found a feral cat in the shed

[chausiefan]

Hello

Today i found a big sleeping feral cat in my shed. Along with a HUGE dead rat that was mostly eaten except for his legs and feet. ANyways i tried to approach it with foodand he/she meowed and ran out the door under our deck. Well i started feeding it wet food threw the deck and it actually ate it right off the knife. Could this just be someones pet then? Nice to finally see a dead rat around here NO THANKs to MY CAT! I left a bit of food for this cat on the side of my house just curious do think it will stick around or probably just move on?

JJ

 

[valanhb]

He sounds to me like a lost or abandoned pet who has learned to survive. A true feral wouldn't be in a strange shed, and definitely wouldn't let you close enough to feed it food off of a knife.

If you leave him food out, my bet is that he will stick around. He's probably scared, but pretty tame underneath it all. I would try to bring him inside (separate from your cats), put up Found posters and ads, and see if someone is missing him. If not, you may have a new addition to your family.

 

[chausiefan]

ok well hes sitting under my deck right now I dont think hes planning on moving anytime soon. WE have been finding dead birds and rats around here I am guessing he has been using this area as his hunting ground. He did hiss at me a bit when he was eating the food off the knife threw the deck because some wet food was falling on his head as i was scoping it up and giving it to him. Well I will contact the humane soceity but i dont want to dare touch him as i really dont want to get bitten! He wont even let me touch him if i wanted to as hes under the deck and i cant fit under there. Well If he sticks around I can try and see if maybe hes a lost pet but god he looks so wild when i first saw him i thought he was a raccoon or a bobcat i was pretty shocked so was my dog LOL

 

[valanhb]

If the Humane Society is a kill shelter and they come and trap him, they will euthanize him as unadoptable or feral. Even if it's very likely that he's just been on his own for a while and gone back to his survival/feral instinct. Almost all kill shelters will immediately put down a cat that acts feral...

 

[chausiefan]

well if he she had no home and wanted to stay and was at least a bit friendly towards me id be willing to give them a chance but i do not want to get hurt in the processs. I have leftt more food around the house right now he fell asleep under my deck the problem is hes in the fenced in area where my dog is most of the time. Do you think he will keep sleeping until night when the dog gets brought in then he will leave the yard? we have a lot of land here and our own lil forest and the cat just had to ran in the WORST POssible area (doggys back yard) Anyways i bring the dog inside but the cat still just sleeps. ANYone have any advice that can help me??? Ive never been in thissituation before.

 

[leesali]

If you don't want the stray living in or around your yard then call an organization or human society in your area that is a NO KILL shelter/organization. They will come & trap the big guy & hopefully get him a home. It sounds to me like this is not a "feral" but a stray.

If he feels threatened by your dog being out, yes, I think the stray will leave once he feels safe to go.

 

[chausiefan]

hello

I got him to come into my house and he ran to the litter box right away i touched him and hes so skinny its digusting! all bones its sick anyways he has food and water and a litter box now i guess i contact humane society see if a cat missing?

 

[krazy kat2]

Good job getting him in! The Humane Society is a good place to start, but a lot of times nobody is looking for a cat out long enough to get in that condition. Sad, but true. My SO found a lovely, friendly little fuzzy girl kitty, obviously a loved pet at one time, on Christmas Eve, and no one has searched for her. We contacted every agency we could think of, posted flyers, nothing was answered. She has a furrever home with us now, and we love her dearly. I hope this little guy gets his happy ending, too, either with you, or someone that will love and care for him. Good Luck with this, and please keep us posted.

 

[chausiefan]

hello


one thing is this cat is extremly friendly and sweet natured someone must of owned him/her before.


ANother thing is he has no balls so hes either nutered or a female cat??


He even let me put advantage on him and give him a de worming pill. Anyways hes in a seperate room right now away from the other cats. my parents own a shop so im putting up a few "found" cat flyers. But god Ive never seen a cat EAT AN ENTIRE animal and leave nothing but the feet! This cat must of had some experience outside to just chomp down on an animal like it was canned cat food lol

 

[valanhb]

Poor guy...he's probably not that experienced as a hunter being that skinny.

Thank you for bringing him inside. He certainly is either lost or abandoned.

My husband's aunt brought in a cat in that condition, and since he had been neutered and declawed (

), she put up Found posters along a main road (her house is about 1/8 mile off the main road in town). The cat's family called her and was amazed...he had escaped from their house almost a month before and had travelled something like 10 miles to get to her house! They were thrilled to have him back, and when Carol wouldn't take a "reward" they brought over a huge basket of kitty treats and toys as a thank you.

 

[catsknowme]

WOW! A RAT!

Rats are tough, it usu. takes a DOG to kill one! I hope that your efforts to return him to the original home turn out okay. If not, welcome to the TCS family, brave hunter!

 

[chausiefan]

Hello

Update here some good news and not so great news. Well NO ONE has reported a cat anywhere similair to this cat no one has come to talk to me I have told my local sheltere rescue about him and ALso told my vet.


The cat spent one night in my house it really did not work out well at all since its not my own house i cant just go bringing in stray animals so i made an outdoor house for the cat its actually a dog house rabbit hutch type cattery I put some wood shavings news paper lots of towls blankets and a litter box with water wet food plus dry food and locked him in there for now.

The bad news is I am not able to keep him inside my house even my vet strongly agaisnt it as I have many other pets and its just not a good idea.

I was told i have 2 options I can turn the cat in to the shelter but the chances on him being put to sleep will be really high or i can attempt to take care of him on my own.

My shelter told me that older cats that have been stray for a long time usually do not get adopted out because theirs so many younger cats to choose cuter cats to choose from and they have strays going in EVERY day and tell me their is a serious cat population problem going on here and people are CONSANTLY just leaving cats to fend for themselves. The older NOT so friendly/cute cats (Like the one i found) Usually get put to sleep.


The good news is i have him in a dog cattery rabbit hutch type thing which is 4 by 4 by 4 feet he is eating and is using his litter and seems to be getting happier and better but he is outdoors. When i go to the enclosure to feed change his litter he doesnt even try to escape its seems like he actually likes it in there! All he really does is eat sleep go to the bathroom but it actually seems like hes improving (as in looking better already)

Based on my vets advice i was thinking of keeping him or her around as a outdoor animal feeding caring for it giving him the dog house as a permanent home but letting him comee and go as he pleases.

Do you think he would still be happy??? If i provide food shelter and vet bills do you think will stick around and not just run offf somewhere and get killed?

I have never been in this sort of situation before so its all very new to to me. ANyways please let me know what you think.

TOday it was raining so i did not open his door I was going to wait for a b etter day to open up his door and let him walk around a bit.

HOW LONG Can i keep him confined like this? RIGht now he seems content to stay in the enclosure but how long will this last???

I PUT a tarp over his house just to make sure no wind or rain gets in so far most of it seems to be pretty dry.

ANyways I really hope to hear from someone soon. Thanks a lot for ur help

 

[tnr1]

chausiefan..given the options....I would suggest allowing him to remain an outdoor cat...however I would take him to the vet and make SURE he has already been neutered. No reason for him (or her to create more litters of unwanted kittens). Once he is brought UTD on shots and spayed/neutered..I would let him stay outdoors and continue to feed him.

Katie

 

[chausiefan]

Hello

Today i went out to clean his litter and change his towls blankets and newspapers (I know im a bit of a clean freak) WEll I allowed him to come out he walked about 20 feet away looked back at me and came Right back to me! WOw hes already seemed to have gotten a bit of a bond with me and whats even more shocking is he went right back into his cage by himself! He must really like it in there ??? He seem healthy as he eats drinks sleeps uses that litter box no puking or anything So far things look good but i locked up his cage again just because its so muddy out and its suppose to rain tommorrow so if he got lost he might end up having to spend the night in the rain which would suck!

 

[leesali]

I think it is great that you & your new friend have established a trusting bond so quickly BUT...please unlock the door to his shelter/cage area. These guys are real smart...trust me, if it is raining or cold/windy, he will gladly stay in the area that you have provided for him.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing by keeping his area clean & warm with fresh food & water. I have been caring for a colony for years now and again, trust me, they always come back to the "safe" area.

 

[hissy]

I would feed this fellow on a routine schedule and allow him to come and go as he pleases. If he is indeed an older stray his survival instincts are fully intact and he will know that his new outdoor home is where he will always find food and water. He more than likely did not kill the rat himself, probably found it dead so watch him for any signs of sickness- drooling, lethargy diarrhea etc. But don't lock him in. he needs his freedom.

 

[chausiefan]

Ok done

If i see those signs what are they usually? and are they easy to fix?

So far ive checked up on him and he just actually6 went back into his house and fell asleep again after eating a bunch of wet kitten food i just got for him (technical) ANyways i guess after being starved for so long its normal to not have that much energy ? Ive given him three differant kinds of food to eat dry plus wet but im leaving it there all the time i HATE petting him and feeling nothing but bone

 

[chausiefan]

Hello

He did not come back last night but it rained so I am assuming while he was creeping around somewhere maybe in the forest he noticed it raining and decided to bunk up somewhere (camp out) for the night I guess this is a common thing for outdoor cats to sometimes not return to the safe spot to sleep?

SOrry for all the questions its just I have NO experience with outdoor cats or strays all my cats have been spoiled since they d ay they were born.

 

[opilot]

It is normal. My feral boy Greyball comes and goes. Sometimes I don't see him for a long time, weeks, then boom, he's back at 8 am waiting for food
- just as he has been for the last several weeks. Go figure.

Keep feeding him up, kitten food is best - the dry chow will do
fine if you can add a little wet, that is bonus. Keep fresh water
out for him too

And so long as no racoons show up - make sure you take the food
in at night (before 10 pm) you'll be fine.

Great you are taking care of this old boy. LIkely he was a stray or someone threw him away GRRRR

when he wasn't cute enough anymore or they had to move and could not take him along, so they turned him out.

 

[chausiefan]

Hello


Silly me Today I saw him going into our basement! We have a HUGE basement thats like a dungeon some heat goes down there also and its connected to the outside . WEll someone left the door open and the cat has claimed the area as his LOL He totally shunned the house i made for him!


Should i move his water and food now? My parents have agreed to provide the basement with a permanent home for this cat which is great its a very large area about the size of our house its just pretty scary down there which is why i NEVER GO lol