Howdy, I'm a newbie here. I'm glad I found this site, it looks like a great site.
I have 2 cats at home and feeding a feral outside. He's been meeting me at dusk every day for the past month by the bushes in front of my condo. I can get the bowl of food real close to him (inches) but he's still hissing at me right before he digs in LOL. I am afraid to try to pet him, I had a cat bite that got infected a few months ago and this little guy has not had his shots as far as I know.
Friends, could you tell me if I'm doing the right thing? I'm not supposed to be feeding any animals on my condo grounds, they could fine me. I know our neighborhood has a lot of stray cats, I've seen them come out at night, its pretty sad, they dart in and out grabbing a sip of water after it rains and trying to catch a rat or bird for dinner. I can not put up any shelters for these cats because I do not own any land here. I'm feeding this one cat and now I've come up with a plan to trap and neuter him. The free/low cost clinic is too far for me so I will take him to my local vet and spend nearly $200 for shots/ neutering/ flea treatment.. I'm not even going to tell my husband about this..its all going on my credit card!
Now my question is...should I release him afterwards or try to bring him into the household? My one cat was feral but we found him as a kitten, and even then it took a while to domesticate him. This is an adult, maybe 2 or 3 years old. I am afraid he will turn into a terrorist with the other 2 cats...or vice versa.
I really don't know what to do. Cold weather is coming soon and I really would hate to see this cat...actually any cat face a harsh winter outdoors.
I have 2 cats at home and feeding a feral outside. He's been meeting me at dusk every day for the past month by the bushes in front of my condo. I can get the bowl of food real close to him (inches) but he's still hissing at me right before he digs in LOL. I am afraid to try to pet him, I had a cat bite that got infected a few months ago and this little guy has not had his shots as far as I know.
Friends, could you tell me if I'm doing the right thing? I'm not supposed to be feeding any animals on my condo grounds, they could fine me. I know our neighborhood has a lot of stray cats, I've seen them come out at night, its pretty sad, they dart in and out grabbing a sip of water after it rains and trying to catch a rat or bird for dinner. I can not put up any shelters for these cats because I do not own any land here. I'm feeding this one cat and now I've come up with a plan to trap and neuter him. The free/low cost clinic is too far for me so I will take him to my local vet and spend nearly $200 for shots/ neutering/ flea treatment.. I'm not even going to tell my husband about this..its all going on my credit card!
Now my question is...should I release him afterwards or try to bring him into the household? My one cat was feral but we found him as a kitten, and even then it took a while to domesticate him. This is an adult, maybe 2 or 3 years old. I am afraid he will turn into a terrorist with the other 2 cats...or vice versa.
I really don't know what to do. Cold weather is coming soon and I really would hate to see this cat...actually any cat face a harsh winter outdoors.