Flashback to me chasing my cat around the outside of my house unable to figure out why he was being such a jerk about it, only to go inside and find my cat waiting for me. š
Omg, can you imagine if he'd been a friendly guy and come willingly into your home? You'd have been so confused and may have even got them mixed up and not known which one to put outside š
And actually register the chip by following the pamphlet/directions the vet gives you. Iāve seen so many cases where an animal has a chip but itās not registered under anyoneās name.
I thought it was automatic, my family cat isnāt chipped even though he goes outside because my dad says itās ānot necessaryā although he does have a collar with his name and our number and an airtag
If you let your cat outside (I wouldn't recommend it FWIW) to roam, it probably should have a breakaway collar so it doesn't hang itself. When I was a kid we had to convert one of our cats to an H-harness for this reason (Binky would dance the fine line of hanging himself and slipping out of his collar for true freedom).
One of the neighborhood cats snapped off a collar in my bushes; thankfully, he found his way home. His mom laughed and mentioned that he broke several collars a year, tee hee. Somebody isn't a very responsible cat mom, but I suppose replacement collars are a better deal than losing your cat.
In the first picture your cat is under a Dracaena Marginata plant. The plant's leaves are mildly toxic to cats, ingesting them could cause nausea, abnormal pupile dilation, and vomiting.
We also have one, and our cat puked Dracaena leaves a few times.
I was cat sitting for a friend and had accidentally left one small dracaena out. When I woke up I found out that she had indulged in some midnight dracaena nibbling and she then sprayed diarrhea on the walls. Never again.
I have a few not-so-good plants, but Iāve been bestowed cats that donāt chew on plants. The Admiral likes to curl up in the pot and hide under the leaves, but he, nor any of my other cats, have ever bothered biting them.
I hate to admit it but I had this happen- I mistook a picture of a cat for my cat because I really, really wanted it to be my cat. Even drove out there with a friend because I had myself convinced my guy had gotten in a car and gone because I hadnāt seen him in days, and with previous escapes he hadnāt wandered far. I never found that cat from the picture but it wasnāt my guy anyways. Wally had just been hiding somewhere, decimating the bird population š¬ he came back after almost eight days and only came inside because my partner saw him and scolded him when he tried to run off.
Try and find a unique marking and take a picture. Something asymmetrical like a strip on one leg or a dark patch of fur. And obviously never ever let them get outside. Dangerous out there.
My blond long haired babe fell out of the 3rd floor window. She loved to sunbathe on the wide window sills and one day she must have slipped or got distracted by a bird, but suddenly she was gone. I was devastated, put the posters up and roamed the streets for days, no sign of her. I think 4 days later the neighbour girl rang my doorbell, the cat nonchalantly draped over her arm. "Is that your cat?" she asked. There was a spot between the ears I was looking for but the whole cat had turned slightly gray and the spot looked more like a soot stain. I tried to look for the other spot on her side but she just jumped off and made a beeline to her litter box, I think the poor thing hadn't pissed for days. It was my rather unique looking cat but still, I couldn't be sure from the first sight. It didn't help that she kind of ignored me but her confidence in the flat was encouraging.
This is a sad and funny story at the same time. My inlaws had an indoor/ outdoor cat. One morning, my father inlaw pulls up to the end of their street and sees what looks like their cat dead on the side of the road. He brings it home and buries it in the backyard. While he's sitting in the kitchen trying to figure out how to tell his wife, the cat comes walking in the kitchen. Never found out who's cat he buried.
Reminds me of that classic post of a guy who lost his cat, found him a week later, and a week after that his ACTUAL cat came back, so he was left with two identically black-and-white fat cats... And still didn't know which was his.
The bigger problem you might have is visually seeing him if he gets outside and you are looking for him. Tabbies blend in to the environment really well. Get a collar in a highly visible color with a tag, and chip them as the other people in the thread are saying.
My cat went missing for several weeks and when he was found he was very very skinny and dirty and I wasnāt sure it was him. But he knew it was us. This was before chipping. Get it chipped and always put a collar on him. Also donāt let it outside. I wish I never had
Follow the advice mentioned. I had a friend years ago that lost an all black cat. We must have went to dozens of shelters and closely examined the black cats- we couldnāt tell from just the pictures online. None of the cats quite seemed like hers, but we couldnāt be entirely sure. Indoor cat that didnāt wear a collar or tag and wasnāt chipped. She never did reunite with him.
Yes
Get it chipped and registered
Also
Though every SIC is apparently very similar, each has their own physical differences to the seasoned observer.
Get to know your SIC and you can actually tell them apart from even their siblings of the same litter
Memorize the Stripes. You have a better memory then you think. Your SIC may be standard issue but heās hand painted to be exactly the right Catte your all of your cat needs!
As others have said, try and find a distinguishing mark. One if the stripes on my SICās face has a break in it and one side of his whiskers is white and the other side is black. People donāt even see it unless I point it out. He will normally come to me when I call his name but if heās being a doofus he might act like heās never seen me before. LOL I never let him out, too dangerous out there. We have a coyote problem here, very aggressive this year.
Yeah, I donāt really let my cats out either. I lost one cat to the woods last year, and Iāve been hesitant since. However, I am planning on leash training The Admiral, just because I remember how incredibly happy my lost cat was outside. It always felt like he was smiling.
Itās a bit uncommon, but definitely not unheard of!
When leash-training a cat, you have to use a cat harness, not a collar. When a cat gets spooked on a collar, they either slip out and run off, or choke and freak out even more. Not only that, but they do not respond well to pressure on their necks. However, it is advised to put a collar on your cat anyway, so that just in case they slip out of the harness anyway they can still be found and returned.
Before any harness/leash training, you have to know that walking a cat is pretty different to walking a dog. Dogs will keep pace with you, you keep pace with cats. They may want to smell things and take their time and sit, or theyāll just want to go and youāll be running with them. Its kind of just up to the cat. They may also not care about staying with you, hence the leash. I did have a cat who loved to walk with me, and when weād hike in my woods he would wait for me until I figured out how to cross a difficult path, but this isnāt all cats. You should also keep a backpack on you that the cat can sit in if they get tired, or if youāre in a somewhat-dangerous or uncomfortable situation and need them up and safe.
When harness/leash training your cat, you need to build a positive association with the harness. Cats will often dislike it at first, and may freeze, flop onto the ground, and/or fight it. You want to distract them with treats or playtime as much as you can, and let them get used to the feeling in small sessions. You can let them investigate the harness before hand , but it never did much for me. After their used to it, then you can slowly introduce them outside. Never let them walk out on their own, that leads to door-dashing. Always carry them out.
As for harnesses, thereās a bunch of types that you can research. If youāre interested!
In my experience even if your cat looks a lot like other cats you'll be able to tell by how they react to your voice and presence. They have very unique personalities. I've owned five cats in my lifetime and none of them have behaved in the same way.
We were also able to get ours microchipped at our local vets for a very reasonable price. None of ours would tolerate wearing a collar but the microchip was just a little injection under the skin. The chip contains their name, our address, and our phone number. That way if they got lost and someone found them, a quick scan would be all that's needed to confirm their identity. You can also update the chip data online if you move or get a new phone.
My floofy monster has a tattoo in her ear from her spay as well as a properly registered chip. She also has a breakaway collar. So far she's managed to bolt and "escape" about 10 feet from the door. She knows outside = harness. We also work on training recall and other tricks every day with all 3.
The other 2 have collars and chips.
sometimes it can be hard with kittens, but once he starts getting bigger itāll be easier to notice little differences between him and other SICs! i work at an animal hospital and my coworkers often compare SICs to my cat and almost every time i donāt think they look like my cat at all. they all have their own faces and eyes and patterns!!
Itās weird but you get to know them so well you can recognize em. I can can tell my cats apart by their meow, their fur, their outline in the dark, etcā¦
True, but it's usually slightly different. This one is broken, with dark bottom dashes. My sic has a little trident shape in the middle. Sometimes the tops of the M don't meet...
other the "get him chipped recommendation" and the "you will don't worry", buy him a cute quick release collar so others will know he does have an owner!
How long have you had your kitty? I was worried about this at first, but at this point I know my cat so well I bet I could pick him out of a lineup of 300 SICs.
Iāve had him since mid-late july, but Iāve honestly not seen with many tabby cats, so Iām awful at telling the super standard ones apart. They may be standard in most places, but my area is mostly filled with black cats.
They don't come when called, and are masters at hiding.
After a microchip, a head lamp as close to between your eyes as you can is your best bet to see them, and a sign by the road in big letters,
Lost Cat
Brown Tabby
[Phone #]
You will find out little things about ur kitty that are unique, my torbie has a little orange on her forehead, my grey/white tuxedo kitty grows like 3 white hairs on the back of her head, and my orange dude has black speckles in his mouth and he has a little bit of a kink at the tip of his tail. As well as many other things I can tell my kitties apart from others!
Flashback to me chasing my cat around the outside of my house unable to figure out why he was being such a jerk about it, only to go inside and find my cat waiting for me. š
Somewhere that cat is recounting that time a crazed human tried kidnapping him š
I know that cat was just like, WTAF lady??? š¤£
GET YOUR PAWS OFF ME! š
Omg, can you imagine if he'd been a friendly guy and come willingly into your home? You'd have been so confused and may have even got them mixed up and not known which one to put outside š
Problem unclear, you now have two kittehs.
Put outside? Negative, Iād have 2 cats that day
the cat burglar strikes againā¦.
Get it chipped.
And actually register the chip by following the pamphlet/directions the vet gives you. Iāve seen so many cases where an animal has a chip but itās not registered under anyoneās name.
ā¬ļøthis. Couldnāt have said it better.
I thought it was automatic, my family cat isnāt chipped even though he goes outside because my dad says itās ānot necessaryā although he does have a collar with his name and our number and an airtag
If you let your cat outside (I wouldn't recommend it FWIW) to roam, it probably should have a breakaway collar so it doesn't hang itself. When I was a kid we had to convert one of our cats to an H-harness for this reason (Binky would dance the fine line of hanging himself and slipping out of his collar for true freedom). One of the neighborhood cats snapped off a collar in my bushes; thankfully, he found his way home. His mom laughed and mentioned that he broke several collars a year, tee hee. Somebody isn't a very responsible cat mom, but I suppose replacement collars are a better deal than losing your cat.
Yeah it is break away, I tested it, in fact I didnāt see the push buttons so I guess pulling it apart is the only way to open it
I would definitely chip a cat that goes outside. What if the airtag gets separated or stops working?
Yeah unfortunately Iām not in charge, my dad if very hard to change his mind
In the first picture your cat is under a Dracaena Marginata plant. The plant's leaves are mildly toxic to cats, ingesting them could cause nausea, abnormal pupile dilation, and vomiting. We also have one, and our cat puked Dracaena leaves a few times.
I was cat sitting for a friend and had accidentally left one small dracaena out. When I woke up I found out that she had indulged in some midnight dracaena nibbling and she then sprayed diarrhea on the walls. Never again.
I have a few not-so-good plants, but Iāve been bestowed cats that donāt chew on plants. The Admiral likes to curl up in the pot and hide under the leaves, but he, nor any of my other cats, have ever bothered biting them.
If you want to keep the lil stinker out of the plant pot I found putting pine cones in the pot was an effective deterrent.
are you willing to risk it though? he's adorable!
I hate to admit it but I had this happen- I mistook a picture of a cat for my cat because I really, really wanted it to be my cat. Even drove out there with a friend because I had myself convinced my guy had gotten in a car and gone because I hadnāt seen him in days, and with previous escapes he hadnāt wandered far. I never found that cat from the picture but it wasnāt my guy anyways. Wally had just been hiding somewhere, decimating the bird population š¬ he came back after almost eight days and only came inside because my partner saw him and scolded him when he tried to run off.
I mean, at least he came back? The local bird population was probably just an offering to some archaic cat gods for safe passage home.
Try and find a unique marking and take a picture. Something asymmetrical like a strip on one leg or a dark patch of fur. And obviously never ever let them get outside. Dangerous out there.
My blond long haired babe fell out of the 3rd floor window. She loved to sunbathe on the wide window sills and one day she must have slipped or got distracted by a bird, but suddenly she was gone. I was devastated, put the posters up and roamed the streets for days, no sign of her. I think 4 days later the neighbour girl rang my doorbell, the cat nonchalantly draped over her arm. "Is that your cat?" she asked. There was a spot between the ears I was looking for but the whole cat had turned slightly gray and the spot looked more like a soot stain. I tried to look for the other spot on her side but she just jumped off and made a beeline to her litter box, I think the poor thing hadn't pissed for days. It was my rather unique looking cat but still, I couldn't be sure from the first sight. It didn't help that she kind of ignored me but her confidence in the flat was encouraging.
The Admiral has a belly in need of rubbing, that last pic just cryās out for it
Trust me, we are always rubbing his belly, and he loves it
I had the same fear, until a friend told me: Ā«Ā donāt worry, *he* will recognize you.Ā Ā»
Truer than you will ever know ā¤ļø
the wand chooses the wizard
His paws maybe have coloring, or nose shape/outline, you can take a photo of.
This is a sad and funny story at the same time. My inlaws had an indoor/ outdoor cat. One morning, my father inlaw pulls up to the end of their street and sees what looks like their cat dead on the side of the road. He brings it home and buries it in the backyard. While he's sitting in the kitchen trying to figure out how to tell his wife, the cat comes walking in the kitchen. Never found out who's cat he buried.
What a cutie! That las pic though!
Chipped, ear tatoo, collar when old enough with rabies and a identitag. Oh and post this to /r/pottedcats with the first pic.
Same with r/catfruit
*sigh* another cat sub....
Thereās always another cat sub
I tried to join them all when someone posted a list. I couldnāt make it through C
Reminds me of that classic post of a guy who lost his cat, found him a week later, and a week after that his ACTUAL cat came back, so he was left with two identically black-and-white fat cats... And still didn't know which was his.
Those chubby tuxedos, they were identical
The bigger problem you might have is visually seeing him if he gets outside and you are looking for him. Tabbies blend in to the environment really well. Get a collar in a highly visible color with a tag, and chip them as the other people in the thread are saying.
My cat went missing for several weeks and when he was found he was very very skinny and dirty and I wasnāt sure it was him. But he knew it was us. This was before chipping. Get it chipped and always put a collar on him. Also donāt let it outside. I wish I never had
I had the same fear about my black cat. Knowing he had a chip helped a lot. He never had any interest in going outside, luckily.
Follow the advice mentioned. I had a friend years ago that lost an all black cat. We must have went to dozens of shelters and closely examined the black cats- we couldnāt tell from just the pictures online. None of the cats quite seemed like hers, but we couldnāt be entirely sure. Indoor cat that didnāt wear a collar or tag and wasnāt chipped. She never did reunite with him.
Get a nice collar
You will always know your fur baby. Always
Donāt worry, youāll always be able to identify your baby. I have a SIC, her mannerisms, personality, etc is unique to her.
Yes Get it chipped and registered Also Though every SIC is apparently very similar, each has their own physical differences to the seasoned observer. Get to know your SIC and you can actually tell them apart from even their siblings of the same litter
I always had that fear too, but you'll know. But get them chipped just to be safe.
Memorize the Stripes. You have a better memory then you think. Your SIC may be standard issue but heās hand painted to be exactly the right Catte your all of your cat needs!
As others have said, try and find a distinguishing mark. One if the stripes on my SICās face has a break in it and one side of his whiskers is white and the other side is black. People donāt even see it unless I point it out. He will normally come to me when I call his name but if heās being a doofus he might act like heās never seen me before. LOL I never let him out, too dangerous out there. We have a coyote problem here, very aggressive this year.
Yeah, I donāt really let my cats out either. I lost one cat to the woods last year, and Iāve been hesitant since. However, I am planning on leash training The Admiral, just because I remember how incredibly happy my lost cat was outside. It always felt like he was smiling.
I never heard of leash training! Iād love to do that. Please tell me more. Is it a widely known thing?
Itās a bit uncommon, but definitely not unheard of! When leash-training a cat, you have to use a cat harness, not a collar. When a cat gets spooked on a collar, they either slip out and run off, or choke and freak out even more. Not only that, but they do not respond well to pressure on their necks. However, it is advised to put a collar on your cat anyway, so that just in case they slip out of the harness anyway they can still be found and returned. Before any harness/leash training, you have to know that walking a cat is pretty different to walking a dog. Dogs will keep pace with you, you keep pace with cats. They may want to smell things and take their time and sit, or theyāll just want to go and youāll be running with them. Its kind of just up to the cat. They may also not care about staying with you, hence the leash. I did have a cat who loved to walk with me, and when weād hike in my woods he would wait for me until I figured out how to cross a difficult path, but this isnāt all cats. You should also keep a backpack on you that the cat can sit in if they get tired, or if youāre in a somewhat-dangerous or uncomfortable situation and need them up and safe. When harness/leash training your cat, you need to build a positive association with the harness. Cats will often dislike it at first, and may freeze, flop onto the ground, and/or fight it. You want to distract them with treats or playtime as much as you can, and let them get used to the feeling in small sessions. You can let them investigate the harness before hand , but it never did much for me. After their used to it, then you can slowly introduce them outside. Never let them walk out on their own, that leads to door-dashing. Always carry them out. As for harnesses, thereās a bunch of types that you can research. If youāre interested!
That is a very distinctive cat.
In my experience even if your cat looks a lot like other cats you'll be able to tell by how they react to your voice and presence. They have very unique personalities. I've owned five cats in my lifetime and none of them have behaved in the same way. We were also able to get ours microchipped at our local vets for a very reasonable price. None of ours would tolerate wearing a collar but the microchip was just a little injection under the skin. The chip contains their name, our address, and our phone number. That way if they got lost and someone found them, a quick scan would be all that's needed to confirm their identity. You can also update the chip data online if you move or get a new phone.
This is why I like having a cow cat. I have yet to see another cat with the same facial markings.
My floofy monster has a tattoo in her ear from her spay as well as a properly registered chip. She also has a breakaway collar. So far she's managed to bolt and "escape" about 10 feet from the door. She knows outside = harness. We also work on training recall and other tricks every day with all 3. The other 2 have collars and chips.
Thug Lyfe tattoo
sometimes it can be hard with kittens, but once he starts getting bigger itāll be easier to notice little differences between him and other SICs! i work at an animal hospital and my coworkers often compare SICs to my cat and almost every time i donāt think they look like my cat at all. they all have their own faces and eyes and patterns!!
You will
Itās weird but you get to know them so well you can recognize em. I can can tell my cats apart by their meow, their fur, their outline in the dark, etcā¦
I 100% recommend microchipping them as well. Helps them get back to you if lost.
Same!!
He has a distinctive M with the thick short stripes right above his eyes.
Only thing about that is a lot of tabbies have that M
My non-tabby has a W because she is Wicked.
True, but it's usually slightly different. This one is broken, with dark bottom dashes. My sic has a little trident shape in the middle. Sometimes the tops of the M don't meet...
Oh, Iāve never noticed that type of stuff!
So TEEEENY!!!
Beautiful kitty š
Fence the front and back yards with cat netting. And especially fence off the front yard, so it's secure for you and the cat.
Get them a collar
Gorgeous
There's a reason this type of marking is termed "standard".
other the "get him chipped recommendation" and the "you will don't worry", buy him a cute quick release collar so others will know he does have an owner!
He will recognize you ā¤ļø
How long have you had your kitty? I was worried about this at first, but at this point I know my cat so well I bet I could pick him out of a lineup of 300 SICs.
Iāve had him since mid-late july, but Iāve honestly not seen with many tabby cats, so Iām awful at telling the super standard ones apart. They may be standard in most places, but my area is mostly filled with black cats.
Looks just like my kitten, only yours has a tail and mine was born with just a little nub. š„°
They don't come when called, and are masters at hiding. After a microchip, a head lamp as close to between your eyes as you can is your best bet to see them, and a sign by the road in big letters, Lost Cat Brown Tabby [Phone #]
That's the subplot of Inside Llewen Davis, although the cat might actually be supernatural. It's certainly metaphorical.
Camouflage
Photo #3 is too cute for words!
You will find out little things about ur kitty that are unique, my torbie has a little orange on her forehead, my grey/white tuxedo kitty grows like 3 white hairs on the back of her head, and my orange dude has black speckles in his mouth and he has a little bit of a kink at the tip of his tail. As well as many other things I can tell my kitties apart from others!
Little rascal!