That kitty is adorable!
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@1214mom, are you on Twitter? There is a woman on Twitter who has the cutest grumpy-looking Bengal who practically has her own following. The catās name is Ridley.
The human is Kiersten Warren (@KierstenWarren). Sheās an actress, but my only memory of her is from her role as the malevolent magazine editor that is Jennifer Garnerās magazineās major competition in the film 13 Going On 30.
I want to steal Ridley!
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Anyone here having issues with cat food quality? Bought a new batch of Science Diet my cats always enjoyed, and two of the three are not eating it. Thought they were getting sick or somethingā¦ I tossed the food out of their dishes and gave them a can out of the previous batch, and that was devoured quickly. Sigh. Nothing says that the food has been āimprovedā (which is a usual euphemism for lowering the quality of ingredients).
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Okay, cat lovers, I need help.
We are in a horrific heat wave in Texas right now. Weāve had at least a week or more of 100 degrees plus temps, and the next 10 days shows NO RELIEF. Temps predicted as high as 106 in next several days.
Cat related problem:
A young gray cat has been showing up in my back yard for about the last several weeks. Heās small, maybe a teen. He doesnāt look particularly healthy. As itās gotten hotter and hotter, heās looking worse. He usually was showing up around dusk, but the past several days, heās coming around 5:15, the hottest part of the day.
Iāve been putting food out for him-soft food with water added, as he wonāt drink from a water bowl. He gobbles it. I wait an hour, heās still there, I put another water drenched bowl of soft food out. He devours it.
My daughters are begging me to adopt him and bring him inside. Two issues:
1)I am not ready for another cat yet. I donāt know if this cat is feral or just a stray, and Iām definitely not up for trying to convert a feral.
2)Because he doesnāt show up until after hours for most animal hospitals, even if I could somehow trap him, I donāt know what Iād do with him before morning without totally traumatizing him.
Whenever I come outside to bring him food, he runs away. He comes to the bowl as soon as I go inside. Then, he hangs around the back doors (have glass in them) and watches us. But if I approach the door, he runs.
Iām so worried about him with this heat. We have a pool, and from time to time, I see cats drinking out of it. Iām hoping he would do the same if he got very thirsty.
What to do???
BTW, I say āheā without knowing whether or not itās actually a male.
Bottom line, my cat loving heartstrings are being pulled big time. DH found a dead raccoon in our trash bin today. We think he has been getting into our bin (evidence of such), but somehow was unable to get out this time and baked in this unbearable heat. I donāt want any harm coming to this kitty, but I just canāt adopt him! But feel that maybe I should figure out a way to get him to a shelter?
Can you make him a little cat shelter next to the water where he could escape the sun? Just a cardboard box with a side opening? Poor kitty.
I would be willing to buy a crate (disposed of ours when my beloved passed away two years ago) and leave the door open. But our back yard has a western exposure-Iād have to move it every few hours. Iāve noticed him following the shade. The absolute best place is our little guest cottage in the far back of the yard-itās always under shade. Maybe I should put the food and water over there and train him to search out the safest place on the property.
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reach out to some of hte no kill shelters near by that will have traps. Once trapped (the trap can be lined with newspaper), worse case you can keep in your garage overnight before you can drop them off.
For example, in my area we have planned pethood. At least it can get vetting. Having a shelter (buy a strorofoam cooler maybe with a cutout, and maybe finding a way to cool it down first with ice packs , might help, but you first do want to get it vetted and combo tested.
Thatās not a bad idea. If I could trap it, I was thinking I could put it in the little sitting room in the guest cottage. We keep the air in there around 85, which is far cooler than outside. I thought about putting a litter box in there with some food and water. The main living area in the cottage is a kitchen/bedroom, and I would be afraid the cat might soil the bed. Putting it in the sitting room with the door closed might work. Thatās if I can trap it.
I realized an hour ago that I was out of cat food. I actually went to the grocery store to get more food for this kitty. The clerk said, āOh, you have a cat.ā I said, āNo, I actually donāt.ā No further explanation given.
She probably thinks Iāve fallen on hard times and all I can eat is cat food and a baking potato! 
Okay ā¦ I can answer because ābeen there, done that.ā
Fellow Texan here and it is hot and dry.
Three years ago August a young cat, probably 6-7 months old, starting hanging around our backyard, probably because of our pool. Evening seemed to be his time.
We started feeding him - just kibble - that our inside cats liked. He drank water from the pool. I could not get anywhere near him.
I happily fed him while trying to think of a way to trap him and get him neutered/shots at a low cost facility in town. However, things have a way of doing what they do. Kitty gained weight because of the food - wait - the weight gain ā¦ surely not ā¦ omg ā¦ heās a her and āherā is pregnant. Three weeks later she had five kittens. We had to watch her carefully to figure out where she chose to have them. When she left them for food we moved them to the garage. She panicked but followed their cries and we managed to get the door closed before she got out. (Air conditioned large garage.) Anyway, she and the kittens lived in the garage 8 weeks. Found homes for all the little ones. Mama Cat remained in the garage. She wouldnāt be adoptable because she was feral. I could pet her by then but no way could I get her in a carrier and to a vet for neutering and no way was I turning her loose again. So I borrowed a trap and put it in the garage with food, swearing it wouldnāt work. She was trapped within 5 minutes. I took her to the low-cost facility for spaying and shots the next day, explaining she was NOT MY CAT and would be released as soon as this was done. They spayed her but unfortunately she was already in heat again and had to remain in my garage another two weeks. I was not at all happy.
To finish the story, her name is Ginger and sheās a sweetie. She adores me and Iām pretty fond of her. She remains an outside cat except from dusk to dawn when she enters her garage for the night. Accommodations include litter box, food and water.
I am remiss in not getting her back to a vet to update shots, etc. At first, I couldnāt have because ā¦ well, no way. Now I could easily pick her up and put her in a carrier. Need to do it.
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I just found my post (August 2019) talking about the birth, garage, etc.
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Love it!
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ok - this is our entertainment for the holiday season. S15 and D16 are both coming home and bringing their cats; we have two here. Itāll be entertaining see the cats all trying to get along!
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Good luck! Just finished hosting little kidās cats for 2 months. My tortie and her little black kitty got along relatively quickly. The other combinationsā¦ not much. The little, skittish, scaredy black kitty would turn into a giant black ball with sharp claws and evil looking teeth and chase after our giant male tabby of he tried approaching āherā territory. 
LOL, that will be fun.
DDsā cats do not get along, but either can bring their cat to our house (3 cats here) individually. Lots of space and they are separated at night. It goes better with DD17ās cat who participates in the mutual ignoring. DDā19ās is still a kitten and hasnāt gotten the memo. In fact, he claims the queenās spot on the cat tree. Our cats are glad when he goes home. But DH loves having him here because he will still play and be fun.
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5 posts were split to a new thread: 2023 Cat Lovers thread