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Another cat problem - looking for a shelter :-( — Brooklynian

Another cat problem - looking for a shelter :-(

stuygal
stuygal
edited November -1 in Brooklyn Pets
Hey Ya'll,

I posted on this board a while back about a cat that had taken up residence in between the outside doors of our brownstone. He was very sweet (at the time) and I made it my mission to find him a permanent home so that he wouldn't be back on the streets after the building owner put a stop to the cat squatting. This all occurred in January 2008.

Fast-forward to the present... apparently (according to my nice and very sane friend who adopted the cat) this cat is evil. He scratches and bites and "caterwauls" (I just learned that word :P ) all night and now he's started taking the litter out of the box and dragging the litter box liner and litter into the middle of the room and just pooping/urinating on the floor. :( He's gotten the cat checked by a vet and even tried giving him some "Rescue Remedy" to calm him down.. but it hasn't worked. I actually cat sat a few weekends ago and he seemed fine, but he definitely was NOT the same friendly, happy cat that I remembered.

So this morning I get a text from my friend saying that he is going to boot the cat out today. I tried to get him to take the cat to a shelter, but at that moment he was too pissed to listen to me. I told him to hold off on booting the cat out until I could figure out a way to get him to a shelter. I don't have a car and live in Bed Stuy. Does anyone know of any shelters in relatively close proximity? Or maybe a shelter that picks animals up?

Has anyone else had a similar experience with a stray? He was SUCH a sweetheart when he was a stray. Always purring and rubbing up on us and following me down the street. When I cat sat last week he was just a regular aloof cat who really didn't want to have anything to do with me unless it was time to eat.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling. If anyone knows of a shelter or has any advice please post. :(

Comments

  • MOD
    MOD
    Oh gawd that's awful. Can someone (I wish I had a car!) pick the cat up and introduce it to a feral colony?
  • jimmylegs
    jimmylegs
    is he neutered? his behavior sounds like that of an antsy unfixed male cat.
  • stuygal
    stuygal
    Hey Ya'll...
    @ Mamacita- The only thing with this cat is he's a chicken. When he was squatting outside our house he seemed petrified by the stray cats. Everytime someone would come home he would run into the safety of the door and hide. My landlord was pretty sure that one of the neighbors left him when they moved, so he's probably an indoor cat... just not a very nice one.

    @ jimmylegs- He is neutered. He was neutered when we found him. My co-worker suggested that he be let outside during the day, but my friend is uncomfortable with that b/c he thinks he's going to have to go out looking for him everyday or that he'll come back home with rabies. Do you have an indoor/outdoor cat?
  • MOD
    MOD
    There seems to be a good amount of Out/Indoor cats in my area. I can see all the back yards from my kitchen. They're all very happy, but they do belong to garden apartments. None stray very far, they stay in their or the neighbors back yard. Maybe this cat needs something like that, but good luck finding a new home. It's rough out there and not a lot of people have the patience for a wild kitty. I bet Caseo could train it, but her house is all full I think.
  • brookboy
    brookboy

    Subject: Take the cat to a shelter...

    Abandoning the cat is not the right thing to do.

    Check with Brooklyn Animal Resources Coalition (BARC). They are a privately-funded no kill shelter in Williamsburg. I don't know if they'll pick up the cat, but they probably will take it, especially if the alternative is just tossing the cat. And if they cannot take the cat, they will advise you on what to do.

    Do the right thing here. Take the cat to a shelter.
  • stuygal
    stuygal

    Subject: Re: Take the cat to a shelter...

    brookboy wrote: Abandoning the cat is not the right thing to do.

    Check with Brooklyn Animal Resources Coalition (BARC). They are a privately-funded no kill shelter in Williamsburg. I don't know if they'll pick up the cat, but they probably will take it, especially if the alternative is just tossing the cat. And if they cannot take the cat, they will advise you on what to do.

    Do the right thing here. Take the cat to a shelter.
    LOL um... brookboy that was the whole point of the post. He's not my cat and I was trying to prevent my friend from booting him...

    Thanks for the info on BARC.
  • leozoeypiper
    leozoeypiper
    He shouldn't be put back on the street. I don't necessarily think that is the answer - especially if he was an indoor cat. Maybe he is unhappy in his current situation. Do you have anyone that could foster him? Shelters are all full this time of year - it's kitten season. It's doubtful that you would ever be able to get him in. Animal Care & Control do pick up animals but they do euthanize. Maybe try Mutts and Mitts - they are a new Brooklyn animal rescue organization ([email protected]) or Brooklyn Animal Foster Network.
  • brookboy
    brookboy
    Hi Stuygal,

    I got it that it was your friend's cat. I was saying that if your friend won't do the right thing, then you should.

    I know that cat behavior problems ("problem cats") can really be difficult, but there are better ways to handle such cats than abandoning them.

    It's easy to get mad at any animal because it doesn't behave the way you thnk it should, but that's not because the animal is bad, or has bad intentions. It's because it doesn't know any other way. It's responding the only way it knows. Who knows, given time, it's behavior might improve. But if you, your friend, or anyone can't do that (i.e., give it time), then the right thing to do is to turn the animal over to a shelter, preferably a no-kill shelter.

    I hope it works out for you all...
  • laura b
    laura b
    Any word on this kitty?

    Although it can be infuriating, it is rare for a domestic cat to have completely unresolvable behavior problems. (Feral cats, of course, are another story, but this particular one does not sound feral.) If your friend is willing to be a little more patient, there is a wealth of information on cat behavior on the web; a great resource is Tally's Cat Behavior Links at
    http://www.geocities.com/heartland/Pointe/9352/behavior.html

    For what it's worth: in addition to being cruel, it's a crime to abandon an animal. I doubt you'd want to threaten a friend with this, but it's something everyone should be aware of and take seriously. (To report animal abuse, contact the ASPCA NYC Humane Law Enforcement Department at [email protected] or (212) 876-7700, ext. 4450.)

    And here is a list of local shelters and rescue organizations you can try, although as mentioned they tend to be overloaded:
    http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/aboutus/participants/atoz.htm
  • stuygal
    stuygal
    Hey Ya'll,

    As of right now the kitty is still living in the apartment with my friend. I sent him a few tips that I found on line about how to deal with behavioral problems with kittys. My co-worker suggested that he let the cat out during the day and maybe he could burn off some of his energy that way. My friend wasn't too keen on that b/c he felt like he'd need to track the cat down every day or that the cat would get rabies. Either way, I asked him to let me know before he made any rash moves and I haven't heard anything about a cat being booted. If he tell me he's going to boot him then I'll take his little bad %ss in.... until I can find a better solution.
  • vanilla
    vanilla
    the cat shouldn't get rabies if it has all it's shots --- rabies is usually always included in the routine shots. good luck!
  • leozoeypiper
    leozoeypiper
    Chances are he wouldn't get rabies but he would be at risk for getting feline leukemia or AIDS.
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