Hello!
I'm in need of some advice, mainly because I know next to nothing about cats and a new friend has meowed his way into my heart.
One night about 6 weeks ago, the door to the basement was left open and we found a black & white cat, no collar, sitting at the top of the stairs meowing in the morning. We had never seen him before in the neighborhood. We live in the center of a suburban town with plenty of backyards/houses so we can't be sure if he belongs to someone else. After that, he started coming to visit every so often. We didn't feed him right away (we didn't have cat food) but he would still visit, let us pet him a bit and then scoot. We started feeding him a few days later.
Over the past 3-4 weeks he has been coming to visit every day. He meows to come inside, likes attention & petting, then enjoys napping for a few hours at a time on the couch next to us. We see him at different times: 6 a.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m., etc. etc. Sometimes, he'll visit late afternoon-evening and leave after dark and not return until the next afternoon. Sometimes, he'll come by after dark and sleep on the couch until morning and not want to go out. Sometimes, he'll move the blinds around to indicate he is ready to leave at 4 a.m. He's schedule is unpredictable; we tend to see him at least once a day however.
We feed him (I think it is male) although he never eats more than 1 pouch of Wellness brand cat food per day, never drinks any water, nor goes to the bathroom in/near the house even though I bought a litter box just in case. He always seems clean with the exception for the white fur on his legs which is dirty, smells clean, and is obviously friendly.
This past Friday, we noticed Patches (I named him) licking his tail/seeming very sensitive about being pet there. I saw a small area of hair missing, and he licks there all the time which makes us think he got bit by something. I tried to take a look, and it seems like a small white area is under the missing fur, no blood or anything. When Patches came to visit Sat/Sun/Mon, he went into our bedroom closet and slept on a pile of towels for hours and hours, something he has never done before. He also doesn't seem to want to be around us too much anymore or be pet too much when before he loved that.
I suppose what I am asking is:
1) Does his previous behavior suggest he has an owner?
2) Is it normal for cats, post-scuffle, to hide more/want to be alone? Once his bite heals, will he be back to his old cat self?
3) Can Patches heal his own wound by licking it?
4) Any advice on how to find out if he has an owner?
Thanks for any advice/comments!
I'm in need of some advice, mainly because I know next to nothing about cats and a new friend has meowed his way into my heart.
One night about 6 weeks ago, the door to the basement was left open and we found a black & white cat, no collar, sitting at the top of the stairs meowing in the morning. We had never seen him before in the neighborhood. We live in the center of a suburban town with plenty of backyards/houses so we can't be sure if he belongs to someone else. After that, he started coming to visit every so often. We didn't feed him right away (we didn't have cat food) but he would still visit, let us pet him a bit and then scoot. We started feeding him a few days later.
Over the past 3-4 weeks he has been coming to visit every day. He meows to come inside, likes attention & petting, then enjoys napping for a few hours at a time on the couch next to us. We see him at different times: 6 a.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m., etc. etc. Sometimes, he'll visit late afternoon-evening and leave after dark and not return until the next afternoon. Sometimes, he'll come by after dark and sleep on the couch until morning and not want to go out. Sometimes, he'll move the blinds around to indicate he is ready to leave at 4 a.m. He's schedule is unpredictable; we tend to see him at least once a day however.
We feed him (I think it is male) although he never eats more than 1 pouch of Wellness brand cat food per day, never drinks any water, nor goes to the bathroom in/near the house even though I bought a litter box just in case. He always seems clean with the exception for the white fur on his legs which is dirty, smells clean, and is obviously friendly.
This past Friday, we noticed Patches (I named him) licking his tail/seeming very sensitive about being pet there. I saw a small area of hair missing, and he licks there all the time which makes us think he got bit by something. I tried to take a look, and it seems like a small white area is under the missing fur, no blood or anything. When Patches came to visit Sat/Sun/Mon, he went into our bedroom closet and slept on a pile of towels for hours and hours, something he has never done before. He also doesn't seem to want to be around us too much anymore or be pet too much when before he loved that.
I suppose what I am asking is:
1) Does his previous behavior suggest he has an owner?
2) Is it normal for cats, post-scuffle, to hide more/want to be alone? Once his bite heals, will he be back to his old cat self?
3) Can Patches heal his own wound by licking it?
4) Any advice on how to find out if he has an owner?
Thanks for any advice/comments!