need help for abandoned cat

Interesting.

So after all this time, i've been feeding this cat twice a day (minimum) petting it generally just taking care of it. When i first found it it was bone skinny, so after a few weeks of heavy feeding i got him all fattened back to normal ( i could define every vertebre in his back at first)

I spent around two hours per week picking the dang tic's off him. they're HUGE. one was as big as my index finger tip. Today i found 3 more. If you've never taken tics off it's a process. a royal pain. You can do it a few ways but I've always done the generic. carefully removing it without leaving the teeth inside the cat, or the head.

A couple times in the last week i noticed he started looking freshly brushed. So i figured somone was also taking care of him. He'd fixed, i knew this because it had the clip in the left ear which comes after a TNR group finds a stray/feral

Yesterday i'm sitting outside petting my fuzzy friend. My neighbor pulls up who moved in a couple months ago. Something just clicked. I stood up and asked her if she had a cat. "Yes" she exclaims. and he pops out from around the car twoards her (he was hidden at first). "That's him" she tells me.

According to her, he's 13 years old, and I thoroughly believe this. he's got lots of hair that looks to be turning grey. I asked her about the TNR mark on his ear. She said that's not what it is. She said when he was little she was cutting something off his ear, and he moved. She said it clipped his ear, but never bothered him.

I felt relief that I wasn't going to need to tend to this cat freezing outside. She said he's allowed to come and go as he pleases through a kitty door.

Now, i've got concerns. the tics aren't shocking. there are pine trees all over (forrest). they just happened to be those nasty greenish blue ones that are just horrid. lol But here's the problem

I had to fatten this cat up from badlly mal-nourished. I also remember in the summer, it was 110 degrees outside and he was laying under my car panting HEAVILY. nobody is home during the day over there, and I don't think he can get in if they aren't there.

So the result is, there isn't squat i can do since I now know he has an owner. I just thank god I wasn't able to place him in  a foster home/ rescue shelter. But I don't think he's cared for very well. tbey have a huge dog that's locked in the house all day, he has literally shreaded their blinds in 2 months. he barks all night, and I'd be willing to bet the carpet in there is awful.

anyway, I'm relieved and bummed at the same time :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcat 

If I were you I'd basically view him as your cat, because he obviously isn't being taken care of at "home" and needs your help. People like his "owner" simply enrage me. We once got embroiled in a court battle with a neighbor over a cat I allegedly stole - her "family" left her to her own devices for six weeks while they went on an extended vacation, then demanded her return after they got back. The judge ruled that since I had been feeding her while she was abandoned and got her vetted, she was legally mine. I don't know what the legal situation is in your locality or whether you'd want all the aggravation, but if you've assumed the bulk of his care, he's at the very least "morally" your cat.

I really can't do that. though I do want to. I think at this point, instead of getting mad that I'm paying to keep food (and I'm buying expensive food for the sake of the cat) and the owner isn't, i need to go back to just being happy that the cat isn't going to freeze, and I don't have to layout the 120 bucks I was going to to get that heated cat house. Though, that will aslo depend on how many times I see the cat outside when it's bitter cold.

I can't take her in. I already have to keep my two cats confined to my office due to my mother's alergies (i'm here taking care of her now).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feralvr 

What a tough situation and bittersweet too. . but more bitter than sweet .... You have taken such good care of this cat this summer and WHERE has the owner been ....It doesn't sound like this cat is well-cared for by the owner and you might see the cat often still. But better to have found out about the owner than having the cat go to a shelter as a "senior" cat, probably never to get adopted. Have you considered talking to the owner and explaining your concerns?? Maybe the "owner" doesn't really want the cat anymore, heartless. Just infuriates me to no end the way people treat their cats. I just think I would try to talk to this person if you still see the cat coming around your place again, which I think might happen. Load of vibes for this poor old kitty

I don't see anything positive coming out of discussing it with the owner. The cat is 13 years old. they know what they're doing. It would cause more grief, and surely make them mad. I don't think it would solve anything. Believe me I'd like to punch that lady in the side of her head for how she treats the cat, but in the best interest of the cat it's best I just keep doing what I can