There is a (presumed) stray cat who comes into our garage at night for a meal. He has been coming since at least last fall. There is a cat door from the outside into the garage which is used by the one cat who has outdoor privileges. During the recent harsh winter, I tried to provide additional shelter, but the cat did not seem interested. I've used a game camera and now a wireless video camera to spy on him. I've only seen him once with my own eyes.
Mr. Black, as we've taken to calling him, is an all (or mostly) black cat with a stub of a tail and a scar on his left shoulder. He has no collar. He looks reasonably healthy, but low light video isn't the best. Someone is occasionally spraying in the garage. I haven't seen Mr. Black do it, but I can't rule him out. It could be Jasper, our indoor-outdoor.
I'm assuming he's a stray, because he was out in that horrible sub-zero weather last winter, at night. If he isn't a stray, he has terrible owners. At a minimum, I would like to get him vetted, fixed (if necessary), and vaccinated. My current plan is to use a humane trap and a can of tuna :-). Depending on his personality and freaking-out-level, he could be a) released immediately afterward or b) kept in a room separate from my cats to see if he's tameable. Even if he eventually goes back out, I'd really like for him to get friendly with us. If he is tameable and has no nasty diseases, I'd like to see if I can integrate him into the household.
I've been through one "taming" with a very scared cat that we hit on the road (amazingly with minimal damage). That went well, but she was also pretty young (about a year). I have a feeling this cat is older. But like everything, I will take it one step at a time. First thing is to get him to the vet.
I'm looking for your thoughts on our plan, and any suggestions. Ideally, we'd get to know him first, but since he only comes around at night, that's hard to do. He definitely runs if I open the door from the house into the garage.
I don't know what to hope for. I want to help this cat, but I also don't really want 9 cats.
Kalynnda
Mr. Black, as we've taken to calling him, is an all (or mostly) black cat with a stub of a tail and a scar on his left shoulder. He has no collar. He looks reasonably healthy, but low light video isn't the best. Someone is occasionally spraying in the garage. I haven't seen Mr. Black do it, but I can't rule him out. It could be Jasper, our indoor-outdoor.
I'm assuming he's a stray, because he was out in that horrible sub-zero weather last winter, at night. If he isn't a stray, he has terrible owners. At a minimum, I would like to get him vetted, fixed (if necessary), and vaccinated. My current plan is to use a humane trap and a can of tuna :-). Depending on his personality and freaking-out-level, he could be a) released immediately afterward or b) kept in a room separate from my cats to see if he's tameable. Even if he eventually goes back out, I'd really like for him to get friendly with us. If he is tameable and has no nasty diseases, I'd like to see if I can integrate him into the household.
I've been through one "taming" with a very scared cat that we hit on the road (amazingly with minimal damage). That went well, but she was also pretty young (about a year). I have a feeling this cat is older. But like everything, I will take it one step at a time. First thing is to get him to the vet.
I'm looking for your thoughts on our plan, and any suggestions. Ideally, we'd get to know him first, but since he only comes around at night, that's hard to do. He definitely runs if I open the door from the house into the garage.
I don't know what to hope for. I want to help this cat, but I also don't really want 9 cats.
Kalynnda
