We have a visitor!

[Caspers Human]

There’s a neighborhood feral that Casper’s Girl-Human has been feeding at our back porch. He’s a good looking “tiger cat.”



We think it’s time to “bring him in,” so to speak. He needs to be neutered, get his shots and have a microchip put in.
We’ve already spoken to the vet and they say that they can do it, any time.

Does anybody have any advice on how/when to do it so as not to scare him off?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Very nice looking gentleman!!! Are you able to touch/pet him? That pic looks like he is inside your home, at least some of the time? More details about how the relationship with him is at this time could help in suggesting approaches to take. If not far along, any reason for rushing to get him trapped/neutered/vaccinated?
Handling Feral Cats - TheCatSite

 

[Caspers Human]

We call him "Eliott." Originally, we thought the name would be "Elsa" because we thought it was a girl. ("Elsa" was the lion's name in the book/movie 'Born Free.' ) One day, the cat turned around and we said, "Oh! You're a BOY cat!"

Eliott has been coming to visit since late summer. We noticed a pair of eyes peeking through the porch rail, late one night. Casper's Girl-Human put some food out and Eliott started coming to eat. When the weather started getting cold, we bought a small, molded plastic dog house (PetMate brand, IIRC) for the cat to stay in. He does go there, occasionally, when it's cold or rainy. He started coming to the porch for food every couple-three days. When it started getting snowy, almost every day. Girl-Human will leave some food out for him when we are at work or, otherwise, won't be home.

At first, Eliott wouldn't let anybody get near him. Gradually, Girl-Human started petting him and he will stand a few strokes before he gets pissy. No bites. Just swatting and hissing then runs away. She can pet Eliott almost any time. Eliott will let me pet him if I feed him first.

Eliott started coming inside when the weather got cold and snowy. First, he would come half way in and eat with his head inside and his tail outside. Then, he figured out that the house is WARM and he started coming all the way in to be fed. After that, he discovered the heater vent that blows warm air. Now, when the heater clicks on, Eliott goes right over to get warm.

All this has been going on since September or October. Now, as March rolls around, Eliott comes up on the porch and meows at the door to be let in. He gets his dinner. Hangs out for a while then, when he's done, he'll mozy on out the door. He has had a "grand tour" of the house but prefers to stay near the patio door.

Eliott and Casper seem to get along well. They don't fight or growl but they don't play, either. They just, sorta' check each other out. However, Eliott does occasionally lay down and roll over when Casper comes to say hello. (We assume this means that Eliott knows that this is Casper's house and the rolling means Eliott is kowtowing for Casper.)

Eliott seems pretty comfortable around us but is still skittish around me. Girl-Human can call him to the door for dinner if he's within earshot.

We decided that Eliott needs to get neutered. We don't want him spraying inside the house and neither do we want him mating with other cats. He needs to get his shots and, while we're at it, we'll get him a microchip in case he gets picked up by the animal shelter.

We are only allowed to have one cat, by our lease, but, when the time comes for Casper, Eliott will probably be our next cat. By that time, Eliott should be acclimated enough to become a full-time house cat....but that's down the road.

Right now, we're thinking that it's getting to be time to pull the trigger and take Eliott to the vet. We've already talked to our vet and they said that they'll do it if we bring him in. They know that Eliott's a feral and they say that they can do the whole thing in just a day.

We just want to do this right because, if we don't, we might just scare Eliott off for good.

I'm kinda' thinking that the "scoop and go" method will be what we need to do.
Just put the cat carrier behind the sofa and, when it's time, grab the cat and stuff him in the carrier, so to speak.
Or, maybe, we could put the carrier out and tie a string to the door then pull it shut when he goes inside.

Anyhow, we're just trying to figure out when's the best time to pull the trigger.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Given the way you want to handle this situation with Elliott, and your lease restriction of one cat, I think you need to hear from some of the other members who deal with feral/strays that aren't going to become indoor pets.

Perhaps fionasmom can help and maybe she can also tag some others that she knows have handled similar situations.

 

[Caspers Human]

We do want to bring him inside but, for now, Elliott will have to be “cat in waiting,” so to speak.

 

[fionasmom]

Elliot's story is almost identical to my avatar, Lily. She was born to a feral mother under a neighbor's house, along with two siblings. One remained as wild as the day she was born and is TNRed and lived on my property. Lily started to venture in as it got colder, around Christmas time a couple of years ago, hung out more and more, but always wanted back out because her sisters were there. One was much calmer and relaxed and it seemed that this was the one that she wanted to be with.

One very rainy day, much like this one, I shut the door with Lily inside and ran out and grabbed her sister and tossed her in the back door and shut it. That is the end of the story. Both are now indoor only.

If you can pick Elliot up and have the vet ready to go, I would say do the "scoop and go" method. Can you keep Elliot inside for a day or two once he comes home so that he realizes that this is his home?

Personally, I have never had a feral take off for good after they were TNRed, including the wild ones who had absolutely no use for me.

 

[poolcat]

If you're really worried about Elliot taking off after he gets home, could you ask a friend/neighbor/relative to drive him to the vet and bring him home afterward? Where you and his girl-human will be waiting with good things for him to eat. Then, hopefully he won't associate the vet visit with the two of you. (Actually, if your place is where he gets all his meals, it's unlikely that he'll run away.)

But stuffing him in a carrier could be tricky. Put the carrier out now with a fluffy blanket and some treats in it, and maybe he'll start using it to nap in. That would make things easier when the big day comes.

 

[cmshap]

We do want to bring him inside but, for now, Elliott will have to be “cat in waiting,” so to speak.

I love how good quality of care you are taking of Elliott, but "cat in waiting" doesn't sound safe to me.

If you could take him in right now, that would be preferable. But since you can't, I'd try to find another home now, and not wait.

That's just my two cents. I'm not a cat expert but I currently own a cat who also randomly showed up outside.

 

[maggie101]

I find the easiest way to get a cat in a carrier is to already have it in your bedroom closet. They recognize the sound so don't days before. The cats I rescued were also scooped go and are now afraid of the outdoors. They prefer to staying inside where it's warm and lots of loving and attention

 

[Katzenbaby]

My 1st house I moved into had a visitor daily. He would come in thru the 2nd story deck. He would talk to my roommate and I, he'd come and demand ear and chin rubs. We never had a cat so obviously we offeref him some Milk. So, he'd drink the Milk (anything under 2% and he was offended) and then he'd do his investigating, take a nap and would leave, probably to get his groove on because little Kittens were popping up everywhere. I made a call to a spay and nueter clinic, made the appt and morning of appointment, he came over to me outside and as i pet him, I grabbed him by the nape of his neck and put him in one of those cheap cardboard carriers with a blanky on the bottom. He was talking the whole time and I got him to the vet and wished hom luck. When i got him post op he was happy to see me. We got home and i put the box on it's side open so he wouldnt have to jump out. He sat with me for like 20 minutes then he was gone. 2 days later he was letting himself back in when the doors to the deck were open, business as usual. Ferral Cats seem to roam a specific territory and have their daily routines for the most part. I think the "Human" is taking this way harder than the Cat will. Goodluck

 

[cmshap]

Ferral Cats seem to roam a specific territory and have their daily routines for the most part. I think the "Human" is taking this way harder than the Cat will. Goodluck

While you may be right, and Elliott may be able to take care of himself outside, just being outdoors exposes a cat to a lot more dangers and shortens their average lifespans.

I'm not trying to say "go into panic mode" and rescue every feral anyone ever finds. But if you find a feral, start bonding with it, care about its safety, then finding a home for it sooner rather than later is probably a good idea.

 

[Caspers Human]

We live in a quiet residential neighborhood where there isn't a lot of traffic. I haven't seen a cat get killed by cars or harassed by people. The cat population is pretty stable. It's a mixture of indoor-outdoor cats plus a few ferals. There are coyotes and other predators but they don't come close to homes, very often. Most people keep their garbage cans up and scare coyotes off when they come too close.

I don't think an outdoor cat has too much to worry about in this neighborhood. No place is 100% safe but this neighborhood is better than most. As long as a cat has somebody looking out for them, this area is okay for cats.

I think Eliott will be okay to live outside. We think he was born outside and has been living in and around the houses in this neighborhood, getting fed at back porches. He's a big, strong cat who knows how to take care of himself. He's got that stereotypical "pumpkin head" look of a tomcat.

There's another cat that comes around, every so often. He's an orange and white tabby. We call him "Freddie." He's pretty skittish around people. We let Freddie come inside, one day, when it was snowing. He finished his meal, explored the house for a minute then he sprayed on the curtain. Freddie's not allowed inside, anymore... Persona non-catta. We still look after him and feed him but he only comes around every few days.

Eliott has been well behaved when he comes inside. He comes in, has his meal and hangs out by the heater vent for a while before mozying off. He's been a pretty regular visitor. Almost every day or every other day. Girl-Human wants to take him in and that's okay with me. Two cats is my limit, though. We really can't afford to take care of more than that. The landlord issue is another thing. My compromise is to have an indoor cat and an outdoor cat until the situation changes, one way or another.

Casper and Eliott seem to get along well. I was surprised to see a big tom like Eliott kowtow to Casper! I thought it would be the other way around. I think Eliott knows that Casper is king of this castle and that his humans look out for him so he tries to be a good guest. I think he's smart enough to realize that we're his meal ticket and that he should be on his best behavior.

I think we've decided that we're going to put a few more paychecks in the bank to save up some extra money then pull the trigger and take Eliott to the vet. I think we have enough in emergency savings to take care of it now but I don't want to dip into that money unless necessary. That's why we call it "emergency." Right?

When we get the $$ rounded up, we're just going to invite Eliott in and use the "scoop and go" method to take him to the vet.
After reading your replies, I don't think he'll run off for more than a few days. He knows which side of his bread has the butter on it.

If I can get another picture of Eliott when he's not backlit by the sun coming through the patio door I'll post another. If you notice, the curtains are closed and for good reason. If I didn't close the curtains, Eliott's picture wouldn't come out. He's still skittish around me but not so much for Girl-Human. If the cat comes inside far enough, while I'm around, so that there isn't so much back light, I can get a nice shot of him.

 

[fionasmom]

I have had ferals, who have no chance of coming inside anywhere, live safely for years. In fact, I have put as many to sleep as I have ever randomly lost and this is a high coyote area.

 

[cmshap]

I have had ferals, who have no chance of coming inside anywhere, live safely for years. In fact, I have put as many to sleep as I have ever randomly lost and this is a high coyote area.

Interesting. We don't have any ferals here where I live, so I don't have experience dealing with them. So I was earlier reacting just out of conventional wisdom of indoor vs. outdoor. Nothing that people on this forum don't already know.

Willy came from outside, but he was clearly a cat abandoned by some human rather than a feral.

 

[Caspers Human]

I'm cool with that.

If it was up to me, we'd just let Eliott live in the basement until we can get the deed done. He could come upstairs when he's supervised, of course, but his main place would be the basement. That actually is our plan in case something bad happens like a big storm, a cold snap or if he gets sick or hurt.

That will have to be just our backup plan, though. I didn't have a cat when I moved here and I had to sign a release form and pay a pet deposit just for permission to get Casper. Who, by the way, is also a rescued cat. We got him from a local animal welfare society. He'd been living outdoors, probably abandoned, for over a year before he was rescued.

 

[cmshap]

I'm cool with that.

If it was up to me, we'd just let Eliott live in the basement until we can get the deed done. He could come upstairs when he's supervised, of course, but his main place would be the basement. That actually is our plan in case something bad happens like a big storm, a cold snap or if he gets sick or hurt.

That will have to be just our backup plan, though. I didn't have a cat when I moved here and I had to sign a release form and pay a pet deposit just for permission to get Casper. Who, by the way, is also a rescued cat. We got him from a local animal welfare society. He'd been living outdoors, probably abandoned, for over a year before he was rescued.

Not trying to say I advise doing anything to break your agreement, but honestly, how would anyone find out if you had to bring him into the basement like that in such an emergency? (Nod nod, wink wink)

I've lived in an apartment building for several years that is cat-only, but I see people walking dogs in/out all the time. And the manager has sent mass messages about being a no-dog building a few times over the years, but people still have them.

Of course, don't take any of this as advice of doing anything illegal. This is all just hypothetical musings on my part.

 

[di and bob]

I would either get a trap or tie a string to the door of the carrier. run it behind and pull it shut when he goes in. you will have to keep tension on it or he will bust out, they hit hard. Have someone else lock the gate. That is why a trap is nice. you can do the old bottle propping up the door with a string trick, I have trapped many this way. if you try to physically stuff him in a carrier I think you will fail. Cats fight amazingly hard to not get into a carrier, I have propped the carrier on its end and lowered them in at times, but those were house cats. Not cats fighting for their lives. I agree about neutering him before he gets into a fight and starts getting abscesses. they almost always do. And their spraying is awful. Good luck!

 

[drustone]

wow, he is so so beautiful
I love tiger cats
good luck, btw

 

[Caspers Human]

Eliott came by early this morning and he ate an entire can of Friskies cat food, by himself. He just showed up, again, not a half-hour ago and polished off another one! Now, he's on the back porch, sunning himself. Wow! He must be one hungry kitty!

Casper's Girl-Human has noticed that he's been losing a bit of weight, despite the amount he's been eating. She says that she thinks he's got ear mites, too. Given all that info, he might have worms,too. Don't you think?

Anyhow, we're planning to pull the trigger, soon. We need to call the vet to get more pills for Casper so, while I've got them on the horn, I'll ask for an estimate of how much this is going to cost. There shouldn't be so much trouble coming up with a couple-few hundred dollars but it's best to ask, first. Eh?

The last question I have is whether Eliott actually has a home. I don't think he does. Given his condition: Mostly healthy but with a few relatively minor problems, I don't imagine that he has a human. With the amount he's been eating, he probably doesn't have a reliable source of food, beside us. We're 90% sure he doesn't have a home but "almost" only counts when you're playing horseshoes.

I'd thought about putting a collar on Eliott with a note attached but, given that he's been an outdoor cat for so long, I don't think he'll accept a collar. The hassle of getting it on him is another matter... He's a STRONG boy! Built like a brick outhouse, he is!

The vet will check him for a chip, of course. If they find one, we'll certainly bring him home and let him go. We'll get his ears looked after and make sure he doesn't have worms but we'll leave the neutering and shots to his human if, indeed, he has one. Or...maybe...we'll give him his shots, too. Even if he does have a human, we don't want him coming in and transmitting anything to Casper.

That's the current update.

 

[fionasmom]

If you check for a microchip, that might be sufficient in determining an owner, especially if a collar note would be difficult to do. He does not sound like he has one.

Worming should not cost a fortune and neither should shots, but it is best to ask first. Are you thinking of neutering him now as well?