- Joined
- Jun 6, 2015
- Messages
- 8
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Hi folks. I’m new to this site and joined because I’m having trouble finding information and advice for my particular stray cat situation. Here’s the lowdown…
There’s a cat (Gary, who seems to be a Russian Blue or a Russian Blue mix) that’s been hanging around my boyfriend’s shop for the past three years, which we’ve just brought into our home. We thought he might be feral at first, but after doing some research Gary definitely fits the description of a stray.
I met Gary for the first time several months back. According to my boyfriend, Gary’s seemed to be happy outdoors and coming and going as he pleased during the time he’s known him. But in the past few months, he’s gotten into some fights and shown up at the shop with some pretty bad scratches. So, we’re starting to properly care for the cat and very seriously thinking of adopting him.
Yesterday, we got Gary neutered and vaccinated at the Humane Society, and have brought the cat to our home (a couple miles away from the shop) to recover. The folks at the Human Society think Gary is about 7 years old. It’s anyone’s best guess as to how long Gary has been on the streets, especially since he hadn’t been neutered till now.
Gary is a little skittish at times, but he’s actually a very sweet and affectionate cat once his trust has been earned. He seems to enjoy being in our home with us and our dog (he’s known the dog since he started showing up at the shop 3 years ago).
We’ve read up on the advice that’s out there about adopting stray cats. Like I said, we’re pretty sure we’re going to adopt him. Our plan at the moment is to keep him indoors for the next two weeks while he recovers from the neutering. Our concern though is about if and/or when we should let him outside again. We plan to give him a collar and microchip him before letting him outside (and possibly even walking him around our enclosed yard on a kitty leash) but are understandably worried that at some point he might run off and not be able to find his way back since this is a new neighborhood for him and he’s not fully used to being a pet...
All and any advice would be greatly appreciated!
There’s a cat (Gary, who seems to be a Russian Blue or a Russian Blue mix) that’s been hanging around my boyfriend’s shop for the past three years, which we’ve just brought into our home. We thought he might be feral at first, but after doing some research Gary definitely fits the description of a stray.
I met Gary for the first time several months back. According to my boyfriend, Gary’s seemed to be happy outdoors and coming and going as he pleased during the time he’s known him. But in the past few months, he’s gotten into some fights and shown up at the shop with some pretty bad scratches. So, we’re starting to properly care for the cat and very seriously thinking of adopting him.
Yesterday, we got Gary neutered and vaccinated at the Humane Society, and have brought the cat to our home (a couple miles away from the shop) to recover. The folks at the Human Society think Gary is about 7 years old. It’s anyone’s best guess as to how long Gary has been on the streets, especially since he hadn’t been neutered till now.
Gary is a little skittish at times, but he’s actually a very sweet and affectionate cat once his trust has been earned. He seems to enjoy being in our home with us and our dog (he’s known the dog since he started showing up at the shop 3 years ago).
We’ve read up on the advice that’s out there about adopting stray cats. Like I said, we’re pretty sure we’re going to adopt him. Our plan at the moment is to keep him indoors for the next two weeks while he recovers from the neutering. Our concern though is about if and/or when we should let him outside again. We plan to give him a collar and microchip him before letting him outside (and possibly even walking him around our enclosed yard on a kitty leash) but are understandably worried that at some point he might run off and not be able to find his way back since this is a new neighborhood for him and he’s not fully used to being a pet...
All and any advice would be greatly appreciated!