Stray cat won't leave

9 years ago

I just can't do one more pet. I just can't. This beautiful, young, calico cat showed up about a month ago and won't leave. I've tried to ignore it. It spends alot of time in the barn and just wandering around the property.

But my son came home for a day, and I didn't know it, but he started playing with it and giving it water. Dang!
Now it's sleeping on the porch and hanging around closer to the house.

It even climbed a tree to get to wren house, but we stopped it in time.
No local animal shelter. I don't know what to do........but I do know I'm not going to endanger my birds with this cat.
Ho Hum......what to do. And you know there is such a surplus of cats out there, nobody really wants one more stray.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

starlinka
9 years ago
If cat is friendly, make some good pics and post on craigslist.org (section "community" - "pets")
surya55_gw
9 years ago
Your poor birds! I know you said there's no local shelter, what about other nearby towns/ villages/boroughs? Do they have one that can take this cat? I can't imagine any good coming out of this with this cat around your birds. I hope someone else comes up with a better idea for you. Good luck and let us know what happens.
Related Discussions
cat won't eat off of plate
Q
Comments (6)
Sounds like typical nutty cat shtick. I had a similar experience. Odessa had been eating out of a crappy old plastic (brite orange :-() dish that I had used for 20 years for my other cats. We remodeled the kitchen and I decided it would be a good idea to get a better looking dish that is also healthier stainless steel. I hope my husband never reads this, but I spent $80.00 for the Alessi cat bowl set...it really is adorable and looks great in the kitchen. But guess what...Odie refused to eat out of it...just like your cat! I had to take the food and put it on the floor, spoon by spoon. I finally got her to eat from the bowl...what I did was sprinkled 1/2 a soft cat treat over the food...just as when I switched her from FF to Wellness during her tummy troubles. She would eat off the top layer of food, then would wait for me to spoon the rest onto the floor. Eventually she got the message...It was a gradual process and took a while, but now she licks her stainless steel bowls clean. I think she was objecting too the change in texture and shape...cats are creatures of habit. Also, I don't use dish soap on her bowls...I just rinse them thoroughly with very hot water. Good luck.
...See More
cat won't groom herself?
Q
Comments (12)
Hmmm. Interesting. Maybe removed too young, maybe just a personalityquirk (some people are slobs, some are neat freaks). What if you put a smear of butter or something interesting on her hind legs or somewhere she doesn't usually groom. That might tell you if there's some physical limitation. Maybe something would click for her about the need to be licking/grooming down there. Or maybe not! Just thought it might make an interesting experiment. Another thought - when my old girl got too old to bathe herself (she died at age 22) I sometimes gave her a cleaning by massaging and wiping her all over with a warm wet washcloth, then rub with a dry towel. Can use dry pet shampoo prior to the wet washcloth. She LOVED it. Often it would trigger her into do some extensive licking and grooming of herself (those places she could reach). Do it in a warm room (with space heater for her her to sit in front of to dry off, if its cold). Once she got used to it and decided she liked it, I could get the washcloth (and my cat) quite wet, and my cat clean and fluffy. Anyway, it's possible this might help trigger some long-forgotten memory of Mama Cat and get your cat to take on some of the responsibility for keeping herself clean. Who knows! The rough texture of the washcloth is like Mama Cat's tongue!
...See More
Cat won't eat
Q
Comments (5)
I have successfully integrated two completely feral cats and a number of semi-ferals into my family. The single most critical thing to provide these felines is a sense of safety. For a feral or semi-feral, hiding=safety. You need to give this kitten a room with a bed or other large furniture and perhaps a closet in or under which to hide. You then need to place food and water bowls wherever the kitten chooses to hide - under the bed, in the closet, etc. You also need to place a litterbox in the same area, but not right next to the food and water bowls. The litterbox also needs to be placed out of sight of the rest of the household so that the kitten will feel hidden and safe while using it. If you have any other pets in the household, the kitten should be given a separate room where other animals can not go until the kitten is acclimated. This may take days, weeks, or months. It is helpful to replace the solid door to the kitten's room with either a screen door or a ladder of baby gates filling the doorway. This allows the kitten visual access outside of the room so that (s)he can become acquainted with the sights, sounds, and goings-on in the rest of the house from the safety of his/her own room. On my website I have a chronicle of the integrations of three cats who showed up on my farm in 2005 - one tame, one semi-feral, and one feral. The chronicle explains all of the strategies I used to integrate these three into my feline family, including lots of tips and tricks I used to win the heart and trust of the feral, Phantom. I will link the chronicle below. It's a long read, but you may find it very helpful. Laurie Here is a link that might be useful: The Three Mouseketeers - Their Integration Story
...See More
Outdoor cat enclosure and stray cats
Q
Comments (12)
There are vaccines that prevent quite a few of the transmittable diseases, but like I noted, FeLuk is not without risk, actually, they're finding rabies shots aren't without risk either, but what does one do? FeLuk takes blood/saliva transmission. Herpes virus can be transmitted via sneezing droplets. Fleas can also carry intestinal parasite eggs. However, the risks are greatly reduced if you keep your cat out of fights. The main reason I am considering several outdoor enclosures is to help reduce the feral population and rehab the ones I can to later adopt out or let them live out their lives in a safe place... and a sep. enclosure to give my indoor cats a way to get fresh air. The indoor cats won't be unsupervised and won't be out at night, which is when ferals generally travel. The outdoor ferals will be much healthier out of the main population of strays, and hopefully, reduce the population. Of course, they'll be tested for disease as I have them spayed and neutered and if diseased, euthanized. We've generally been pretty lucky not to have much incidence of FeLuk. Acrylic enclosure? I think you're probably safe to just do an enclosure where no cats get in/your cats don't get out. Doubtful strays would pass fluids to your cats w/out a fight ensuing. Once the ferals realize the food is not accessible, they'll move on.
...See More
catherinet
Original Author
9 years ago
I have such mixed feelings. I don't wish any animal harm.....except maybe ticks, mosquitoes, raccoons.....etc.,......haha

It's probably too much to hope for, but it might be gone.......but I doubt it. I live out in the country. It was sleeping in our garden-way cart on the porch yesterday (so cute.....) It saw me looking through the window and started meowing, so I closed the drapes. Later, I opened them, just in time to see something chasing something at a high rate of speed. Not sure who was chasing whom.........but I didn't see her again until the evening, down by the road. Hopefully, she's found her way to someone else's house.

My son lives about 90 miles from here and he's offered to take it to a no-kill shelter. I hate removing it from it's environment.........but all my insecurities would probably vanish if I saw it killing a bird.......or a chipmunk, etc.

There are enough predators out there, without adding stray cats.

Thanks for your support!
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
9 years ago
That's great that your son will take the cat to a no-kill shelter. Who knows, maybe he'll keep the cat himself.

It sounds like the cat was someone's pet and this is not its normal environment anyway - better to give it a chance to be adopted (before it gets pregnant if its an unaltered female).

Claire
catherinet
Original Author
9 years ago
I agree.......the last thing I want is a bunch of cute kittens around!! My son already has 2 cats.....so I don't think he wants another........ Can't blame him.

Stray cat won't leave

Comments (5)

starlinka

surya55_gw

Related Discussions

catherinet
Original Author

claireplymouth z6b coastal MA

catherinet
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Stray cat won't leave

Comments (5)

starlinka

surya55_gw

Related Discussions

catherinetOriginal Author

claireplymouth z6b coastal MA

catherinetOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

catherinet
Original Author

catherinet
Original Author