Are you not a dumbass or asshat? If so, do you want to adopt a kitteh?

[ihavemeaning.livejournal.com]

So my asshat neighbors got on my formal shit list by leaving refusing to take care of their slightly-grown kitten and basically abandoning her outside.

So, I have a very adorable kitteh, and I believe that you want this kitteh. She next to myself and a friend and purred through two and a half solid hours of BBC. Admittedly, kitteh and I have not known each other for long, but she seems very laid back and affectionate. So far, she has stayed close to her temporary caregiver and has not urinated anywhere weird. She likes to fall asleep with her head and paws still in the air. Awww. Kitteh has remained calm despite the fact that there are unfamiliar kittahs in the next room over meowing, so I don't think that she'd be one of those felines who freak out and tear up the sofa if you look at them wrong.

Kitteh's nose is half black and half white. She has black ears and a black tail. Her feet and tummy are white. Her back is a combination of black and white. She is really, really adorable.

Please adopt this kitteh. I already have two cats and a bunny, and can not take any more critters. Our household is at its critter limit. I'll ask for vet references, and you'll have to agree to keep the kitteh indoors if you live in an urban or semi-urban area. You must agree to keep the kitteh for the duration of her sweet little life span. Spaying is a must. Oh, and declawing is not ok. (Yes, I am somewhat militant about these pet care issues, and yes, I'm aware of that, and no, I don't think that it is a problem.)

I'll have pictures tomorrow morning. Please comment here and email if interested.

Comments

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

Would you rather have the kitten keep its claws and not find a home, or declawed in a loving home? if the latter, I can help.

[ihavemeaning.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but I'm not okay with declawing. Lots of times it changes the cat's personality for the worst. It happened to my cat growing up. Maybe you could look for an already declawed kitteh at the SPCA, though?

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

declawing?? ugh. That's not as bad as circumcising but it's damned close.

Maybe keep dogs or fish or something.

[beowabbit]

It’s worse than circumcising, if you’re talking about male circumcision, because declawing actually chops off bone, and destroys a big chunk of how the cat interacts with its environment. I imagine it would be sort of like a human losing his or her thumbs.

(That said, spaying or neutering is also a nonconsensual intrusion into the cat’s body, and I don’t have a problem with it. And I suppose if I had the choice of a long otherwise-healthy life without my thumbs, and a short life freezing under a bridge or being euthanized, I might give up my thumbs.)

Disclaimer: This is not something I’ve studied or researched.

Disclaimer: This is not something I’ve studied or researched.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

then shut up

Re: Disclaimer: This is not something I’ve studied or researched.

[leko.livejournal.com]

This is something I've researched, and beowabbit is basically right. Although I'd say it's more like losing the ends of all your fingers than your thumbs.

Re: Disclaimer: This is not something I’ve studied or researched.

[beowabbit]

Although I'd say it's more like losing the ends of all your fingers than your thumbs.

Right; I meant in terms of its impact on the cat’s life and ability to do things in the world, not in terms of direct anatomical parallel. (Humans have thumbs, and we need them to do any sort of fine manipulation of our environment with our hands. Cat’s don’t have opposable thumbs, and they need their claws to do any sort of fine manipulation of their environment with their paws. Or to climb, or to defend themselves.)

Anyway, thanks for chiming in with better-sourced information!

Re: Disclaimer: This is not something I’ve studied or researched.

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

Common courtesy: look it up.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

Wow I love getting chewed out when trying to help someone. It makes me feel great.

[ellf.livejournal.com]

Only in Boston, right? "HELP but only if you meet my stipulations on what help means and agree to do it just like I say."

[balsamicdragon.livejournal.com]

Oh please. Her stipulations were no different than what are required by nearly every cat shelter I've ever adopted from. Spay or neuter, keep inside, don't declaw. It's what practically every vet in the country will tell you is best for your cat.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

+1. "i'll take that cat if i can maim it" aint really helpin.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

yeah, but the OP said it was still pretty much a kitten. it's very rare for a kitten to be put down, because they're in much higher demand.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

pee fest!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

And it's also what the ASPCA endorses.

I have to go with the ASPCA guidelines (http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_scratching) over peoples' emotions.

* Is declawing even legal in Massachusetts? I know it is now illegal in California.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Right... it's all about you.

Soft Paws

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

We use Soft Paws on our cat:

http://softpaws.com/

The cat has to be pretty tame/trust you to let you put them on, but this cat seems laid back enough to try it out... I'm also anti-declawing and it's a great alternative.

Re: Soft Paws

[nalz.livejournal.com]

eh - I've put them on one of my cats who hates having his paw touched. It took myself and my partner, but we flipped him on his back and held him down while doing the claws one by one. Took a bit of time and he was mad, but he forgot about it about 5 minutes later, and they lasted almost 4 months. Totally worth the 10 minutes of frustration.

If the cat is too violent for the holding down method, you could always put him in a pillowcase for a short bout.

[cos]

We've already got two cats here, so I can't take another.

However, I think if you post something with a good photo of the kitten (behind a cut) it may help.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

I do have to ask -- perhaps a bit more politely what you'll get over in b0st0n -- are you certain this is an abandoned cat? Because I know that my cats have gotten out on some occasions. Yes, we've usually gone right out after them, called for them, looked for them, and recovered them after a few hours at most (thank God), but if, say, a pet-sitter overlooked the kitty going out, or your neighbors were unaware that their kitten had escaped...

Have you tried talking to your neighbors? Seriously? Because until you've ensured that the cat is, in fact, abandoned, it kind of sounds like you could be stealing someone's pet, which is an incredibly shitty thing to do to someone.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

Ah. It's been pointed out to me that you did, in fact, say in a previous comment that you'd spoken to the neighbors. Fair enough, I guess.

Honestly, as has been pointed out elsewhere, if you can't place the kitten right now, I wouldn't worry about putting it in a shelter. Young cats tend to move pretty quickly, and there are plenty that will probably live up to your standards. I'd offer to take the poor guy myself, but I have three cats already and really can't handle anymore. And while he sounds like he'd be cool with our other cats, I'm not sure I can promise the same for them.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

You are one crazy slag.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

Apparently (based on a comment from a mod) you deleted your post over in b0st0n, so I'm going to ask again the question I asked in response to your rather vague comment that your neighbors know where you live and can talk to you if they're concerned:

To be perfectly clear, do they know that you have their cat, that you consider him abandoned, and/or that you're planning to give him away? Or did you just go to them with concerns about how they were treating their cat, receive a response that didn't live up to your standards, and decide to take him the next time you saw him outside? A, B, none of the above? What exactly is the story here?

If the answer to that question in any way involves a judgment call on your part, I'd urge you to contact the relevant authorities at this point and let them sort it out rather than taking things into your own hands. Because your refusal to elaborate on the circumstances is really unsettling, I have to say. All the vagueness makes it sound more and more like you may have stolen someone else's pet, which makes you the criminal, here.

I really hope you'll choose to address these concerns rather than deleting your post here as well.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

This.

Finding a new home for a cat which has no home is great.

Taking it upon yourself to rehome a cat without first consulting the humans who are theoretically responsible for it is not. You are not the SPCA or the local Animal Control officer; if you feel the cat is in an unsafe or neglectful situation, contact either or both of them, don't go around playing Robin Hood on your own.

[elements.livejournal.com]

What ended up happening with the cat?