Grancey

About two weeks ago Red called out to me, "There's a kitten out here." She was in the bushes next to the front door, but ran when we went into the yard. My cat lady instincts took over, and I put some food and water out for her. Watching from the window, we saw her come back and devour all of the food I had put out.

In the beginning she would run around the corner of the house when she saw us, so I began to put her food on the porch in order to draw her out. It has now become a regular thing, although she still will not get too close. Today I sat outside after putting out her food, and within 10 minutes I saw her behind the holly bush. She watched me for a while as I talked to her, and then she made her way to the porch for dinner.

Now, my problem..... We only see her around dusk and early evening or early in the morning. I guess it's possible that she has a home, but if she does would she come to eat here on a regular basis? At what point can I feel assured that she has no other home? I feel strongly about spaying/neutering and the large numbers of unwanted cats and kittens. So, my gut tells me to befriend her, have her spayed/neutered and then go from there. My four indoor cats are really curious about the food that keeps going out the front door.

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JustJess

Just because she's eating with you doesn't mean she's homeless. It makes it more likely, but cats aren't stupid. If she likes your food better than the stuff at home, she's going to eat your food. Even her avoidance of being too close isn't too indicative. Although the average house cat feels comfortable with those who feed them....

I dunno. I don't think you can know if she's homeless. Do you have neighbors reasonably nearby? If so, no way to know. If you can get close to her, check out the feel of her fur. Homeless kitties just aren't as clean feeling. That's about all the usefulness I have for you, sorry!

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*Nikki*

I am guessing if she is that scared of you, she is stray. I would go with your plan about eventually capturing her and having her spayed.

Yes, cats with homes will also come eat but are usually more friendly in my experience. There is no for sure way to tell, just go with your gut.

A good indication would be how well she looks physically and seems to be well taken care of.

lankrypt0

If she is not getting close, I too would venture to guess it is a stray. Cats with homes are generally more comfortable with people and would want the attention. Growing up, my cat, Simon, had two homes. We found out about the second when we went for a walk one day, and we say Simon coming out of someones house. We asked, "Umm, why is Simon coming out of your house? He lives 3 houses down at our place." The lady said "Simon? His name is Mittens, he's been eating here for a year or so now!" It may not have been exactly mittens, but a typical "cat name".

So we didnt make a big stink about it, he kept going between the two houses until he died.

Sultana

A kitty with a home just scoring extra grub wouldn't devour food while you were unseen, and stay the heck away if she can see you. I also vote for stray.

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Lady Sage

Follow your cat mom instincts. My gut has never led me wrong. Trust yours.

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hagatha

I haven't met a cat who wasn't a glutton and who wouldn't entwine a trusting human in their scam to get more food.
God love them but there they are.

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ngdawg

It might be illegal to feed feral cats. It is here. We currently have two kittens and their mother living in my yard, sleeping in the Caddy engine and being fed by our ill-advised neighbors. That food also attracts groundhogs and skunks.
Feral cats will never be tamed. Ferals carry disease and fleas that could compromise any domestic cats that come near them. They will also kill birds, etc., and leave the carcasses lying around. And they will breed indiscriminately, resulting in deformities from interbreeding if left to do so.
Call your animal control office for advise.
Your heart's in the right place, but it's not thinking clearly.

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Grancey

Feral colonies are controlled in this area. Periodically, the vet school participates in a program to trap, neuter and release the animals. Feral cats are really not common at all. More common are the cats and kittens dumped by college students when they leave campus to go home for the summer. I understand your position, but my concern is more of whether or not she actually belongs to someone or if she has been dumped and needs someone to make decisions on her behalf.

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ngdawg

I'd go with the majority here and say she's been dumped off. All the more reason to get her off the street-you don't know if she was declawed, etc. and wouldn't have the feral instincts.

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Atropos4

If your heart is saying take her in...do it.
You might try putting a collar on her and seeing when she comes back if it's still there. I know I'd be a little shocked if my cat turned up with a collar on all the sudden. You could even put a tag with your number on it. At least then you'd know?

Feral cats are tameable. I've seen it. I work at a vet clinic and it took us two years to convince Mama kitty we were ok. They trapped her with a haveaheart trap and spayed her. No more unwanted babies. Now she sleeps in one of the cages at night and plays outside during the day. She even greets me every morning by jumping on the hood of my car and begging for a scritch. God forbid I don't or she'll jump down and smack my ankles. She also loves to play with my dog.
I have four indoor kitties already or she would have been another addition. I have said however that if/when Raven (my eldest) time comes I will seriously consider taking in Mama Kitty.

It may take some time but many ferals can be tamed with patience.

However with the quickness this one was tamed...I'd say she either has a home, was dropped off, or wandered very far and is now homeless.
Good luck

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Grancey

Where do I find a haveaheart trap? Previously, I only saw her at dusk and early in the morning. The past few days I've seen her at 1:00 or 2:00 pm and she just hangs out and goes to sleep on the porch. I'm convinced that she was dumped or a part of a litter that was dumped. However, she still does not trust me and maintains a certain distance. I would really like to have her neutered as soon as possible.

Will a vet treat an untamed animal?

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Atropos4

http://www.havahart.com/

There is a "where can I buy" section on there I think Home Depot was on the list but you may want to check and see what there is in your area.

Some vets will. I know the one that I work at does. It can be tricky sometimes but there are some that are willing.

After you get it spayed/neutered just keep feeding her at your place, it may take some time but she should come around. Food wins alot of them out in the end.

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warrrreagl

At any point later in the evening, I may be called to drop everything and rush to the door to look out the window with Grancey and watch Lulu's latest irresistible cuteness. For example, we laid one of those coconut basket liners on the ground under a tree so the birds could use it for nesting material. Lulu discovered it a couple of days ago and we've been watching her tear it up and have a ball playing with it. She chases her tail on our front walkway, climbs the popcorn tree where the birdfeeders are hanging and harrasses the birds, and snoozes on the porch. All of these activities are of daily noteworthiness.

She is getting gradually better and much less skiddish with us.

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Grancey

Thanks, Atropos4. We got a havahart trap over the weekend. Right now I'm putting food in the trap and setting the door to open so it won't close when she goes inside to eat. The first day I put the food near the opening, and although she was very tentative about the new eating arrangement she did stick her head inside to eat. I'm gradually moving it further back, so that when she is comfortable going all the way inside I can set the trap to close.

Our vet will treat an untamed cat, so when we do have her we can take her in for neutering, shots, etc.

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cadre

Okay, I'm going to go against everyone here and say I think you should do more to find out if this cat has a home or not. ESPECIALLY if you are going to get her neutered. A few years ago my cat was taken by a family who thought he was stray while I was on vacation (outdoor cat) and by the time we got back she was 3 hours away at another home. It was definitely not appreciated.

If you haven't already (it sounds like you haven't) ask your neighbors whether the cat is theirs or if they know anything about it. Don't just go taking other peoples cats please. The fact that it's shy and it's hungry does not mean it doesn't have a home.

Oh yes, and if you do catch the cat and take him to the vet I would suggest keeping an eye out for "Lost cat" or "Missing cat" signs.

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Grancey

An update: A little over a week ago I noticed a small wound on the neck of the cat. I hadn't been able to touch her yet, so I just watched it over the course of the next few days. It seemed to get better, and then it got much worse. (I heard cat fights on two different nights, so I assume it was an unneutered male cat visiting). Watching the wound and acquiring the trap was going on at the same time. Well, last Friday when I went outside to feed her she walked towards me, stopped and cried. That did it. Any doubt about her being a stray evaporated with my concern that she may die a painful death from a serious infection if I did not do something. We immediately set the trap with the food, and within 30 minutes she was secured. The vet had to sedate her in order to treat her wound, which was quite severe. Friday night she was spayed. Over the weekend she was given shots and flea treatment. Until today she has been at the vet receiving attention for her wound. Every time we talked to the vet he said she was very skittish, but when we picked her up today we talked to a vet technician who has held her and stroked her on several occasions.

I have been struggling with the decision of what to do with her now. Do I let her out into the yard to live as an outdoor cat? She was happy outside until the injury. Or do I bring her indoors and attempt to domesticate her into the lives of my other indoor cats? We chose the latter, for now.

We set up a bathroom for her to stay in for a while. When we got her home we put her down in the bathroom, still inside the trap, to allow her and our other cats to meet. There was a lot of sniffing, a little hissing, but after a while everyone had calmed down. We let them mingle, with her still in the trap, for about an hour, and then we closed off the bathroom and let her out. She has a litter box area, an enclosed kitty sleeping condo, a cardboard box, a towel, food, water, etc. The few times I have peeked in on her she has been asleep in the litter box. She's had a tough week. So, we shall see.

I know I had concerns about taking a cat that may belong to someone, but I did what I could to find her home if it existed. Cadre, I did talk to neighbors. And last week I decided that if this cat had a home, then the home was crap and someone should step in to care for her.

Anyway, that's it for now about this cat. She doesn't have a name yet. Lu Lu was a temp name that does not fit. Anyone with tips for taming her, please help. I do have a pic that I will post soon. Thanks for all the advice.

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cadre

I'm glad to hear the cat's okay and that you did all you could to find her home. At this point just letting her get used to her surroundings is probably the best thing. Slowly try to get her used to being close to you and maybe she'll learn to like being an indoor cat. In my experience it's harder to get a cat to like being indoors after being outoors than visa versa but it's been done.

As far as names go, the only one I have are for males (since I am planning on adopting a male kitten within the next couple weeks). Try baby name websites, they might provide you with some ideas. Good luck!

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warrrreagl

Her stitches are the dissolvable kind so we don't have to take her back out to the vet. Her throat wound is healing very nicely and right now she's just exhausted. She doesn't cry or howl and she really doesn't make any sound except when we hear her munching through the bathroom door. She eats, drinks, moves around, and poops, so it's just going to take some time to get her accustomed to our family sounds.

And she's such a sweetie....

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Adri

There's a cat in our apartment complex that my husband and I refer to as "Slutty Cat" because she's so friendly, she'll let ANYONE with fingernails touch her. On the belly. Little slut.

Anyway, we had seen her around for years but within the last 6 months or so, it seemed like she was hanging out at our front/back door an awful lot, crying like she was hungry. So Scott fed her a few times, and she started coming by more regularly.

One day I noticed my two (boy) cats were sitting in the front window staring at something, so I peeked down and saw Slutty Cat laying there in the bushes cleaning her stomach. I swear it looked like something out of Looney Tunes... if she only had a full face of makeup I'd have said she looked like the girl skunk that Pepe Le Pew always chased after. She's like, "HI boys... you like what you see?"

Anyway, months go by and Scott and I are starting to think we've acquired a new cat, because she spent SO much time with us. And then one day Scott calls me at work and tells me we've been instructed to NEVER feed Slutty Cat again. Apparently her owner used to live on the bottom floor of the building near us, but has since moved upstairs to the 3rd floor, and Slutty Cat keeps coming downstairs and getting lost, and since we've been providing a food source, her owner actually thought she was gone a few times. I felt terrible, but what were we going to do? We live in a very transitional area, for all we knew she'd been abandoned by some college kids going home for the summer.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that even Slutty Cats can pretend like they don't have a home in order to get free food.

Good job on taking Lulu in for treatmnt though... that definitely warms my heart. I only hope if one of my boys got lost outside or God forbid, injured, someone would take care of him.

Grancey

It's been a while since I started this thread, but some of you may remember it. I want to update you on what has happened since July 07. Lulu became my beloved Garbo and a permanent indoor resident. One of our cats took to her, and they became good buddies. The other cats could sense her vulnerability as she shrank in their presence and bullied her so we decided that it would be best to have separate living quarters for Garbo since she was so fragile and had been through so much in her young life. We kept her in a separate part of the house and her one cat friend was her best friend. She recovered from most of her physical injuries and became a true lap kitty and perfect model for my photographs. She was always happy to see me. Her neck injury left her unable to meow, but she could muster a high-pitched squeak. Early in January she became ill, and our vet suspected an obstruction in her intestines. A radiograph was inconclusive, and we opted for surgery. Cancer was found and with the advice of our vet we decided to let her go. This was so hard to do, but I understand that it was best for her. She had such a short life, but I think she was happy. I don't regret taking her in. I miss her. This is my favorite pic of Garbo.

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Daniel_

I'm sorry to hear that, as at heart I am a cat person (but don't ave any at present). She looks lovely, I'm sure you will miss her immensely.

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Zeraph

Sorry to hear that, Grancey.

Just wanted to say (for other people that may be in a similar situation), my cats stay away from strangers like the plague, and their obviously not stray..

Cynthetiq

what a pretty kitty. Rarely does a day go by that I do not recall Skogafoss' cat Bacchus.

My heart goes out to you for your loss of a friendly kitty.

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snowy

I'm really sorry to hear of your loss, Grancey, but I'm glad that Garbo got to have you in her life.

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spindles

It is sad to hear about the cancer.

Is it popular to microchip cats in the US? When our two had the 'snip', they were also micro-chipped, so a vet can just scan them and find out they belong to us

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