this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2024

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Someone dumped her, soaking wet, in the lobby of a restaurant today (midwest.social)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Someone just walked into the restaurant i work at, dumped this soaking wet kitten in the lobby, and left without saying a word. I just got a kitten this month, so i took her home with me since i have kitten supplies and everyone else at work has too many pets.

She cried the whole ride home, and my kitten (13 weeks old), Niniane was not happy about the new cat. I took the stray into the bathroom and fed her. Afterwards i weighed her and she wasn't even 2lbs. She was absolutely filthy, so i gave her a quick bath without much struggle.

I dried her off and groomed her with the slicker brush and then let Niniane into the bathroom so they could socialize a bit. Nini was curious, but very standoffish and mostly just hissed while the stray just wanted to climb into my lap. I put a cat hammock, scratching post, and some toys in the bathroom (none of which Nini uses) and have locked the stray in there until i know she is litter trained. Currently she is jist sleeping in the hammock, so i think I'll leave her there for the night and try to socialize the kittens some more tomorrow.

Edit: i think i am gonna call her Boudica. It's much better than "the stray". She just peed in the litter box and even buried it, so that's a massive step. Unfortunately I'm still gonna keep her in in the bathroom for the next few days, but I'm so glad she used the litter box.

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[–] [email protected] 97 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I usually give a week or so of separation to make sure they're used to each others smell.

Thanks for taking her in, I can't believe some people.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Also so new kitty can be vetted* for diseases. I hope OP takes new kitty to the vet before really introducing, if they can.

*Pun absolutely intended.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

The vets are booked up for months around here. I haven't even gotten Niniane in for her first vet appointment (scheduled for the emd of the month), even though i got her a month ago. On Monday I'm gonna call the vet and see if i can make the visit i have scheduled a double appointment. Other than that, I'm gonna give the stray a dewormer tomorrow after she eats breakfast.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's unfortunate, but I'm so glad she (and Niniane) have someone like you to care for them!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Yeah, that's one of the drawbacks of living in a semi-rural city in Ohio. Niniane's mom was a barn cat though, so i i figure she was exposed to worse when i got her. Her mom's owner only put the bare minimum into preventative care for the cats since coyotes are such a big problem around here. Meanwhile the stray was a "city" cat, so I don't think she was exposed to anything Nini wasn't already exposed to. I'll keep an eye oit for worms in the litter box, but the stray was probably only slightly more at risk for something nasty than Nini was when i got her. Either way, I'll know in a couple weeks.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Ear mites are also a thing, and they're highly contagious. Kittens are especially susceptible to them so I would definitely read up on them if I were you.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

I've got some ear wipes. Her ears were pretty dirty when i cleaned them out. I'll grab mite drops from the store and give both kittens a treatment.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I don't know a thing about cats, but I would've expected there to be more diseases in the city, with all the humans, car exhaust, trash etc..

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

The "city" is a 17,000 person college town surrounded by corn fields. It's a very picturesque town. Probably the best place for a stray cat to be since there's no stray dogs or coyotes. Basically 200 year old suburb with a walkable downtown.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

just gonna say... barn cats are the best cats.

grandma had a barn cat that lived in her pipe organ's pipes. Pinky would pop out and watch people, and usually come down to say 'hi', at least to me, but she was quite old and frequently grumpy with "others",

(... yes. you read that right. My grandma teaches organ and piano, and until a while ago, she had a 'rescued' pipe organ in her garage. It's since been donated and restored to a proper home.)(Don't judge Grandpa kept a still in the back of his barn. I remember after he passed we were helping clear out his barn, 'what's this?!' 'Oh. that's grandpa's still.'.... was a rather awkward conversation.)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

I can’t believe some people.

we don’t know backstory there. We don’t know if a human is at fault at all. possible a kitten got separated from the litter especially at that age. it could be a kitten from a stray with no human involvement at all.

A person walking by might not have the space or even has a severe allergy to cats so they took it immediately to the closest spot so the kitten wouldn’t die. This is Just a hunch like any other. It’s just that malice may not always be the back story. Some(one) isn’t always just someone who just won’t but can’t and isn’t even directly responsible for it. For all we now the person dropping it off could be an asshole or someone doing a kindness in and of itself to save a kitten even in a small way.

Assuming the worst serves nothing and it’s not a healthy way to expend your energy and it just polarizes with assumptions against the humans around us without basis and that’s a pretty unfair way to go at other likely innocent people.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The shelters are all full of cats and kittens across the area right now. But a restaurant definitely isn't the place to just drop a stray cat. It was peak dinner time. They just walked in, dumped the cat, and left. She was probably a stray, but that's still a terrible way to dump a kitten. Luckily the hostess loves cats so she wrapped her up and put her in her car for the shift.

It doesn't matter now though. Hopefully she can stay with me now

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

shelters are all full of cats and kittens across the area right now

how close are they to the restaurant? Would the person walking by foot have to have a vehicle to get the kitten to a shelter? Perhaps they haven’t transport. Perhaps they have a disability. Perhaps many reasons they can’t get to a shelter. If the shelter is right beside the restaurant, then yeah, the person wasn’t thinking. If not, they were probably trying to get kitten safe immediately especially if it’s wet and the restaurant could be the closest warm building to where the kitten was found. Not ideal but it is a possible scenario.

I’m glad either way the end result was she found a new home. Just hopefully we don’t have to assume malice is around every corner with other fellow humans.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I do always assume the best in people; however, there are some actions that are unambiguously shitty. Like walking into a restaurant with a soaking wet kitten and leaving it there without saying anything. No matter which way I Iook at it, there is nothing "innocent" about that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

First option probably just leave kitty in wherever it was and let it die. At least this way it has found a home. I think leaving the kitty to die would have been comparatively worse in the scenario we’re talking about.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, the fact that it was wet suggests that the person found it outside.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Exactly. In all likeliness the restaurant was probably the closest open (warm) building in the area the kitten was found.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Yeah, I concur. It would have been nice if the person had done more, but we got no idea who they were and what shit of their own they were dealing with. They picked the kitten up and took it to the nearest warm place. Lots of people would have walked on by.

I mean, I could be wrong. Maybe they'd failed to drown the kitten and brought it to the restaurant assuming it would make a tasty paté. But I'm thinking your guess is more likely.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Good on you for taking her in, but I'd suggest keeping her separated from your other cat until you can get a vet to look at her - there are a few nasties that feral cats tend to carry that you probably don't want your other cat to catch

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately the vets are all booked up for months around here. I haven't even had my first scheduled appointment with my original kitten yet, so there's no way to get the stray checked out before introducing them. I didn't find any fleas when i brushed and bathed her this evening, and i am gonna give her a deworming pill tomorrow after breakfast.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago

Keep them apart for a week or so if you can to let any incubating infections show up. I recently had an upsetting experience with a family of stray kittens and their mother that my wife and I rescued, only to find out that they had feline parvovirus and had to be euthanised (whilst the kittens seemed fine when we caught them, the prognosis for kittens with parvo is horrendous; even the mother only had a 50/50 chance of survival). We kept them separate from our cats (and they are vaccinated anyway), but we still had to bleach the bathroom almost to oblivion to kill any trace of parvo. It was just a horrible situation.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago

So, many vets will provide a free check up for rescues. Possibly including vaccines and things.

Whoever this was is a right asshole. Thanks for redeeming humanity for the rest of us.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Congrats on being adopted! We've done new kitty in a room for a couple of days, then old kitty in the room for a couple of days while new kitty learns the house. Then, when they start pawing under the door at each other we open it. We did not do this with the last kitty and now we have cat fights several nights per week.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

Yup, let them get used to each other's smells and slowly introduce them to each other. You can't rush this step, depending on the cats it can take a week or so.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago

I took home an OrangeGuy™️ that someone left under the dumpster at work and I have never regretted it. Good work!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

Good that the little baby is being taken care of now! <3

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You should name her Chocolate Rain!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

I'm thinking about Boudica, since she's a wild little fighter. Plus it goes well with the Arthurian name of my other kitten.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Thanks for rescuing her. We already have 3 cats and a dog, but if I was on a situation like you were, I might have to adopt a fourth. We absolutely don't need a fourth cat, but I can't see one abandoned like that.

We have a law in this county that we'd have to turn them into the shelter, but then we'd get first dibs at adopting. I might do a "we'll give her a good home if no one else steps up in a week" sort of thing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

What an awesome, empowering name! She's a queen for sure. You're right to keep them separated as a precaution. Let them get used to one another's scents and monitor their integration.

Thank you for rescuing this kitty. I predict a happy life based on your actions so far. You're being thoughtful about how to bring her into your home and that's awesome.

Who the hell dumps a kitty in a restaurant? What a strange beginning.

Once again, I love that you chose that name. I instantly recognized it and did a web search to confirm. Hello fellow history nerd!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

She looks so much my old lady, Pico!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Make sure she has no illnesses she can transfer to Nini before you let them permanently together