have seen this little guy around once or twice but he was in my window last night and i got a little spooked and took a picture ... is this cat in pain or is it just a birth defect ?
Here is a picture of Scarlett), a cat who famously survived a fire. She returned into a burning structure multiple times to rescue her kittens. The cat in this post has similar looking injuries.
Omg Scarlett! When I was a little kid, my school library had a short children’s book about her and I used to check it out all the time. Such an awesome cat and I’m glad she lived the rest of her life in a a good home
If it made it through a housefire, it could be a pet that the owners wrote off - after all, if a house burned down with a pet inside it, the owners probably wouldn’t even consider it could’ve escaped in time.
If OP can get ahold of it, local news may want to run a story looking for a possible owner to reunite them. It would be heartwarming to find his people!
I snatched a wasp out of the air with my bare hand when it flew into the car with my kids. Most human mothers would absolutely run into a burning building for their kids. Us and Scarlett are running the same version of mom software.
thank you all for the fast responses !! i will definitely be doing my best to get this little guy to the vet if i see him again; he seemed very kind last night, he wanted to play with my cat through the window !! please hope that i see him again + hes willing to be picked up enough to get him to the vet, just to check on everything and make sure hes not in any pain or discomfort.
please enjoy the photos of this sweet cat and i will update if i get him to the vet !!
You are awesome! So I am a huge supporter of Milo’s Sanctuary - they cared for a lovely boy named Wizard who had injuries due to burns that look very very similar.
Judging by the photos you shared of this kitty it unfortunately makes me think they also may have been affected by a burn, especially concerning how their eyes and ears look (but ofc not 100% sure).
I really hope you can get him - and like someone else said please contact a rescue for help if you have any issues catching him before you move. ❤️
Of course! It makes me so happy you know about Wizard and Milo’s. They’re incredible ❤️ I was going to post Thomas Trueheart first, but I feel like Wizard looks more similar to the kitty OP posted.
They really do, I saw it so many times when I took care of ferals. Usually around age 10 a switch would flip and cats that would never let me touch them got suddenly friendly and just moved into my house. I had one wonderful girl who decided at age 16 that she was ready for pets and love. She was amazing.
I have high hopes that he will return. Cats tend to have a great memory for "safe places", whether that place is under a dumpster or in a friendly human's yard. If he trusts you enough to be picked up, the hard part is already done for you. No cat whispering required. Get a a carrier ready, and give him treats on the way to the vet. The most important thing is showing him love and safety.
I've got a big boy (Boss) that comes around with another cat because I leave food out. Him and her (Queenie) are inseparable. They cuddle, groom eachother, eat together, etc. But lately he's been looking bigger and is drinking more water than usual. I'd like to get him to the vet but he is easily scared.
If he can’t be picked up, you could also try using a trap to get him looked at. Depending on where you are, you can often find someone willing to lend one
I had a stray cat organization come to my house when I needed a stray cat trapped (we actually ended up getting 2 cats for the "price" of one, lol.) I'm sure these type of orgs aren't available everywhere, but it's worth a Google search.
I think cats who survived trauma are harder to pick up/catch the normal way. I think your locals cat rescues/shelters etc will have traps you can borrow or even help you do it.
He could’ve developed hematomas on his ears, which then ruptures the cartilage, causing them to fall forward. It makes them look like a Scottish fold, but they don’t have the gene that causes folded ears. It’s a mechanical defect, not a genetic trait.
Edit: could also be damaged from frostbite.
My brother had this happen to his cat. And a friend had it happen to her cat, but just on one ear so he looked sweetly goofy.
As for the eyes, they do not look normal. I don’t know what caused it. Poor baby.
My old lady was named Hattie and she probably had an identity crisis from all the nicknames she had - Big Cat, Fuzz Buddy, Fuzz Butt, Big baby, Baby Cat, Fuzzy Baby, Big Buzz, Bongo Buns, Poopie Cat...to name a few haha
Mister Baby was his full name. Only because my ex’s aunt had a cat named Baby and every time I called my cat, her cat would come running. So I shortened his name to Mister. I even had a song that I’d sing to get him to come running. He’d hold out his paw and want it shook, like a gentleman. He’d give high fives, too. God I miss him. 😭
My cat Pokey had hematomas and her ears are like this. She also has a lot of scar tissue from old ear and eye infections; one of her eyes is oddly slanted and narrow because of it though obviously not to the extent of this window boy.
Can confirm. I know it’s not a cat 🫣 BUT she had an ear infection that led to a hematoma in the ear and once it healed it left her ear a touch floppy lol. 😅
update ! via local facebook groups, i was able to find out that he has a home and just likes to wander ! he was involved in a fire, but is loved and cared for <3 very excited to be able to share good news. his name is gizmo!!!
he was the victim of a fire; he probably has a hard time trusting a house, as it was probably a house fire. his owner told me he had went missing for a while - he has a hard time staying in one place. hes had a hard life.
I understand that he likes to wander around, but I wish his family would try to keep him inside. As another poster said, outside cats have a very short lifespan. When they live indoors and are kept healthy, it isn't unusual for cats to live to be 18 to 25 years old.
(short story)
I do rescue for animals, and I had a (very) feral cat that I took in 14 years ago. She had been trapped in a field barn for T&R, taken to a veterinarian (who is a friend of mine) to have her spayed, and the person never came back to pick her up.
She was so wild that no one could even touch her, they had to sedate her while she was still in the cage so they could get her out to examine her and then repeated the same thing again to anesthetize her for the surgery.
The first day that I saw her, one of my daughters was with me and she immediately allowed my daughter to take her from the kennel she was in and she let her hold her- she cuddled right into my daughter (which is how she earned her name - Cuddles). It was kind of amazing, everyone in the clinic was shocked, and so we took her in.
We had her for 10 years before she came to me. She spent all those years watching from afar, watching other cats and other animals come to me for love, attention, she watched me put food out, change their water, give them their medicines when they needed them and take care of the injured/hurt animals.
And then one day she just came over and crawled in my lap like she had always sat there. I was stunned and afraid to move, afraid that it would scare her away. But from that day on she was always on top of me. My lap was her sitting place, when I slept she slept on top of me.
She was the sweetest, quietest, gentlest cat I've ever had. She had 4 years of a very rough life in the beginning, trying to survive on her own and living in a barn, wild as she could be.
Cuddles crossed the Bridge on June 14th at the age of 18. And I miss her deeply.
Thank you so much for this update! I have been so worried about this little guy.
I'm so happy to find out he has a family and even more tickled that his name is Gizmo! That is one of my favorite names for animals and it suits him perfectly.
He's a beautiful little guy and I hope his family knows that lots of people here were worried about him and would have helped care for him if needed.
Again, thank you so much for your care and concern for him!
im about to move out of this house in a few days; the cat seems pretty friendly and was wanting to play with my cat from the other side of the window. i will have to see if this cat is okay with being touched and if im able to get him into a kennel ; if so i will take him to the vet immediately !!!
Contact a rescue now (they usually need a few days to arrange to help) — just in case you aren’t able to help him on your own, which honestly may be the case if this little buddy is stressed/anxious from whatever happened to him. :(
Thank you, I really hope you're able to take him to a vet. Poor little guy really needs to be looked at and see what's going on with him and if he needs any kind of treatment or even pain medicine. It would be so wonderful if you could do that for him. So I just want to thank you in advance for being so kind. Please keep us updated on what happens.
PS- I think he is absolutely beautiful. The little oddities (injuries?) around his face are what give him character and make him so beautiful in my opinion. Sweet little babe.
If you can put your cat in a closed room, I would try to get him/her to come inside voluntarily and into a small room. Then try coaxing into a carrier where they can’t escape. If they hesitate you can leave in that room with some food food so they can relax and hopefully easier to go into the carrier if they are anxious.
Please please please just alert the local animal care org in your area before you go. They'll take care of the rest.
You gotta do your really real world stuff, so its not on you to come to the rescue. A call, and mayhaps an email showing his condition, is all that is necessary to at the very least get this fella looked at.
Thank you for even thinking to post here, despite what I imagine is a very busy time in your life.
I hope wherever you end up going, its everything you wanted 🥰
He is asking you directly for help. If you can’t cage him yourself, look into local cat rescues and see if they know people who can trap him in cages meant for strays or wilds who need to be spayed/neutered for population control. Leave them your address even if they can’t come to you today or before you move out and let them know that he was looking through the window of your house. This is not normal behavior of wild cat (unless you have an unspayed female inside your home). This is the behavior of a cat who has lived inside before and is under the impression that your house could be safe. And he definitely needs medical care and you never know. Someone might be able to help him if you’re able to let the right people know!
Few winters ago we had a bad snow storm. Everything was shut down. A tabby cat trudged through the high snow. Came up on my deck and did what this cat was doing. Started looking in my window. I only noticed it cause my cats were reacting to what was outside. So of course I brought the cat in. I live in an apartment that doesnt open directly to the outside. I have what I like to call the mud room. Little room before my actual apartment. So I figured I could let the cat stay in there if it didnt get along with my cats. Turns out the cat was pregnant and was desperately looking for a place to settle so she can have the kittens. Like 4 or 5 days later I hear a loud noise in my bathroom where I had set up a spot for her. She was giving birth. I kinda freaked cause I didnt know exactly what to do. Didn't need to do anything. That Mama cat took care of those kittens and attended their every need. It was amazing to watch. She had 5 kittens. I found good homes for 4 of them. Kept the runt and Mama. We call the one on the right Gracie and Mama cat is just Mama. She comes to that name. Lol. Im so glad she came to my window. Its awesome to have a cat since it was first born.
It's the curled ears for me, the eyes could be that other condition some people mentioned but his ears look like they got put in the deep fryer. I've seen a few burn cats on rescue channels and the burns do seem to always be the eyes and ears that get the worst of it, and skin just doesn't regain its elasticity after being effectively cooked.
I have seen an internet cat named Duchess that looks exactly like this cat. She was burned in a house fire, and she has the same shaped eyes and charred ears that this cat has.
So I'm going with this cat survived a fire of some kind.
Looks like a healed injury. Darcy (bottom) has a bit of that to his left eye where he was injured prior to us fostering him. It was worse when we first took him in.
I’m just kidding obviously. what a sweet baby. whatever happened appears to have healed to some extent, if he is this close to the screen door I have no doubt you will catch them soon!
this is my parents’ cat, Picasso! Mr. Pi was a stray living rough and was likely attacked by a bird of prey. Pi somehow got away/survived but was severely injured and curled up in someone’s car engine for warmth in the winter. he got frostbite, but because of the bird attack wounds becoming infected, his blood temp was so high that he didn’t freeze to death! car owner found him, brought him to the nearest vet who happened to be our family vet, and she refused to give up on him. he’s missing an ear and his upper eyelid, but otherwise is just a happy, chonky guy with an eating disorder lol. we’ve had him for seven years now! obviously doesn’t look quite like your kitty friend, but goes to show how resilient animals are and how sweet and deserving of love the differently abled babies out there are 🥰
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION: I have seen some photos and videos of poor babies who've been burned in house fires but made it out, as well as those who've suffered at the hands of cruel people that set them on fire. Their eyes, ears, and skin tighten up as the scar tissue sets in.
Was thinking scar tissue. My grandcat was an outdoor cat that my daughter rescued. He was in very bad shape- at one point he must have gotten into a fight and his one eye looked like this guy’s. Poor sweetie. Ty for helping this kitty. (My unserious answer was going to be that the “stremch “ became permenant. That’s what it looks like!)
Sometimes strays get their heads stuck in cans they find in the garbage. Because the edges are sharp, they become injured often resulting in the alien like appearance of this kitty.
Flatten your soup/vegetable cans before you toss them in the garbage folks!
That looks like he had entropion surgery. An entropion is where the eyelashes invert and bother the eye. To fix this they do a little nip and tuck surgery.
I would post in local groups, this is likely someone’s pet. That surgery is not cheap to do
But his ears too? And he’s a stray? Seems more likely to me that he was in some kind of horrible disfiguring accident and has been somehow surviving on his own on the streets but searching for someone to help and love him. Poor kitty.
The ears could be from previous ear mites or born that way. I am 98% sure about the eyes though. We have had this surgery done on quite a few cats in our rescue and it’s kind of an unmistakable look.
Remember a stray means that kitty has strayed from a home. He likely has someone looking for him.
I hope so. I mean it does happen where pets that were greatly loved and cared for manage to get lost and not find their way home and spend a long time on the streets before being rescued. Either way, hoping he gets care and a home. Will be looking for OP’s update.
It happens all the time. I’ve learned in my many years of rescue to not judge a book by its cover.
We recently trapped a kitty and scanned for a chip. She had one…except it was registered to someone who lived in North Carolina and we are in Florida. No idea how she got down here, but they were so happy to have her back. The owner, her daughter, had passed away last year and her mom was so happy to get the last piece of her daughter back. She hopped on a plane the next morning.
It probably survived an attack, and if it does have pain it'll be relatively little once healed unless they visibly show it, feral animals especially are great at hiding it. Deserves plenty of pets after the life they probably had
He reminds me of cats who've been in fires, where their faces are kind of pulled tight. He's likely been hurt, one way or another, and is probably scarred.
if you’re not able to get ahold of him yourself, please let your local shelter or rescue know about him! even if you aren’t able to capture him, I’m sure someone else could! good luck OP!
Just a note
Usually it probably goes back home than comes back once in a while to hang out
Leave it be to hang out as long as it wants as it’s obviously a neighbours
It’s always a 80-90% chance it lives nearby
Worst thing you can do is take someone’s cat to a kill shelter thinking it’s a stray when it live nearby
Leave the post up in case the owners see it
Message rescue group if you can’t do it
Usually people would give to rescue groups because they don’t want kitty getting euthanised at the shelter if there holding period is up and they don’t get reclaimed
There the rescue rehomes, and the owner can always get there pet back. But with kill shelters they euthanise for space I hear even before the holding period is up
If anything message a rescue group till you have one confirmed if your going to send to shelter so they can help collect the pet when it’s reclaim/holding period is up so they can hold on to the pet and help find its owner or rehome
Poor baby! I cant imagjne the fright this gave you, even just looking at the photos I started a bit. Is he in pain or discomfort? Hard to tell (I’m not a vet). His fur looks to be in good condition, and appears to be to be decently plump with no obvious wounds (other than the supposed burns, but they don’t look recent to me at least). It does look like someone could have been taking care of him. I don’t think he would come up to your window to try and play if he was in pain. Still good to get sweet baby to the vet, such injuries could cause lasting issues. He might be spooky, but what a little man with character!!! Good luck op
Poor baby. I wonder if someone did this to him. 😭😭😭💔I think he's asking someone to help him. Please step up and be that person. My heart is breaking for him. 💔😭
the ears look kinda busted from mites or previous infections that cause cauliflower ear cat edition… the eye looks like he got cut. if his eyes were symmetrical id almost wonder if he was born that way, but his left eye deff looks like its been cut on something? or idk maybe the ear and eye injuries happened all in tandem? poor guy
Seriously though, maybe you can do a catch, neuter, release. Some shelters will do it for free or cheap for strays because they would rather prevent them from producing more strays.
That looks like a very large lump above his eye/next to his ear. I hope for an abcess and not a tumor. Thank you for trying to get this little one some help.
Possible burn injury that healed that way, birth defect, abuse survivor, etc. Only a vet visit can help you figure it out. Do you have cat rescue groups in your area? Posting the information on this guy could help you get him the help he needs.
He’s so beautiful!
Please update if you can! I’d actually reach out to vets regarding feral cats who may have survived a fire. Lots of vets do specialize in specific issues with cats so that may be a lead.
Just wondering if you live in Canada? I know someone whos building caight fire a year or 2 ago and had 8 cats. He smashed the windows hoping they got out.
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