I have been adopted by a cat!

[shivvy]

A cat walked into our house last Monday and has been here on and off ever since! I am very much a dog person and although my partner has some experience of cats, I am clueless. I am therefore looking for some general cat info. I can get info about feeding etc from many website but I am more interested in getting some advice about the following areas:
1) People have told me that cats often have 2 - 3 homes and simply mingle between them, sleeping, feeding, playing and being scratched in different houses at different times. Is this true? When she walked into the house for the first time she was crying for food and looked at us as if she had lived here all her life! I don't mind her being round the house but don't want to encourage her if she belongs to someone else.
2) She seems to be quite skinny and hungry. Does this suggest that she doesn't live elsewhwere? Or that she maybe has worms?
3) I am saying that she is a female but I could very easily be wrong! Websites say that it is difficult to sex a cat. Have any of you able ABers got an easy way to tell which is which?
4) How can I tell how old he/she might be?

Thanks for any advise you might have.

[jules77]

I am a dog person, but was adopted by a cat many years ago. Similar to your situation, he was very skinny, walked into the house, and basically stayed there for the next 15 years or so. I wormed him as a matter of course, and de fleaed him, but on closer inspection found him to be red raw underneath, and ended up taking him to the vets, and he had a flea allergy. By coincidence I found the owner, who said that he ran off never to return when she had a dog, strange thing was I had a dog which was the same breed. She/He could have worms, and could be hungry, if it were me, I would take the cat in and ask around to see if it belongs to anyone, but in the meantime, do whatever is needed - flea treatment and worming products can be bought cheaply on line
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=ind ex&cPath=3&zenid=0d5dc82b85736d17b6966042ab51b 748
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=ind ex&cPath=17
if you do decide to de flea and worm, the products in the pet shop are a waste of money.
Not much good in the sexing department though, sorry, maybe someone else can help? If it was an unneutered male it would probably smell, and an unspeyed female would need to be speyed, but if you are taking in a stray cat the cats protection league would pay for veterinary costs.
http://www.cats.org.uk/
Age, difficult, is she lively, kitten like, what are her teeth like?

[Katy May]

Sexing a cat - it you look at the back of them with their tail up, under their tail you'll see either two 'holes' one above the other (girl) or one hole (boy). If it's a boy you'll also see his testicles, if he's been neutered he'll have two flat furry lumps (can't explain it much better than than, my cat's just stalked off in a huff at being examined), if not neutered they'll be much bigger and more dangly. Obviously, this isn't the technical, scientific way of doing it but it is fairly reliable. Also, you could see if it puts the toilet seat down after use - if not it's a male!

A responsible cat owner will either collar the cat (although this has risks and cats easily lose their collars) or microchip them. If you stroke around the back of the nexk you may feel something like a grain of rice under the skin(be aware these can slip to the side by about two inches so have a good feel), that's probably a microchip. A vet can scan the cat and a) tell you if it has a microchip and b) get the owners details from the reading.

Cats are masters at manipulating humans. It may have more than one owner, but would usually be plump if getting fed at more than one place On a healthy cat of the right weight you should be able to feel the ribs beneath the skin as you stroke it - likewise the spine - much like a human i suppose.

Apparently the state of the teeth is a good indication of the age, but you'd probably need a vet to make a guess.

Have fun.