*sigh*

We've been suckered in by a cat, and now the weather is cold. She's a really pretty calico with green eyes, and although she looks cared for, it's hard to tell if anyone owns her. We've cleaned minimal leaves and twigs off of her only a couple of times over the last two months, and she's never had matted hair. She has no tags, but there's still the possibility that she has a skin implant ID. Dana and I checked for no-kill shelters in our area, and they charge a fee for animals. I guess that's understandable since they have operating costs, but for the same price, we might be able to have her spayed and keep her a while longer. It's tough to decide what to do.


So far it hasn't been too bad. We have a box top with a liner and litter that she hasn't used in spite of our attempts to get her acquainted with it. She's been eating the dry food and water we've left out for her, but when we try to leave her in the bathroom at night with the lights on, she starts to cry, so she gets sent out to the hallway in the apartment building. It's colder there, but since we don't have a pet deposit, I don't want to have the neighbors complain of cat noise all night. Dana says that he doesn't see her in the hallway in the morning, but by evening, she's found our apartment door again and calls for us.

I'm not a very good at determining age, but this cat doesn't seem like it's much more than a year old. She looks fully grown, yet still seems uncertain of some of her movements when adjusting to her environment. However, she was the more agressive of the two strays when it came to found food. She's very affectionate, often rolling onto her back and playing with her paws in the air when she wants attention. She also likes kneading a lot after eating, then goes to clean herself and lays down for a bit. She seems to understand what's expected of her fairly well, and seems to be learning from routine. I'm hoping that by leaving her food dishes, litter box and cushion in the bathroom that she'll learn to be accustomed to the room for longer periods of time without crying. I'd let her cry all night long if it weren't for the neighbors, but unfortunately I don't think she'll ever be able to learn if I have to let her out when she starts up. Maybe I can leave her in there when the neighbors are gone for a weekend or something.