Cat on a hot tin roof. Well, tonight we saved a kitty from falling off!

[PartyPooper]

My partner and I were having dinner...when we heard the meows of a local "outdoor' cat which frequents our house.

Only problem, the cat (this time) was on top of our metal roof! How did it get there? How would we rescue him / her?

Simple answer to the second question. We got a ladder. We retrieved the dawling little kitty. He / she is fine. :-)

But, he / she looks a little skinny. Should we try to take him / her to the vet? Is there a real "owner" involved here? Should we try to have this kitty adopted by a shelter...or, leave him / her to fend for itself?

Who would put a kitty outside like this when there are coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, and other predators on the loose?

We have a dog...who is not a friend of cats. And, he has a mind of his own.

What should we do?

:-)

[NJCher]

1. feed him a lot

and find a "no kill" shelter.

Cher

p.s. good for you for getting the little nut off the roof

[Piltdown13]

2. We had a similar situation this summer

A skinny little cat showed up in our backyard, friendly (or weak) enough to let us simply pick him up. We took him to the vet, who tested him for FeLV and FIV (this can be done quickly, so the results are in before you decide anything else); wormed him; de-fleaed him, and kept him for a week (she thought he might have a respiratory infection, to which we did not want to risk exposing our other cat). During his "quarantine," we put an ad on the local "lost pet" website and reported him as found at the animal shelter -- he'd clearly been on his own long enough that the hold period at the pound would have expired, so his owners would have long since given up calling there, were they looking for him.

In your case, should you decide to "intervene," you might also want to check around the neighborhood, maybe put up some flyers, to see if anyone is missing a cat. If the cat is truly too thin, or has other medical problems, I wouldn't stress out too much over finding the former "owners" if they exist, especially given the predator situation you describe -- in our case, the vet actually suggested we not try too hard to find the owners, as the kitty was clearly not being taken care of -- but some effort is a good idea. If you decide to try to find him/her another home, you could either go the no-kill shelter route, or check with the local shelter to find out if there are other pet placement organizations -- some areas have Animal Rescue or similar groups that help find new owners for strays and/or former ferals, and they generally screen the potential adopters.

Hope this helps! :-)

[Rhiannon12866]

3. I would feed the cat and get him/her checked out at the vet

I finally brought my cat inside, with far greater effort, after I finally realized that this cat, who I had been seeing outside, had been abandoned. I fed her outside for three months, then finally managed to bring her in, but I had to use a "have-a-heart" trap. Your task is much easier, since this cat seems easy-natured. My cat turned out to be a wonderful pet, but it took time and good veterinary care. We also have predators here, and my cat was lucky to have survived. I just wished that I had known about her sooner. Having done this, and having been rewarded, and being a friend to animals, I would strongly recommend saving this cat. BTW, I also have two dogs.

[GingerSnaps]

4. I think that you have a new pet

Keep him he picked you out as his new family.