# Hello from Butch (and me)



## motterj (Feb 5, 2010)

I'm Jay. Last Thursday I found a kitten beside a busy road, just a few blocks from our subdivision. I couldn't find his mama (he's so young that he would normally still be with her) or anyplace he might have come from and was concerned that he'd get run over, so we brought him home. I've posted a "found kitten" ad but no one's claimed him. I think he's either a stray or someone dropped him off to fend for himself. He's weaned already but still at the stage where his walk is real wobbly and he falls down a lot. I call him Butch: no idea why, it just came to me. He's a brown tabby with white and has some Asian-breed blood in him, giving him the big ears, triangular face and a crook at the end of his tail. He's kind of fuzzy for a shorthair but maybe that's just his kitten coat which he'll outgrow as he gets older.









This is him wanting attention after his first meal here. He's very friendly- even when I first saw him along the road he came over and rubbed his face against my foot. He loves to be petted, have his chin scratched and be played with.









Chowing down on some puppy food which was all I had to give him when I first brought him home. I got some pouches of Whiskas tuna kitten food and some fresh whole milk later that afternoon. He mostly gets the tuna with an occasional saucer of milk, maybe once a day. He prefers the cat food though. I took him to the vet's on Friday morning for a deworming and quick check-up. They put him on some LC-VIT vitamin + lysine liquid too, just to improve his general health.









After he ate he curled up and slept for hours. I put him in a cardboard box with a folded towel in it in our kitchen (where our Doberman puppies can't go). I plan to move him to a dog crate later today, which I'll line with newspapers and put his towel in a corner to sleep on. that will give him more room and firmer footing to run around and play, and also let him see out better. Its roof will also prevent the pups from getting him if they happen to get into the kitchen. I don't think they'd hurt him intentionally but they like to play and might possibly think Butch is a new toy. The oldest pup (6 months) is very gentle, at least with other puppies and dogs, but I'm not sure about the boisterous 3 month old.

Jay in Cebu


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

What a sweet kitty! He looks nice an cozy.  Tuna is all right for an occasional treat, but you're wise to give him kitten food. Tuna is not good for a steady diet, and milk could give him diarrhea. He's young enough to drink kitten milk, though. You can get it at a pet storel

Welcome to the forum, Jay!


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## motterj (Feb 5, 2010)

Thanks for the welcome! We're in Cebu City, Philippines, and lactose-free pet milk is kind of hard to find here. The nearest supermarket used to carry some but they're "out of stock, sir", a phrase you come to hear a lot of here (which usually just means that the stock clerk just didn't understand what you were asking for but in this case I already knew where the pet milk was located and there wasn't any.) We raised Siamese kittens to sell when I was a boy so I already know about milk causing the runs. He only gets a tablespoon or so of it once a day. He's just been weaned and if he was still with his mama he'd probably still be nursing occasionally, so I give him just a little milk just for the extra calcium while he's growing. He'll stop getting the milk when he gets a bit older, in his "wild stage". I'll also start switching him to dry cat food after a month or so, but for now I want him on the chopped-up, small mooshy stuff that's easy for him to eat. 

I haven't given him actual tuna, just the tuna-flavored Whiskas kitten food with some of his liquid vitamins mixed in at breakfast and dinner. Our oldest Doberman puppy has a very sensitive tummy so I've learned my lesson about giving animals people-food. Rahab's already had to stay at the vet twice with an IV in her leg due to diarrhea and vomiting from eating something that disagreed with her. She just came home from there on Friday, in fact, after a case of the stomach flu.

This evening Butch'll get moved into that wire crate that's around 30x18x18 inches to give him more room to run around and let him see out better. I just scrubbed it with detergent and a little bleach last evening to sanitize it and want to let it air out outside for 24 hours to let the bleach dissipate in case he chews on the wire. I measured the space between wires and his head and he won't be able to squeeze through, especially not with that big belly he's already getting! He was just skin and bones when I found him, and just slept most of the time. Now he's up and alert and wants to play. It's hard for him to do that in the small box with the folded towel.


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

Adorable kitten  . Can we see pictures of the dogs too :?:


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## motterj (Feb 5, 2010)

DesnBaby said:


> Adorable kitten  . Can we see pictures of the dogs too :?:


 My pleasure!  

Here's the two of them giving me The Stare:









This is young Joshua posing for the picture that goes on his vaccination record:









Here's Rahab and me about a month or so ago:


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I :luv the tabby/white kittens! Butch looks very much like our Toby (1995-2007) when we first rescued him, but I think your Butch is younger, similar to the age of Marmalade.

Marmy:









Toby:









Our other tabby/white kitten is Shasta, and we found her in our garage! We think what happened was the mother cat was taking her litter on a "field trip" (_because they like to move nests and begin to teach the kittens about their territory/world_) and either a car scared her into our garage, or all the kittens stopped to play and she didn't come out and follow everyone when they left, and my husband found her inside our Pepsi machine.

Butch is adorable! ...and Marmalade lived his first few weeks in a carrier when I couldn't supervise. He was just so young and small. I know I'm going to enjoy watching pics as Butch (and Josh) grow!
heidi =^..^=


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

:luv Your entire fur family. You have done a good deed by bringing Butch into your home. Btw, no need to switch him to dry cat food as the wet is better for him.


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

Cute doggies too


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## lv2ski (Feb 18, 2010)

So cute! Thanks for posting the pics.  

How do your dogs handle Butch?


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## motterj (Feb 5, 2010)

lv2ski said:


> So cute! Thanks for posting the pics.
> 
> How do your dogs handle Butch?


So far they bark a lot at him, especially when I let him out of his cage to run around and play in our kitchen, as I do every day. I have to wait 'til the dogs are napping to let Butch out. My wife won't let me properly introduce Butch to the dogs until after he's had his rabies shot as he was a stray. Rabies isn't that uncommon in the Philippines. When they get "formally introduced" it will be in a controlled situation with the dogs on leashes. Meanwhile poor Butch has to stay caged most of the time, with daily play-time and frequent petting sessions. At least he's better off than he was when I found him, starving on the street.

Butch has grown a lot already. Even our vet said so at Butch's second deworming. He's learned a new stunt lately: climbing the side of his cage then grabbing the top bars with all four sets of claws and hanging there upside-down like a monkey. He's really fun to watch. He's a sweet little kitten, always purring when I go to pet him or pick him up (even though he's biting and pawing at me the whole time: he's in his playful stage, when kittens are the most fun to watch).


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## lv2ski (Feb 18, 2010)

I have a request......................

more pics :!:


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## dmcwlvssr (Apr 24, 2005)

What a cutie! Welcome and hello. Wonderful doggies too. My gang send pets and purrs


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## P&R (Sep 10, 2009)

What an adorable lil' guy! Very nice of you to take him in =0)


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## motterj (Feb 5, 2010)

lv2ski said:


> I have a request......................
> 
> more pics :!:


OK, I'll do that after I get my camera back from my in-laws.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Butch is adorable!


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## motterj (Feb 5, 2010)

More pictures of the Butchlie as requested. These were taken just a few minutes ago.




























I was spending a bit of "quality time" with him after we'd been out all evening and he decided to climb up my shoulder onto my back. He just hung out there (literally) for awhile, playing.

And here are the other furbabies, Rahab and Joshua:




























A tired dog is a good dog.  And they're wiser than I: it's past midnight and I should sleep too.


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## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

They are all gorgeous and Butch looks sooo much healthier now, what a great job you've done


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Butch is adorable! He does look so much healthier and heartier since you've had him. All that love and attention has paid off bigtime.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Hi Butch! *waves* Josh has grown, too!


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## lv2ski (Feb 18, 2010)

WOW! I can't believe how much healthier and stronger Butch looks! Keep up the wonderful job. :luv


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## tanyuh (Jun 7, 2003)

Amazing! You're a gem for rescuing him, what an adorable kitty. He already looks so distinguished!

And your dogs are beautiful too, incredible coats. I hope they all get along once they're finally introduced!


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