# Small Orange Homeless Kitty



## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

Today after I put my dog in the back yard, I saw a small orange kitty no older than 4 months old on my porch. I haven't seen him in the neighborhood before and I was surprised when he approached me. I noticed that he was VERY skinny so immediately gave him a can of soft food and water. I took him inside to put him in a carrier and take him to the police station; I had no idea what to do with him. I already have 3 indoor cats and cannot have another (I am pushing my limits with my landlord). At the police office, the dispatcher told me that all the officers were out on a call and it would be awhile and she wanted me to hold him until tomorrow, which I cannot do (I don't have anywhere to keep him). I noticed when I got back home that he has ear mites so extreme that his ears are overflowing with white and brown matter and not only is it infecting both ears, but also the space between his ears! All I had was some out-of-date mite drops, and I used them anyways. He is still on my porch eating food and waiting for 'love' and it has been over 3 hours since our ordeal. I don't know what to do  the humane society isn't open this late and I'm afraid he is going to be gone in the morning. The things us cat lovers do for stray cats. He loves attention and I know that that is his way of saying 'thank you'. I have since named him Sunny.


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## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

The dispatcher said they would 'take him to the pound' and my heart lurched when I heard this. I told the lady 'he isn't bad, he is just hungry, homeless and scared.' I have always had the perception that the 'pound' was a waiting place for animals on 'death row'.

His ear mites look like globs of spiderwebs or warts. They are pretty nasty. By far the worst case I have ever seen.


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## 3gatos (Nov 28, 2012)

Do you have a garage or shed to keep him in until you can take him to the humane society? 
Orange kittens are the best BTW.


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## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

We decided to keep him as an outdoor cat. He lives under our porch and in a cedar bush next to the house. I have been medicating his ears and so far they look better and I have been feeding him and he has put some weight on. He just sits and waits for us on the porch. I just got home a few minutes ago and there he was, sitting in one of the chairs


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

Wonderful! This cat really needs you for medical care and food. I don't think he had a prayer at the humane society. Poor little cat.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Red boys are my favorite. You will need to bring him to the vet soon for testing, vaccinations, and to be neutered.


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

Orange boys...


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

No such thing as an "orange" cat. Red is the correct color word.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

lovetimesfour said:


> No such thing as an "orange" cat. Red is the correct color word.


I'm quite old and I know them as 'Ginger'. Always have. They're certainly not 'red' as I know the color, but 'I've no objection to somebody calling them red.rcat

Missy is Ginger.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Red is the proper color word for cats of the ginger shades. There are no "orange" cats. Ginger is usually a British term, but since it means red, ginger satisfies me as well. 

Calling red cats "orange" is a peeve of mine as you can probably tell, and I am compelled to put in my two cents about Red Boys, Red Boys being my favorites, when I see them called "orange", because it bugs me.

However I won't go on about it any more in this thread, I promise.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

I have an orange cat. :razz:


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

lol. you're evil. just like Christina Hendricks and Bryce Dallas Howard have red hair. you could call it carrot cat.

OP: how nice of you to save the little red/orange/ginger/flame/sunburst kitty. he might have gone deaf without you!


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## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

lovetimesfour said:


> Red boys are my favorite. You will need to bring him to the vet soon for testing, vaccinations, and to be neutered.


I plan on taking him as soon as possible considering money :/


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## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

Thank you all for the encouragement! I will continue to take care of him and treat his illnesses. One step at a time.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Sure there are orange cats, orange is their descriptive word, not their technical word.  People are always going to call things as they see them, there's plenty of things that have scientific terms and then layman terms. The first thing that springs to mind is.... skin vs epidermis. If I started talking about my epidermis I would get a lot of funny looks. "Orange" is what they look like to anyone not heavily involved in cat genetics. Just like there are "medium" haired cats. 

Even among certain colors of cats some are called different things depending on where you're from or what the cat breed is -- for instance Tonkinese are called "champaign" not "chocolate". It starts to get pretty ridiculous with terms all over the place the more you delve into it. Anyway, colors in general are subjective, just look at the raging debate over blue and green:

Distinction of blue and green in various languages

On topic, I think this is absolutely fantastic news that you're caring for this cat as best you can. I read the first few posts and it didn't sound too positive with mentions of trapping and such. Thank you for the update!


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## hunterseat (Feb 23, 2013)

Might he be a dilute red?  (stirring the pot) I love genetics even though I'm genetically challenged. I never heard the red vs orange thing but I do know that I don't know much about color.... like gray isn't a color... anywho.... I'm more horse but it translates over and I know little about either. 

OH! Congrats to Sunny for his new home! Way to weasel your way into someone's unsuspecting heart!!


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

He could be... we need pictures!  Jasper is dilute red. I would feel weird telling people that, though. They'd wonder what I was talking about, to communicate effectively that sort of speaking doesn't even enter my mind. He could also be called buff or cream, and I might dare go as far as saying "light orange" depending on who I'm talking to.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

How is Sunny doing?


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## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

Sunny is doing well. I am trying to get pictures, but he wont sit still long enough! He just rubs all over and its close to impossible lol. Every night he is out on the porch waiting for me. He is getting some meat on his bones and his ears look 10-fold better. I was just outside with him right before I got online. Again thank you all for the input and positive reinforcements! I will post pictures as soon as he sits still.


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

Didn't mean to spoon things up! What I meant was...ORANGE BOYS!...luvum... AND Shorthairs,AND Black Cats,AND Meezers...AND...


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I've always wanted a big orange boy kitty. Maybe someday....


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

If mine keeps annoying me, he might be available.


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## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

Here are the best pictures I could get so far. 
Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Jumebug (Mar 29, 2013)

He is much smaller than he looks in the pictures and his ears are looking much better. These pictures don't show the extent of how bad of shape he is. You can kinda see his beat up face, which looks better and cleaner.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I'm glad you decided to help this poor little fellow. I had an adorable orange tabby (sorry, I've NEVER heard of a red tabby) cross my path many years ago. At the time I thought 3 was my limit too, so I ended up giving her away. You can read the account here:
http://www.catforum.com/forum/56-feral-cats/160301-taking-stray.html

I've often thought she was sent as a test - and I failed.


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## Justteri1000 (May 27, 2013)

*I knew we were going to get along.*



Marcia said:


> I'm glad you decided to help this poor little fellow. I had an adorable orange tabby (sorry, I've NEVER heard of a red tabby) cross my path many years ago. At the time I thought 3 was my limit too, so I ended up giving her away. You can read the account here:
> http://www.catforum.com/forum/56-feral-cats/160301-taking-stray.html
> 
> I've often thought she was sent as a test - and I failed.


Oh Marcia, your story was so touching. The sense of regret you described was tangible. I was one of those clowns who at one time thought shelters were a good thing. I had no idea how quickly a decision can be made to euthanize. The hard part is that you, and others in your shoes, were never really on board for euthanization and would have been willing to serve as foster of last resort but a lot of shelters are so overwhelmed that its too much trouble to do anything other than production line processing. I am so sorry that happened to you.

My father (who now is in his 80's) talks about a cocker spaniel he had as a child named Jiggs. By all accounts Jiggs was an extraordinary dog, very clever, very friendly and loving, mischievous and much loved by all. He got out one day and disappeared. This would have been back in the late 1930's. To hear Dad tell the story, even the neighbors joined in the search to find Jiggs. Finally after the 2nd day, a call to the local pound yielded a positive result and they confirmed that they indeed had a dog matching Jiggs' description. The family piled into the car immediately and drove to the pound only to be told that there had been a mixup and the dog had been put to sleep and immediately thrown into the incinerator. They had kept his collar however in the event the owners ever showed up. My Dad after all these years still gets misty about that.

By the way, I am a huge fan of Animal Cops. It's not been on Animal Planet the last few weeks. I hope they bring it back.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Marcia said:


> I'm glad you decided to help this poor little fellow. I had an adorable orange tabby (sorry, I've NEVER heard of a red tabby) cross my path many years ago. At the time I thought 3 was my limit too, so I ended up giving her away. You can read the account here:
> http://www.catforum.com/forum/56-feral-cats/160301-taking-stray.html
> 
> I've often thought she was sent as a test - and I failed.


Since you have read this thread, then you have now "heard" of red tabbies. Red is, in fact, the correct color term. It is easy enough to look it up, to confirm it. I find it very odd, when people say they have never heard a cat called red. I never heard of an "orange" cat until I started reading in pet forums. It grates on my nerves.


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## NebraskaCat (Jan 15, 2013)

*A poem written in 2 minutes*

Red in my head,
Orange in my heart.

Blue by the book,
Gray if you look.

Heaven forbid a white cat you picture.
All that is really, a furry absence of color.

And never say calico, lest you will fight
with the good folks who say tortie with white.

Don't even start on dilutes, shades and smokes.
Someone won't get it ... that this is a joke.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

^^^ :love2:grin:


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

OMGosh, that's wonderful!!!!!!!!


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

Laughing this morning, thank you!


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## Justteri1000 (May 27, 2013)

I have always referred to them as orange cats. I've heard of them referred to as ginger and even brown and white. I refer to Pooter as my orange and white creamsicle kitty. I think it is more descriptive than anything.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Very clever Jeff... laughing!

Technically they are all orange to me. 

I hope Sunnys ears are all cleared up? Can you find him a home on your own? Put out feelers, advertise in the paper,

Is he neutered?


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