Tabby

Since it snowed for the first time tonight, we finally decided to put out a box with a warm blanket in it and a bowl of food for the orange tabby tom (we think it's a he anyway) that's been coming around our house for a long time. He always goes up to our sliding glass door which drives my inside tom absolutely nuts, so we figured we might as well give him some shelter. We don't know if he has a home or not, and I just don't want him to freeze to death because we did nothing. I hope he'll eventually trust us or his owners (if he has a family) will get smart and bring him inside for the long cold winter ahead.
He seems relatively comfortable with people, although he runs from us, but what animal won't run from a person they don't know? He'll sit in the yard when the dogs go out to go potty, but we can't get within 15 feet of him. I hope he'll make it through the winter.

Has he been getting in the box with the warm blanket you provided? That would be a good sign. Is he eating the food you are providing? This is exactly how I got my last adult cat although it does not snow here, it still gets cold. I got cold enough anyway that she eventually did more than just peek his little nose through the glass door. I started by setting the food just inside the house so she could still stand outside and eat it and gradually moved it and the cat in with it. Then the war was on with the established cat, but hey, the new cat had already gotten a foothold.

He hasn't gone in the box that I've seen, although it's night and he might be out trying to hunt or something, but he has eaten some of the food, I was glad to see. I'm not expecting him to take to the box right away; we had to make it face the sliding glass door so he could lay in it and still be out of the wind, so that might put him off a little, what with Draco pulling guard duty day and night. I'm gonna try to find a better spot to put the box so he'll still be sheltered, but Draco can't bother him and shoo him away.

Originally Posted by Namo

He hasn't gone in the box that I've seen, although it's night and he might be out trying to hunt or something, but he has eaten some of the food, I was glad to see. I'm not expecting him to take to the box right away; we had to make it face the sliding glass door so he could lay in it and still be out of the wind, so that might put him off a little, what with Draco pulling guard duty day and night. I'm gonna try to find a better spot to put the box so he'll still be sheltered, but Draco can't bother him and shoo him away.

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I would recommend that you try some other materials for the shelter. Blankets can get wet and lose heat.

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/wintershelter.htm

http://www.petfinder.com/journalinde...cats/1.5.1.txt

http://www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html

Also....I would look into borrowing a humane trap and trapping this guy so that he can be taken to the vet to be neutered and vet checked.

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

Also....I would look into borrowing a humane trap and trapping this guy so that he can be taken to the vet to be neutered and vet checked.

Katie

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That's what I was thinking. Except what if he does have a home and they just haven't neutered him for whatever reason? Isn't that like.. defacing personal property or something like that? Perhaps I'll ask around and see if he belongs to anybody then make my move from there.
I've never seen him get as close to a home in our neighborhood as he has to this one, and I just kind of doubt that he belongs to anybody because he's out all the time even in horrid weather.

There is no reason in the world why he shouldn't be neutered unless he's a show cat for breeding purposes - and if that were the case, his owners would NOT let him out!

Some people have very mistaken ideas about spaying and neutering. Others simply don't think about it or don't bother - or can't afford it, or don't want to spend the money on it even though they can afford it.

It is also possible that he has been neutered. We rescued a female that we took in to have spayed - turns out she already was.

Our theory on spaying and neutering has always been - if your cat is on our property, and winds up in our trap - it is getting spayed or neutered. If you didn't want it spayed or neutered, you shouldn't have been so irresponsible as to let it out wandering about.

And if kitty has an owner - how would they ever know who was responsible for having it spayed or neutered? Usually irresponsible owners don't even notice. They just notice that their male is no longer spraying or that their female is no longer howling.....



Laurie

I agree with what you've said. I've always had a hard time convincing people to spay or nueter their pets. They just don't believe me that it's better and healthier for them to be fixed, which is really frustrating. When my current bf and i got our kitten Psyche he said that the ONLY reason he was agreeing to get her spayed was because he doesn't want kittens from her. Not because he doesn't want her to have to go through having them, he just doesn't want kittens from this particular cat. I could have smacked him. I will definitely see what I can do about getting a humane trap, and I have absolutely no problem with taking him to the vet to get a check-up and neutered.
Thank you for your advice. ^_^