cat ethics: whether or not to relocate a fixed feral

There's this feral living under the bushes at my work place.
The eartip shows it's already been fixed. However, it is hungry and doesn't have any other shelter than the bushes.

I've been feeding it in a trap until I got a picture at a good angle that shows the eartip. However, I'm the only one who cares - my coworkers are either allergic or afraid of cats, and everyone including me is trying to get another job at a better place.

So the question is, is it ethical to trap this cat and relocate to my backyard? It would have to spend at least two weeks in my smallish guest room with the window open a tick to acclimate, and while the yard does have shelters, regular food and minimal traffic, it does have at least three other ferals living there already plus the occasional raccoon. My neighbor's yard has a biggish feral colony that also likes to swap over. Not to mention my Grisou who likes to prowl the yard and bully newcomers twice his size.

Where it is living now, it has bushes to hide, lots of cars and no other cats in the immediate vicinity. The next feeding station for ferals is 4 km away. I do put food out but can only do so on weekdays. 

If I could ask it, I'm 100% sure it would rather stay where it is.

Please, any advice/opinions are welcome.

Hm, I'm no expert but that cat looks like he is in good shape and well fed.  have you been feeding him for a long time? I would be very hesitant to relocate him. just my two cents! he is lucky you are looking out for him.

I would try to relocate him. Though he looks good it's only a matter of time before a car gets him especially on the weekends when he is looking for food. I think if he has free and plentiful access to food Where he is going he might not be scared off by the other feral cats. That would be the initial concern is how he would get along with the other ferals.

I would absolutely trap him and acclimate him to your home/yard.

The first thing is, if that is a clean cut eartip, and it might not be, then he may not go into a trap so easily. Especially if it wasn't long ago and he still remembers the trap.

He honestly doesn't look feral to me. He looks like he was an abandoned or dumped at some point kitty who has noplace in this world that he feels he belongs to.

Very, very sad.

Unless you used the zoom all the way to get this close shot of him, he does not display the feral ear position nor has dilated pupils.

When a cat has been left on it's own without his former family or person, in time he will become fearful of humans, simply due to the severe lack of human contact. Survival mode kicks in high gear, and he learns to survive a very stressful existence.

Try getting him trapped, if he does easily, have him get a vet check to be sure it is infact an eartip

Get him a vaccine (FVRCP), a dewormer, de-flea him, acclimate him in a large cage or a small room where he can't escape, and get familiar with each other for 4 full weeks.

Thank you for being the caring, compassionate person you are.

I bet your coworkers are all quite young, correct?

Yes, I'd try to trap and relocate him too. If he's already used to being fed in the trap then the battle is already half won.

A guest room to get used to his new home in sounds like an absolute luxury for a cat that has to fend for himself. So much safer than being outdoors. I'd keep the window closed and go in and spend time with his every day for the first couple of weeks. You can't believe how small a gap a determined cat can get out of. As @catwoman707   said, he doesn't look feral. I think he'll warm up to you pretty quickly.

Once he's got used to you and his new home you can think about how to introduce him to the other cats in the area.

Good luck.

thanks for all the replies. Yes, it looks well-fed, but that's definitely an ear notch (if at a hard to see location - that's why I went around with the camera from different angles). It also doesn't appear that hungry anymore, there was still food left this morning. 

I'm only putting food out for a week now (since I noticed him/her hanging out there for the third time). That's just my reflex, I see a cat, and I put food out... they have me trained good.

I haven't seen him/her last night or this morning. Will see how much food is left tonight.

roguethecat said:

thanks for all the replies. Yes, it looks well-fed, but that's definitely an ear notch (if at a hard to see location - that's why I went around with the camera from different angles). It also doesn't appear that hungry anymore, there was still food left this morning. 

I'm only putting food out for a week now (since I noticed him/her hanging out there for the third time). That's just my reflex, I see a cat, and I put food out... they have me trained good.

I haven't seen him/her last night or this morning. Will see how much food is left tonight.

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Yes, from this angle it is clearly an ear notch. Clean and clearly surgically done. That's a good thing!

Did you say he is used to eating in a propped open trap?

That's REALLY good to know, it will be super simple trapping him again.

Good thing too since he was obviously tnr'd before and would be trap-smart.

He actually looks like a very nice boy. Bet he turns out to be a great companion.

roguethecat said:

 
 That's just my reflex, I see a cat, and I put food out... they have me trained good.

I haven't seen him/her last night or this morning. Will see how much food is left tonight.

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Me too. They somehow know who their friends are and they'll come and find you sooner or later.

He's very handsome, I don't think I'd be able to resist taking him in.

it's done... I set the trap, went to a meeting, checked back an hour later and there he was, surprisingly heavy. Hissed a lot but calmed down at once under a blanket. Now the poor thing is squished in a corner in the guest room. He ignores all of the hiding places I made and chose a simple box in the lowest shelf.  He does, of course, also ignore any offered food or fresh catnip.

A problem is the Rogue, who keeps wanting in. No cat who has just been abducted from a parking lot and forced into a small room should have to deal with the Rogue!

Anyway. Now he'll need a name. Any suggestions?

He's a handsome one!! Why not "Tippy", in honor of his ear?

roguethecat said:

 
it's done... I set the trap, went to a meeting, checked back an hour later and there he was, surprisingly heavy. Hissed a lot but calmed down at once under a blanket. Now the poor thing is squished in a corner in the guest room. He ignores all of the hiding places I made and chose a simple box in the lowest shelf.

 He does, of course, also ignore any offered food or fresh catnip.

A problem is the Rogue, who keeps wanting in. No cat who has just been abducted from a parking lot and forced into a small room should have to deal with the Rogue!

Anyway. Now he'll need a name. Any suggestions?

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Well done!!

You seem to be pretty darn great at figuring out a suitable name

This is happy news, I admire what you are doing for him!!

It often takes 2 full days of not eating then suddenly they decide they will otherwise starve and start eating regularly then.

now Alleycat, who I respect deeply, recommends to relocate ferals as a last resort only. 

So let's say that relocating Geronimo (thought he needed a decent warrior's name) isn't just so I don't have to see another dead cat on the road...

He has come out of hiding and is sitting on the desk looking out the window (yes!) that's cracked open. Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out the litter box, but that small guest room has been through four similar ferals once before so it's no big deal.

I told him Alleycat recommends 4 weeks in confinement. He didn't take it well. Last night he cried for hours and did a bit of a rampage. The Rogue is camping out in front of his door so he can dart in, getting told it's still a safe room and thrown out asap. 

I feel like a jail warden of an innocent, so maybe 2 weeks confinement have to do.

roguethecat said:

 
now Alleycat, who I respect deeply, recommends to relocate ferals as a last resort only. 

So let's say that relocating Geronimo (thought he needed a decent warrior's name) isn't just so I don't have to see another dead cat on the road...

He has come out of hiding and is sitting on the desk looking out the window (yes!) that's cracked open. Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out the litter box, but that small guest room has been through four similar ferals once before so it's no big deal.

I told him Alleycat recommends 4 weeks in confinement. He didn't take it well. Last night he cried for hours and did a bit of a rampage. The Rogue is camping out in front of his door so he can dart in, getting told it's still a safe room and thrown out asap. 

I feel like a jail warden of an innocent, so maybe 2 weeks confinement have to do.

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Yes definitely so, however they are referring to relocating to another outdoor location, not indoors.

He does not need acclimating except going outside, so if he is inside only, disregard this.

However be certain he is not able to escape and get out, that is what takes at least 4 weeks, so he will not get lost or leave in search of his former home/area.

They encourage bringing in a homeless cat, he is not feral, likely was abandoned at some time.

It's unusual for him to not use the litterbox. Perhaps it is due to the other cat smells in the room?

Love the new name!

I'd give him at least a week in his room to get used to the idea that he has a new home before letting him explore the rest of the house. Really just wait until he seems comfortable in there. Once he knows that room is his safe place he'll feel happier about checking out the rest of the house.

Remember, all that crying doesn't mean "Let me out of here", it means "Where am I?" His own smell will soon start to mask any other smells in the room and then he'll think, "Oh, this is my place"

When you clean up after his litter box accidents put the dirty tissues in the litter box. If he can smell his own pee there he'll know what to do next time.

I read somewhere else, I can't remember where now, that you can try using a layer of potting soil on top of the cat litter to start to acclimate him to using a litter box. 

that's a good idea. you can also try Dr Elseys Touch of Outdoors 

I think Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract also works wonders.

Thank you for rescuing this boy.

Personally, considering he looked in good shape and well fed, I would have tried to find the colony caregivers. Not only have they most likely put time and money into this beauty but they may also have valuable info on him and love him... I highly doubt his only shelter were those bushes and it would have been better to make your decision with his first caregiver. That being said, I have homed strays that I was sure were lost after taking to see if they were microchipped when it looked like they were in danger. If he can't acclimate and those cries are saying- get me out of here, put him back and try to find owner/caregiver. This site seems to see differently than ACA in that most members see freeroamers as homeless not that the outside IS their home. I say each case, cat and situation calls for different responses and I hope your instincts are correct about him. No individual, cat or human wants to be seen through blanketed policies.

thanks for all the ideas and support... I just found out where he has been eliminating last night, because I didn't want to disturb him too much (he stopped hiding, is camping out permanently on the desk and hisses when I come too close). Unfortunately he used the Rogue's cat tunnel I had placed there as a hiding option... I moved the tunnel into the garage to air out (where of course the Rogue found it this morning when I was trying to leave, thrilled, nearly getting himself locked in the garage had I not noticed him out of the corner of my eyes!). Now I put whatever eliminations I found into the box, hope that helps. He's not interested in catnip, so Dr Elsey's Cat Attract probably won't do it for him, but since I have it I'll try that, too. If that doesn't work I'll try the dirt method.

Anyway I'll be reviewing a lot of pet stain removers soon .

As for finding the caregivers, there are no residential homes nearby, just offices and companies and lots of trucks. So if it was a private person and not an organization taking care of him, there is no way of finding out who short of putting a note onto him. I know the feeding places of the feral cat organization in this area and the next one is 5 miles away, so it's possible he got his care there. However, those people are having trouble getting reliable volunteers, so Geronimo suddenly showing up during the daylight most probably meant that his care had changed for the worse. He's definitely feral and not a stray.

Anyway. He's still crying at night, although less than before. He ignored calming treats but ate feline greenies. I keep telling him that he'll get out soon.

If you know the tnr group and location of feeding stations I would say it is in his best interest to at least talk to them and see if they know him. They probably have access to med records and if someone does care about him I am sure they would be relieved to know he is safe.