Greetings,
I appreciate any advice on trapping a stray cat that has stopped eating the past two days.
The background (sorry too long and apologies for grammar and runoff sentences):
I fed a spayed cat, Sandy, in the backyard for a minute. During the winter, she came inside and I have kept her inside. I am introducing her to my two other indoor cats.
Because I fed her outside, another cat I named Justo would also visit and wait by the backdoor for breakfast and dinner. He started coming around last year. Other cats sporadically came (fixed and some not fixed). Justo chased one away permanently, but others came to a mutual understanding (after being chased away one time) and still visited though erratically. I got distracted with another cat, Timoteo, that was not doing as well as he on the streets (see my only other thread) but I did start feeding Justo close to a trap and then time ran away from me and the heat came. Justo has long fur, really full hair, so I paused on trapping attempts. I live in Texas, and it gets really hot. Then the cold came. Sometimes it gets really cold (temps will drop fast and sometimes it will stay cold, other times they will change to the next day like spring time). I set some straw bedding near the door and Justo made good use of it during the winter. I wanted to trap Justo just around this time March/April when the weather is not too cold or too hot. Aside from some rain that prevented my first trapping (my trap started to rust), I was now ready and waiting to time it just right.
Just my luck, another cat started visiting. He was ravenous for food, and it took a couple of weeks for him to learn the feeding schedule and to trust me. I call him Cirilo. He chased away the other cats that came sporadically. He got scratches on his head and body. Cirilo would wait by the shed and Justo would wait by my door. I fed them a distance from each other. As we were crossing the month and a half mark, Cirilo and Justo started prefighting after eating. I always hung around their mealtimes and intervened until one time they prefighted/fought before eating. This occurred recently about a week and a half ago. I got to them before it escalated to full fledged fighting but they each swiped and hurt each other (Cirilo got a deeper head wound and Justo appears to have just gotten scratches). They both ate during this visit. Cirilo first and then Justo after Cirilo left. Afterwards, I did not see them in the morning or evening for several days. Cirilo has just started coming for breakfast and dinner. The past three days, he now waits for me as the prefight schedule. Justo has not returned.
Cirilo always ate everything (about a can of Friskies and one of Fancy Feast, he always left behind some of the can(s) though). He always ate as he had not been fed. He has some nose scratches and his head wound is healing slowly.
I contacted a vet to see if he would treat Cirilo given that Cirilo is injured. I don’t want the city to euthanize him (my city runs a TNR program) or for the other option, the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection, a low cost alternative, to deny him treatment due to injury. Thankfully, the vet will help, and I want to trap Cirilo as soon as possible. I set a trap for him and started feeding him near it as soon as he came back for feedings. Cirilo started slowing down on his food intake starting about a day and a half ago. This morning, he got near the food and just smelled it and licked his lips. I tried to temp him with chicken, beef, and smelly fishy food. I offered him different textures, pate/shreds. He finally had a couple of dried cat pet food in a different flavor than usual this morning. He did not take any bites of wet or dry cat food for dinner .
He may have found another food source or he may be sick from his injury or he may be sick from something he ate. He appears alert and has calm breathing. His eyes are clear and focused.
I am worried and frustrated. I also so wish for my Justo to come back. I hope and pray that he is okay. I am worried about trapping Cirilo without a food incentive. I can't open my house to him as I am full of cats now. I have Sandy in the only available room for cats as I am introducing her to my other two cats. The other two inhabit the rest of the house. I can't keep Cirilo in a garage either.
I have taken a minute and typed my predicament here in this community. I know I have made mistakes (waiting too long to TNR Justo, then waiting too long to trap Cirilo). I am open to learning and doing better.
Any advice for how to help him is appreciated.
I appreciate any advice on trapping a stray cat that has stopped eating the past two days.
The background (sorry too long and apologies for grammar and runoff sentences):
I fed a spayed cat, Sandy, in the backyard for a minute. During the winter, she came inside and I have kept her inside. I am introducing her to my two other indoor cats.
Because I fed her outside, another cat I named Justo would also visit and wait by the backdoor for breakfast and dinner. He started coming around last year. Other cats sporadically came (fixed and some not fixed). Justo chased one away permanently, but others came to a mutual understanding (after being chased away one time) and still visited though erratically. I got distracted with another cat, Timoteo, that was not doing as well as he on the streets (see my only other thread) but I did start feeding Justo close to a trap and then time ran away from me and the heat came. Justo has long fur, really full hair, so I paused on trapping attempts. I live in Texas, and it gets really hot. Then the cold came. Sometimes it gets really cold (temps will drop fast and sometimes it will stay cold, other times they will change to the next day like spring time). I set some straw bedding near the door and Justo made good use of it during the winter. I wanted to trap Justo just around this time March/April when the weather is not too cold or too hot. Aside from some rain that prevented my first trapping (my trap started to rust), I was now ready and waiting to time it just right.
Just my luck, another cat started visiting. He was ravenous for food, and it took a couple of weeks for him to learn the feeding schedule and to trust me. I call him Cirilo. He chased away the other cats that came sporadically. He got scratches on his head and body. Cirilo would wait by the shed and Justo would wait by my door. I fed them a distance from each other. As we were crossing the month and a half mark, Cirilo and Justo started prefighting after eating. I always hung around their mealtimes and intervened until one time they prefighted/fought before eating. This occurred recently about a week and a half ago. I got to them before it escalated to full fledged fighting but they each swiped and hurt each other (Cirilo got a deeper head wound and Justo appears to have just gotten scratches). They both ate during this visit. Cirilo first and then Justo after Cirilo left. Afterwards, I did not see them in the morning or evening for several days. Cirilo has just started coming for breakfast and dinner. The past three days, he now waits for me as the prefight schedule. Justo has not returned.
Cirilo always ate everything (about a can of Friskies and one of Fancy Feast, he always left behind some of the can(s) though). He always ate as he had not been fed. He has some nose scratches and his head wound is healing slowly.
I contacted a vet to see if he would treat Cirilo given that Cirilo is injured. I don’t want the city to euthanize him (my city runs a TNR program) or for the other option, the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection, a low cost alternative, to deny him treatment due to injury. Thankfully, the vet will help, and I want to trap Cirilo as soon as possible. I set a trap for him and started feeding him near it as soon as he came back for feedings. Cirilo started slowing down on his food intake starting about a day and a half ago. This morning, he got near the food and just smelled it and licked his lips. I tried to temp him with chicken, beef, and smelly fishy food. I offered him different textures, pate/shreds. He finally had a couple of dried cat pet food in a different flavor than usual this morning. He did not take any bites of wet or dry cat food for dinner .
He may have found another food source or he may be sick from his injury or he may be sick from something he ate. He appears alert and has calm breathing. His eyes are clear and focused.
I am worried and frustrated. I also so wish for my Justo to come back. I hope and pray that he is okay. I am worried about trapping Cirilo without a food incentive. I can't open my house to him as I am full of cats now. I have Sandy in the only available room for cats as I am introducing her to my other two cats. The other two inhabit the rest of the house. I can't keep Cirilo in a garage either.
I have taken a minute and typed my predicament here in this community. I know I have made mistakes (waiting too long to TNR Justo, then waiting too long to trap Cirilo). I am open to learning and doing better.
Any advice for how to help him is appreciated.