Lost Cat ? Advice Please!

Two days ago, a cat was in our backyard (it about one acre in size) and came up to us as we were sitting there. He was very friendly, declawed male cat (not neutered) with no collar of about 4-5 years of age. He insisted on staying for about 20 minutes, which led us to think that he might have been lost. We gave him water and he drank about three times for long periods within about ten minutes. We gave him some food, which may or may not have been the right thing to do, and he ate all of it.

We left the house and came back home, but didn't see him. He was around our door later that evening when we went out again (about 10:30 PM) so we let him in the house and fed him because we thought it was too dangerous to leave the declawed cat outside.

The next morning we went looking for his owners by showing a poster of the found cat to our neighbours adjacent to us within our city block. No one recognized the cat so we figured that it was possible he was a stray. We took him to the local shelter to see if he had a microchip - he didn't. I have looked for tattoos within his ears and his lower belly and I haven't found anything. We have put up notices all over our neighbourhood and even into adjacent neighbourhoods and commercial centres.

Today, the cat disappeared for about six hours when I let him out and then he came back. I think it may be due to the food that he comes back, but we are not sure if he is looking for his home, if he returned home, if he left to rest in the shade (it was a very hot day and almost too hot in our apartment for us) or if he just likes our backyard because there is a lot of space, a lot of shade and a lot of animals.

I am not willing to let him out at night because he is declawed and I have found scabs on his back from other cats. Because he is not fixed I am worried that he would be in major danger if he got into a fight over a female cat.

I believe that if a cat has no form of identification whatsoever and has some chance of being hurt that it is best to protect the animal. I also believe that we should be doing our best to find the owner and because of this, we are contemplating buying him a collar and putting our phone number on it.

I should also add that our neighbourhood has many outdoor cats, but there are a few negligent pet owners in our neighbourhood and a case where someone abandoned their cat when they moved (as we looked for the owners of the cat we currently have, our neighbours mentioned that there was an abandoned cat outside our neighbour's house and so we took her to the shelter).

Please, let me know what you think about this situation.

I think it's wonderful that you have decided to care for this cat. The fact that he is declawed and is very friendly makes it quite obvious that he is someone's pet. Whether he is an indoor cat who escaped and is now lost, or whether he was dumped by his former owners is unclear.

It sounds like you have done many things right so far. You've fed him, provided water, even let him into your home. And you've made a very earnest attempt to track down his owners.

Because he is declawed, he is at a disadvantage being outside, as you noted. And the fact that he is intact makes things even worse, because he will fight with other cats over females in heat (actually, it sounds like he already has). But these aspects are dangerous for him not just at night, as you pointed out, but at any time. Is it feasible for you to keep him inside at all times while you wait to see if anyone comes forward to claim him?

Speaking of which --- the one thing that you didn't mention is, what outcome are you looking for? If no one claims him within, say, a week after you put notices up, then what? Would you add him to your family? Or would you surrender him to a shelter?

Thanks for the reply.

Today, we let the cat out with the collar and note and he returned with them. I don't think he leaves the property during the day, but rather he hides very well in the bushes. We have found burrs on him from plants that would likely only be in our big, unkempt backyard.

Currently he sleeps in an enclosed stairwell, which is hot during the day. We might be able to leave him in the basement, but it is rather small. At least we should be able to let him outside while supervising him and I imagine that this arrangement is better than being stuck in a cage all day long.

We are hoping to find him a family very soon. We have contemplated sending him to the shelter (he was taken there to be scanned for a chip and reported 'found'), but the shelter is not "No-Kill". I have a problem with this because they cannot guarantee his safety. Conversely, the "No-Kill" Not-for-Profit shelter in our region is not accepting cats either.

We would like to find a home for him with someone through informal channels, but we are not sure what to do if that doesn't work out. Both my wife and I have limited income and are not sure whether we will still be living in Canada in the next five or ten years. At the same time, both of us are animal lovers and could not just abandon this cat or put him in a situation we are not comfortable with.

I just wanted to update for anyone who has read this post earlier that we have found a very good home for the cat. We are really happy that the cat could receive better care than what we could give him.

Thank you for giving him a good life!