Posted on 13 Comments on Here comes trouble…

Here comes trouble…

Yesterday, while I was at work, Martine phoned to say there was a stinky kitten hanging around the house. He was a cutie but he had a stinky butt, as if he had rolled in some poo or maybe had an accident with his own (he has long and thick hair, particularly in the nether regions). Oddly, The Mini – who is usually very territorial – wasn’t chasing him away.

I got home at about 6:45 and as I was locking up my bike I saw the kitten crossing the yard to say hello. He’s very friendly, not at all shy or fearful, but what a stinky butt! I’m guessing he’s between six and eight months old. Martine had left a small bowl of cat food out for him which he seemed proud to declare as his own. I went in the house wondering when (or if) he would go away.

Martine was out for the evening, so I busied myself in the kitchen making dinner for myself and a ratatouille for tomorrow (yes, ratatouille is suddenly very trendy and I’m going along with it; shaddap). Around 8:15, I looked out and saw that the kitten had stationed himself on the table on the deck. It looked like he was determined to stay for the long haul. He was just stoically sitting there, with his back to the house, perfectly content to not go anywhere.


“It’s just a matter of time . . .”

An hour later it was dark, but I could still faintly see his swatch of white fur as he sat there, turned around now and watching the goings on in the house through the patio doors. The Mini, in the meantime, was stationed on the inside, looking out.

Martine arrived home around 10:00, and sure enough, the kitten came around to see her. We didn’t want to let him in because he’s so stinky and we suspect he’s full of fleas. Fortunately it’s summer, so there’s no fear of him freezing outside like there was the night The Mini came to us.

By midnight there was no sign of him – at least not through the windows. (I didn’t dare open the door.) Perhaps he’d finally realized that we’re not his people and as cute as we think he is, we’re not really looking for a second cat.

Fine. Good. Didn’t think about it all night. Then I got up in this morning and went downstairs to make breakfast. As I opened the blinds on the front door, what do you think I saw curled up on the front step, fast asleep?

We’re not keeping him (although we’ve already kinda given him a name; “The Monkey.”) The last thing we need is a thick haired cat tearing up the furniture and fighting with The Mini (although he does have those adorable huge mutant feet with about fifty toes on each one). It’s hard enough to board one cat when you go on vacation, almost impossible to board two (even though he seems very friendly and wouldn’t be in the way).

Is there a place downtown where I can buy some anti-flea cat shampoo?

13 thoughts on “Here comes trouble…”

  1. Hmm, a friend of mine *just* lost her cat. It’s a he and he usually comes back after a couple of hours. What neighbourhood do you live in again? “Male cat” is all the info I have.

  2. That would really be something! We’re in Longueuil, near the west end of the regional park. (The ‘hood is called “Bellerive.”)

  4. There’s a pet store in Alexis Nihon, or there used to be. There’s also a dog/cat clinic near Guy-Concordia metro I think. The vet services in the inner city–in terms of these and other specialized animal care products–are bad. I wish I knew some cool homeopathic/safe/homemade ‘secret’ to get rid of fleas…

  5. I like the practical sense of stony_curtis, he knows you are already in over your heads… Get to the pet store, fast! Cannot wait to meet your stinky butt monkey cat, being myself the proud owner (who owns who?) of two stinky butts monkey dogs.

  8. The stages of stray cat adoption:

    1. The food
    2. The naming
    3. The trip to the vet, or deworming or de-fleaing
    4. Commenting on cute features (e.g. polydactyl paws)

    You’ve got one stage to go:

    5. Admission to the house during inclement weather

  9. It’s like the SPCA comes to you guys…and you don’t even need to pay the adoption fee! There’s also another pet store on Ste-Catherine, not quite as far west as Alexis Nihon. It’s on the north side of the street and they sell various kinds of shampoos.

  10. Like Kate said – you are one step away from officially having been claimed as The Monkey’s possession. Hang in there, “The Monkey”, fall is coming and with it the bad weather.. hehe!

    He looks so cute! If I didn’t already have already 3 cats (one of them being an 8 months old loving terror we saved from certain death in a back alley at the ripe young age of 5 weeks old) … But the Lady-cat of the house has her paws full with that one adopted son and her Garfield-like hubby – and the Lady-woman of the house and her wallet can’t afford to feed a fourth one.

  11. Sorry guys but that kitten had you at “left a small bowl of cat food out. . . .”

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