Is my cat the leader of a gang?

[lollycat]

She is beautiful! Well done you for helping her, I dread to think what would have happened to the poor mite.
How's the cat community behaving now?

[jezebel]

Selina looks like a tiny version of my Bass!

[Bee]

She so cute! She's the spit of our new rescue kitten Mo! And we use Zasman in CE too

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Selina is lovely and pdfs dont embed here, only jpegs or pngs or a download from another site like photobucket.

However oped pdf links no prob 

My first cat turned up like yours and I hated cats but nearly twenty years on I am suckered 

  to Purrs too we are nice very nice 

[jezebel]

(I have a habit of accidentally rescuing animals - so far: jack russell,   2 fish, pregnant mouse, african grey parrot, two chickens and now   Selina.  All have been made healthy again and then rehomed - except   Selina who is staying).

Bless you! 

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Well done, Selina has obviously decided that she will honour you with her trust. Black cats seem to pick their people, rather than the other way round, I think 

I don't think you are a Mad Cat Lady. You are clearly a Mad Animal Lady   

[ClaireSelina]

sorry - though the pictures would embed.....

Also - am going to Zasman vets in Crouch End - gave me a discount and also helped when I rescued a parrot that flew into my garage.

(I have a habit of accidentally rescuing animals - so far: jack russell, 2 fish, pregnant mouse, african grey parrot, two chickens and now Selina.  All have been made healthy again and then rehomed - except Selina who is staying).

[ClaireSelina]

 
thanks for all the welcomes.  I wasn't expecting to have a cat but it seemed a bit too cruel to send her to a pound (though frankly, it would have been nice if the RSPCA could have helped with surgery costs!!

As I said in my post, she is getting spayed and microchipped next week so hopefully that will sort a few problems out - but dealing with it by throwing water on the other cats atm.

I can't keep her in doors as I'm painting so need to keep doors and windows open and also it's too hot. She's fine - she just stays with me and I go with her in the garden so she knows that I'm her protector.  She even comes when I call - cool huh?

Here's a couple of pictures.

[sheilarose]

Just to top off what I already said, I don't think she's any kind of leader, I think she's a young lady who's had enough of being pregnant and is trying to get away from her stalkers. She thought your home seemed safe but they're coming in there too.  Be careful she doesn't run away again if you let these boys in, they want her for other reasons than friendship. 

And no, loyalty doesn't exist on the mean streets. They haven't been protecting her, or are her friends, she smells like heaven to them and will continue to do so until she's good and pregnant, at which point they will all magically disappear on the search for another poor little girl to mob.

But you may well be a "budding mad cat lady from the Simpsons", however you'll need to add a few more to your brood before you qualify. 

[beowulf]

welcome and well done for taking in a waif and stray

she sounds like she has really taken to you......would love to see a piccy 

[lau200]

I would keep her indoors until she is speyed. Black cats are the best! Well done for helping her and welcome to the forum 

[sheilarose]

  What a lovely story. Black cats are my favourite 

She's adopted you, no question, but to be on the safe side do get her microchipped asap. Two of my boy cats came from Tottenham, another from Clissold Park. There are loads of unneutered females about your area which attracts loads more unneutered toms so it's a constant struggle to keep abreast of the situation. People just don't think to get their pets neutered and seem quite shocked when they can't re-home all the kittens, who then go on to become strays themselves. 

I'm so pleased you're helping this little one. 

There is lots of expert help in east and north london as we have a fair share of rescues. Have a look on our sister site, catchat there's a couple really close by you.
They will recommend a good veterinary practice if you're unsure of the one you've already used (not all vets are good vets!) or if you can travel a little further afield I can definitely recommend Walthamstow Vets on Wyatts Lane.

Have a look around the site, check out the various websites we use for cut-price medications, food etc and don't forget to stop by the Purrs Shop (click on the banner at the top of the page) for the best cat toys and accessories around. Nice to have you here, and of course do post some photos of your new girl when you can! 

[Dawn F]

it would be what was attracting the others

[ClaireSelina]

thanks for the welcome

I've got her booked in to be spayed - is that what it is?

[Liz]

Sounds like she is in silent heat hence all the boys calling, my advice keep her in and get speyed asap

Oh and welcome to Purrs  

I am mother to the Clan cats an awful lot of them a mixed bag of ferals, domestics and my rescue NFC, 2 ragdolls and a physco Bengal and their pets my 3 wonderful Border Collies Sky, Sunny and Mistral

[jezebel]

I can't offer you any advice, unfortunately (but there are plenty here who will be able to), I just wanted to say I loved your post!

  to Purrs, by the way - we're all mad cat ladies here (even the blokes!).

[ClaireSelina]

Sorry in advance for length!!

Hi everyone – I’m a new cat “owner” as I have just adopted a stray that turned up at my home.  I have an odd situation that I need advice with.

BACKGROUND:

I live in Tottenham (London), my garden backs onto about 30 gardens formed by a square of houses and there are many cats in the area.  Until recently, I used to shoo cats out of the garden as I have a bird feeder, so I know the local cats.

About three weeks ago, a small black cat who I have not seen before turned up at my back door – very thin, with a large open wound on her back – about the size of a large strawberry.  I don’t feed cats normally but this one was different so I gave her some cat food (yes, had a random tin in my cupboard from when I cat-sat for a friend).  She was very nervous, ate and then ran off. 

She came back the next night, wound still open.  I decided that if she did have a home, they didn’t deserve her as they should have taken her to a vet immediately.  I fed her again and kept her in for the night – there were no protests from her – she seemed so grateful and friendly, and slept on my bed.

In the morning, I took her to a local vet who did surgery on her back (£200!!) and got her all cleaned up and well.  She wasn’t chipped and the vet told me she was about 2 years old and had already had a litter.  I brought her home and kept her indoors while her stitches started to heal and gave her her antibiotics.  She’s healed really well and put on weight.  The vet and I thought she might be a proper stray.

I’ve checked all the lost cat websites – nothing.  She seems to have moved in immediately, and with the lovely weather, we’ve had all the doors and windows open but she’s been very happy here and hasn’t run off/gone back home.  She comes when we call her (my son and I named her Selina Kyle!), she follows us around the house and sleeps near me while I’m decorating, she’s so cute and loving.  She didn’t purr when she first arrived, now she purrs and drools when you stroke her.  So it looks like she’s joined our family very happily.

So that’s the background. 

MY QUESTION:

There are four neighbour cats (who I’ve seen around):
Mr Ginger
Mr Black
Mr Black and White
Mr White and tabby
(I think they are all male because of their size but I don’t know)

Since I have been looking after Selina, they come calling for her.  She’s much smaller than the other cats who are healthy and presumably have a home.  I don’t think Selina is in heat as she’s doing none of the behavioural bum waving, calling etc.  The other cats don’t try and mount her or anything, they just seem to want to be near her.

What happens is that I keep finding other cats in the house (not eating her food, just looking for her, calling for her), they climb in my window at night, wander in the house during the day.  When they come in the house, Selina fights them and they run off.

However, when I am not visable to them, they all just seem to hang out together – I just found three of them and Selina just sitting together on my decking (but not touching).  Then suddenly, Selina will get (presumably) territorial and fight them and then chase them off.  The other cats intermittently fight each other too.  They also hang out in my neighbours garden together.

The weird thing is that they seem to stalk her – I came down one morning with her and found a cat sleeping at my back door. They climb on the flat roof outside my bedroom and call for her.  I have no idea why they want to be near her at all times – I even had Mr Ginger sitting out in the rain for her yesterday.  (I just found another cat in the house!!!)

From what I can work out, possible options for this behaviour are:
-Selina is the leader of a gang of cats
-Selina is the leader of a cult
-Selina is in heat (vet didn’t think she was)
-the other cats haven't been spayed
-Selina was a real stray and the other cats looked after her and now feel a bond or protective of her
-She fights them to establish her territory in her new home
-The other cats are strays as well (this is unlikely as they look very well fed and one has a collar)
-She is part of a pack that miss her
-I’m turning into the mad cat lady from the Simpsons.

So what do you make of all that then?

Any idea how to reduce the cat-stalkers in my garden?

Why are the other cats behaving like this?  I’ve never seen such attraction!  When she's in the house, the cats sleep outside the backdoor....!!

Thanks for all your help – thoughts appreciated!!

(meanwhile, I’ve got her booked in to get her spayed and micro chipped in a week – had to wait for her injury to heal).