Two stray kittens is back to one again

My brother, who lives with my father (not with my mother and her cat, fox), took in a stray kitten today.
The kitten (he doesn't have a name yet) has been hanging around my brothers girlfriends house for many days now, and they just couldn't stand to see him suffer anymore...

I would guess he is around twelwe weeks old, but he may be older since he has been living outside for an unknown amount of time, and not getting any food.
He is seriously just skin and bones under his long fur :cry: but he seems to be helathy besides from that. Offcourse, you can never be 100% sure before you see a vet. The problem is I don't think my dad would be willing to pay for a check up just to make sure the little one is fine.
He is willing to pay for quality litter and kitten food, but i think he wants a symptom on some kind of disease before paying lots of money to the vet.

Does anyone have suggestions on some striking arguments i can use to convince him? He is not a heartless person, but i don't think he has ever been attached to a pet in his life. Hes more like "animals are animals. people are people" and not the type that would talk to his cat (like me.. hehe)

The little fella sleeps most of the time, and when he eats its with a huge appetite! Should they take away his food bowl and only feed him small portions, so he can get used to eating again?
And are there any other things that needs to be done, considering hes a stray?
He also walks around and play a little in between the eating and sleeping.

He is sooo cute, with black long fur, white paws and white markings on his tummy and jaw :love_y_t_much:

 

:love_y_t_much: Your brother has a big heart. Maybe this story will inspire your dad. Reading this site brought me to tears:

http://36cutekitties.tripod.com/

BTW, I want pics, lots of it. :mrgreen:

 

I'd let him eat what he wants.....you might want to suggest that even a checkup for a cat whose health is unknown can be considered preventative maintenance and if any possible health issues are caught early on it's cheaper to treat rather than wait until an emergency situation arises.

Also would be a good time to talk about neutering

 

Maybe your bro and his gf can ask both parents to chip in for vet care in return that they do special chores for them. Maybe the vet can come to an agreement for free vet care in trade of services rendered. Just a thought.

 

Awe, how kind of your brother to take him in. I agree with vene, maybe your brother and his girlfriend can gather up enough money on their own by doing small odd jobs for family or neighbors.

 

You can also tell him about the zoological diseases that people can catch from animals. I'm a good example - I took in a foster mama and kittens and ended up with a nasty case of ringworm, me and my cats) - my sister also got it and spread it to her husband and two kids, and her cats. VERY expensive to treat and very annoying. This, however, could backfire in that he'll kick the baby out, so be sure before you bring it up. In the meantime, perhaps they can put a little money away each pay to save up. I know this is hard because everything I save for the vet is something I don't eat, but $5 a pay is easy enough.
They were very kind to take the little one in. I would regulate his food for the first week or so - sometimes gorging can cause problems because their little bodies aren't used to processing the food, and then let him eat whatever he wants to fatten up. My advice for the first vet trip is to do a checkup only, no shots, until the little one is a bit healthier. Little Marshmallow almost died because we did too much in one day - she was very underweight but had blood tests, needles, deworming and antibiotics in one day, and it almost killed her. The moral of that story? NEVER vaccinate a sick kitty!!

 

tell him that the kitty needs to have a check up because it could have a disease that is catching to other animals, and that it is illigale to have an inside animal that doesn't have its shots

 

That is not illegal here in Norway... But I am going to try and convince him, afterall that's whats best for the kitten
I'll try to take some pics later, so everybody gets to see this little cutie :kiss_heart:

 

Thanks for good advice everyone!

I think an update would be in place now... One stray kitten has turned in to two stray kittens!
This is because my dad's wife already had promised to adopt a little kitten a friend of her found in the woods. (It was one in a litter of four kittens, just left there to die :m3: )

At first the "old" kitten was very protective about HIS house. After all, he had been living there for a looong time: TWO days! Hehe :lol:
But now they seem to get along just fine, although there is no doubt who is the boss.

I talked to my father about how a vet visit now could prevent any possible helth issues later, and I told him Karen's story. And it worked! I will book a vet appointment for them the same day i book one for Kyrre Probably tomorrow.

I took some pics today, and as you see, they look like siblings!


This is the new one that came in last night

He had just eaten... :lol:

The "old" bossy kitten to the left, the newbie to the right


Down we go! They already seem to be doing almost everything together


Is it normal for cats to squint?


Zzzzz...


The new kitthen looks younger then the "old", I'm worried that he (?) might have been too young when he was parted from his mother...
So i called my mom and got her to bring the substitute milk that she had bought for her kittens (RIP).
It wouldn hurt to be on the safe side, right? I thought it might bee good for them if they have been a long time without essential vitamins and minerals. Any thoughts on that? They both eat dry food and drink water.

 

Cute kitty kitties! Nope, it wouldn't hurt to give them suppliments. If they get too fat (is there such a thing for kittens?) you can always cut back.

 

aww they are both soo precious ..i luv adoption stories

 

oh my....I'm melting here

 

Wow, those have gotten to be two of the cutest kittens I've ever seen! Tiny little fluff balls. I'm so glad your dad agreed to take them to the vet.

 

Bente... may have sadly lost those other kittens... but now look what has found their way into your heart?

strange how things work out isnt it?

they are simply ADORABLE... so beautiful..

 

I'm a little worried about these little ones right now. It's hard for me to admit this,
but i don't think they will have a very good home with my family... :cry:

There are many reasons i believe that, first: My father. He confuses me, because i know he is a good person.
Sometimes i watch him as he pet the kittens and he looks like his heart just melted,
but when i talk to him it seems like he couldn't care less about them... Today, when i tried to lecture him about how important it is to take care of your kittens health
(i told him that dental problems could eventualy lead to death for a kitten), he just laughed and said "if a cat gets sick, you just put it to sleep and get a new one!" in a funny-macho-guy kinda way :m3:

Second it is my stepmother. Don't worry, she is not the wicked stepmother from hell... :mrgreen:
But i'm worried about the way she handle the kittens. While my father handles them very gently, she is rougher on them.
She comes from Thailand, and they have a very different culture then we have. Including a very different pet "philosophy"...
She looks at them more like her items, rather than two family members. I have no doubt that she loves them, but it's painfull for me to hear what she does (my brother reports to me).

The smallest kitten has probably worms or diarrhea, and get poop stuck in his fur sometimes and she will wash him with human shampoo.
Whatever smells the best to her... How terrible mustn't a hevy perfumed shampoo smell to his little kitten nose, and it can also be dangerous!
This kitten has sharp claws, so he does manage to get away, or she gives up before he is properly rinsed.
My brother told me he the kitten came running up the stairs yesterday, he was soaked in water and stinking of shampoo. He was also shaking and very nervous... As soon as my brother heard my stepmother coming up the stairs, he grabbed the kitten and locked himself in his room,
denying to her that he had the kitten... and he rinsed him well after she went back downstairs.

The last time i visited the kitten also smelled like perfume, so i drove home and got my cat shampoo, and washed and rinsed him well when i got back.
But she pulled out the hair dryer and started to blow dry him, he was terrified!
She will also hold them when they don't want to be held, and try to make them lie down where she wants them to be.
I noticed the same thing when her son (he is in Norway on a three monts visit) met my Kyrre: he is 18years, and he tried to hold him down and open his mouth, he pulled his tail when he ran off and other stuff like that. I just don't get it...
I know they come from the Thailand countryside and their family don't have much money.
So i believe animals and pets are some sort of trophies/status symbols to them.

When i trie to talk to my stepmother about this (in a nice way), she'll change the subject, and i suck at confrontations! In addition to that we have some communication problems b/c her norwegian is not that good.

I told her that she must absolutely not use human shampoo on the kittens.
I told her to only feed them kitten food (b/c of the soft stool), and not to give them milk.
I told her not to stress/scare them, and i told my dad to take them to the vet.

My brother told me today that they get to eat just about everything.
She's still washing them with human shampoo and they haven't been to the vet yet.

Don't get me wrong here: I love my family, but i don't know what to do. In my oppinion this is not how a pet should be treated :cry:
Luckily they have my brother! He told me the kittens change personality as soon as they step into his room.
They relaxe, play alot more and the smallest one goes to sleep without hiding first...

 

The poor things.. can you perhaps get a version of "cats for dummies" in her language, or some other books about cat care and leave them around their house? I think your father most likely adores them and probably loves them up to pieces when no one is around, but wants to be macho around you.
Unfortunately I haven't any advice for you where your stepmom is concerned. Sometimes the differences in culture are quite vast and when you grow up where things are one way, it's hard to see it another. I'm sure someone will be able to give you some suggestions on how to deal with her. My stepmother would never let Whiskey in the house and she would tell dad she fed him when she didn't. I was lucky that he had Gail and Miles to make sure he ate properly and monitor his health.

 

I'm sorry Bente...I understand how you feel. I also have family members that do things that they should'nt and don't do things that they should to their pets. I'm glad that your brother is more knowledgable on cat care...at least he can help things somewhat.

 

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with you family and the kittens, Bente. I don't have any great for advice for family situations like that either.

I guess just hang in there. Sounds like you are trying your best. Maybe between you and your brother you can slowly convince your stepmom of proper care for kitties.

Also, maybe you could print some things form websites to show her and your dad. Best of luck.

 

oh dear bente...that doesnt sound good at all!!! can you adopt at least the little one that just came in? i dont have a clue. bad situation. sounds like they just dont get it.

the kitties are just beautiful. the other disease that is know to be passed is giardia....which is a parasite. that is difficult to get rid of. and it is difficult to diagnose. usually they have diarrhea, and the stool is a yellowish color, with a strong odor. fleas too...they jump off the kitty into the house!!

good luck.... :wink:

 

Something happened a couple of days ago. I don't know why i haven't written about it earlier, i guess i've just been shuting it out of my thoughts...

About a week ago my father told me that they were gonna try to give the smallest kitten away, b/c two kittens were too much.
I tried to convince both my mother and my best friend to adopt him, but non of them wanted to. Then i just forgot the whole thing...
So when my father and step-sister came over two days ago, I asked how the kittens were doing.
He said that they only had one kitten now, and i was like "great! you gave one away? to who?"
Then he just shock his head and said "Let's not talk about that. we didn't give him away..." and he said it with a SMILE! :shock:

I heard what he said, but i just smiled back at him. I did not understand the meaning of what he said... I was in shock, and all i could ask was "how?"
But he didn't want to tell me, he just talked about how ill he was (diarrhea), and when i finally got a grip i asked "WHAT about taking him to the VET??"
And his reply to that was: what for? we weren't going to keep him anyway...
I tried to argue and said that if he got better after seeing the vet, they could have given him away. But he just started to talk to my boyfriend about car tires :x
I got so upset that i left the room, and this may sound very strange, but it was like i forgot it the moment i walked out the door... :|

Last night i suddenly "remembered" and i couldn't stop crying :cry:
All i could think of was how did he do it? Did the kitten suffer? I don't know... :m35:
Right now i feel disgusted when i think of my father...
Why would they (he) bother to take in this kitten if they weren't going to keep it?

I know he has done it to a stray we took in when i was younger, and he told me and my brother it ran away. I don't know how he did it that time either, all i know is what my step-mother tells me, and her norwegian isn't that good.

But on that same day (two days ago) my step-sister told me that he had saved the life of the other kitten when it almost strangled on a cat treat...
He put his finger down the kittens throath and made it throw up.
It's kind of confusing...