Dilemma over late aunts cat

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KrujaaLass

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My aunt passed away last month. She had fed a stray cat for about 12 years which lived outside and spent nights in her garage. When she was first taken ill the cat was found with severe flu. My daughter nursed her back to health and while she was poorly she let us stroke her and she came out of her basket, as soon as she had made a relative good recovery she then went under a bed and only came out at night to eat and use litter tray. She never tried to go downstairs or go outside. she was there for about 2 months. We let her go back home and now a neighbour is feeding her along with her own cat.(We supply food). Neighbour has now suggested that we should do something with her. My daughter will take her but what happens if she goes outside will she run away. She has a large garden but with a dual carriageway at end of it. Id hate for her to get run over. I could take her but have a yappy JR and a busy road outside. Any suggestions
 
Take her to a rescue centre as you say the cat will get run over.Shame the neighbour cant have her? Or find a nearby yard that will have her without the road.

Good luck
 
Can you suggest to the neighbour that the best thing for the cat would be for it to remain in the area it knows and for her to continue feeding it with your food.

Be blunt - tell her the cat would most likely be run over if you took it, and appeal to her better nature (assuming she has one if she has been helping to look after it?) to leave things as they are.

The cat is at least 12, possibly older, and there seems little point in stressing a feral cat by trying to make it into a domestic cat at this stage in its life. If you had it living under a bed for 2 months, and it didn't respond to you, then I can't see it would be fair to it.

Given the age of the cat it won't live for many more years, and might require vet attention as it heads into old age, so is the neighbour worried about bills? Can you afford them and offer to pay in case that is what is worrying her?

The problem with appealing to any cat charity is that they might feel the kindest option would be pts, which is a shame if the cat is still healthy and happy, although I think kinder than moving it to a new lifestyle.
 
IMHO if your daughter can take her and shut her in her own garage or a shed for a couple of weeks whilst she gets used to a feeding regime and your daughter then stops food for one evening and then lets her out the next morning she should work out where grub is and turn up. We have just done this with a couple of ferals and we didn't see one of them for three weeks after he was first let out. He hadn't gone away, he was just too nervous of all humans to let us see him and as he has relaxed into his surroundings he now turns up when he hears my husband come down the yard to feed him and is beginning to hang round hewn he thinks it might be feeding time.

At 12 plus this cat is not going to have many years more. If she does get onto the dual carriageway it is likely to be a quick end but at least she will have gone still knowing that she has security, a warm bed to go back to and regular feeds whilst your daughter will know that she has done the best she can for the cat.
 
As Dee O'Dorant has suggested couple of weeks inside and then slowly let cat out same you would for any that is moving areas. If she can have a life as a house cat to start off with you may find that she adapts very well.

be sad to send her to the Cats Protection League or another rescue who may end up pts.
 
She will be very difficult to rehome and even if they can take her (there is usually a waiting list for animals not in danger) they may have to put her to sleep.

I also feel that if your daughter can take her she is likely to have some road sense at her age if she has been a stray.

Paula
 
Thanks for replies. I dont think neighbour wants to carry on although she feeds another stray and her own cat. We feel responsible for her and would pay any vets fees although at moment she looks as if she is in perfect health. We keep horses on a field which has an old caravan on it, with no main roads as near. So might be an option The garage idea sounds dooable but not much other cat company for her. Before we had her spayed she kept having kittens I took one to the cats protection league and they put it down but it appeared Ok to me. Would have kept it myself so I am loathe to take her to a charity.
 
She is very unlikely to be rehomed at her age if you take her to Cats Protection, RSPCA etc.

I adopted a 12 yr old cat from the RSPCA in January, and they told me that they had expected him to live his life out with them, as people just don't want cats that age. Actually - I didn't want one that age either, but he was the right colour and I fell in love with him. Couldn't have chosen better, he's great.

I would work on the neighbour.
 
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