Cat acting strange after males come around

tatonka1233

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
52
Purraise
43
Location
Jones, MI
My male cat, Spice, has been acting really strange lately. He was always a cautious cat, but he would come up to me and sit with me whenever he was around. About a month ago, 2 male cats have come onto the property. The one was his dad and the other was a 6 year old male that had found its way outside. He is very skiddish and his neck area is always wet or hair will be missing from it. His fur around his back legs is almost always disheveled. He has gotten very skinny in the past month. Is there anything I can do to help him.

I would bring him in the house, but he hasn't come in since he was baby and the dog I have now would kill him. Otherwise I would have tried it.
 

Tik cat's mum

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 20, 2019
Messages
2,730
Purraise
8,270
Location
UK
First of all can you get him into a carrier?. Sounds like he needs a trip to the vet, to find out why he's losing weight. And what has caused him to lose his fur. Is it the other males fighting with him or a injury? Is he losing weight because the other cat's are taking his food or illness?. You'll need a vet to check him over. It might be something that you can treat without bringing him indoors. If it's not and the situation of your dog, then I would seriously consider rehousing or surrendering him to a shelter. If you can't get him into a carrier reach out to local cat rescue groups they may be able to loan you a trap.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

tatonka1233

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
52
Purraise
43
Location
Jones, MI
Has he been neutered? He sounds as if he may have something going on physically. Is there any way you can get him to a vet?
Spice has not been neutered yet. I was hoping now that he is older, maybe a female would come around and they would have a litter. I can try to get him inside and get him in a kennel to take him to the vet but it may take a while.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

tatonka1233

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
52
Purraise
43
Location
Jones, MI
First of all can you get him into a carrier?. Sounds like he needs a trip to the vet, to find out why he's losing weight. And what has caused him to lose his fur. Is it the other males fighting with him or a injury? Is he losing weight because the other cat's are taking his food or illness?. You'll need a vet to check him over. It might be something that you can treat without bringing him indoors. If it's not and the situation of your dog, then I would seriously consider rehousing or surrendering him to a shelter. If you can't get him into a carrier reach out to local cat rescue groups they may be able to loan you a trap.
I am not sure why he is losing his hair. When the loner males come up on the deck, they pay him no attention and sometimes it looks as if the black and white male tries to mount him in a way. There is a spayed female that comes over a lot, she is quite the bully. I try to get him alone and feed him some food, both wet and dry, so his weight increases. But that female will come and push him away. I don't want to hurt the female but I don't want her to eat his food especially since she is larger than him.
 

Tik cat's mum

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 20, 2019
Messages
2,730
Purraise
8,270
Location
UK
I am not sure why he is losing his hair. When the loner males come up on the deck, they pay him no attention and sometimes it looks as if the black and white male tries to mount him in a way. There is a spayed female that comes over a lot, she is quite the bully. I try to get him alone and feed him some food, both wet and dry, so his weight increases. But that female will come and push him away. I don't want to hurt the female but I don't want her to eat his food especially since she is larger than him.
It sounds like he may be being bullied by the other cat's but definitely needs to see the vet to confirm, especially with the weight loss. I see from your other thread you have taken in 4 kittens as well. You have a lot on your plate, you've said that you'll be getting the kittens ready for new home's. I'm presuming they'll be seeing the vet. So if you could take pictures of the boy with you if you are struggling to catch the male, maybe the vet can give you some answers. But please get him neutered ASAP don't wait for another female to drop kittens on you. If you don't you'll very quickly be overun by cat's. There's enough kittens being born outdoors without adding to the problem as you already know with the 4 in your garage. Good luck hope you get him feeling better soon and find home's for the kittens soon.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

tatonka1233

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
52
Purraise
43
Location
Jones, MI
It sounds like he may be being bullied by the other cat's but definitely needs to see the vet to confirm, especially with the weight loss. I see from your other thread you have taken in 4 kittens as well. You have a lot on your plate, you've said that you'll be getting the kittens ready for new home's. I'm presuming they'll be seeing the vet. So if you could take pictures of the boy with you if you are struggling to catch the male, maybe the vet can give you some answers. But please get him neutered ASAP don't wait for another female to drop kittens on you. If you don't you'll very quickly be overun by cat's. There's enough kittens being born outdoors without adding to the problem as you already know with the 4 in your garage. Good luck hope you get him feeling better soon and find home's for the kittens soon.
Yes, I realize that there are more cats being born everyday. I have a garden that I want to thrive this year. In the past 5 years, I have had 6 barn cats die, I only have 1 left (Spice). I spay/neuter each of the cats before they reach 8 months of age. I usually have a breeding pair to have a least one or two litters a year, just so I have enough cats to keep the vermin at bay. The 4 kittens I had mentioned in my last post were given to me by a friend that couldn't keep them. Once they get bigger, they will be spayed/neutered unless I need a female for 1 litter. I do spay females after 1 litter if not sooner. Males are almost always neutered unless they show different colors in their fur, otherwise I would breed them once or twice to either gift/sell the kittens to potential buyers. I do follow the protocol for selling kittens. They have all their shots and I get them checked out at least once a month, until they fid their forever home. Sometimes the kittens are fixed before they leave, is that okay? or should I let the new owners decide that one?

As for Spice, I am currently working on getting him inside without scaring him off. As soon as I get him in, he will be taken to the vet and checked out. I have goat dewormer that is safe for Cats and Dogs, so that will be given to him as well. Once he gets to a healthier weight, he will go back outside. He hates being indoors for a long period of time. Spice will be neutered once he is caught, I don't think he would be good breeding stock anyways.
 

Tik cat's mum

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 20, 2019
Messages
2,730
Purraise
8,270
Location
UK
Yes, I realize that there are more cats being born everyday. I have a garden that I want to thrive this year. In the past 5 years, I have had 6 barn cats die, I only have 1 left (Spice). I spay/neuter each of the cats before they reach 8 months of age. I usually have a breeding pair to have a least one or two litters a year, just so I have enough cats to keep the vermin at bay. The 4 kittens I had mentioned in my last post were given to me by a friend that couldn't keep them. Once they get bigger, they will be spayed/neutered unless I need a female for 1 litter. I do spay females after 1 litter if not sooner. Males are almost always neutered unless they show different colors in their fur, otherwise I would breed them once or twice to either gift/sell the kittens to potential buyers. I do follow the protocol for selling kittens. They have all their shots and I get them checked out at least once a month, until they fid their forever home. Sometimes the kittens are fixed before they leave, is that okay? or should I let the new owners decide that one?

As for Spice, I am currently working on getting him inside without scaring him off. As soon as I get him in, he will be taken to the vet and checked out. I have goat dewormer that is safe for Cats and Dogs, so that will be given to him as well. Once he gets to a healthier weight, he will go back outside. He hates being indoors for a long period of time. Spice will be neutered once he is caught, I don't think he would be good breeding stock anyways.
That's good he'll be fixed before going back out. Yes it's absolutely fine to get the kitten's fixed before they leave you. If you leave it to the new owners sometimes they don't realise just how fast they can get pregnant , and unfortunately it's another litter to be rehomed.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

tatonka1233

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
52
Purraise
43
Location
Jones, MI
That's good he'll be fixed before going back out. Yes it's absolutely fine to get the kitten's fixed before they leave you. If you leave it to the new owners sometimes they don't realise just how fast they can get pregnant , and unfortunately it's another litter to be rehomed.
Yes, I agree. In the past some of my family members who have taken a kitten from me, have been upset because they were fixed. I always strive to get all of the cats I can fixed, its hard unless I see a clinic doing a sale on spaying/neutering, I usually take 8 cats in so I know they are good to go. I try to fix females faster than the males but some female make it harder to do so.

but again, Spice will definitely be fixed on Monday at 8am. Thank you for everything!<3
 
Top