Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the long post, but I need some suggestions on how to figure out where this kitty is staying, or if he has a home. we have asked around with people we know in the area and nobody seems to know whose cat it is.
just this past summer, when the weather started getting warm we noticed a few new cats in our area. We had some new neighbors move into the complex where we live so not a big deal. I am probably the only person in the area who keeps a couple big dishes of water outside because there are so many cats in the area and everyone just lets the cats wander which is fine, I let mine go outside too. Because we are the only ones with water and we are nice to them, the cats like to come hang out in our yard. some only pop by for a drink and others come hang out for awhile. Everyone is welcome as long as they get along. or at least leave each other alone.
There is this one guy who has been coming more and more frequently. He doesn't meow - he howls, and very loud and persistently. He is very social, he likes to walk up to you and rub against your legs, but if you do more than scratch him on the head once or twice he hisses. But it's weird, he doesn't hiss at the person petting him, its like hes looking at something far away and hissing at that. Either way i took it as a sign that he doesn't want to be touched despite his rubbing. I said as much to my BF and the neighbor who took a liking to him aswell, and the neighbor says "well i think hes hurt, he hissed at me for touching his backside" my response was "neither does your cat, shes not hurt she just doesn't like to be touched". the thing is he has no other visible signs of being injured, he even runs around no problem.
because he comes and goes like he does for the longest time I figured he had a home - he has a beautiful clean coat, hes skinny but not super skinny and I notice when he lays on his side he has a bit of a tummy. This led me to believe he wasn't homeless, but there are a few thing itching at me and the neighbor that have us starting to question if he was abandoned or something. My neighbor is insisting his howling is a desperation for food but im not convinced its a hungry meow. She thinks every cat that isn't overweight is "too skinny" - her cats are marshmallows so they all look underweight to her. But alas she has been feeding him and he has starting hanging around alot more now because of it. he also has no collar, and is not neutered.
things were fine until a few days ago. My boyfriend was outside and the cat was there and he was petting him after i had explained to both him and the neighbor its probably best not to touch him. well nobody listened and he got bit. not a bad bite but it left a mark. So he decided the cat couldn't come back again. I gave him time to calm down over the bite and explained that although that sucks he got bit its his own fault. I said don't touch the cat for a reason and it wasn't because I like the sound of my own voice. So he likes ok fine whatever. Things were fine for a few days until Monday when we came home from work. He was sleeping in the cat house we have out back and got up to say hello when he pulled up. we said hello to him and our cat (they were getting along fine without us it seemed) and went inside. within moments we see the neighbor coming home and say hi to her and go off to do a couple things. 2 minutes later we heard the neighbor yell in pain. we go outside and she has blood running down her hand and the kitty is running away. She tried to pet his damn tail again after i told them not to and she got bit too. Now shes mad at him aswell, and sicked her cat on him and they got into a catfight.
This is now starting to stress me out. The neighbor means well but I think she has created a not ideal situation by feeding a cat she just assumed was a stray because its not overweight. There is a possibility he is a stray, there are signs that point to it but at this point I dont think she is any longer interested in his well fare after being bit. I refuse to turn my back on this cat, I maintain its not his fault hes a biter we don't know anything about him. What I do know is the other neighbors three doors down had the police called on them this weekend for shooting their own cat with a bb gun apparently because "it was annoying". the neighbors daughter is positive they killed something because of the conversation she overheard after she heard them shoot it, but I am pretty sure I saw their cat after the police had been called over but not since i found out about the issue. this is giving me even more stress now that I know one cat is being abused and left in the home with its abusers and another one that might need help aswell.
So here are some idea I have though of - feel free to make your own suggestions as well if you have experience dealing with this:
as far as the other cat goes, those people are on the verge of being kicked out for other reasons - they have the police called on them frequently, I feel bad for the children stuck in that situation. So my plan is to get their cat to trust me and maybe ill accidentally let it in my house and forget to let her out and pray they get evicted. they obviously dont care about it anyways and its a beautiful cat.
sorry again for the long winded rant.
Sorry for the long post, but I need some suggestions on how to figure out where this kitty is staying, or if he has a home. we have asked around with people we know in the area and nobody seems to know whose cat it is.
just this past summer, when the weather started getting warm we noticed a few new cats in our area. We had some new neighbors move into the complex where we live so not a big deal. I am probably the only person in the area who keeps a couple big dishes of water outside because there are so many cats in the area and everyone just lets the cats wander which is fine, I let mine go outside too. Because we are the only ones with water and we are nice to them, the cats like to come hang out in our yard. some only pop by for a drink and others come hang out for awhile. Everyone is welcome as long as they get along. or at least leave each other alone.
There is this one guy who has been coming more and more frequently. He doesn't meow - he howls, and very loud and persistently. He is very social, he likes to walk up to you and rub against your legs, but if you do more than scratch him on the head once or twice he hisses. But it's weird, he doesn't hiss at the person petting him, its like hes looking at something far away and hissing at that. Either way i took it as a sign that he doesn't want to be touched despite his rubbing. I said as much to my BF and the neighbor who took a liking to him aswell, and the neighbor says "well i think hes hurt, he hissed at me for touching his backside" my response was "neither does your cat, shes not hurt she just doesn't like to be touched". the thing is he has no other visible signs of being injured, he even runs around no problem.
because he comes and goes like he does for the longest time I figured he had a home - he has a beautiful clean coat, hes skinny but not super skinny and I notice when he lays on his side he has a bit of a tummy. This led me to believe he wasn't homeless, but there are a few thing itching at me and the neighbor that have us starting to question if he was abandoned or something. My neighbor is insisting his howling is a desperation for food but im not convinced its a hungry meow. She thinks every cat that isn't overweight is "too skinny" - her cats are marshmallows so they all look underweight to her. But alas she has been feeding him and he has starting hanging around alot more now because of it. he also has no collar, and is not neutered.
things were fine until a few days ago. My boyfriend was outside and the cat was there and he was petting him after i had explained to both him and the neighbor its probably best not to touch him. well nobody listened and he got bit. not a bad bite but it left a mark. So he decided the cat couldn't come back again. I gave him time to calm down over the bite and explained that although that sucks he got bit its his own fault. I said don't touch the cat for a reason and it wasn't because I like the sound of my own voice. So he likes ok fine whatever. Things were fine for a few days until Monday when we came home from work. He was sleeping in the cat house we have out back and got up to say hello when he pulled up. we said hello to him and our cat (they were getting along fine without us it seemed) and went inside. within moments we see the neighbor coming home and say hi to her and go off to do a couple things. 2 minutes later we heard the neighbor yell in pain. we go outside and she has blood running down her hand and the kitty is running away. She tried to pet his damn tail again after i told them not to and she got bit too. Now shes mad at him aswell, and sicked her cat on him and they got into a catfight.
This is now starting to stress me out. The neighbor means well but I think she has created a not ideal situation by feeding a cat she just assumed was a stray because its not overweight. There is a possibility he is a stray, there are signs that point to it but at this point I dont think she is any longer interested in his well fare after being bit. I refuse to turn my back on this cat, I maintain its not his fault hes a biter we don't know anything about him. What I do know is the other neighbors three doors down had the police called on them this weekend for shooting their own cat with a bb gun apparently because "it was annoying". the neighbors daughter is positive they killed something because of the conversation she overheard after she heard them shoot it, but I am pretty sure I saw their cat after the police had been called over but not since i found out about the issue. this is giving me even more stress now that I know one cat is being abused and left in the home with its abusers and another one that might need help aswell.
So here are some idea I have though of - feel free to make your own suggestions as well if you have experience dealing with this:
- Write a note and attach it as a paper collar around kitty to see if he goes home and his owners get it. this may not work, i dont know if he will let me put it on.
- follow the cat one day and see where he goes. hes pretty clingy though and may just follow me where I go.
- trap him and take him straight to animal control. my BF think they will euthanize him but after looking it up because hes not really that aggressive and may just need to relearn how to trust people he will most likely be re socialized. theres also the chance he will neutered and returned to where he was.
as far as the other cat goes, those people are on the verge of being kicked out for other reasons - they have the police called on them frequently, I feel bad for the children stuck in that situation. So my plan is to get their cat to trust me and maybe ill accidentally let it in my house and forget to let her out and pray they get evicted. they obviously dont care about it anyways and its a beautiful cat.
sorry again for the long winded rant.
Prayers that the cat returns. I found some excellent online articles about cat behavior at Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine that you could check out. Blessings on you for not giving up! Thank you for the update!
The cat came back the very next day
Good job! Thank you for the update!
