Still "fostering" Strider the Stray...(Pics)

[Tina B and crew]

...but I was chatting with a neighbor today and mentioned the cat and here is what she told me - 1. She and her husband had been feeding him for a while and trying to get him to socialize 2. She had managed to catch him, brought him in, bathed him and combed him out but couldn't keep him inside because he was spraying so put him back out 3. She had already had an appointment to take him to a spay/neuter clinic to have him fixed so they could adopt him, but he disappeared. She figured something happened to him or he found somewhere else to go. That was about a month ago she said, I've had him for 3 weeks. So it does corroborate. I knew he wasn't their cat because their cat is a darker orange, but never knew they were feeding him. We actually don't talk that much because I rarely see them. At any rate she just came up and told me she wanted to take him AND she's willing to reimburse me some of my costs AND he will be an indoor only cat. So it looks like Strider will have a home this weekend! I didn't offer to let them take him tonight partly because I want to be sure they are committed and partly because I do want to be reimbursed. If one of the rescue agencies had adopted him out I was fine with letting them keep the adoption fee even though I paid for the vet services, but I really believe if a neighbor wants to take him in and was already willing to pay for it that I am not out of bounds asking for reimbursement.

In the mean time, here are a few pics of him. He is such a very handsome cat and he has most definitely stole my heart. You can see why.












More pictures at http://photobucket.com/striderthestray

[Tina B and crew]

And he will be a neighbor, so I will get to keep up with him!

[momPaws]

I love happy endings (tales!)

[Traci]

What beautiful photos, he is sooooo gorgeous!

Thank you Tina, for taking such good care of him. Strider looks fairly young so he should adjust fairly well, hopefully with their other cat too.

Just want to state however, please take into serious consideration the length of time he may have been out fending for himself even before your neighbor found him, so please advise her to be very very patient with him because he may have developed a bit of defensive behavior or simple tomcat behavior (which should only be temporary). It's entirely possible he'll do very well and he won't have any problems at all, please just feel her out and determine if she has enough patience!

I never noticed from the earlier pics, but these latest ones - can I just ask, are the edges on his ears slightly curled, particularly his right ear, if they are just slightly curled, he could have suffered slight frostbite at some point, probably nothing to worry about but if so, he may be sensitive to touching the ears. You would know since you've had him and given him so much attention these last few weeks, is he sensitive at all?

[Tina B and crew]

Traci, his ears look kind of "lacy edged" or "ruffled" to me. The edges are also a bit darker than the rest of his ear. I always attributed it to his rough life and fighting because he had some scratches on his ears. I've never noticed him seeming sensitive about them but I am not one that regularly touches my cat's ears since most cats I have had didn't like it a whole lot, except for Willow. I wouldn't be surprised if he had frostbite in the past, he's survived some cold weather out there. I'll be sure to let her know.

She said he has been around her cats when she brought him in, supervised of course, and their seemed to be no problems at all - and that was before he was fixed. His temperament is really laid back and was even then. She is also a big animal advocate/lover, so I am sure she will care for him well. The fact that she plans on keeping him indoors only (which is a rare occurrence in this rural area) tells me a lot.

I'm just glad I've found someone willing to give him an indoor home. I was starting to get desperate! She was thrilled when she found out he hadn't disappeared.

PS...they had given him the name Gibbs. I do have to admit I'm a little emotional about this, but know it's best for him. I'm going to miss getting his headbutts and doing belly rubs with him every day.

[Tina B and crew]

Oh..and the mystery of why he all of the sudden was "friendly" has been solved. It is the same cat we've been seeing pass through for at least 2-3 years, but the reason he all the sudden became friendly was due to the neighbor feeding him and working with him. She said at first he showed little trust but she kept moving the food bowl closer and closer to the house in hopes that she could lure him into the screened porch and catch him. Once she gained his trust it became evident he was not feral. She told me he had been sleeping in their barn as well as in a huge wood pile on the adjoining property that is being cleared. Apparently the property owners were planning to burn the wood piles and she was terrified he would get caught in there, that is one of the reasons she was trying to catch him before they did that. Not sure why she didn't just take him when she brought him in, but it could have had to do with not having an appointment. I'm not going to question everything because at least he is getting a home. I am sure she will keep him inside - I've never seen her other cats outside.

[k9Karen]

I'm so glad he has a home (and getting reimbursed for all you've put out is surely a bonus!). Is it just the picture or is his coat really thin and dry? I'm thinking if it is, it's probably due to malnutrition and will fix itself as soon as he's been on a regular nutritious diet for a while, but it could also be a sign of other things that aren't quite right.

[Tina B and crew]

karen...I will probably get reimbursed some, but I think she was taking him to one of the low cost spay/neuter clinics, so I told her to just pay me what she would have paid there. I don't care if I get it all back. Most of what I get will go to donations for one of the rescue agencies anyway.

Ad far as his coat goes, it's probably thin looking because he had so much matted fur and my vet's office did a through comb out. I can see new fur growing back into the thin places. I think it will just take time to replace the old, dirty fur. I have since been brushing him almost every day. He's still loosing some fur when I brush, but not nearly as much. It looks much better than it did when I first caught him.

[Tina B and crew]

Gibbs is at his new home now. I got an update on how he was doing within 15 minutes. He and their other cat were already grooming each other, and then Gibbs jumped up on the bed and went to sleep. Sounds to me like it was meant to be.

I gave her the rest of the food I had been feeding him so she could slowly introduce him to his new food. I think he will do just fine.

[k9Karen]

Very good news!! I'm glad to hear the coat issue is something so simple. He is a very pretty boy, and will be even prettier when his healthy shiny coat grows in.