Advice On Taking In A Stray

[DET_CAT_DAD]

I'd like some advice on taking in a stray cat who has been visiting my condo for about a year now.

I currently have three other cats, all about four-years-old. Ralph, a semi-fluffy black cat, adopted first, and Bear and Prinnie, brother and sister Siberians, adopted about a year ago.

I live in a huge condo complex (over 900 condos) and there are at least a dozen stray cats that I've seen since January. I started leaving food out around then. I kept seeing this friendly orange cat (he meows, is skittish but will come to you and no ear tip) every now and then who would come sit on my porch and stare into my condo, sometimes conversing with the two males in my household. I live in the Detroit area and it was a brutally cold winter with a ton of snow, much more than normal. He would sit there politely and wait until I brought some food and water out to him.

I began to leave food and water out nightly for him (and the other strays) and he would come by like clockwork, until around May. And then I didn't see him again until the end of August.

Lately I've been going out there and sitting with him while he eats. Over the last week, he's become very friendly and will let me pet and brush him. He is very motivated by treats. I bought a toy to try and play with him but he didn't seem very interested in it yet.

He's pretty skinny and unaltered, which makes me think he doesn't have a family. We get a lot of dumped cats here. I've posted on a local Michigan lost pet Facebook page for the last two weeks in an attempt to find an owner. I cannot allow him to be outside for another winter. I feel connected to him and would feel absolutely sick if something happened to him. I live in a high traffic area with lots of predators, even coyotes.

I want to attempt to continue to build his trust over the next week or so and then try to grab him. I plan on taking him to the vet immediately to have him neutered and get up-to-date on his shots.

My question is, should I attempt to do anything else to try to find out if he has an owner (other than a microchip scan)? He is extremely shy and my two Siberians are very excitable, especially around other cats. What can I do to ease into them getting to know each other? Any other advice from others who have been in a similar situation?

I have a guest bedroom where he can hang out until he is acclimated to our home.

Thank you!

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

 

[Willowy]

What a cutie!

First, make sure you have a nice sturdy carrier to pop him into! Don't try to carry him all the way inside or you'll get all scratched up.

Once you have him inside, call Animal Control or the local shelter to report him as found. That's usually required for legal reasons. If you want, you could put some posters up in the area too. But usually if someone cares about their cat, they'll report him missing to Animal Control.

Are you sure he's unaltered? His face doesn't look tom-ish at all.

 

[surya]

Keep him quarantined from your other kitties until he gets tested for diseases at the vet. Then keep him in his own room for a little while. Introducing a new cat into the family is a common question on the forum. So search for threads and articles on the subject. In my experience you keep them apart for awhile. They start sniffing at each other through the door. Then you let the new kitty around the others supervised. They do some hissing at first and gradually start accepting each other. You could try using the Nextdoor to see if the cat has an owner. Search on your computer, you sign up and can network in your neighborhood. It doesn't seem like he does though. I think he is yours now.

 

[dustydiamond1]

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