4 days ago when i came home from work i heard a scratching on the door so i went to check out waht it was , i found out it was a little cat climbing on my age, its black with white paws, so i fed it some bread (i never had a cat before) and it came into my house. This lil girl wasnt afraid it just came it and started looking around. And for the past 4 days ive been letting it in my house. My mom wont allow teh cat in the house at night and im afraid that its not comfortable at night. After i let it out it comes and scratches on the door. Im sure its a stray because none of the neighboors owns cats. The only idea i have now is to put a tent up with blankets food and water so it wouldnt have trouble finding shelter at night. Before i used a carboard box but it would stay in. Right now its on my second floor window sill it wants to come in but it cant so its just sleeping there. I feel so bad can someone give me any suggestions?
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Cat scratching door
- Thread starter yuriken56
- Start Date
Hi Yuriken56, you have a good heart for taking care of the stray cat. Probably the best thing would be for someone to adopt the stray cat and make it an indoor-only kitty, but in the short term you can provide water, food, and some sort of shelter outside your house.
Water
If you could set out fresh water daily, it would be great for the cat, as reliable fresh water may be hard to find outside.
Food
Cats have evolved as meat-eaters, so although many cats like starchy foods, vegetables, and even ice cream, most of what they eat should be derived from meat or meat products. This means that the healthiest thing is cat food - Iams is good and widely available. The stray's hunting ability may or may not be good enough for survival. See "Choosing the Right Food for Your Cat" http://www.thecatsite.com/cat_health...p?a=principles
Shelter
Since cats are by nature creatures of the night, napping in your house during the day and going out at night should suit the cat's internal clock OK. However, you can still set up a shelter outside for the cat. Here is a way to make a little winter cat bungalow with just a styrofoam box and some household items: http://www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html
Styrofoam is good because it's waterproof and retains heat well.
Also, you can give the cat a quick check to see how healthy he/she is: http://www.thecatsite.com/cat_health....php?a=healthy
Once the immediate survival basics of water, food, and shelter are taken care of, you should try and determine if someone has lost the cat and is looking for him/her. You didn't mention finding a collar on the cat, but many cats have an ID chip implanted between their shoulders - a vet or animal shelter would use a chip scanner to look up the registered owner. You may have an animal-care organization near you that can help. Here is a list of animal shelters in the USA & Canada: http://www.saveourstrays.com/no-kill.htm
If the cat is indeed abandoned, you can move on to the long-term issues of health care, spay/neuter, and adoption/feral management.
Health Care
The cat should get a basic veterinary check-up for both common (fleas, tapeworms, etc.) and chronic (Feline Leukemia Virus, etc.) ailments. See if you can find a local veterinarian to work with - here is a thread about vets as a good resource: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=22260
Spay/Neuter
Due to the cat population crisis, you should ensure that the cat is spayed/neutered. Many vets and shelters will spay/neuter strays and ferals at low cost or for free. Here is a thread with good spay/neuter resources: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=16045
And here is an article discussing spay/neuter:
http://www.thecatsite.com/cat_care/care.php?a=spay
Adoption
It sounds like you and the stray cat are getting fond of each other, but you would have to convince your family to live with him/her as well. And you would need to find out some more about the ups & downs of having a cat, so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to adopt. It's a potential 15-20 year commitment to providing food, health care, play toys, head rubs, etc. - somewhat comparable to raising a child. That said, if you can work it out, this cat could become one of the joys of your life. Read some of the threads in the "Cats S.O.S." and "Behavior" forums for a perspective on other people's experiences with taking in stray cats.
If you can find a good animal shelter or rescue network near you, they can provide you with a wide range of help; anything from feeding advice to adoption placement to discounted vet care. If you don't find any through the animal shelters link above, you can try asking people on the "Cats S.O.S." forum if they know of any in your area.
Feral Cat Management
This can be done quite well, should you determine that this would be your best course of action. You can find out more by reading in the "Feral Colonies" forum.
I hope things work out the best for you and the cat. There's a lot of knowledge, experience, and friendly support here on these forums, so please feel free to post any specific questions and update us on what happens.
Best,
Chewie
Water
If you could set out fresh water daily, it would be great for the cat, as reliable fresh water may be hard to find outside.
Food
Cats have evolved as meat-eaters, so although many cats like starchy foods, vegetables, and even ice cream, most of what they eat should be derived from meat or meat products. This means that the healthiest thing is cat food - Iams is good and widely available. The stray's hunting ability may or may not be good enough for survival. See "Choosing the Right Food for Your Cat" http://www.thecatsite.com/cat_health...p?a=principles
Shelter
Since cats are by nature creatures of the night, napping in your house during the day and going out at night should suit the cat's internal clock OK. However, you can still set up a shelter outside for the cat. Here is a way to make a little winter cat bungalow with just a styrofoam box and some household items: http://www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html
Styrofoam is good because it's waterproof and retains heat well.
Also, you can give the cat a quick check to see how healthy he/she is: http://www.thecatsite.com/cat_health....php?a=healthy
Once the immediate survival basics of water, food, and shelter are taken care of, you should try and determine if someone has lost the cat and is looking for him/her. You didn't mention finding a collar on the cat, but many cats have an ID chip implanted between their shoulders - a vet or animal shelter would use a chip scanner to look up the registered owner. You may have an animal-care organization near you that can help. Here is a list of animal shelters in the USA & Canada: http://www.saveourstrays.com/no-kill.htm
If the cat is indeed abandoned, you can move on to the long-term issues of health care, spay/neuter, and adoption/feral management.
Health Care
The cat should get a basic veterinary check-up for both common (fleas, tapeworms, etc.) and chronic (Feline Leukemia Virus, etc.) ailments. See if you can find a local veterinarian to work with - here is a thread about vets as a good resource: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=22260
Spay/Neuter
Due to the cat population crisis, you should ensure that the cat is spayed/neutered. Many vets and shelters will spay/neuter strays and ferals at low cost or for free. Here is a thread with good spay/neuter resources: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=16045
And here is an article discussing spay/neuter:
http://www.thecatsite.com/cat_care/care.php?a=spay
Adoption
It sounds like you and the stray cat are getting fond of each other, but you would have to convince your family to live with him/her as well. And you would need to find out some more about the ups & downs of having a cat, so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to adopt. It's a potential 15-20 year commitment to providing food, health care, play toys, head rubs, etc. - somewhat comparable to raising a child. That said, if you can work it out, this cat could become one of the joys of your life. Read some of the threads in the "Cats S.O.S." and "Behavior" forums for a perspective on other people's experiences with taking in stray cats.
If you can find a good animal shelter or rescue network near you, they can provide you with a wide range of help; anything from feeding advice to adoption placement to discounted vet care. If you don't find any through the animal shelters link above, you can try asking people on the "Cats S.O.S." forum if they know of any in your area.
Feral Cat Management
This can be done quite well, should you determine that this would be your best course of action. You can find out more by reading in the "Feral Colonies" forum.
I hope things work out the best for you and the cat. There's a lot of knowledge, experience, and friendly support here on these forums, so please feel free to post any specific questions and update us on what happens.
Best,
Chewie
What brilliant advice. I can't really add any more other than to say thanks so much for looking out for this little kitty.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
wow thanks alot for all the help, i have one more question, i think even if i setup some shelter for it , it wouldnt want to stay in it, when i setup the box for it, it would go in and stay for a little while. THen when i go back into my house it would follow me and scratch the door is there a way to make the cat stay in there?
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No there really isn't a way to make a cat stay where it doesn't want to. You can try sprinkling a tiny amount of catnip in the box to keep it entertained, and in the meantime work on your mom and tell her there are dangers outside for little kittens and cats. Take over the responsibility of caring for this little one while it is outside, and perhaps she will see that you are a responsible cat owner. Also let her know if her aversion to having it in the house is the litterbox/odor problem, that the new cat litters out are wonderful at masking the odors and you will be scooping the box daily.
Good luck and Chewie, you gave wonderful, informative advice!
Good luck and Chewie, you gave wonderful, informative advice!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
Well, human beings tend to be warmer than cardboard boxes...
More seriously, the cat's definitely attached to you, and it sounds like you're getting attached to him/her as well. This is a great beginning if you can adopt the cat - which means tackling 2 issues: learning about cat care, and convincing your family to have the cat in the house. These forums can help with both issues; you can pick up a lot about good cat care from reading threads, and you can get advice about specific family objections as well.
However, if you can't keep the cat, an outside shelter is the best thing you can do for it.
