Orange Tabby...He Stays and His Name is Finn (Update with Videos Dec 31)

[speckledhen]

He used the litter box for the first time this morning. Later, we'll move him into the big crawlspace (if you can stand up, it is really a crawl??). I found that a mouse dug up through an old dead tree root into that crawl and if it's still in there, he may have something to do, LOL.

There were latticework doors on that crawlspace when we moved in and mice set up housekeeping in the insulation under our bedroom and floors. This year, finally, we replaced those doors with a solid one with hardware cloth screen window, removed all the nasty insulation and plugged up old dead tree root tunnels in the dirt floor, but I guess a mouse found one we missed this week. Until we can pour cement on the floor, a huge undertaking for something that runs the length of the house, that may happen from time to time. I've often wanted to throw a cat in there overnight. Guess my wish came true!

 

[N F C]

Lol. wishes really do come true! Sounds like a good place for Finn to recuperate...it's out of the elements, warm and entertainment provided. Winning!

 

[rancher hicks]

Finn is at the vet's for his procedure. He weighs 10.5 lbs and the vet thinks he's about a year and a half old, same as I was thinking. We got a litter pan and litter and the big crawlspace is set up for him to spend a day or two resting before he goes out into the cold. He should be plenty warm in there, no drafts at all, stays quite a bit warmer than outside, but we will leave on the two lights which will add a little heat as well.


ETA: He's home now. He was a good patient, the tech said, and she liked him a lot. Apparently, they gave him the feline 4, which I guess would include not only distemper but leukemia vaccine as well. He is so darn hyper, not at all groggy like he's supposed to be, and he will be inside tonight, then he'll go into the crawlspace tomorrow for a couple of days to heal up. They didn't even superglue his incision since male cats supposedly heal over so fast, so we found we weren't supposed to get litter for the box for 24 hours in case it got into the wound, but use shredded up newspaper, which we didn't have, so the tech gave us some to take home for the litter box. I hope he zonks out soon. He's all over the place! I know he's hungry but he can't have more than a few pieces of food tonight.

This is taking some getting used to, having an animal underfoot again. It's so odd. My last old dog passed away two years ago and she was never underfoot anyway. Finn is in and out of my legs and it's going to take all the concentration I have not to stomp on him or take a header down the stairs, which almost happened a few days ago when he passed in front of me as I was about to start down.

I'm glad he's doing well and am sure you're earning extra points with the man upstairs for being so kind.

I wonder if animals can be angels unaware? Anyhow it's nice to think about.

At least for me.

Again congrats,

Rancher

 

[speckledhen]

Well, I dunno about that, but I don't see why we shouldn't be as kind as we can to all animals. Kindness is its own reward, I feel. He is not going to be a spoiled indoor cat, no super cushy life or anything, and after a night inside, he may be back on the deck in his cat condo. He isn't using the litter box in the crawlspace. Bless his heart, not really his fault; I mean, it is a powdery dirt floor and he's stating his preference, I'm sure, but I am so sensitive to smells, no way he could be in the house and have a litter box in there. Blech, one of the worst smells on earth, cat pee. I remember encountering that as a realtor in some houses. Chicken poop smells like sweet pea and violets compared to that.

Finn acts like he never had surgery and his incision is completely closed up, no redness at all. He's had Revolution put on him to kick out any parasites he may have in addition to his ear mites and he's good to go. It's going to be a frigid night, but with his heated floor, he ought to be toasty. I put the A frame cat condo on the deck with its side against our house so there is no way it will be up in the wind the way it was on the table and it's covered with that folded up quilted moving blanket as well.

 

[rancher hicks]

Well, I dunno about that, but I don't see why we shouldn't be as kind as we can to all animals. Kindness is its own reward, I feel. He is not going to be a spoiled indoor cat, no super cushy life or anything, and after a night inside, he may be back on the deck in his cat condo. He isn't using the litter box in the crawlspace. Bless his heart, not really his fault; I mean, it is a powdery dirt floor and he's stating his preference, I'm sure, but I am so sensitive to smells, no way he could be in the house and have a litter box in there. Blech, one of the worst smells on earth, cat pee. I remember encountering that as a realtor in some houses. Chicken poop smells like sweet pea and violets compared to that.

Finn acts like he never had surgery and his incision is completely closed up, no redness at all. He's had Revolution put on him to kick out any parasites he may have in addition to his ear mites and he's good to go. It's going to be a frigid night, but with his heated floor, he ought to be toasty. I put the A frame cat condo on the deck with its side against our house so there is no way it will be up in the wind the way it was on the table and it's covered with that folded up quilted moving blanket as well.

This is why I don't want another cat. Why they make those litter sifters so short is beyond me. You have to get your face far to close to the stink. Too those litter pans may not wear out, but they hold the smell really bad.

I'm sure Finn will have a better life with you and Tom, than he would have had where ever he came from.

 

[speckledhen]

This is why I don't want another cat. Why they make those litter sifters so short is beyond me. You have to get your face far to close to the stink. Too those litter pans may not wear out, but they hold the smell really bad.

I'm sure Finn will have a better life with you and Tom, than he would have had where ever he came from.

Some kid just called me from a lost cat flier I left, lives across the semi main road, down the mountain from us. Asked if the cat we found was orange and meows a lot, lol. He said the cat was at their house for a few days. I told him to hang on to the flier and if someone came looking for their cat, to give them the flier.

Finn is really great with the chickens; in fact, he tries to avoid them as much as possible. Good boy in that regard. He's finally out and about as normal now, seems fine.

 

[speckledhen]

Finn was his usual self yesterday, following us around, perching on his favorite log out near the compost pile behind the coops. Then, he went off on his usual evening jaunt, but he never returned. His food in the bowl I put out late wasn't touched. DH checked even at 1 a.m. and he wasn't there so he's gone off walking the property this morning to see if he can find any sign of him. It's the first night he hasn't come back since he got here so we're a bit concerned. It was fairly cold last night, 20's, though not as bad as the previous night.

 

[N F C]

Oh, hope he's just out exploring and comes back soon. Please let us know what happens.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, my Lord, we found him! After DH walked around the entire property, he took the car down the the semi main road. When he drove back up, he opened the back door and out jumped Finn. He was in the yard of the kid who called me yesterday, where he'd apparently spent some days before he came to us. Good grief, he had to go down the mountain and cross that road they use sometimes like a speedway. This is the road he went down-we live at the top on the right even higher than you can see there-, across a pasture and across a road, plus go down about 100 ft. This is only about 3/4 of the road before it flattens out to go about 200' more to the road he crossed and traveled down a bit. Crazy cat. He didn't read the manual that says male cats who are neutered don't roam as much. But, then, he developed the habit prior to the surgery and he is older. Or maybe he just thought we were going to lock him back up in the crawlspace again and decided to hit the road, LOL.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Fred the Cat (also a big orange boy) is our neighborhood cat. He showed up 10 or 11 years ago and stayed. He technically lives down the street (they have the best crawl space) but he makes his daily rounds to visit all of us. I figure he is roaming several miles to visit all of the farms each day. He especially likes to follow me around chatting while I do chicken chores. He has never hurt any of my birds, even the little ones. The only thing it seems he can't resist is chicken bowling (running through a clump of them to watch them scatter). And since none are harmed and he always looks sheepish afterwards, he is forgiven the occasional lapse.
He is fixed and we all take turns getting him shots each year. Fred has to be around 12 years old or so. He has never shown any desire to stay inside other than a brief, exploratory walk through. He just likes visiting around. Perhaps your Finn is the same way? You are his house, but he has to check in with the neighbors too.