What to do? Possible feral cat

[emelyssa]

So five years ago, I adopted two feral cats from my street after taming them, a process which took many months. They were the two kitty loves of my life. They were loving and happy house cats. They both passed away recently (Nite in January due to kidney complications and FIV+, Fright Nite is October because of a heart condition). There have been no feral cats on my street since my boys.

Then suddenly, this beautiful tabby mix appeared to me a couple of weeks ago. He behaves feral. He is completely afraid of people. I have been feeding him since I first saw him, and he usually eats 100% of the food I leave out for him. He mostly seems to eat in the night or very early morning; I hardly see him at all. I haven't tried trapping him yet, but I will need to do so soon in case he isn't neutered. But, I am starting to question if he is a feral or if he is just a neighbor's skittish outdoor cat. He is a bit thick for a feral, and one of my neighbors thought he might belong to another neighbor down the street. The problem is that people are so unfriendly- the neighbor that possibly owns the cat won't answer the door if I knock, and though I've left two notes asking about the cat, refuses to respond.

Another problem, I am moving in two years. I might be able to beg a neighbor a house down to take over care for this kitty after I leave. But what if they won't?? This whole thing is giving me so much anxiety.

Before I saw him, I was ready to adopt two kittens because it is really hard living without cats in my life and I need the joy. But when I saw him I thought maybe I could tame him and give him a home like I did for my boys. It is seeming really unlikely that I'll be able to as he is so rarely here, and maybe he is my neighbor's cat, though it seems impossible to find out for sure. Mentally, I don't know if I can wait as long as it would take. The depression of not having cats is killing me. Should I just hold off on adopting kittens?? My husband won't let me have both, if I bring in the feral, I can't have the kittens and if I have the kittens I won't be able to bring in the feral.

What should I do about this guy? And what do you think?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
If you keep putting food out for him, he'll keep coming around. However, given your situation I personally would stop doing that. He looks like he's getting food from elsewhere, whether that's the possible owners you mentioned or someone else.

Give your heart and home to those two kittens.

 

[emelyssa]

I appreciate any advice on this issue, but I don't think I have the heart to stop feeding him unless someone on the street does claim him as their own. He really seems to be enjoying the food so much.

 

[Jcatbird]

If you can’t bring yourself to stop feeding him then you need to realize that he may be a misplaced pet. You could try trapping him , taking him to the vet to see if he has a microchip ( this is usually free) You can put out a “Found Cat” sign. You can post online at Nextdoor to see if anyone lost a cat too. You can send his photo to local vets to see if he is recognized. He kind of looks like a Tom. Un neutered Tom cats can have that hormonal fat cheek look. He looks a lot like my BJ before I caught him. BJ was feral but eating at various neighbor houses by snitching food from other pets. He could be lost, he could have wandered in search of a female in heat, he could have been dumped recently or even had his human pass away. For now you can’t really be sure if he is feral, stray or dumped. Eating so much lends me to think he needs the food even if he is just lost or trying to mate. If my cat was lost, I would hope to find the cat again but also to know that someone helped keep them safe. You can even put a sign out now that just says,” missing a cat?” A phone number for anyone to call keeps things more private than knocking on doors. Some people just can’t afford to do everything for pets that they desire or maybe the person is sick. If you put up signs and no one responds then trapping and taking to the vet IMHO is reasonable. At that point, you may discover that he is in need of a home. In the meantime you can help to keep him safe. I can tell you that I am having a lot of dumped or wandering cats turn up in the past year. They all started out looking pretty good but over time I watched them decline until I knew they were no longer being cared for. I did all the due diligence and checked with all local authorities.( A couple of them did have homes but some did not..) After that point I had to make a decision about leaving out the dumped ones or taking them in. He is a beautiful kitty and I think that if you start seeing him look a bit rough it will tell you more. Keep looking for his humans and if anyone calls, let them describe him or provide photos before telling them where he can be found. Good luck with finding his human or with making friends with him or with getting kittens! No matter which path you take, thank you for loving kitties and being willing to give them a loving home!

 

[emelyssa]

Thanks so much for these comments. I will trap him and even if he isn't chipped, if he is neutered this will verify that he is a neighbor's cat. I don't think he's misplaced, exactly. All the way down my street, there is a house that has a cat that is allowed to go outdoors. I knew this because they always keep their garage partially open. I asked them and they told me that he's not their cat, but that is always around and they think he belongs to the neighbor across the street. Unfortunately, that neighbor is refusing to talk to me and won't even tell me if the cat is theirs or not.
He has the look of a feral, because his coat is very thick even though he's a short hair. But when my boys were outside, they were much skinnier than he even though they were so well fed- because feral cats deal with parasites like tapeworms.

I guess I need to trap him in order to learn more about him and go from there.

 

[Jcatbird]

If someone tells you he does belong to someone, you might keep checking. If he does belong to a neighbor who will not talk to you, they may be concerned that you are going to complain about him. This might explain them hesitating to discuss him. Many people do complain about cats or even wish them harm. You might try just leaving a note that explains you don’t want to cause any problem, you are just checking to see if he is theirs because you were concerned he was lost. That might solve the whole question.