FOUND Light Orange Tabby CAT - W. Somerville / N. Cambridge line

[chameleon-mama.livejournal.com]

Is this your cat hanging out on our porch for the past two nights, or do you know someone missing him??? He is a healthy-looking, friendly, medium-to-large sized short-hair with light orange/buff tabby (striped) coloring and yellow eyes. Has a black collar but no tags. Well-fed, obviously has a home somewhere but he seems to think that he is lost or doesn't know his way back to it.

We found him loitering on our porch on Cameron Avenue at the West Somerville / North Cambridge line. He's been lingering since 9:00PM on Saturday 11/16.

Please call or email if you are missing him. We absolutely cannot keep him and will have to contact animal control if he is not claimed soon, as our land-lord has forbidden any more animals on the property.
305-849-0968 or rebecca.feinberg79@gmail.com

Comments

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

Awww, what a lovely kitty. I hope his humans contact you soon--someone surely misses him.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

I assume you've checked to see if he's chipped.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Animal Control can check for a chip.

(An individual can't unless you somehow have a chip reader??)

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

Actually, an individual can check by feeling between the shoulder blades: the chip's about the size of a grain of rice. Only some chips end up where they can be felt that way, though, so a negative result means you still want to check with a scanner.
Vets, shelters, and animal control tend to have them. I'd call a nearby vet and if they don't have a scanner they should know someone who does.

[squirrelitude]

But if you find there's a chip, what information does that give you? You hand the cat off to animal control or a shelter either way.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

I don't know about you, but I won't be "handing him off." If you ask, the vet will give your phone number to the owner (they probably won't give you the owner's contact information directly). The owner calls you, you arrange to return the cat.
The vet isn't going to just take the cat away. It's not their job, and they probably don't have space anyway.

[squirrelitude]

Ah, sure, in the case of a vet you wouldn't be handing the cat off.

Do people actually take the time to bring roaming cats in to get them checked for chips? I feel like I'd have a hard time justifying spending the time on that, although I'm appreciative of people who do.

The whole chip thing kind of mystifies me, really.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Mostly, they're a way to identify a cat that gets picked up by animal control without a collar tag. They're much more reliable, since collars have a tendency to come off. Most collars are of a breakaway type so that if the animal gets caught on something by the collar, they won't get strangled. The chips are cheap, unobtrusive and permanent.

[squirrelitude]

Ah, that makes sense, thanks.

[chameleon-mama.livejournal.com]

In regards to checking for a chip (and the follow-up from that), I did feel around for a chip and look in his ears for a tattoo (one of my old rescued kitties had a tattoo), but found neither. For what it's worth, if I'd found a chip, I would've probably contacted our vet right away to find out what to do next. But the option of keeping the cat indoors until his owner is found is, unfortunately, not at all possible for us.

And an update - the cat disappeared for most of today, showing up only once this afternoon and then taking off again. After the comments from the other folks who seem to live nearby, I'm starting to think he's just a friendly neighborhood roamer who decided that our porch looked like a good snuggle spot for a few nights and now he's moved on.

If he shows up again for any extended time and our land-lord makes a fuss about his loitering, I have few different folks who've offered to adopt him. While I would never want to give away a cat that has a real home, I think if he's here for 3-4 consecutive days and doesn't disappear in the middle, he's genuinely in need of a better (indoor) home.

[thekatiegirl.livejournal.com]

I live in North Cambridge, too, and I see that cat around all the time! But I have no idea who he belongs to. He's a sweetheart, though.

[antheas.livejournal.com]

Is this the cat usually on the bike path on the cambridge side of mass ave? He's definitely a local cat with a home.

[squirrelitude]

Oh, the location just clicked for me -- yes, that looks like the cat that usually hangs out near that veteran building.

[thekatiegirl.livejournal.com]

Maybe. I see him around Gold Star Road/Seven Pines all the time. Super friendly and definitely belongs to someone- if he didn't, I'd adopt him in two seconds!

[rozhinka.livejournal.com]

Yes, he looks like a cat I've often seen in the Trolley Square neighborhood.

[chameleon-mama.livejournal.com]

Update: Thanks for all of the feedback from those of you who recognize him as a "cat about town". :-) I guess he's just a local boy who decided that our porch was a good way-station in his wanderings. Since he's only come around twice today, and both times very briefly, I'm going to trust that he's being taken care of and doesn't need rescuing or re-homing. I will only take any action on his behalf if he comes back and really camps out on our porch for days on end (as he did the first two nights that we saw him).
On a side-note, he is SUCH a sweetie-pie, and while I grew up with tons of indoor-outdoor cats and understand all the arguments for allowing your cat the freedom to be outdoors, I really wish his people would keep him inside. We live on such a busy street and so very close to Mass Ave. (and if we're all talking about the same cat here, he must cross Mass Ave. in his journeys, which is beyond terrifying to think about). He deserves a safer life, even if it cramps his style. Just my opinion.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

[mkwatt.livejournal.com]

That's my neighbor's cat on Washburn ave! I showed her the pic to confirm, she's been missing him, his name is Bobby.
Call Gail (the owner) at 617-417-1781 if you spot him. Hopefully he'll wander home on his own soon.

[chameleon-mama.livejournal.com]

I've left your friend a voicemail. Oh, how I hope this is definitely her cat!!! He came back twice last night and was waiting for us again today when I came home after an outing.
Here's hoping for happy ending.

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear - I think this is the one that just followed me into my basement on Cameron Ave! I left Gail a message as well. Do you know if she's still wondering where he is?

[chameleon-mama.livejournal.com]

Redcolumbine- yes, Gail's definitely looking for him. I spoke to her by phone and she seems to think he knows his way home, but she also was beginning to realize she might be wrong. She left me a message about an hour ago saying she's walking around calling for him on Cameron. She asked that I call her if he appears here again. If you don't mind texting me at 305-849-0968, I can give you her home number, which was the one she answered.

[mkwatt.livejournal.com]

Gail and I went to retrieve Bobby, he's safe at home now. Thanks for all your help!

[unferth.livejournal.com]

Aw. I love a happy ending.

[chameleon-mama.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you all how relieved I was to know Mr. Bob Marley (his full and proper name!) got to go home after his days away. Thanks, neighbors, for making this a happy ending!!! This really made me feel good to live in this community!
-Becky