DH has a cousin who moved to Baltimore this month. They called us this morning to say that they'd found a kitten and needed advice because they weren't able to keep him even for a day or 2 (schedules/2 dogs/small apt). We said we could help them locate a shelter in their area, or if they'd like they could come on out for an afternoon visit, and we'd take the kitten in temporarily... they chose that option, so now we have an adorable fuzzy houseguest!

I'll know more when I take him (possibly her, but I'm thinking "him") to our vet tomorrow, but I'd guess he might be about 6 weeks old. I think he was probably an indoor kitten until recently, since he seems to be in good shape, so possibly he was a "drop off" at our cousin's apartment complex. He's very sweet and affectionate, and I think he would make a wonderful pet!

I know some folks on this forum have been posting lately about puppies....

Does anyone have a home for this sweet kitten?

We're tempted to keep him ourselves, but this isn't the right time for us to add a kitten. We decided a few years ago that our older cat would just wear himself out trying to keep up with a kitten, so we 'd probably remain a 1 cat household. Also, just last week our vet found a heart murmur during Blake's checkup, so until we get that diagnosed and treated it's probably best to limit stress and activity around here. Blake is usually friendlier than other cats can stand, but he is not taking to this little guy... so the kitten is only a temporary guest.

The kitten is eating moistened Purina One Kitten Chow, and after a couple of snacks, he's getting the hang of eating food from a bowl. He seems familiar with the litter box concept -- another reason to think he was an indoor kitten.

He was clear-eyed and alert but a little subdued when he arrived. As he's feeling more settled and enjoying a full belly, he's also getting more playful.

Shoelaces are a special fascination!

This message was edited Jul 30, 2007 12:41 AM

Like most kittens, he also has an excellent "angelic" expression.

I'll post a photo on the bulletin board at the vet's, and I'll get in touch with a local adoption organization if need be, but it would sure be fun if we could find this kitten a "forever home" through our DG friends. Let me know if you or somebody you know could give this sweetheart a good home!

I don't know what he thought he was stalking here on the couch, but suddenly he thought it had spotted him, because he gave a startled leap backwards and nearly fell off the arm...

Oh, what a sweetheart! I love his beautiful coloring too.

Best of luck in finding him a 'forever' home!

What a sweet kitten - just wish I could give him a home! Puppy search right now is about all I can handle :( We applied for a puppy "up your way" (Mt. Airy) but hadn't heard anything yet and when I went back to the site to look at "her" again she wasn't there :(

I'm sorry your puppy went home with somebody else... The kitten is still here! ;-)

He's just so sweet and friendly... whoever he ends up with is going to have a wonderful cat!

Has Blake come around at all? It seems to me he might have had a change of heart, since his owner has clearly fallen head-over-heels!

We have found that bringing a younger puppy into a household with an older dog can actually add years to the older dog's life, since the older dog ends up romping around with the new one (at the new one's insistance) rather than just moping all day.

But maybe dogs and cats are different in that regard.

The vet says Blake shouldn't romp right now, and maybe that's why he's being so odd with this kitten... We need to get his heart thing diagnosed and start treatment before we do anything else. He goes to the "kitty cardiologist" on the 8th.

With any other cat, you'd say Blake's response was normal... but we've never seen him be anything other than delighted to meet a kitten before.

Sure, I love this little kitten... but I don't think he's meant to be mine. I'm just going to make sure he's used to being loved on and cuddled so that he's as charming as possible to his new family!

Critter, that is suuuch a cute kitty. And I love kitties too. Unfortunately, both my husband and I are allergic to them.. **sigh** Or I'd be so getting that one. Guess all the travel probably doesn't help with pets either.. **sigh** Oh well..

Someone will be lucky to get such a cute kitten though..

critter, are you going to the specialist in catonsville (sp?)....with our move from martinsburg to strasburg we'd probably go in a different direction, but one of our great pyrenees had to have knee surgery for both knees and the specialist in catonsville was fabulous...the whole complex and all of the various specialists was amazing to see....the vet situation for us has really been a step or two backwards since our move from colorado springs...we had two emergency vets, one with 24hr care and specialists within 15 mins of our house.....now we are an hour or so to leesburg for regular pets and in the opposite direction to waynesboro for wildlife

lynda

btw...the kitten is adorable....we have an older one that looks a lot like him....we also have "not our cat #9" and possibly a "not our cat #10" otherwise i would take him :-)

We'll be taking Blake to Dr. Tyrell, in Leesburg. I think Blake maybe isn't feeling quite well, as his reaction to the kitten is typical for an adult cat but completely atypical for Blake... he's been "mom-cat" to a couple other kittens, and if he'd fallen in love with this one he could probably have persuaded us to change our mind about keeping him... but we'll respect his opinion/reaction here, because I think he probably knows what he can deal with.

The brother of one of my best friends just moved into a new house with his family, and they've been thinking of getting an indoor cat... she is calling him now, and my fingers are crossed! I'm tempted just to bring him over and let him make his own "sales pitch" LOL.

his little face is a great sales pitch!

I've sent his little face on over via email...

He purrs like rocks in a pepper grinder!

Well, my friend's SIL wasn't quite ready for a kitten... but the vet's office knew somebody who might be interested, a retired gentleman... that could work out really well for this wannabe lap-cat!

The kitten got a clean bill of health at the vet's yesterday. He had a distemper shot (he was very brave) and a dose of de-wormer (just in case). His FLV/AIDS tests came back negative. He had no issues at all, not even ear mites, so he'd definitely been in a home until recently. My cousin has been asking around and putting up signs just in case, but it doesn't look like anybody lost him, so we're still thinking he was dumped under that bush. I'm glad he was found!

I printed up some flyers and have been handing them out to the neighbors... I figure it's good to start spreading the word more widely, even if that means (hopefully) lots of calls coming in after he's been placed.

There aren't many people that would go through this trouble and expense when they don't even intend to keep the little one. I wish the world had more people like you Jill :)

Well, we figure that sort of balances things out in a world where people would dump a kitten under a bush.

Our vet's office does their bit, too. They just adopted out another orange tabby kitten that one of the receptionists was fostering, and they also placed a pretty grey kitty that came over from the pound to be neutered and "was just too sweet to send back."

The more time I spend with him, the more I'm thinking he'd make an exceptional companion for an older person. Even when he's feeling feisty and playing, he's still quiet and gentle. He's already learning to keep his teeth and claws to himself when he plays -- I'm teaching him that it's fine to bite his toy bunny, but not to bite my thumb.

Please do ask around and think of who you might know that and might like to give this sweetheart a home.

The kitten might have found a home!

I've had a couple of people express interest, but nothing definite yet. So I printed out a flier with photos. I decided to head over to a local "senior community" and see about putting the flier on the clubhouse bulletin board, because I think this kitty's gentle personality makes him especially well suited as a companion for an older person. I got turned around, and stopped to ask 2 ladies who were out gardening how to get to the clubhouse.

Of course, I told them why I wanted to post a flier and showed them the kitten's photo... One turned to the other and said, weren't you just telling me your brother is looking for a cat? She got all excited, we talked for a few minutes, then she followed me back to my place to meet Kitten. She was all for scooping him up on the spot, but I wanted to be just a little cautious -- this little guy has a piece of our heart, so we're feeling a bit protective. She called her brother (who doesn't drive) and went over to pick him up, then he spent a little time with the kitten also. By that time, my DH was home, so we both "grilled" him, LOL.

I think this could work out. I got some references (vets their family is using or has used in the area -- they're "pet people" although he doesn't have a pet presently) that I'll call tomorrow, just to double check. His financial status seems a little uncertain, but he has a job and isn't on his own since it sounds like his family is helping out as needed... and I have no doubt that his sister would step right in if there was anything this kitty needed. (If she didn't have a needy geriatric kitty of her own, she's probably have wanted Kitten for her own.) He's a quiet sort of person, and he's definitely looking for a sweet lap-cat to dote on. He's got 2 boys (5 and 9) that stay with him 2 days out of the week, and the boys have lizards now and have lived with pets before.

I'm a little nervous because I've never placed a kitten for adoption before. But I think we can trust our instincts, and both DH and I thought this guy was really good in the way he interacted with the kitten.

I'll check the vet references he gave (clinics that his mother and sister take their animals to), but I think I'll probably be calling him back tomorrow to see when I can bring Kitten to his new home.

So if anybody is "wavering," now is the time to speak up! :-)

Thanks to everyone for your help!!