How do I tell if outdoor cat is a stray or not?

Oh - while it's on my mind. If you are going to trap them and get them spayed and neutered (YOU GO GIRL!!!), you should ask the vet to take a small nip out of their ear. Some cut the tip off of one ear (called "ear-tipping." This way if more cats turn up, you can tell which have been spayed and neutered and which haven't. This will also let others "in the field" know that those cats have been taken care of already.)

We took our first stray cat to the vet to be spayed, and it turned out she had been already. They can usually tell just by shaving their bellies (if it's a female. Males are easy to tell!). A surgical scar would be the clue. Our kitty, however, did not have a surgical scar. There was a scar there, but it was so bad, the vet was pretty sure it WASN'T a spay scar. Our theory is that she must have escaped just after being spayed, and that the scar became so ugly because she was out in the wild with it. But who knows? The poor family. She was a beautiful, pure bred Maine Coon. (Gary and I didn't know that then though - we were totally new to cats).

You might also want to consider starting a "cat" journal. It really helps to keep track of the cats, when they get shots, spayed, neutered, etc. I suggest this only because it seems like you really want to help... and once that starts, others so often turn up. It can get difficult to keep track of them all. With any luck, this won't happen to you. That would be wonderful news for your neighborhood!

Oh - FYI. For shelter, Gary and I did purchase those large covered litterboxes - you know, the plastic ones? They work too. With hay inside. We built little flaps over the hole with small boards, plastic sheeting and duct tape. This created a little overhang to prevent water from getting in there. Just another thought.

Ginger, for starters, check out some of the information at this link. It is to Alley Cat Allies, the "experts" on ferals and advocacy.

http://www.alleycat.org/resources.html

The resource files are PDF and I can't link you directly to them. Just scroll down the page - you'll find the section called "Maintaining a Feral Cat Colony" towards the bottom on the left. It has a lot of useful info, including constructing the feeder, shelter ideas, etc.

You'll also find lots of your questions answered in the Caring for Feral Cats: Hand On - there's a section for health, as well.

Feel free to ask more questions, though!!! We want to help you help those guys!

Originally posted by DragonLady
White black and orange are calico markings, almost all calicos are female as it is linked to sex genes. Hopefeuul it is fixed, it could look healthy sized if it is with kittens and starving. Good luck in catching this baby and getting a collar on her. A lot of pet stores have a "print it yourself" ID tag machine. Let us know how it goes!

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we werent entirely sure about this cat.. we got but. i think tagging it is a good idea. our cat was starving an d a prego. im just worrying about her overeating now and getting those kittens too big.

if ur talking to me. im never gonna keep food away from her. im just worried about all the junk that she manages to get a hold of. she likes tomatoe saucy stuff. she eats like 6-8 times a day now. i know she has at least two kittens in her tummy. i can see em moving on both sides of her tummy

Thanks you soooo much Laurie for all the great information.

Miss Kitty has been acting strange for the last couple of nights. She comes up into the yard meowing now instead of just sneaking around. She acts like she is starving, constantly meowing. She ate 2 cups of dry food and a whole can of wet food last night. Wonder why she is sooo hungry and distressed lately???

Ginger

...the only thing that comes to mind is... could she be pregnant?

That is what we were thinking too but she doesn't "look" pregnant. I have not had much experience with pregnant cats though. How would I tell by looking at her if she is pregnant, is there a way?

She ate while I was sitting near her the other day, she is becoming a brave little kitty! Or she was just so hungry she couldn't wait until I went back inside

Ginger, maybe she's getting used to you and beginning to trust you!

I have very little experience with pregnant cats/ferals. We've had two - one that had the kittens before we ever saw her, and one that was so fat you could tell she was pregnant. ...and then three kittens turned up around here on their own about two months later...

All I know is, if she is pregnant, she needs a high-protein food. Basically, I think, it's the same thing you feed kittens.

I bet MA will join the discussion with something that might be more helpful.

I'm here now Ginger- Thanks Laurie for the head's up.

Because she is feral, she will eat everything and anything you give to her. They have to eat that way because they never know if another kind stranger will give them food. It is hard to tell from the pics but she doesn't look pregnant- that is not to say she isn't. Chances are she is, this is the time of year, and unless she has been spayed, she is pregnant. I would go on that assumption.

I would start feeding her kitten chow and giving her KMR as well. I would feed her everyday at the same times in the same place, in the same bowl. I would take a sweaty shirt and put it on the ground, and feed her on top of the shirt. Even just getting a box of kitten chow and mixing it with regular dry food would work. She looks like a muted calico and they are usually pretty mellow. She just needs to trust you, and regular routines builds trust in ferals.

My feral feeders are not elaborate except for one on a raised platform.

I take a plastic garbage can 33 gallon and cut a golf ball size hole in the side near the bottom. I then fill the can with food, seal it shut and place it on a sheetboard. The cats come to feed, and when the food plugs up, they just reach into the hole and paw and the food starts spilling out again. You could do a smaller version of the same idea with a smaller round covered trash can. Just be sure you buy one with a secure lid.

Thanks Laurie and Mary Anne! I will go out and buy some kitten food today to mix with her dry food, and I will also try to build one of those feeders.
I hope she is not pregnant but if she is, is there a way to insure that she has her kittens near my house? Should I build a little shelter like you suggested Laurie, and see if she will use it for her kittens (if she has any of course)?
She is soo sweet, I love her already

Ginger, I guess my thinking here is that it doesn't hurt to try. Run a search in this forum for ideas... I know there's been discussion of it, I just don't have time to go looking myself for it today.

But know that if she is pregnant, she will find a safe place to have the kittens. She will continue to feed, and don't worry - she'll bring the kittens to you.

If she is pregnant and does have kittens, don't go looking for them or try to find where she has them. She'll just move them if she doesn't feel safe. Don't worry - like MA has said many times, she'll bring them to you once they can eat on their own.

I made a feeder tonight
Now I just need to get a plastic cutting board type thingy to put under it.
I hope it works

Way to go, Ginger! I think you'll find something tall as opposed to something long will work better as it gets down to the bottom. The food will flatten out... so maybe tilt the feeder up with something? That'll help the food fall down towards the hole.

Ya, I realized that last night This morning it looked like something had been digging in the hole but the food did flatten. Hmmm, I will have to go to Plan B

Try tilting it up... does that work?

GUESS WHAT!!!
I got to pet her tonight! And what a little LOVE BUG!!! After I pet her briefly, she even let Steven pet her AND pick her up. We have been scratching her ears and giving here lots of love all night long. Wow I can't believe it
I will take close-ups of her when I get a chance.
I wonder if she has owners more than ever now since she is so loving???

Here are a couple of pics of her...

She is so cute! She looks a lot like the Scooters we have in our yard. We have Scooter, Scooter2, and Scooter3 who we call Cube. Our Scooters all look almost identical to each other and look a whole lot like your girl.

Ginger, she's so pretty! In the pics, she does look pretty clean, and she really looks well-fed (unless she looks that way because she's pregnant). Have you put any posters up around the neighborhood, or taken any to local vets? You can consider an add in a local paper too, if you really want to find out if she belongs to someone.