Feral Cat Behaving Weird

MikyPiky

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Ok so I live out in the country, I moved her about 5 months ago. Through those months I've counted 7 feral/stray cats that have been around. Some live here and others I've only seen a few times. I haven't seen a new cat in months so I thought there were no more, but today to my surprise I saw a tuxedo cat walk into our yard and into the shed from the neighbours yard. The cat was pretty big and walked like a male. I very quietly and carefully looked in the shed and saw the cat, it immediately started yowling non-stop. It didnt seem very scared of me, which really surprised me. I didnt try to get close just in case it had rabies or something. What I'm wondering is why it was meowing so much? Was it a female in heat? Was it a male looking for a female? Or something different altogether? I looked up what a female sounds like in heat and it definitely sounds more like that than a tom calling a female. I personally think it's a female, but my other family members think it's a male. Do you guys understand whats going on? Any help would be super appreciated!
 

susanm9006

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My guess is this not a feral but rather someone’s lost or thrown out pet. He is talking to you because he is telling his story and asking for help. I would see if he will approach you if you sit quietly near him. I would check with neighbors and post his picture. If you could trap him or if he will let you pick him up you might be able to get a vet to check for a chip.
 
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MikyPiky

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My guess is this not a feral but rather someone’s lost or thrown out pet. He is talking to you because he is telling his story and asking for help. I would see if he will approach you if you sit quietly near him. I would check with neighbors and post his picture. If you could trap him or if he will let you pick him up you might be able to get a vet to check for a chip.
I only have two neighbours and they aren't the type of people that would take their cats to the vet to have a chip, so thats useless. Only one of the two neighbours would have a cat, maybe it's theirs so thank you for suggesting that. I will try to figure out what is going on, ill keep you updated!
 
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MikyPiky

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Hi. Were you able to find anything out?
Oh yes I did! We've had a lot of cat drama this week, I'll tell you all about it. So the day after I first saw the tuxedo I went to see if the tuxedo cat was still in our shed, he wasn't. The next day I was in our front shed feeding the stray cats, I left and went inside. Immediately the tuxedo cat came out of the shed, I was surprised cause I hadn't seen him in there. I went out to see if he was actually feral. When I went out and he started meowing a bunch again, I came closer and then he just came to me. I confirmed that he was an intact male, he's very tame, obviously abandoned or something. He walked onto our deck and was just chilling with me, he has a lot of scars all over his face. He started rolling in the dirt and I could see he had big scars on his arm, so we decided to call him Scar. Soon I left him to go inside. Later that day I was looking through the window and I realized Scar was sitting on top of our outside fridge, and the alpha male of the stray cats (his name is Buttercrum) was watching him from on the deck. They just sat in their spots for a while then Buttercrum jumped up on the fridge to get at Scar. There was a lot of yowling and meowing, they stared at each other for a long time, then finally Buttercrum lashed out at Scar. Buttercrum fell off the fridge and Scar jumped off it and over the deck. Buttercrum immediately gave chase, we lost track of them soon after.

An hour or two later I realized my cat was staring intently at something out the window. We quickly realized it was Scar way up in a tree. We went out and saw that Buttercrum was guarding at the bottom of the tree. We shooed him away to let Scar down, but he just wouldnt go down. After a while we just had to give up. The next morning Buttercrum was acting normal and Scar is nowhere to be seen, and I haven't seen him for a couple days now. I really hope he is okay, but I really doubt he is going to come back after that fiasco.
 

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Thanks for giving us an update. Let us know if you see Scar again. It would seem that Scar was abandoned some time ago and is trying to fend for himself - maybe only feral in the sense that he has had to take care of himself, albeit badly, and recognized through you that humans are something he used to know and love. If he does show up again, see if there is a way to trap him - he would certainly be the kind of cat that could be tamed and then given a home, IMO.
 

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My parents retired to the country. They were never short of cats due to people dumping them near my parents home or local farms.
 
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MikyPiky

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My parents retired to the country. They were never short of cats due to people dumping them near my parents home or local farms.
Yes it is unbelievable how many abandoned and feral cats there are in the country. Most farmers just don't respect animals and that leads to so many problems, I wish they had kinder hearts towards them.
 

moxiewild

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Yes it is unbelievable how many abandoned and feral cats there are in the country. Most farmers just don't respect animals and that leads to so many problems, I wish they had kinder hearts towards them.
The country is also a dumping grounds.

People drive out to dump animals since they’re less likely to be caught, OR because there is less traffic so they feel like they’ll have a better chance at surviving.

Sorry if I missed it, have these cats been neutered yet?
 
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MikyPiky

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The country is also a dumping grounds.

People drive out to dump animals since they’re less likely to be caught, OR because there is less traffic so they feel like they’ll have a better chance at surviving.

Sorry if I missed it, have these cats been neutered yet?
No they haven't. I truly wish I could take them to get fixed, but right now we're in self isolation so that's a no no.
 

moxiewild

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No they haven't. I truly wish I could take them to get fixed, but right now we're in self isolation so that's a no no.
Getting everyone neutered will decrease aggression among the cats.

It will also likely address the vocalization of the tuxedo cat (have you seen her/him again yet?).

Not getting the cats neutered will also result in a lot more coming your way. And it’s baby season right now...

Is there a strict mandate about not leaving your house for anything but essentials?

If not, having them fixed right now has an extremely minimal risk. I’m severely immunocompromised and susceptible to developing and succumbing to pneumonia beyond all else, and I’m still taking 3+ cats for TNR a week.

Vets and spay/neuter clinics are doing curbside services. You stay in your car the whole time. Call when you get there, and pay by phone or online. Staff retrieves the cats from your vehicle while wearing a mask and gloves. You can also take the traps and set them right outside your car and ask them to do the same to maintain a full 6 feet.

Very, very safe.
 
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MikyPiky

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Getting everyone neutered will decrease aggression among the cats.

It will also likely address the vocalization of the tuxedo cat (have you seen her/him again yet?).

Not getting the cats neutered will also result in a lot more coming your way. And it’s baby season right now...

Is there a strict mandate about not leaving your house for anything but essentials?

If not, having them fixed right now has an extremely minimal risk. I’m severely immunocompromised and susceptible to developing and succumbing to pneumonia beyond all else, and I’m still taking 3+ cats for TNR a week.

Vets and spay/neuter clinics are doing curbside services. You stay in your car the whole time. Call when you get there, and pay by phone or online. Staff retrieves the cats from your vehicle while wearing a mask and gloves. You can also take the traps and set them right outside your car and ask them to do the same to maintain a full 6 feet.

Very, very safe.
The vets are all closed right now, so there is absolutely no chance we could.
 
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