Wuv That Critter!

[Dragon Warrior]

Ever met a stray animal like a cat or raccoon or dog around your property that was obviously not owned by someone? Was it nice... at first? My house acts like the modern day Dr. Doolittle residence because strays seem to appear at my door a lot (and I live in the country). Well, I have been wise enough to avoid most animals, but I have had a tendency to think they're cool.

One was a dog that actually was owned by our neighbors, but they didn't take care of him. So one day, we took him inside after he feasted on leftover spaghetti in our trash and we cleaned him up and crated him (we weren't sure if he carried disease or anything). After the neighbors didn't want anything to do with him, we took him to the vet, got him checked out, and officially adopted the pup. He was almost one year old then. We named him Duncan :) Sadly, a few years later he bit me while protecting me and my mom put him to sleep. Made me sad, damnit ;_;

A year or so ago we received a homing pigeon. You know, a pigeon people use to race or deliver messages. He stayed around our house for a long time. My dad looked at his foot and found his number, then looked him up. Turns out after talking to the owner that his home was a looooong ways away. I think in another state. He eventually flew home, I believe. But it was exciting, nevertheless. The cats liked it.

Speaking of cats, there was one in my garage one day. I drove into the garage and heard a meow. I looked around and saw a kitty on the top of my garage door. Since the door is broken, it was a nice resting spot for him to watch the birds in the garage from. I called to it and it came running down the rafters and up to me. It was really friendly, but you'd think I'd be smart enough to avoid a stray cat due to disease. But I played with it. I was... what? Seventeen? It was only last year or so. Anyways, we were having fun, but then he got too frisky and clawed my leg and took off. I was like, "What in Gavin's name ;_;" I cleaned the wound and all was well. But damn cat...

... I thought we had something ;_;

Have any of you found strays and interacted with them?

[IceRose]

Man! you and the animal kingdom, well I've picked up a few stray animals, dogs, cats, lizards( don't ask) and birds but noting like you, animals follow you dude! I've had like 7 cats but then I found out I was allergic to cats so I gave them to my uncle. A dog I had I found him well he was with his mom, well they were just puppies so I took care of them, until my dad gave them away to my uncle. I was sad.

[Dragon Warrior]

It sucks to be allergic to an animal, especially if you love them dearly. Luckily, I'm not allergic to any. But yes, animals seem to like me. I haven't even said all my animal adventures. Why, one time we got a sheep dog off a farm. Wow... that's about it XD But hey, she's still with me after about ten years :D

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

The only instance of a stray wandering into our house was earlier this summer, I was sitting out back reading, watching the cats when all of a sudden this big flash of white darts across my field of view. At first I thought it was a very large stray cat that wandered in, we do get them from time to time but they never interact with us which is what this was different. When it stopped, and the cats had all climbed up trees I saw that it was in fact a dog, a white mongrel terrier of some description.

He sat there looking at me for a moment, wagging his tail and doing that thing with his tongue that dogs do when they're happy. He seemed very friendly, even jumping up on my leg looking for a bit of attention, so I patted him on the head and rubbed his back and sat there playing with him for a while. Eventually I got up a bit of a stick and started to play fetch with him, which he was remarkably good at, I wondered where he might have been from seeing as how we live out in the countryside and dogs tend to roam a little. I spend a good three hours out in the sun just messing around with him, had more fun that day than in a long time before that.

He stayed in the garden for much of the day, going off to explore other parts of the farm and sheds around the house. I've lost dogs before, and so felt obligated to place a message on the local radio station asking if he was anyone's dog. I got no response from the radio message and when I woke up the next morning he was gone, probably either gone home or roaming off somewhere else. [/SIZE]

[Sage Kaley]

I can think of two times that really made me happy, although animals do seem to wander freely in these parts...

The first time was when we were plowing the driveway in the winter and I found a little white lab puppy buried in the snow. He was the cutest thing, I played with him all day and pretty much had dad convinced into keeping him. Except then the neighbors drove up and asked if we'd seen him. I hid him in the back and dad ratted me out. I really wanted to keep him too, that was a few years ago.

About two years ago I found a cat too. Big orange tabby which I assumed was female for whatever reason and named Mia. Mia would randomly pop up and I'd play with her and it was great. That one I wasn't allowed to keep at all though. Dad doesn't like cats anymore so he said I either had to send her to the pound or give her to a friend. I gave her to Jameson, at which point he told me it was a boy and Mia became Nash. Jameson also lost him. Poor Nash.

[Raiha]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=DarkOrchid]So there I was walking to the bus stop to be bused to my "inner urban" high school. A huge husky looking dog was standing between me and the street, preventing me getting to the bus stop. It growled at me when I made a move, and it refused to let me slide past him. It looked unkept, collarless, unkind, and very hungry. It barked when I slowly raised my hands over my head and told it in a deep voice to go away.

It backed up, tail between its legs. I took a step forward and it lunged. I'm going to thank my thick jeans, backpack, and reflexes. I backed into someone's mail box, hurt my back, and nearly fainted. It backed up though, probably afraid I'd hit it when I slowly removed my backpack and contemplated throwing my books at it. Just then, earning my thanks and gratitude, my neighbor pulled up in her Ford truck. I climbed in when she motioned me to do it and she gunned the motor and got me to the bus stop. The dog was never seen again. She said she'd never seen it around and I said I was glad it wasn't foaming at the mouth.

So I leave strays alone. They commonly leave me alone. Most pigeons hit our windows and die. So I have to go out there and bag them twice to prevent the spread of West Nile Virus. I live in the county where people died from it after all. And we don't have dogs much on the street I live on today because the neighbors have this thing called locking gates. And big guns. And Harley motorcycles. Any dogs they keep are dangerous to the layman and therefore must be properly restrained at all times. I've seen rotts walking their masters around the parks we have here. And pitbulls and other dogs that are all usually in the news for mauling some child. So yeah. No cats either, thank you dogs. And I've never seen stray fish except for the goldfish in my mom's pond that showed up one day.

I suppose if I lived in the country I'd get more strays. But I don't think it's a good idea to do anything but call animal control, which I've had to do too often. I've never had worse experiences than the one above. You see, I like dogs and I wrestle with my pastor's rotts on the floor all the time. The slober is great. And so are the gentle bites that raise welts but don't hurt. All the "big brave" guys that visit him are usually hiding upstairs when the dogs are let in the house. Bwahahahaha!

GIRL POWER![/COLOR][/FONT]

[Maully]

One day while out for a drive, my boyfriend and I found a tiny kitten in the middle of the highway. We pulled off and she came running right over to the car. We took her home and bathed her and gave her some milk. She was so cute and tiny. I named her Mini-cat.

I took her into my home, and things seemed fine, but a few weeks afterward that she started with some problems. She seemed to have bowel control problems. Poo would just ooze out of her. As she was super sweet, I took care of her and took her to the vet and just cleaned up after her. Once I got pregnant though, she had to go and cat feces is especially dangerous to little unborn people.

I miss my Mini. ;_;

[Dragon Warrior]

[QUOTE=Molleta]One day while out for a drive, my boyfriend and I found a tiny kitten in the middle of the highway. We pulled off and she came running right over to the car. We took her home and bathed her and gave her some milk. She was so cute and tiny. I named her Mini-cat.

I took her into my home, and things seemed fine, but a few weeks afterward that she started with some problems. She seemed to have bowel control problems. Poo would just ooze out of her. As she was super sweet, I took care of her and took her to the vet and just cleaned up after her. Once I got pregnant though, she had to go and cat feces is especially dangerous to little unborn people.

I miss my Mini. ;_;[/QUOTE]

Charming tale. One reason this cat might of had problems (aside from possible diseases or worms since it was a stray) is that you gave it milk. If this is continuous, it could've been dangerous. Most cats are lactose intolerant and milk is very harmful to them. Some adult cats are fortunate enough to be able to handle it.

[Panda]

Okay, time for a mini veterinary lesson everyone! The disease that pregnant women are afraid of is called Toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis infections can occur by eating cat feces from an infected cat, eating contaminated meat that is undercooked, drinking water infected with Toxoplasma or get it from organ transplant or blood transfusion. If a pregnant woman or someone who is immune suppressed is very careful (uses gloves and washing hands) after cleaning a litter box AND making sure the box is cleaned daily, the risk of Toxoplasmosis is low. I have worked with plenty of pregnant vet techs who never had a problem with Toxoplasmosis while pregnant even though they worked with dozens of cats daily during their pregnancies.

Also, like DW said, many cats are lactose intolerant and any change in their regular diet can give them diarrhea. Another question is if this cat was a Manx, or one that has a very short tail. Many cats with very short tails have problems with their bowel movements. Worms can also cause diarrhea too. All in all, there are many things that can cause this problem, including stress (nervous colitis). I don't want Molleta to think I am picking on her, I just wanted to explain it to everyone on the boards. I want to actually give kudos to Molleta for taking a stray to the vet, many people don't want to even do that.

I just wanted to set the record straight for those who may not understand how Toxoplasmosis is transmitted. In other words, DON'T EAT CAT POO!! (FYI, lots of little kids get it from eating "stuff" they find in the sandbox on the playground. Keep the cat, great rid of the sandbox in the playgrounds!)

Now on topic: I have four pets who have all been rescued. I am sure you can tell by the way I started out my post that I have worked in veterinary medicine for many years. I, like all my co-workers, have a collection of pets who were brought into the clinic, abandoned or have special needs. Many of the pets people who work in vet med take home are the ones that won't do well in a 'normal' home.

For instance, my cat Harrison was born with a birth defect. His front legs didn't grow correctly so can't be an outdoor cat. He hops around like a bunny instead of walking -- or stalking-- like a normal cat. I live in a very rural area and many people keep cats for work on their farms as mousers. Needless to say, Harrison will never be a mouser. Many of those cats become coyote food and cats like Harrison wouldn't last very long.

Much love to all of you who have rescued pets. The only thing I ask of all of you is for safety first. If you don't feel safe dealing with a stray, call animal control since they know how to handle stray animals safely. You don't want to get hurt or hurt the animal. An example of this would be one day when my hubby and I were driving home from the gym.

On the highway was a big traffic jam. We finally make it up to the vehicles holding things up and there is a Pit Bull in the road. Apparently this lady hit the dog and didn't know what to do. I went to check the dog and she was more scared than anything else. The poor lady who hit the dog had a car full of kids crying. I tell them it's ok since I am a doggie nurse. There was a man in a truck who stopped and I asked him if he could give us a lift to the vet clinic I worked at. I pick the dog up and we get in the back of the truck. The poor stray had some major road rash but that was it. The woman gave me a hug and all the kids did too. No one wanted to touch the dog since 1) It was a stray. 2) It was a Pit Bull. 3) They didn't know what to do.

The woman and the kids came back daily to visit the dog and no one ever claimed her so they paid the bill and adopted her. In our state a stray is held for 48 hours before it can be adopted. And since no one claimed her they did. She really was the sweetest dog. Poor Pit Bulls get such a bad rep.

I love helping animals and if I had more room I would have many more pets. My pets are my kids and I love them very much.

[Raiha]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=MediumTurquoise]While I agree that Pitbulls have a bad reputation. Think of why they were bred. To fight bulls. And other large animals. So it stands to reason they'd be aggressive. Granted, if raised from a puppy in a loving home with little children that aren't pulling its tail and harassing it, Pits can be very good pets. But generally, most people that have bulldogs have no idea what the hell they're doing.

And they're lax about discipline and don't weed out bad habits when they show up. I'm not saying all Pits are destined to bite humans, I'm just saying they're pre-disposed to do it. Or they were abused and neglected and were otherwise treated badly by their owners.

I saw a miniature doberman puppy running around outside today. Dad pulled over and I got out of our van and tried to get it close enough so I could read its tag. Instead it snarled at me and bolted. I followed it at a distance to see if it was going home or looking to get hit by one of the many trucks that drive around my housing area. It eventually went home and the owner gave me a dirty look. I politely asked him to restrain his dog, since it was running in the main road and could've been hit. He told me to, and I quote: "***** off." So...I can assume he's a bad owner and shouldn't be trusted to keep anything as a pet. He obviously doesn't know the city laws about restraining dogs and probably doesn't even know that his dog was trying to get into someone's garbage can.

Idiot people...[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Pumpkin]

[SIZE=1]What a great thread. Seriously, I mean it. Like [i]Panda[/i], I have adopted four pets that I rescued. My family and I have caught about 20 kittens or above overall, and took atleast 15 adult cats to get neutered or spayed so that they don't increase the feral population. Where my dad's shop for his construction company is, there is a whole cat colony since its right across from a small local dump.

Just because they are scared, does not mean that they won't grow to like you. They just have never been around humans before, and you have to get them to socialize with you. Despite this to me as being common knowledge, when I asked people if they would like to adopt them, and mentioned that they were in fact "feral" (meaning strays) they would quickly reply no. Most people find this disturbing, and want nothing to do with cats that are "Dirty" or "Unmannered". In all truth, all the cats that we adopted out have always been timid, healthy, and most of all friendly. I don't see whats the difference between a feral cat and a "house" cat. Not all feral or strays are mean and can not be a pet, atleast in my experience. I seriously don't get some people. The neighbor was even trying to shoot the cats until we stopped him. The first cat we caught was my cat, Nyrobi, who suprisingly walked right up to us and wasn't scared in the least bit.

The funny thing is, we only had one kitten that was rough around the edges. But in the end, over time, she turned out to be one of the sweetest of the bunch. We've worked with forgotten felines, which is actually a group around my county thats sole purpose is to cut down the number of feral cats because people are not taking care of them and there is so many where I live. The only downside is that everything is not free and it's not cheap. We've had to pay for mostly everything and of course, had to get them tested for serious illnesses. Soon, the vets office would always call the kittens we brought in the "golden" kitties since we had to spend so much money on them.

Thats one of the reasons why we quit rescueing kittens from the shop. Another was, the last ones we caught. We cleaned them off (since they were covered in fleas) and then we noticed that their belly's were swollen. We took them to the vet and found out they had [b]FIP[/b][i](Feline Infectious Peritonitis)[/i] which is a fatal disease that is contagious. We had to put them to sleep which was our first experience ever having non-healthy kittens and knowing that it would spread into the colony. They were only weeks old and it really was hard to see them go.

I have five cats all together, and the fifth one is from a neighbor who moved away and didn't want his 11 year old cat (who by the way has heart disease and had Amonia at the time) anymore and abandoned it. My mom even had to confront him and he told us to keep him. He hadn't been to the vet in three years and was seriously looking in bad shape. We ended up keeping him and he lives outside our house now. Another thing is, We all seem cursed in finding stray kittens. When my sister moved into her new house, the owners had left their black kitten there. And then there was someone who dumped a cardboard box with the mother cat and it's kittens on her lawn. And just yesterday, a grey cat has been showing up at her house and looks like it has no owner.

Yup, it looks like I'm cursed. But I'd rather take the animals that nobody wants, everyone's got to have a home. And for those of you who think I'm insane for writing this much, you have no idea. *Is an animal lover for life*
[/SIZE]

[Azure Rose]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Oh the cat-filled memories...

When I lived in Italy I had many fun times with stray cats, which, if you've ever been there, you'd know that the two things Italy has in abundance (besides art and excellent food) are pigeons and cats. This one gray cat, Mama Cat, as she was known to the neigborhood (it was mostly military people where I lived) had 3 or 4 litters of kittens while I was there, and they were irresistable to every kid there. We named them, played with them, made them a home, and you can be sure, everyone had a favorite. Mine was a little gray stripey kitten that I named Playful. Ah, she was soo cute. Unfortunately, since most of us couldn't take the kittens home, they usually met tragic fates. Playful was hit by a car ;_; In the end though, Mama Cat was adopted by one of the families, and you can be sure they spayed her.

My favorite cat though, had to be a Siamese with bright blue eyes who hung around my friend Lauren's house. We named her Blueberry, and she was gorgeous, stray or no. Haha, we'd bust out Lauren's sister's t-ball stand (that little toy that has the soft rubber ball attatched to an elastic string on a stand, you know what I'm talking about...) and would play "fetch" with her until she was tired and would wander off. It was so fun, and that cat was so sweet. But she wandered off one day and we didn't see her again. We decided she probably fell in love with a nice boy cat and was going to be a mama cat. Silly, but hey, we were only 10. ^_^

At any rate, I had a lot of fun with stray cats when I was younger, but we didn't actually get a cat of our own until we moved to Hawaii. When we did, we got two. So now, I have Jade and Rocky, my awesome cats. I'll be really sad when I have to leave for college the year after next, you can't have cats in a dorm, lol. [/COLOR]

[Guest MasterDarkNinja]

There aren't really that many strays around here, we just have a few of the neighbor's cats wondering around our backyard at times.

Once when we went camping we had a fun time with a stray squirrel though. My older brother had brought some fishing gear along, and he tied a nut up real good with a fishing rod's string (I forget exactly how he got it on so tight, it was a long time ago so I don't really remember). Anyway he cast out the nut 5 feet away from our campsite, and a squirrel that had been nearby soon went up to the nut and put it in it's mouth, and then tried to leave. But my older brother started to try to reel it in, it was funny watching the squirrel fight back to keep the nut. After like 10 or 15 seconds the fishing rod's string broke and the squirrel got away with the nut. :p

[2010DigitalBoy]

My brother used to be a turtle fanatic. He had turtletoys, he had turtle shirts, his favorite Pokemon was Squirtle, and he loved Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles.

Of course, all that was left was a turtle. Let me tell you, I can't even count the number of turtles my mom has found on the side of the road and brought home.

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[QUOTE=Panda]Okay, time for a mini veterinary lesson everyone! The disease that pregnant women are afraid of is called Toxoplasmosis.

Poor Pit Bulls get such a bad rep.
. [/QUOTE]

[color=darkviolet]I like the fact that there is a risk of Toxoplasmosis by cleaning out the litter box. It got me out of cleaning my cat's box for ten whole months :D!

Okay now for the whole stray animal thread and why I kept Panda's line about pit bulls

I have a cat and my brother has a dog.

My cat was technically a stray she still acts like she is some times. A girl that worked with my ex-husband had found a litter of kittens and since our other cat had ran away he brought one of them home for me. They pre named her Domino. I call her Dumino.

My brother's dog was a stray we got him from Lollypop Farm which is one of the local animal shelters. He's a pit mix, but he looks very pit in his face and paws. However he's very tall and scrawny instead of bulky (my aunt's dog is also a pit mix and she has the pit body but not the face.) He's hardly agressive-actually he gets his butt beat by my cat and my dad's ancient beagle. You can take food or toys away from him and he's very protective of my daughter. I don't understand why so many people think that pits are such agressive dogs, this one's a push over. It's all on how you raise them.

When I was little we had two cats Abby (because my mom found him at Abotts and thought he was a she) and Pouncer. Pouncer was wondering our neighborhood and one of the kids asked my mom to take him in. Abby ran away when we were repairing our adition. Pouncer kept going outside and he got into a fight and was hurt very bad. We went to the vet to try and save Pouncer, but it would have cost too much, so my mom put him to sleep.

Two of my grandparent's dogs have been strays. My papa found Lucky (a beagle) in the woods where he hunts and took her home. We called her Lazy because she just didn't move! My grandparent's house got robbed and she didn't move! She died after choking on a piece of rawhide. Go figure.

The one they have now is named Moe. He's a German short hair pointer and he's a bit snippy at times. He also doesn't bark. Odd dog.

That's all I have to say.[/color]

[kayutori_sama]

The only instace I can say for a strange stray is one time, my friend found an opposum in her yard.