Stray cat living in our garden

[Celtic Fringe]

Any advice about a stray cat that has been living in our garden for about five weeks now would be appreciated. I'm not sure whether to try and capture the cat and take it to the vet for a health/micro-chip check or not at the moment. The problem is she or he is very, very timid and apart from touching my hand with her/his nose when I put down food we cannot get near enough to touch or handle the cat at all. Nobody locally seems to know where it is from, although it looks like quite a fancy cat - possibly a Himalayan - long coat and bright blue eyes. We are feeding the cat several times a day - it was extremely hungry at first - and it is sleeping in a weatherproof box with a basket inside. It seems in good health overall with clear eyes and ears and no fleas in the basket. I'm sure her/his coat could do with a good brush but it is not a disaster at the moment. Is it worth waiting to see if she/he gains confidence and we can do more handling, or is this unlikely to happen? It seems settled at the moment and I'm worried that if we spook it too much it could scoot off and end up somewhere with no food or shelter as it is so shy.

 

[Blanche]

I would try and get hold of your local Cat Protection or another local cat charity. They can give you advice and lend you a trap to catch it. Where about in the country are you? I have traps and you could borrow one of mine if you're local. In the meantime keep his feed routine so he stays/ comes back. From what you've said he does seem very settled.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I too have a cat trap if you are anywhere near my way, you are welcome to borrow it.

Have you contacted the local vets to see if somebody has registered their cat as lost. It sounds like a pedigree and someone out there may be frantic, even flyers on lampposts or leaflets through doors might find the owner. We lost our Bengal and the local gamekeeper found her 2 miles away 8 weeks later so they do get reunited.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

Many thanks Blanche and Lindylouanne for your kind offers of the loan of a trap. We are in Reading, Berkshire. There is an active local Facebook page for lost and found pets and we have checked this as well as the 'lost cat' pages on the local Cats Protection League website and the local vet but will continue to try and find the owner. There are a couple of local rescue organisations so can ask to borrow a trap from one of them. Although he or she is extremely timid the cat seems very settled at the moment and does not go far from our garden. Perhaps we are being a little too accommodating in terms of 'home' comforts!

 

[cally6008]

I would keep going on with what you have been doing, gaining trust and caring for the cat.

Are you able to close or block off the entrance to the weatherproof box ? You might be able to catch the cat in there sleeping and go for the sudden stealth movement and catch her that way and then take her to the vets that day or very soon as. It takes a bit of planning and might be wise to ring your vets and warn them that a stray cat would be landing at some point.

Try and take some good clear photos and post them on facebook, sometimes an owner won't have thought to post on the same groups as most people. In our area, they tend to post on the for sale groups (as larger groups) than on the local missing cat groups.
... Also, someone might recognise the photo rather than a written description of the cat.

 

[Blanche]

Many thanks Blanche and Lindylouanne for your kind offers of the loan of a trap. We are in Reading, Berkshire. There is an active local Facebook page for lost and found pets and we have checked this as well as the 'lost cat' pages on the local Cats Protection League website and the local vet but will continue to try and find the owner. There are a couple of local rescue organisations so can ask to borrow a trap from one of them. Although he or she is extremely timid the cat seems very settled at the moment and does not go far from our garden. Perhaps we are being a little too accommodating in terms of 'home' comforts!

I'm too far away to make it feasible to get the trap to you. Your best bet would be a local charity, usually need to give a refundable deposit to borrow one.

Do bare in mind that not everyone is on fb and if it belongs to an elderly person they may not have any access to the internet. Local papers usually let you advertise found cats free of charge, mine does anyway. Hold some details back in the advert for the real owner to confirm, otherwise you get every T,D and H claiming it as theirs. And with bait animals that is a worry.

Let us know how you get on. What a worry for you and the owner. I've got one MIA and has been for a year, I never stop studying every black and white cat I see. Not very attractive when you're ar$e up, with your head in a bush trying to see if that was him that ran in. lol

 

[Nici]

I would keep going on with what you have been doing, gaining trust and caring for the cat.

Are you able to close or block off the entrance to the weatherproof box ? You might be able to catch the cat in there sleeping and go for the sudden stealth movement and catch her that way and then take her to the vets that day or very soon as. It takes a bit of planning and might be wise to ring your vets and warn them that a stray cat would be landing at some point.

Try and take some good clear photos and post them on facebook, sometimes an owner won't have thought to post on the same groups as most people. In our area, they tend to post on the for sale groups (as larger groups) than on the local missing cat groups.
... Also, someone might recognise the photo rather than a written description of the cat.

I veto what cally6008 wrote. Especially calling the vet in advance when there is a special (i.e. very scared and feisty) four-pawed customer coming.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

Many thanks to you all for the advice so far. I managed to have gentle feel of the cats ribs today while s/he was eating and it does seem quite thin under a lot of fur so I'm slightly concerned in case there are any underyling health issues. Everytime she appears we offer some food and so is eating 4-5 pouches of wet food and a small amount of dry food each day. My neighbour has an extra large cat carrier so as a first attempt we will try feeding her in that for a few days and then try to shut her in and take her to the vets. I will speak with the vet tomorrow and warn them! We have some welding gloves on standby in case things get feisty! I should also be able to get some pics to circulate.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

If the cat has been living outside for a while it will probably have worms so don't worry to much if he/she is a bit skinny. When Mia came back after 8 weeks she was half the size and covered in fleas but soon put it all back on. Good luck with getting the cat in the carrier, sounds like a plan.

 

[KrujaaLass]

Tonight my friend has just taken in a stray cat. He/she us very friendly but very skinny. What mild wormer would anyone suggest.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

A quick update on our still resident stray. The plan to capture the cat soooo nearly worked. We fed s/he in the cat carrier entrance for over a week, then this morning waited until it had eaten most of breakfast before I grabbed the beast and stuffed a furious, hissing, spitting mass of teeth and claws into the carrier. We were just not quite quick enough with shutting the door so off it scooted leaving us with minor scratches and a very nasty smell. However, much to our amazement the cat reappeared this afternoon looking for food and ate two helpings and a saucer of lactose-free milk.

I thought we had possibly found its owner last week when I spoke to the vet - someone quite local had apparently lost a cat but when I phoned them the missing kitty had returned. Local FB groups, forums and ads in the petshop have also drawn a blank

So, we still have a resident moggie of unknown original or ownership. A bit like the feline equivalent of the 'Lady in the Van'!

 

[wkiwi]

From what i remember about the 'Lady in the Van' she stayed there until she died! LOL.
Best call the cat Maggie after the actress in the film.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

just make sure Cattypuss has dental kibbles,

 

[Celtic Fringe]

Cattypuss is still living the life of luxury in the garden. Enjoying some very expensive kibble that will apparently take care of joints, teeth, urinary tract etc etc, along with his/her preferred wet food with jelly (the one with gravy was just not acceptable), some lactose free milk, fresh water and a weatherproof box with a basket and a thick fleece inside. Al fresco sleeping is preferred at the moment due to the heat, but 3 or 4 meals are still expected.

Wkiwi - I think you may be right - this cat is now turning into a long-term and slightly demanding 'guest'!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Nice to see an update CF, it is very true that cats have us humans well trained. Have you been able to get any closer to him/her? You may find that when the colder weather arrives he/she may decide that living inside with you is preferable to the garden especially given the excellent cuisine on offer.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Nice to see an update CF, it is very true that cats have us humans well trained. Have you been able to get any closer to him/her? You may find that when the colder weather arrives he/she may decide that living inside with you is preferable to the garden especially given the excellent cuisine on offer.

My parents fed a timid stray cat for several weeks, eventually managed to get him into a basket and off to the vet. Vet gave him a long-lasting anti-biotic injection as we thought he might take off for a while, after his experience. He arrived home, the basket was opened near but not inside the door, so as not to terrify him. He has never been inside the house before but strolled out of the basket and straight into the house. He never left!

It sounds as if yours may be the same, OP, good luck!

 

[MagicMelon]

Why are you trying to catch the cat, does it need vet attention or do you simply not want it and want to take to CPL? My mum used to always have a stray knocking on her door, they were feral to begin with but feed them daily and eventually they started to wonder into the house - basically they ended up total lap cats who were the most friendly besotted cats we've ever had. Whenever one died from old age, within a few weeks the next one would be knocking on the door - it was like they were lining up waiting for their turn to become a house cat.

I'd just feed the cat regularly and maybe even give it a little bed in a shed so it can get shelter. You've done your bit of trying to find the owner - but if its not friendly, chances are it doesnt have one.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

A quick update on 'our' stray cat. The cat disappeared around 4 weeks ago - was there one day and gone the next. Enquiries at the local vet, FB sites and with neighbours all came up blank. Anyway tonight the cat was back - sat in our garden in the drizzle waiting for food. It has obviously been groomed and also has a collar but it seemed absolutely starving and woolfed down a whole puch of wet food, some dry kibble and milk in no time at all and then wandered down our drive. We couldn't see if the collar had a contact number or not. It will be interesting to see if it stays around for a while again or was just passing through. It obviously remembered that we are always good for a free meal! Nice to see it looking well.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Glad that the cat has found its other home but how odd that it should stay with you for so long and then go back only to return to you. Do you think it belongs to somebody who used to live near you and they have moved a few miles away and it's coming back to its old hunting ground. I would be intrigued to find out its history as it obviously seems to be owned by somebody and they must have been frantic with worry while it was away.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

The cat is staying around our garden and back to sleeping in its box here and expecting breakfast, lunch and dinner. We are speculating that someone had shut it in for a few weeks and had it groomed etc - I presume under sedation or when wearing full body armour as it hates being touched! We don't know if it has then escaped or been let out and has legged it back here. A neighbour thinks it may belong to someone who has quite a few other cats and who lives a few streets away from us so we will need to make some further investigations. We found its collar in our garden - the cat had wriggled out of it - unfortunately it has no contact details attached.

 

[Pinkvboots]

When I lived in a ground floor flat a neighbours cat would walk in through our patio doors and sleep on our sofa and was quite happy to stay a good part of the day with us, my sisters cat took up residence at her neighbours she hardly ever saw him so when she moved she asked them if they wanted him, they were delighted to keep him I think he was just happier with them so it made sense, lots of cats often spend time at different houses especially if they are being fed as people often think they are stray, but they are just clever and work out they end up being fed several times a day if they hang around.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

The 'problem' with this cat is that it seems quite feral. Not friendly but hanging around most of the time. It is sleeping in our garden in a weatherproof box or in the flower beds rather than returning to someone elses house. It is a long-haired and blue-eyed cat so not just your run of the mill moggy, but it doesn't seem socialised with people or other cats and doesn't meow at all, only making a faint hissing noise now and again. It will creep into the kitchen now but scoot out again at the slightest noise.

Our neighbours have four cats and two of them come into our house quite regularly for several hours - one sometimes gets into bed with my husband as he goes to sleep early and I then 'post' it home when I go to bed later on! The stray cat is nothing like the others - much more timid and a lot less tame. We will try and make futher enquiries locally but so far have come up blank in terms of finding out where the cat has some from.