kitten (4 mths old) bigger cat/danger?

2012paddy2012

HI
WE HAVE A KITTEN FOR OVER 4 MONTHS. I WASNT EXPECTING THIS NEW ARRIVAL , IN ANY EVENT , AS THE KID WANTED IT , WE GAVE IT EVERY COMFORT AS REGARDS , COMFORTABLE SURROUNDINGS - TOYS ETC. I DIDN'T WANT IT IN THE HOUSE - IT HAS LIVED IN SHED /NIGHT TIME AND RUN OF THE GARDEN ALL DAY. I CLOSED OFF ALL THE GATES ETC TO KEEP HIM SAFE , KNOWING THAT SOME DAY HE WILL HEAD OFF, HOWEVER I HAPPENED TO NOTICE THIS EVENING , THAT THE KITTEN WAS "PLAYING" WITH A BIGGER CAT THAT ARRIVED INTO GARDEN THIS EVENING. I THOUGHT THE PLAY WAS A BIT ROUGH AND RAN THE BIGGER CAT. I THOUGHT I SAW THE BIGGER CAT URINATING HERE AND THERE AROUND THE SHED ,(MARKING TERRITORY)? IN ANY EVENT I DONT WANT THE BIGGER CAT CAUSING THE KITTEN GRIEF OR INJURY. HE IS SAFE AND WELL TONIGHT /I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO , TO KEEP KITTEN SAFE. INDOORS IS NOT AN OPTION. HE WILL HAVE TO FACE DANGERS AS WE ALL DO SOON , BUT I WOULD BE VERY SAD IF WAS INJURED HERE WHILST NEARING THE AGE TO DO HIS OWN THING. APPRECIATE ANY ADVICE PLEASE SEE PIC ....FROM ANYONE WITH KNOWLEDGE OF CATS AND THEIR ENVOIRMENT /DANGERS TO WATCH FOR ETC ..THKS PADDY
SORRY FOR CAPITALS /LOCKED ON LAPTOP!

boomerang

He is nowhere near being able to look after himself - not even considered socially mature until 18 months to two years - and so long as he is outside 24/7, all bets are off. I'm sorry, but that's the truth.

Frigating

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

HE WILL HAVE TO FACE DANGERS AS WE ALL DO SOON

By that logic you should keep your kid in the shed as well.

I agree with boomerang, that cat is not able to look after itself. Please either let it inside or give it to someone who will actually take proper care of it.

jimf

is this a wind up for gods sake hes only a baby that needs 24/7 care and attention not being left outside to fend for himself

most likely a roaming tom that visited and obviously marking your garden as part of his territory your little guy is probably ok if he submits but any cheek and he will end up seriously injured or worse

also roaming/fighting toms are the biggest cause of the more serious diseases found in the cat world

2012paddy2012

jimf wrote: »

is this a wind up for gods sake hes only a baby that needs 24/7 care and attention not being left outside to fend for himself

most likely a roaming tom that visited and obviously marking your garden as part of his territory your little guy is probably ok if he submits but any cheek and he will end up seriously injured or worse

also roaming/fighting toms are the biggest cause of the more serious diseases found in the cat world

Thks he back in shed only out supervised in garden

kylith

Are you keeping him locked in a shed!?

If you don't want him in the house give him to someone who does.

2012paddy2012

kylith wrote: »

Are you keeping him locked in a shed!?

If you don't want him in the house give him to someone who does.

Don't know what gives you that idea? Did you not read my post? He is in a shed secure and warm at night and running around supervised in garden day time.

kylith

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Don't know what gives you that idea? Did you not read my post? He is in a shed secure and warm at night and running around supervised in garden day time.

It was unclear when you said

he back in shed only out supervised in garden

it sounds like when the cat is not being supervised in the garden it's confined to a shed.

Either way, this is not an ideal way to keep a pet especially as other's have said it's not big enough to look after itself yet.

2012paddy2012

kylith wrote: »

It was unclear when you said


it sounds like when the cat is not being supervised in the garden it's confined to a shed.

Either way, this is not an ideal way to keep a pet especially as other's have said it's not big enough to look after itself yet.

Grand. We are happy enough as is the kitten. Thanks a lot for all the advice.

MileyReilly

Poor kitten that's horrible treatment

kathleen37

I appreciate that someone is taking the time to feed and water the little thing.Thank you.

Keeping it safe in a shed at night keeps it off the road and away from roaming Toms, who, unfortunately as had already been said, may decide they want to attack the kitty.

The main thing is to get the kitty neutered, as it will stop it from roaming, and protect it from various health issues in the future - and if she's female, the most obvious - stop you having to deal with a lot more kittens very soon.

Regarding the visiting cat - I think chasing it is the only thing you can really do. You do run the risk that it will attack your kitty, but again, if you don't want it in the house, that's a risk that you'll need to take.

kathleen37

Sorry, just saw the pic of the kitty - it looks lovely! And I KNOW you can't tell from photo's but that black cat is the spit of some of our female black cats...

aonb

Playing devils advocate here, think this OP got some tough replies here - but the OP has obviously adopted this kitten. He is feeding and sheltering it. There are so many unneutered cats around, that stray/unwanted/dumped/feral kittens are everywhere. So kudos to the OP for taking care of this cat. A very large number of cats are outdoor cats only. A huge number of people are feeding cats that would otherwise starve, and dont want those cats in their houses, so remain outdoor cats. The OP has provided a shelter/shed for the cat. They are feeding the cat. I volunteer with a rescue/shelter and the number of unwanted animals is just staggering, rehoming is so hard at the moment.

Ive never had a cat, but found one half dead last year, she is now the love of my life, and is indoors/outdoors at will. She was feral, born to a feral mother, so there is no way she would be an indoors cat only. I live in the country, have other animals, doors and windows open all day there is no way she could be contained. Everytime she leaves the house she faces the dangers... she leaves after breakfast in the morning, she comes home for a snooze/snack, she leave the house in the afternoon, she comes in for another snack/snooze then off again til bedtime, jumps in our bedroom window around midnight, then off to bed (indoors) with her dinner/cosy beds. As I say, she faces the dangers (albeit not from traffic) everytime she leaves the house. Thats the way it is. I love her, I feed and shelter her, shes so happy/comfortable/relaxed/loving/well cared for/neutered/vaccinated.

I worry about visiting cats - probably feral - fighting with her.

So, OP not much help to you, other than to try to shoo that visiting cat away every time you see it. Keep doing what you are doing, get your kitten neutered and vaccinated as soon as possible, keep feeding it, and letting it sleep in its bed in the shed. You do what you can and if you are sheltering/caring for an animal then thats great.

Just my 2 cents worth/opinion

2012paddy2012

MileyReilly wrote: »

Poor kitten that's horrible treatment

Not at all. Toughen up

2012paddy2012

aonb wrote: »

Playing devils advocate here, think this OP got some tough replies here - but the OP has obviously adopted this kitten. He is feeding and sheltering it. There are so many unneutered cats around, that stray/unwanted/dumped/feral kittens are everywhere. So kudos to the OP for taking care of this cat. A very large number of cats are outdoor cats only. A huge number of people are feeding cats that would otherwise starve, and dont want those cats in their houses, so remain outdoor cats. The OP has provided a shelter/shed for the cat. They are feeding the cat. I volunteer with a rescue/shelter and the number of unwanted animals is just staggering, rehoming is so hard at the moment.

Ive never had a cat, but found one half dead last year, she is now the love of my life, and is indoors/outdoors at will. She was feral, born to a feral mother, so there is no way she would be an indoors cat only. I live in the country, have other animals, doors and windows open all day there is no way she could be contained. Everytime she leaves the house she faces the dangers... she leaves after breakfast in the morning, she comes home for a snooze/snack, she leave the house in the afternoon, she comes in for another snack/snooze then off again til bedtime, jumps in our bedroom window around midnight, then off to bed (indoors) with her dinner/cosy beds. As I say, she faces the dangers (albeit not from traffic) everytime she leaves the house. Thats the way it is. I love her, I feed and shelter her, shes so happy/comfortable/relaxed/loving/well cared for/neutered/vaccinated.

I worry about visiting cats - probably feral - fighting with her.

So, OP not much help to you, other than to try to shoo that visiting cat away every time you see it. Keep doing what you are doing, get your kitten neutered and vaccinated as soon as possible, keep feeding it, and letting it sleep in its bed in the shed. You do what you can and if you are sheltering/caring for an animal then thats great.

Just my 2 cents worth/opinion

Very interesting thanks. We also bought a lovely little warm house for him. He can go in for a warm comfortable sleep or more often than not he lounges around on the top of it .. Made of warm material ... It's very funny as we come and go from the kitchen which is beside his house he gives us all a " high five" with his paw as we pass! He is very funny and happy so far anyway ( although I am some sort of monster it appears here (lol)
Thanks for taking the time to reply

Paddy

2012paddy2012

kylith wrote: »

Are you keeping him locked in a shed!?

If you don't want him in the house give him to someone who does.

Bull.

MileyReilly

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Not at all. Toughen up

Tell that to the kitten when it's getting attacked by a cat twice it's size.

doolox

I think raising the standard for kitten care to indoors only is too high for a lot of people. There are issues with family members not liking cats, hygiene issues, pet hairs on furniture causing asthma etc....

Some people prefer to have their pets outdoors.

If the alternative is not to have cats at all and get rid of them completely then outdoors is not bad.

Some people looking for perfection will risk drastic reduction in tame cat population if they insist on an all indoor cat population.

2012paddy2012

MileyReilly wrote: »

Tell that to the kitten when it's getting attacked by a cat twice it's size.

Lol Meeee...ouch lol

DBB

Okay 2012Paddy2012, and those of you (particularly MileyRiley) making passive-aggressive remarks about the care of this kitten...
Give it a bloody rest.
Not one single person bothered to report any posts in this thread. Instead, OP you took on to cause squabbles, and others took you up in it. Instead of causing squabbles, report the problem posts. Them's the rules.
If people are here to pass judgement rather than give advice, don't bother posting.
Take this as a final warning before more stringent actions are taken against posters who decide to contravene the charter.
Do not reply to this post on tthread.
Thanks.
DBB

2012paddy2012

just to say im delighted to see a mod here. not replying to the MOD.I only looked for advice genuinely at the start.
thanks to those who gave me great advice.


other than that ... I only replied to the abuse I got.

Thread can be closed now.

regards

paddy.

DBB

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

other than that ... I only replied to the abuse I got.

... Which is expressly, clearly, demonstrably, 100% against the forum charter and general boards rules.
The mod would have been here sooner had you followed the rules and reported the posts, rather than taking matters into your own hands. It is a major no-no to do so. Not reporting it caused the problems you experienced: had you reported the problem, the thread would perhaps have yielded more good advice for you.

As per your request, thread closed.