You sure live up to your "Angel of Mercy" tag. Way to go.

Kitty Kat, you are an amazing person and I so admire the action you've taken to rescue this kitty. It's disturbing that you care more about rescuing Mando than they do. I agree that the cat is frightened and skittish but the fact that he answered your call is indication that he isn't feral. You are a :angel:

Great job KittyKat. You seem to care a lot more about what happens to this cat than the possible owners do! Keep us posted.


Your post brought back some memories to me -- maybe because that cat resembles my cat Torie. When Torie was a lot younger she accidentally got out. My Mom opened the patio door not knowing the screen wasn't closed! We were visiting our home in St. Augustine and Torie had never been there before. Worse yet, it happened on Christmas Eve and everything was closed. At 3 AM with flashlight in hand, I was wandering around all of the bushes in the complex and the beach! The neighbors probably thought I was crazy! I posted signs everywhere and left messages at the local vets and animal shelters. Three days later Torie showed up at our door. That in itself was amazing to me as she had never been there before and all of the condos look alike. Six years later, Torie is the "purr"fect cat and very friendly to anyone. But, she is still scared of loud noises.

Here is a picture of Torie now with her new little sister Kaylee!

Not Mando.
 

The husband called last night around 1:30am, they had just gotten home & wanted to know if I wanted them to come over. I said no, my Mom was sleeping. Said they were driving up to Shands today & would come by in the afternoon. Around 2pm today, the wife called to say they would be here around 3-ish & asked if the cat was declawed--told her I hadn't been able to get that close. Mom sat out on the lanai reading for awhile & "Blackie" finally relaxed & laid by the sliders. Around 4pm Mom came in & said it had gotten on her lap & allowed her to pet it & it DOES have claws so this is not Mando. :cry: I called & left a msg to see if they still wanted the cat since it looks so much like Mando. The young daughter called back & said no, but to keep an eye out for Mando. I had called Barb to let her know I had caught the cat & that it's not Mando and would she be able to take it?--no, she has lots of little kitties. :( I don't want to stress the cat out any more today so tomorrow I'll take it to my Vet to see if it's chipped & go from there. It has used the litter box & is eating & drinking. I really think it has been a stray for maybe most of its life as it was scared to death when I tried to play with her using a toy with feathers on it. I guess I have a new "patient." I think I'll start a new thread after I take it to the Vet tomorrow. Thank you all for your concern & kind words. The Villages really is a special place.

Thank you for the update KittyKat. This cat is beautiful and will make someone a wonderful pet. Folks PLEASE DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT. It puts them at a disadvantage and is cruel and painful.

Good luck with this stray. Attractive cat. And we got a lot of attention on Mando who could still be somewhere around Sabal Chase or Amelia.

Thank you for the update! She is a beautiful cat. She doesn't look like she has been a stray for long. She looks big in the pictures. Maybe you have a new family member.

Can't keep it, Sable99. I already have 2 cats that don't get along. Cassie/newer cat goes nuts seeing this cat on the lanai; Zoe/older cat just lies by the glass door looking at it. ***Mom wants me to have it put to sleep!!!!! or let it back out!!!! Please pray that it is microchipped :pray:. I've only put one cat to sleep years ago & I don't want to do that again. If it's not chipped then I'll have to take it to the Sumter County Animal Control shelter where it will at least get some chance at adoption before they put it down. I don't want to let her out while I try to find it a home--it may never come back again or never get in a trap again. I need some advice! :confused:

Here is my opinion, for what it is worth, not much I'm sure. You are in a predicament and I feel very sorry for you because you're obviously a compassionate person. Have you tried advertising the cat on the radio station? Even if the owner isn't listening, neighbours may bring it to their attention.

I don't think you have any alternative, if you can't find a home for the cat, but to take it to the Sumter County Animal shelter. At least there it will have a chance at a home. It won't starve to death or be eaten by coyotes. Sadly, shelters are full of unwanted cats.

I agree with Barefoot. You definitely are a compassionate person and that you should try the Sumter County Animal Shelter.

I haven't moved to my new home in TV yet so I'm not familiar with the vets in the area but have you tried them. I adopted both of my cats through my vet but they were kittens when I got them. Local vets may know of missing cats around TV and may even have posters in their office.

I will be praying that the cat is microchippped. Keep us posted.

Thanks, Barefoot. I haven't had a chance to advertise since I thought this was Mando. The problem is time. Our cats love the lanai & Mom doesn't like it that they have to stay inside as long as this cat is here. I'm going to try to talk her into giving me some time. I'll call WVLG tomorrow & I'll check with Marion County (they use Petsmart for adoptions) to see if they'll take it even though I live in Sumter County. :sigh:

KittyKat - when I was helping a stray cat in my neighborhood, all the local rescue agencies couldn't help so I got on the internet and just searched pet rescue agencies in central Florida and started emailing and making phone calls. Finally, one in Inverness took her. I know how time consuming it is. Maybe if you attach a picture to an email, it might help as the cat is really pretty. Also, I made sure that anyone I contacted was a non-kill facility. Marion County Animal Services who use Petsmart is NOT a non-kill agency.

Thanks so much for doing all this work. TOTV should have got some PR for these two cats-- Mando and your new friend. Good luck.

You've been an absolute angel in your attempts to socialize this cat and reunite him with his owner. I hope your mom will give you a day or two to put the ad on the radio. Hopefully someone will claim this lovely cat. Good luck KK. These lost cats just break my heart.

I often wonder about shelters that advertise themselves as no-kill.I'm not saying it's not possible, but I do question how they manage how they manage to do it. I volunteered with a beautiful shelter for four years.

They made every effort to find good forever homes for every animal that came in. But here's the problem. If an animal came in with a fatal disease what do you do? Let it suffer? Pay a lot of money to medicate and you know it will not work?

What about an elderly animal who also is very ill? Or a feral animal who has very little chance of being socialized? What about the people who sneak in, in the middle of the night thinking they are good Samaritans with a very sick animal, dump it in the drop-off pen, and don't leave so much as a nickle for it's care?

The issue for shelters is they have only so many dollars. They have many more animals. So they have to use their dollars to save the lives of as many animals as is humanly possible. This means making some heartbreaking decisions.

The solutions to this equation is easy. More money or less animals. Now before everyone gets in a tizzy, I mean by less animals, "Spay or neuter!" By more money I mean, "Contribute as much as you can afford to your local shelter". Then you will definitely have a "No-Kill" shelter.

You folks who are trying so hard to help these poor cats are definitely angels in my opinion. I feel no kindness to a small animal will go unrewarded. I wonder if you would consider volunteering at one of the local shelters. It sounds to me that you would definitely be good at it! I really enjoyed my time at Angels for Animals.