Need advice with this cat that showed up

Here is the story (I apologize for its length):
I was getting out of my house yesterday when a cat came running towards me and started rubbing on my leg and meowing and was following me around. I did not know better and so offered him a can of cat food, which be ate in a way which made me think he was very hungry. I called our petsitter who works for our vet and she adviced me not to feed the cat further - hoping the cat has a home and will return. I have not fed the cat since (over 24 hours) and the cat has been hanging around in my garage and yard. The neighbor across the street said that the cat's been over to his garage and been under his car in the rains this morning till he chased it away when he came over again to my yard. This neighbor thinks that he may have seen this cat before in the area but for the past couple of days he's been around my house. I haven't seen this cat before and neither has the petsitter.
My next door neighbor's dogs were in their yard this morning and tried to chase this cat but the neighbor stopped his dogs (we have no fence). At that point I took the cat over to the vet's clinic (since I did not feel my yard/ garage was safe) to check for a microchip, which we did not find. I got him tested for FIV/ Felv and he tested negative. He had flea and I bought Revolution for him. The doctor thinks he is about a year old and is generally well cared for, though a little on the skinny side. He is neutered. So he must be an indoor/ outdoor cat, a lost or abandoned cat. He has been out for a bit since his paw pads are rough. Everyone at the clinic agrees that he is very friendly and very adoptable. I did check listings on craigslist to see if there was anything matching the description of this cat and posted an ad asking if anyone knows anything about this cat. The easiest option will be to wait and see (and not feed the cat) if he goes home, provided he has one. Or the cat will move looking for greener pastures - which will not solve the problem. I would have been more inclined to wait if I was staying at home the next couple of days to keep an eye out. However, I was supposed to go to my university today for this week but decided to stay back to see if I could find a way to identify this cat. I will have to go tomorrow and with a neighbor with 2 dogs and another who seems to hate cats, I am worried. I did call the Animal Warden of our city who has a reputation for placing animals in homes and not shelters but have not heard back from him yet. My short term concerns are his safety since he does not seem to want to move out of my garage or yard. With my rental situation I cannot let this cat come in and I have been adviced not to feed him. Would really appreciate any advice.

Can you post "Found: Cat" Flyers with the cat's descriptions? Even post on CraigsList to see if anyone lost the cat. I wouldn't post a picture, let the owners provide a picture to prove it's their cat.

I'd also call local shelters and vets to see if anyone came in looking for a lost cat too

Originally Posted by Draco

Can you post "Found: Cat" Flyers with the cat's descriptions? Even post on CraigsList to see if anyone lost the cat. I wouldn't post a picture, let the owners provide a picture to prove it's their cat.

I'd also call local shelters and vets to see if anyone came in looking for a lost cat too

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Thanks so much. Yes, I did post of Craigslist without a pic but I have taken a pic of the boy, in case he moves on and then someone responds to my ad - that way I will have something to compare him with.
The issue with posting flyers is that I do not have time to do any of that since I leave very early in the morning and no one will be at home if there is a response. I will not be giving my address to just anyone to come home and pick up the kitty, if I am not home. Though to some extent it is moot, since the cat is outside/ in my garage but I just will not be comfy.
I did not think of calling the shelters in the area - will do so. My vet's office does not know of any missing cats in the area.
Thanks for the pointers!

No, no, you can't give your address out. But as it seems he's lost or abandoned, at this point I would feed him to keep him around so you can either get him into a home, a shelter, or the animal warden can, or you can find his home.

I would make up posters - WHEN YOU CAN - and get them to the local shelters, vets in the area - and around the neighborhood. We make posters with little tear-off tabs (yeah, PIA to cut the little strips) with Gary's cell phone number on it. People leave messages, and we get back to them. You can make an arrangement to meet at the vet for someone to view the cat.

Originally Posted by LDG

No, no, you can't give your address out. But as it seems he's lost or abandoned, at this point I would feed him to keep him around so you can either get him into a home, a shelter, or the animal warden can, or you can find his home.

I would make up posters - WHEN YOU CAN - and get them to the local shelters, vets in the area - and around the neighborhood. We make posters with little tear-off tabs (yeah, PIA to cut the little strips) with Gary's cell phone number on it. People leave messages, and we get back to them.

You can make an arrangement to meet at the vet for someone to view the cat.

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While I was giving Calvin and hobbes dinner I was in tears as I was not giving anything to this boy. My concern is if he belongs to someone and knows home, I may be out of line
The animal warden has not called back but I heard back from the rescue where we got Calvin from and the director, who is on vacation told me to tell the warden that if he sheltered him then the rescue would adopt him out. Now only if the warden called. The cat went this evening - we are out of the house now. If he returns later today or tomorrow before I leave, I will consider him lost. Does that sound reasonable?

Yes. Normally I recommend don't feed if you're not TNRing. We have cat food out, so feed everyone that comes along - but we TNR. Of course, where we live, if there's a stray, it was by definition dumped. Not the same situation.

That said, having taken him to the vet, and knowing he's neutered... given your description of him as skinny, and the way you described him wolfing down the food, I lean towards thinking lost, dumped, abandoned. Of course, it's a total judgment call. But that hungry... if he knew how to get home or if there were anyone home, he'd have gone there to get fed IMO.

AWWW this poor lost kitty and thank goodness for your kitty loving heart . I am pretty darn sure that this cat IS homeless, lost, dumped and abandoned. He is smart and knows you are a cat lover and he chose you to help him. I would not leave the cat outside. I would bring the cat inside at least to the garage. I have a very large cat playpen/enclosure that I would set up temporarily for this kitty or better yet keep him in a room in your house (completely separated from Calvin/Hobbes). I don't know if you want to go to those lengths until you get a call from this warden. Anyway, for what's its worth, that is what I would do.

As Laurie said, don't put food out if you don't want to start to TNR because it WILL draw stray cats to your house . But, I don't think I could not put food out for this nice kitty. If you can and your DH agrees , I would bring him in until you can find a home or a rescue to take him. He sounds like a real sweetheart, but I don't think not putting food out is the answer to see if he finds his way home. If he had a home, he wouldn't be hiding under your neighbor's car in the rain .
Good luck with this, hard on our hearts and yes, it is a bit of work on our part, but in the end this kitty will thank you. BIG to you for helping this little guy. AND for the little guy that he finds a home with your help

So I have not seen him since 6 pm (we were out from 6:30-9 pm). I just went out and took a walk around the yard and left the garage door open. We had shut it 3/4 way at 9 pm but I decided to just leave it open. Can I safely assume he has a home and has gone home? I so want that to be the case since it will mean that he has not gone through a heartbreak.
This is the evidence I see (mostly from Lauren and Laurie's input and the vet/ and my neighbor/ petsitter's)

He has a home:
1) neutered
2) well taken care of at some point - according to vet. No visible injuries
3) have not seen him for 4-5 hours
4) 1 neighbor says thinks he has seen him in the past
5) super friendly

DOes not have a home:
1) a little skinny and wolfed down a can of food in 3 secs. My cats hardly eat 1/2 3 oz can in 1 go.
2) was under car in rain
3) was barked at by my next door neighbor's dogs and was hiding under a bush in my yard and did not go home
4) after I got him back from the vet he hung out for a bit, was gone for a while and then returned and slept on a shelf in my garage. I would have thought that the vet visit and the blood draw would chase him away.

Do not know what to make of this:
1) tries to come indoors perhaps - while I was talking to my neighbor about him, the cat tried to get inside his house. He also tried to come inside my house with me this morning when following me.

I really do not know what to think and now I am kicking myself for not feeding him earlier. Things have been a little stressful with DH, too. He feels the way I do mostly but feels I should give this more time. His concern is also about Calvin and Hobbes, since they are picking up on the stress. I honestly do not know what to do/ think anymore. I just feel horrible right now.

I know.... This is a hard situation . Take a deep breath though and just keep this in perspective. It is not an emergency by any stretch, right? He has been surviving this way for some time . This cat obviously has been around the neighborhood for quite some time since other neighbor's have seen him. It really is not all that unusual for him to disappear for hours at a time and then suddenly appear. I would think if this kitty comes back then I would try to take him in. You could leave your garage door open a few inches today and leave some food out (day only!!) and see if he comes back to eat and sleep on that shelf. PUt a blanket on that shelf to make it more comfy. It is really impossible to know if he has a home or not. Because if he does have a home, he obviously lives outside and is not being fed properly to be out searching and begging at people's houses for food and to come inside. I think he is abandoned and will be back. Let us know!!!!

The handsome boy slept in my garage all night and I went to check at 4 am to make sure he was not just coming in really early in the morning when his owners let him out. Nope - he was sleeping in his favorite spot in my garage. I caved in and fed him 2 3oz cans of fancy feast - he wolfed it down. Have never seen a cat that hungry

I went out a while back and he was sitting in front of the garage. He was meowing and rubbing against my legs and was following me. I came to the front of the house and Calvin and Hobbes saw him. They were very curious - no hissing though. They have been smelling my jacket since we met the cat and Calvin has been grumpy in general but so far no hissing. Then I came back home and the cat went to the next door neighbors who were getting into their car and he wanted attention but got none. He then went running around- rubbing himself on some driveways - peeing on someone's yard. This makes me think that he may attract negative attention soon. Also he was so visible today - I do not think that if he's been there for a while (as the neighbor across the street suggests) we would have seen him. I have a snap collar at home and have written a note with my number. In case I see him, I will put it on him. Hopefully if he has a home and goes home, his family will call me. I leave for the university in an hour or so and will be back late Friday. In case the collar and note are there tomorrow morning, DH will take it off. I have asked him to feed the cat once in the morning till we figure out more. I will not leave out food to attract other cats (but we have not seen any others ever in this area - the petsitter has a stray that adopted her who goes out and she says there are 3-4 indoor outdoors in this area and this is not one she has seen before) but since he gobbles down food, DH can feed him and then throw away the can and paper plate we are using. He will also make a cozy bed for him in the garage today. I am planning to leave the garage door 3/4 down during the day since it attracts my landlord's attention and it is a nice day. But in the evening DH will keep the door open.
I left another message for the animal warden this morning and he has not got back to me yet

You and your DH are wonderful . It is odd that you or your DH have not seen this cat around before since he is so friendly and is obviously campaigning for himself to find a new home . I think it is really endearing that he goes from driveway to driveway and rubs on people's legs. He REALLY needs a home. I assume someone recently dumped him poor little guy. Good luck with this and I really do hope that Warden calls you today . Tell DH for caring for this guy while you are gone this week

Originally Posted by Feralvr

You and your DH are wonderful

. It is odd that you or your DH have not seen this cat around before since he is so friendly and is obviously campaigning for himself to find a new home

. I think it is really endearing that he goes from driveway to driveway and rubs on people's legs. He REALLY needs a home. I assume someone recently dumped him

poor little guy. Good luck with this and I really do hope that Warden calls you today

. Tell DH

for caring for this guy while you are gone this week

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Good thinking on the collar. Others here have used that idea, don't know why none of us suggested it. But glad you thought of it!

And absolutely, thank DH for his help.

I am just so upset now. The cat has not come to us since yesterday. He slept most of Thursday night- dh took pic and video for me and gave him food. Yesterday morning the food was eaten and he was out when DH left for work. I picked him from work and came home but have not seen him. We left some dry food in the garage but that has not been touched. My plan was to bring him in yesterday and then the animal warden was giving him shelter till the rescue could adopt him out. They were doing the rest of the vet care and I knew this arrangement was not perfect but seemed reasonable. Btw, after wearing the collar with the note for 48 hours we saw that it was missing. It was a breakaway collar so don't know if he went home and they took it off but no one called me. Do you think that he has a home and with the weather turning they kept him indoors? I would hope so. Anything we can do at this time? DH and I are going for a walk now to see if he can spot us. We have not slept and have been so saddened.

Caring about strays/ferals is both rewarding and heartbreaking.

I'm sure he'll be back. They simply don't understand how much we worry!

I also expect his collar came off. If he had a home, I do think they would have called if he showed up with the collar on. The first stray that adopted us couldn't keep a collar on for more than a couple of days, and we knew she had no home. After five or six collars, we stopped bothering LOL.

Totally agree with Laurie. The fact that the collar came off does not mean he has a home. And if he did have a "loving" home, the people would have called you to thank you . Those breakaway collars NEVER stay on my cats, never. I gave up on collars too. But it was a great idea attaching your number and the only safe collar, is a breakaway. They just don't stay on and this cat could have easily put his paw through the collar and ripped it off. I have seen Walden, my cat, do this .

This cat will be back!!! AND I am SO, SO happy to hear that the warden will take him in . This is the best thing for this littly guy .

that he comes back today

I think this kitty needs to live with you. I also think it is cruel to not feed him, so I'm glad you aren't letting him starve.

Ok – so a lot’s been going on. We went out for a walk after my last post this morning and we thought that we heard meows but could not find the exact location. We crossed the street and were walking in the other direction and suddenly saw the boy on the other side of the street furiously digging someone’s flowerbed to do his business. We waited for him to be done and approached him. He came to us meowing and walked beside us till we went home and gave him the dry food. In the meantime, I was asked by the rescue if we could foster him and I responded that maybe just for a month. That was mainly because the Animal warden would have otherwise put him in a shelter he has. So now we have him in our breezeway with water and a litter box and some toys. Calvin and Hobbes have been staring at him through the French doors and let’s just say they are not too happy. They are curious and insecure. However, when we are home, they are taking a break from staring at the boy (we are still thinking of a name) and coming with us to the other rooms. They have also smelled us/ our hands after we touch the boy but no hissing yet. It’s a nice day out and with it being sunny the breezeway is comfy but it will get cold and we are planning to settle him in the attic bedroom suite – that way I will have more access to him. We also heard from our clinic where we went to pick up Hobbes’ food that a lady from a street from mine called them and said she found a silver tabby yesterday who ate a lot of cat food and tuna and was in her garage. I guess now we know where he was yesterday. That lady said that this cat was very “domesticated” and I certainly hope so or I will not know what to do.
So the director of the rescue wants me to sign on as a “foster” and then they will get him vaccinated. I already tested the boy for FIV/ Felv and those were negative. All three are on Revolution. Since the director is on leave it may be a few days before I can get him the rabies/ distemper vaccine. I am thinking that since he is neutered and about a year old, he may be current on the vaccines now so waiting for a couple of days may be ok.

My questions:
1) what do I do about introductions – they have seen each other and the new boy may have hissed once through the glass door but I am not 100%. Calvin and Hobbes got his smell on us. (I have done intro between my 2 so I know the basics but this is a different situations and all are a little over 1 year now). Also it will be too difficult for me to have a completely separate “foster room” and I will need to have the boys coexist in the same space eventually.

2) I am also now trying to make an outdoor cat into an indoor cat and what should I do to make this transition smooth as possible for all of us? I currently am using the litter I use for my boys but if it does not work, we will buy cat attract (it was expensive )
Any other pointers?

Awwwwww.......

He'll be OK in the breezeway for a few days. Make sure nothing flares up from the stress of his environment changing, get his rabies and initial distemper booster; make sure he's using the box.

Just work on swapping scents right now. Get your boys familiar with it, but in a "good" way. Put "his" scent on something under their food dishes, leave treats out for them on something that smells like him. And when they show interest in him in the breezeway, say happy, positive things, like "Look, here's a homeless kitty, just coming to visit for a little while!" If they don't hiss or anything, tell them WHAT good boys they are! Get out some treats, or whatever they like to play with most, and play with them there, then put out treats for them. Instead of letting them sit there unhappy, turn it into FUN! YAY! This homeless kitty that needs to be here for a little while makes all kinds of fun happy things happen! And, of course, make sure to tell them frequently, THEY'RE number ONE!

... you get the drift.

laurie - I will not be able to leave him in the breezeway since it is below freezing here at night and I really do not want him in public view but would rather he was integrated in the house. However, I will have to figure out the litterbox issue. DH is going out now to get the cat attract additive. The boy is very social, neutered and very likely with people but he does not seem to know how to play with toys. We did transfer him to the second floor bedroom and I think I will spend some time there later this evening. I basically have this evening and tomorrow morning to see if he uses the box or else he will have to go to the shelter with the animal warden -which is better than he being outside but not the best solution. It may sound cruel but DH and I are in very very crucial places in our career and we both go into the job market next Fall - so this one year we have many deadlines and I have lost tons of work time when Calvin and Hobbes were sick. I just get too caught up in kitty world.

I have feliway running on the mail level and will put one in the bedroom upstairs. Will do scent swapping too. Is there anything I can do to convince the little guy that inside is better than outside? How long will he crave the outdoors? I mean Calvin is curious and want to go outside all the time and that may never go away but I think here the most important thing is making sure this guy uses the box.

So we are calling the boy Casper. I have a feeling he is gassy- the breezeway was smelling of poop and we could not find any but there were bouts of smell. He is in the spare bedroom and Calvin went and hissed at the door. Hobbes is more curious. I went and there is poopy smell coming from the room. DH is out getting Cat Attract. The other people fed him cat food yesterday and I do not know what brand. I fed him California Natural. So different dry food may be messing his GI? Should I just give him Hills i/d (intestinal diet/ low residue) and have him adjusted to it and then maybe slowly add California Natural (my boys have California Natural+ i/d). I will also give him 2-3 cans as I give the boys.