Extra-special barn cats: one has extra toes! (Baltimore, MD)

[Erin]

Edited to add: "Monty" (now named Bob!) has a home, but Emily and friends are still looking... see new post for update.

OK, so he's not really pink. Perhaps "peach" would be more accurate, or "taupe"... if you want to be all official-like, he's a buff tabby. ;) He definitely is pinker than your typical buff, though, and I swear, his eyes are ORANGE. They're also slightly crossed, so he's a very unique individual. :)

His name is Monty, and he's very friendly (but not so friendly as to be underfoot constantly). He seems to really, REALLY want to be outside though, so I think he'd be better in a barn than a house. He's neutered, current on shots, tested negative, etc. He also gets along fine with other cats and completely ignores my dog. Seriously, he has World's Awesomest Barn Cat written all over him.

Here's a pic of Monty: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2499/3969914744_0db108407a.jpg

... and more pics available here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/13284991@N02/sets/72157622489305040/).

The other kitty is Emily, a very pretty gray-and-white girl who is a polydactyl -- she has extra toes. Emily is a tame kitty, but lived in an alley for at least two years (and two litters of kittens... all of them had extra toes too!), so is understandably a bit wary of people. She is social and will be out and about, and can be petted and picked up, as long as it's on her terms. But she's just not really a highly adoptable cat, and seems to really want to be outside also, so I think she'd be a good barn cat. She doesn't seem to care much for other cats -- tolerates them, but doesn't like them much. So if someone just wanted a solitary barn kitty, she'd be perfect. She's spayed, current on vaccinations, tested, etc.

Two pics of Emily:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2562/3969169301_d5a4a30ee4.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2592/3969164263_27129de273.jpg


They'd need to be crated for a little while upon moving to a new home, and I have crates I can lend out. Happy to deliver anywhere within reasonable driving distance!

[nightsong]

A pink and orange cat! A friend of mine had a going-gray horse that had a period when she had a chestnut-roan-looking body that really was pink. And a strawberry blonde mane and tail that were reallllllllly orange. Pink and orange horse!!!

[Louise]

Monty is marvelous! Thank you so much for saying that he would be happier as a barn cat. Otherwise, I would be very tempted to add him to my menagerie. And, somehow, I don't think Leon, King of the World, would appreciate that.

The usual offer applies on either of these cats. I'm traveling from the Rochester, NY area to Woodbridge, VA, in early November. I'll be more than happy to transport either of these lovely creatures back with me. No problem meeting up with Erin, we've done it before.

[Erin]

Monty IS marvelous! I love the tomcats... they all have such great personalities. He's just a big pink goofball, and I can totally picture him lounging happily around a barn, ruling the roost!

[classicsporthorses]

Okay ladies let me talk to DH and DD about Monty, although we may have to rename him b/c we have a horse here named Monty-and he really knows his name. If you two ladies can arrange it-Louise we are between Binghamton and Cortland, right off 81 a few miles.

Trust me Cat Monty will be spoiled. The barn cats, also all spayed and neutered, usually eventually make it as housecats or indoor/outdoor cats. Those who choose to stay in the barn have a heated water dish, old horse blankets to sleep on and a safe area, where their food is (and plenty of it) up in the mow-away from our 3 young stupid dogs (a mix breed female, a Great dane and a jack russel/pug-yes they are the three studges of dogs). We are in a quiet and safe area-away from the highway.

With the "special" animals we already have here, Cat Monty would fit right in. I'll have to inform the other barn cats that they may have company. I think we are up to 20 cats (indoor and outdoor). PM me with details please!

[Ozone]

Awe I love Emily .... although Monty is a cute peach fur ball!

Do you really think Emily would be ok as a barn cat? She looks like the type that needs a home indoors with other kitties that could show her not to be afraid, I understand she does not like other cats but if she toloerates them now she could learn to love others. I think if she was put in a barn she would just run away ... just from being afraid.

[Erin]

I doubt Monty would mind being renamed. Actually, I have taken to calling him Sir Montague. :D

Ozone, Emily was probably a pet at some point, but she was abandoned and lived outside a good long while, during which time I expect people were not very nice to her. She was comfortable enough in her alley that she would let my friend who lived there (and who TNRed Emily's babies) pet her, though.

She's living in my basement at the moment -- she does tend to be shy, but not horribly so. She's just not very trusting (understandably), and if you startle her, she's very likely to swat at you... which makes finding someone to adopt her as a house kitty, erm, challenging. :) I was hoping to move her into my home office so she could have more one-on-one time, because she does LOVE to be petted and I think if she learned to trust again, she'd be a lot better. But I've had her since March and just haven't had the space or time to really devote to her. And she also sits in the basement window and yowls, so I think she really wants to go outside. ;)

She gets along OK with most other cats -- I do have one foster kitty who kind of likes to tease/torment her, and she does NOT like that one. But, as I said, she tolerates other cats fine.

I think she'd do fine in a relatively quiet barn (i.e. not a big lesson/boarding place). We usually crate cats for about 2 weeks in a new location, so they get used to all the sights and sounds and learn that food will appear on a regular schedule, and that seems to work well. And actually, for a lot of the shy-but-friendly ones, a good barn situation really seems to work for them -- they can approach people as they please and are less nervous because they don't feel cornered.

She's really a favorite of mine, I love the extra-toed ones!

[classicsporthorses]

Spoke with DH and he just sighed and said okay. I guess I'll now have to inform Leo, Bubbles, Junior and Mia (our newest addition who just showed up in bad shape too) that soon they will have company coming to stay.

Keep me posted.

[Louise]

GREAT!

I usually come up 15, as it is a much more direct route to Rochester. I wouldn't mind making a detour. Or, maybe we could meet somewhere along the way. As soon as Erin gives the final OK, I'll PM you about the details.

I have a cat carrier that Leon came in (a real one, not one of those cardboard things). It's not the most beautiful in the world, but it is sturdy and safe. I'll be glad to donate it to the cause.

[classicsporthorses]

okay, we are about 25 miles from Binghamton so I am sure we can figure out a place to meet when the time comes.

[kcmel]

Just wanted to put in a plug for polydactyl cats. They are suppose to be good luck. We love ours!

[Louise]

Erin, are you OK with this transport? We need to start setting something up, if you are.

[Erin]

I have been slacking on "pimping" my barn kitties lately... but Emily and some friends are still looking for a home!

Emily is good buds with Mavis and Mabel, two gray tabby girls who look so similar, they could be sisters. They came from a colony of about 25 cats in my neighborhood that I helped to get fixed this spring. Mavis is actually a kitty I trapped, got fixed, and released, but I accidentally re-caught her when I was trying to catch a different gray tabby. To make things easier, I thought I would just keep her in a crate for a few days until I could catch the other cat... and, of course, once I got her home and in a crate, she turned out to be friendly!

Both she and Mabel are shy, skittish girls, but once they get to know you, they do LOVE to be petted. Neither of them likes to be picked up, however... as soon as you put that second hand on them, they scoot away. (Although if you worked on it with them, they would probably be OK with it.) They are quite happy living in my basement, but un-pick-up-able cats are not terribly adoptable as house cats -- although if someone wanted them, they'd love it! -- so it looks like they need a barn.

I'm hoping to find Emily, Mavis, and Mabel a barn together. They are all former pets who were dumped, not ferals, I suspect. All are fixed, current on vaccinations, and tested negative for feline leukemia. They would need to be crated for about 2 weeks in their new home to get acclimated, and I can supply crates and everything else you would need. And I deliver! :)

(I have pictures of M&M somewhere, just have to dig them up... they are very pretty, petite gray tabbies.)

[allpurpose]

Just wanted to put in a plug for polydactyl cats. They are suppose to be good luck. We love ours!

They are called "Hemingway" cats because Ernest Hemingway owned one. At his home in Florida there are many, many Hemingway cats!

[Susan P]

There is a cult like following for the polydactyl cats, I bet you could find people in Yahoo groups or through Google who would take that one.
http://pets.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/polydactyl_cats/

Edited to add: "Monty" (now named Bob!) has a home, but Emily and friends are still looking... see new post for update.

OK, so he's not really pink. Perhaps "peach" would be more accurate, or "taupe"... if you want to be all official-like, he's a buff tabby. ;) He definitely is pinker than your typical buff, though, and I swear, his eyes are ORANGE. They're also slightly crossed, so he's a very unique individual. :)

His name is Monty, and he's very friendly (but not so friendly as to be underfoot constantly). He seems to really, REALLY want to be outside though, so I think he'd be better in a barn than a house. He's neutered, current on shots, tested negative, etc. He also gets along fine with other cats and completely ignores my dog. Seriously, he has World's Awesomest Barn Cat written all over him.

Here's a pic of Monty: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2499/3969914744_0db108407a.jpg

... and more pics available here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/13284991@N02/sets/72157622489305040/).

The other kitty is Emily, a very pretty gray-and-white girl who is a polydactyl -- she has extra toes. Emily is a tame kitty, but lived in an alley for at least two years (and two litters of kittens... all of them had extra toes too!), so is understandably a bit wary of people. She is social and will be out and about, and can be petted and picked up, as long as it's on her terms. But she's just not really a highly adoptable cat, and seems to really want to be outside also, so I think she'd be a good barn cat. She doesn't seem to care much for other cats -- tolerates them, but doesn't like them much. So if someone just wanted a solitary barn kitty, she'd be perfect. She's spayed, current on vaccinations, tested, etc.

Two pics of Emily:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2562/3969169301_d5a4a30ee4.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2592/3969164263_27129de273.jpg


They'd need to be crated for a little while upon moving to a new home, and I have crates I can lend out. Happy to deliver anywhere within reasonable driving distance!

[Erin]

You know, I had her listed on Petfinder for a while for exactly that reason... I thought someone might be looking for a polydactyl, and with a savvy cat person, she would be fine as an indoor cat. But I only got one or two inquiries over the course of several months, and no one was interested after I explained some of her "issues." I may check out the Yahoo group also... you never know.

The funny thing is that you can tell who all her babies are in the neighborhood. The woman who feeds them has TNRed a few and adopted a couple, and all have extra toes!

[Erin]

Giving these guys a little bump. They would love to find a nice barn to call their own!

[Erin]

Another bump! Emily and Mavis are looking for a barn home together!

I usually keep the barn kitty candidates in my basement, but now that the weather is nicer, have started letting them come upstairs so they can sit in the windows. Emily looooooves this. She seems to like to be around people, and when she's in the mood, you can pet her all you want. But she's a bit distrustful, so you have to make sure the petting is HER idea!

Mavis is shy, but does like to be petted. She loooves Emily. The two of them are always together.

[lcw579]

I may know someone who is looking. Any ideas on what kind of mousers these two are? Just so I can sell them a bit. ;)

[Erin]

I have given up trying to predict kitty mousing ability. The one barn cat I rehomed after WITNESSING him stalk a mouse in my yard has completely ignored them at his barn. Cats: they iz weird. :rolleyes:

But I will say that even kitties who don't really mouse tend to deter the little buggers. Just their presence is enough to send most squeakers looking for other digs.

[Erin]

Another bump for Emily and Mavis! A couple of newer photos included below, and here are links to a couple of YouTube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc7bLaJeoCM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCuot7_Za10

(They're "processing" now, so if they don't work right this minute, try them again in a few.)

These two have really bonded. Mavis follows Emily around, meowing away at her. Emily acts all indifferent, but I know she likes Mavis too. ;)

I've had these two quite a while and would really like to find a *nice* barn setup for them. They do like attention, but they're skittish and need an understanding person -- they're just not the kind of cats who are adoptable as housecats.

Mavis is the shyer of the two, but actually likes to be petted more. Emily is bolder and not as timid, but any petting has to be on her terms. When she's in the mood, she loves it! When she's not, she definitely lets you know. ;)

Both have been around my dog a bit and were wary, but OK.

[Erin]

Another wee bump... with the nice weather, these girls are spending all their time sitting in the windows and wanting to be outside!

[Erin]

Another bump for Emily and Mavis...

[Erin]

Would really like to find these two a nice barn home!

[jazzrider]

Hey, I just found this thread! Thanks to Erin for giving us Emily (now renamed "Betty"). After a rocky start -- our existing barn cat Wilma (also from Erin! :)) was not happy with the addition -- she's settled in just fine. She's an odd little thing, but good company for Wilma and she makes us laugh.

Bumping this up in hopes that Mavis also found a home!

[Erin]

No, sadly, Mavis ended up being FELV positive and had to be put to sleep. :( That's why Emily/Betty got rehomed on her own.

Mavis got tested when she got fixed, supposedly, but either there was an error with the test or some other mixup, so now I have to retest all the other cats. :P But she at least got to live inside, warm and well-fed, for a while, and she wasn't sick for long... I just found her one day lying there paralyzed in the hind end, and took her into the vet and they redid the test. I think the vet thought she'd developed some sort of tumor that was causing the paralysis, which can happen with FELV.

Anyway, Betty retested negative, and I'm glad to hear she and Wilma are getting along better!

[chemteach]

Erin, you are an angel for all you do kitties.

[jazzrider]

No, sadly, Mavis ended up being FELV positive and had to be put to sleep. :( That's why Emily/Betty got rehomed on her own.

Mavis got tested when she got fixed, supposedly, but either there was an error with the test or some other mixup, so now I have to retest all the other cats. :P But she at least got to live inside, warm and well-fed, for a while, and she wasn't sick for long... I just found her one day lying there paralyzed in the hind end, and took her into the vet and they redid the test. I think the vet thought she'd developed some sort of tumor that was causing the paralysis, which can happen with FELV.

Anyway, Betty retested negative, and I'm glad to hear she and Wilma are getting along better!

Hmm. That's exactly what happened to our first barn cat, Chaos (who Wilma and Fred replaced). Does that mean she might have had FELV? The vet just said she "threw a clot." It was the same week my brother died, so we weren't in a state to ask more questions...three years ago last week. :cry:

[Erin]

It's possible, I suppose. I don't know if one form of paralysis is really distinguishable from another. We didn't do any further testing on Mavis once the FELV test came up positive. I don't think it would have mattered, since the prognosis was poor with the paralysis anyway. Poor kitties. :(

How is Betty doing? Has she ventured out of the tack room yet? :)

[jazzrider]

No, she is still "Sky Girl," dwelling on the saddle racks and sky lights. She probably comes down when we're not there, I think she thinks we like her up there. We have never seen her outside the tack room though. Even with us leaving the door open. She howls if we pay too much attention to Wilma, so we've tried mushing on Wilma in the aisle to draw her out, but no. She stalks the sky light to keep an eye on us, but won't come out.

DH wants us to start putting the food out in the aisle to get her out, but I'm not ready for that tough love yet. Eventually, when I'm sure she and Wilma have worked things out. Wilma may still be terrorizing her for her own amusement. But Betty is getting stronger, so hopefully before winter is out she'll start exploring the barn... It's alright, she replaced Freddie who wasn't much of a hunter either (but, like Betty, he was really, really cute). Wilma is a mighty hunter -- she just needs good company to keep her happy and around.

Don't forget we still have your crate!

[Erin]

I may see if another COTHer in the area might be able to pick up the crate from you... she's out your way once in a while. If not, I can probably come get it after the holidays. Fortunately I have managed to send a few kitties along to new homes, so am not desperate for crates at the moment! ;)

[jazzrider]

Just checking in to see about the crate pickup -- no rush, just don't want you to forget.

Betty is still living her life above ground, but has been spotted on the lowest saddle rack. Progress! :winkgrin:

[Erin]

OK, that's weird... I literally JUST sent you an email 10 minutes ago, before I even saw this! Do-do-do-do... ;)