I finally took the little kitten to the vet today (I've christened him Griseldo ) and it turns out it's not mange what he's got.... the poor thing is infested with fleas!, they were eating him alive! That's why his tail looks that way in the pic. And it looks even worse today. But thankfully, the problem's easy to fix, and not that expensive to treat.
The vet says that mange in cats usually starts at the ears, and looks a pinky-rose, oozing a little bit too...
Little Griseldo is on his way to recovery now.

 

Glad to hear he'll be ok. A flea bath can do wonders, and it's very cheap to do. However, the cat will likely try to kill you, so be prepared for that. Then a monthly flea treatment if he still shows signs of fleas. Beware: If you have carpeting in your house, and Griseldo has been in there much, you may need to replace it. Fleas tend to lay millions of eggs and in no time your house will be infested with fleas. I've seen it--My father had the same problem at his house. You'd step in the door and instantly have 5-6 fleas around your ankle. His cat would avoid touching the floor at all costs--she would jump from perch to perch never walking.

 

Glad to hear he'll be ok. A flea bath can do wonders, and it's very cheap to do. However, the cat will likely try to kill you, so be prepared for that. Then a monthly flea treatment if he still shows signs of fleas. Beware: If you have carpeting in your house, and Griseldo has been in there much, you may need to replace it. Fleas tend to lay millions of eggs and in no time your house will be infested with fleas. I've seen it--My father had the same problem at his house. You'd step in the door and instantly have 5-6 fleas around your ankle. His cat would avoid touching the floor at all costs--she would jump from perch to perch never walking.

Nah... Griseldo has been living outside all this time (he's only about 3 months old) and he's never been inside my house. Plus, we have marble floors, and only a small carpet he's never even gotten close to. And every time I or my wife handled him, we washed our hands thoroughly. But he's become very tame, although still a little fearful. He's all meows and attentiveness when he's hungry.... and as soon as he's fed, he bolts. But that changed about two weeks ago. When he started spending the nights sleeping at our garden's door. Then he'd be fed and wouldn't leave anymore... I just hope he doesn't relapse into shyness after this treatment.... after this, I plan on having him vaccinated and later neutered and de-clawed (only his front paws)... then I'm going to let him into the house... just like Luca, our first cat... who just so happens to be the coolest cat in the world now.

EDIT: BTW, it's good to see you're still hanging around the place, @DerStrom8

 

Nah... Griseldo has been living outside all this time (he's only about 3 months old) and he's never been inside my house. Plus, we have marble floors, and only a small carpet he's never even gotten close to. And every time I or my wife handled him, we washed our hands thoroughly. But he's become very tame, although still a little fearful. He's all meows and attentiveness when he's hungry.... and as soon as he's fed, he bolts. But that changed about two weeks ago. When he started spending the nights sleeping at our garden's door. Then he'd be fed and wouldn't leave anymore... I just hope he doesn't relapse into shyness after this treatment.... after this, I plan on having him vaccinated and later neutered and de-clawed (only his front paws)... then I'm going to let him into the house... just like Luca, our first cat... who just so happens to be the coolest cat in the world now.

Sounds a lot like one of my first cats when I was a kid. He was a giant orange ball of fur. It was a very light orange and some white, and we called him Marmalade. He came to the edge of our woods one day but was so skittish and wouldn't let anyone come near him (he would bolt), but then we started leaving a bowl of food for him just into the yard, and we would move the bowl a little closer to the house every few days. Eventually we got to the point where he was coming right to our door, and would allow us to pet him. By the time I was about 6 years old he was the friendliest, mellowest cat I'd ever known.

EDIT: BTW, it's good to see you're still hanging around the place, @DerStrom8

Thanks cmartinez. I still can't stand how the community has become a corporation, and I have lost just about all of my respect for the administrator/s and his/their PR goons. That being said, I do have some old friends here (and some new) with whom I still like to chat.

Matt

 

By the time I was about 6 years old he was the friendliest, mellowest cat I'd ever known.

That's what I like about cats... with dogs, they'll give their love freely (nothing wrong with that)... but with cats, you have to win them over and actually earn their love.

and I have lost just about all of my respect for the administrator/s and his/their PR goons.

For my part, I've managed to ignore them... I reverted my preferences to the old blue theme (I simply despise the orange crap that was imposed on us at first), and I never even bother to visit the main page... I keep myself exclusively to the forum area of the site.

 

Eww, even before I was a cat person I hated declawing. I would only allow it in extreme cases for a cat that is 100% in doors.

Take your dominant hand and hold your finger at the first knuckle. Then imagine life without that end segment on all ten fingers. THAT is how a cat is declawed. Look, claws are the #1 defence mechanism a cat has. You put Griseldo outside undefended and something will get him sooner or later.

AFAIK fleas live in the surroundings and only roost on an animal to feed. The times we've had a flea problem (which was minor I admit) we would spray the furniture and not the animals and it resolved in a week or two just by doing that.

And you think a flea bath is bad? Leave the claws where God or Darwin intended them to be.

 

Eww, even before I was a cat person I hated declawing. I would only allow it in extreme cases for a cat that is 100% in doors.

Take your dominant hand and hold your finger at the first knuckle. Then imagine life without that end segment on all ten fingers. THAT is how a cat is declawed. Look, claws are the #1 defence mechanism a cat has. You put Griseldo outside undefended and something will get him sooner or later.

AFAIK fleas live in the surroundings and only roost on an animal to feed. The times we've had a flea problem (which was minor I admit) we would spray the furniture and not the animals and it resolved in a week or two just by doing that.

And you think a flea bath is bad? Leave the claws where God or Darwin intended them to be.

We just had to declaw our first cat (Luca) because he's a 100% indoors cat, and he'd start scratching the hell out of our furniture, and also damaging our door screens. I do understand the humane side of this issue. But we live in an area where it's normal to see a dead cat on the street that's been run over by a truck on a weekly basis. It's either declaw him, or allow him to have an average lifespan of only 1-1/2 years by living outdoors. Instead of 7 to 9 years indoors.
That being said... there's also the issue of our 16 year-old daughter with cerebral palsy, who's on the floor 90% of the time. We've taught Luca to stay away from her, but Griseldo has to learn that rule anew. We want our cats to be as harmless to her as possible.

 

The times we've had a flea problem (which was minor I admit) we would spray the furniture and not the animals and it resolved in a week or two just by doing that.

My father would spray the entire house and even tried a flea bomb a couple of times, and it didn't help at all. The fleas and eggs were nested into the carpet and the chemicals wouldn't touch them. He eventually moved out and tore out the old carpet, cleaned the entire place, and now the new owner has flea problems (these are sand fleas--very pervasive!)

 

We just had to declaw our first cat (Luca) because he's a 100% indoors cat, and he'd start scratching the hell out of our furniture, and also damaging our door screens. I do understand the humane side of this issue. But we live in an area where it's normal to see a dead cat on the street that's been run over by a truck on a weekly basis. It's either declaw him, or allow him to have an average lifespan of only 1-1/2 years by living outdoors. Instead of 7 to 9 years indoors.
That being said... there's also the issue of our 16 year-old daughter with cerebral palsy, who's on the floor 90% of the time. We've taught Luca to stay away from her, but Griseldo has to learn that rule anew. We want our cats to be as harmless to her as possible.

I used to feel that way about declawing cats, but then one day our cat took a swipe at the 3 year old. Nice scratch about 1/2 inch (maybe a cm) from her eye. The claws were gone the next day.

 

I used to feel that way about declawing cats, but then one day our cat took a swipe at the 3 year old. Nice scratch about 1/2 inch (maybe a cm) from her eye. The claws were gone the next day.

And the silly thing is that the cat was probably just being playful... well, mine can play all they want with their softer-than-mittens paws now...

 

BEHOLD GRISELDO!
​

My friends tell me he's an ugly cat... but I don't care, he's the tamest, friendliest, purriest, furriest, hugable-cuddable kitten to walk the earth...


He does look like a gremlin from a certain angle...





This is what evil looks like after being fed....

 

Had to bump this. Just got a new addition to my little family. Since I moved to my new apartment the only pets I've had were my fiancee's dog (whom I despise with every bit of my being) and my snake. But I am a cat person, and I have missed my Siamese dearly. My parents adopted them and I occasionally still visit them, but I've wanted a cat of my own again for months. Last Saturday morning my wish came true. My neighbor two apartments down from me heard that I wanted a cat and he got one for me right before he moved out.

Everyone, meet Chloe, the sweetest little 4-week-old kitten I've ever met. I wish she could have stayed with her mother longer, but she has been doing extremely well, she is eating on her own, using the litterbox, jumping, running, and even playing with the dog.



She was born under a house, however, so unfortunately she does have fleas. She has had a couple of flea baths (those did not go well) but will still need a couple more to completely eliminate the problem.

 

Had to bump this. Just got a new addition to my little family. Since I moved to my new apartment the only pets I've had were my fiancee's dog (whom I despise with every bit of my being) and my snake. But I am a cat person, and I have missed my Siamese dearly. My parents adopted them and I occasionally still visit them, but I've wanted a cat of my own again for months. Last Saturday morning my wish came true. My neighbor two apartments down from me heard that I wanted a cat and he got one for me right before he moved out.

Everyone, meet Chloe, the sweetest little 4-week-old kitten I've ever met. I wish she could have stayed with her mother longer, but she has been doing extremely well, she is eating on her own, using the litterbox, jumping, running, and even playing with the dog.

View attachment 91625 View attachment 91626 View attachment 91627 View attachment 91628

She was born under a house, however, so unfortunately she does have fleas. She has had a couple of flea baths (those did not go well) but will still need a couple more to completely eliminate the problem.

My wife is in love with your cat, she says it's the cutest thing she's ever seen... now I'm jealous...

Anyway.... here's the evolution of Griseldo. He looks much better now, and less bat-like




The hair on his tail grew back after we had him de-fleaced ... plus, his fur looks nice and shiny now!





And he can get seriously uncomfortable when his picture is taken

 

My wife is in love with your cat, she says it's the cutest thing she's ever seen... now I'm jealous...

Anyway.... here's the evolution of Griseldo. He looks much better now, and less bat-like

View attachment 91630


The hair on tail grew back after we had him de-fleaced ... plus, his fur looks nice and shiny now!

View attachment 91631



And he can get seriously uncomfortable when his picture is taken View attachment 91633

View attachment 91632

I'm not even going to ask about the picture in the background of that last photo......

 

I'm not even going to ask about the picture in the background of that last photo......

Ha!!!.. I've just edited that! but it's no biggie... it's an old Pink Floyd poster advertising their "Laser Show" ... my wife's a fan

 

Ha!!!.. I've just edited that! but it's no biggie... it's an old Pink Floyd poster advertising their "Laser Show" ... my wife's a fan

Ah, Pink Floyd. I suppose that's an acceptable explanation

 

Ha!!!.. I've just edited that! but it's no biggie... it's an old Pink Floyd poster advertising their "Laser Show" ... my wife's a fan

See?

​

 

Everyone, meet Chloe, the sweetest little 4-week-old kitten I've ever met...

Just adorable, good luck with her.

You are not giving her milk, are you? Cats are all lactose intolerant. You can get kitten milk replacement which they do very well on.

 

Cats are all lactose intolerant....

Yet another difference between dogs and cats: dogs like to fart.

 

Had to bump this. Just got a new addition to my little family. Since I moved to my new apartment the only pets I've had were my fiancee's dog (whom I despise with every bit of my being) and my snake. But I am a cat person, and I have missed my Siamese dearly. My parents adopted them and I occasionally still visit them, but I've wanted a cat of my own again for months. Last Saturday morning my wish came true. My neighbor two apartments down from me heard that I wanted a cat and he got one for me right before he moved out.

Everyone, meet Chloe, the sweetest little 4-week-old kitten I've ever met. I wish she could have stayed with her mother longer, but she has been doing extremely well, she is eating on her own, using the litterbox, jumping, running, and even playing with the dog.

View attachment 91625 View attachment 91626 View attachment 91627 View attachment 91628

She was born under a house, however, so unfortunately she does have fleas. She has had a couple of flea baths (those did not go well) but will still need a couple more to completely eliminate the problem.

She's really cute!