Ms McFeebee

mattc1126

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We have a feral/stray coming around that we have been feeding with dry and sometime wet cat food for about a month.
We also built her a small insulted shelter, strategically placed on our patio..

I have seen her hanging around the small wooded area behind us for several years
But as we have bird feeders this year for the first time she has been coming around a lot.. Thus us feeding her and leaving fresh water.

She looks VERY healthy, well groomed, and clean, she comes around consistently in the morning and then again late afternoon, but sometimes we won't see her for a day or two.

She likes to sit under a bush outside of our living room windows, which faces a small wooded area, directly adjacent to the patio. (Just a few feet from the bird feeders)

She is okay with us "talking" to her telling her we love her with our cats and dogs thru the window pain while she is directly below us, and will let me come as close as a few feet away from her.. me on the patio, her peering thru an opening at the corner of the privacy fence..

This afternoon for first time, she hung out but didn't eat her food.. I was watching thru the glass screen door(which I've down several times with no problem) when she came up toward the bowl, but she looked at me funny and retreated back to the bush.

She hung out under the bush and even let me talk to her thru the opening and just looked at me, but never ate and then disappeared again sometime after the sun set..

She ate a lot this morning, and may be getting food someplace else but I really felt bad..

We think she lives someplace but we have seen her in the shelter at 430 am one night when one of my dogs woke me up so he could pee.. Also I should add it was bitter cold that night.


What do you think..? Feral or stray or indoor outdoor cat..?

Thank you so much for your input..

MC
 

molly92

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Hmm, it's sometimes hard to tell...I'm leaning towards stray/outdoor cat rather than feral. If she ever meows at you, that's a good sign that she's not feral. The best way I know how to tell is how they react when upset or scared. I've accidentally trapped neighbor's cats before and they make a lot of noise to get your attention! But feral cats tend to make themselves small and as quiet as possible.

You can try asking around and see if anyone owns the cat. If it's owned, it probably lives very close. Posting "found" flyers with the cat's picture and your number is another way to go about it.
 

dr rizk

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We have a feral/stray coming around that we have been feeding with dry and sometime wet cat food for about a month.
We also built her a small insulted shelter, strategically placed on our patio..

I have seen her hanging around the small wooded area behind us for several years
But as we have bird feeders this year for the first time she has been coming around a lot.. Thus us feeding her and leaving fresh water.

She looks VERY healthy, well groomed, and clean, she comes around consistently in the morning and then again late afternoon, but sometimes we won't see her for a day or two.

She likes to sit under a bush outside of our living room windows, which faces a small wooded area, directly adjacent to the patio. (Just a few feet from the bird feeders)

She is okay with us "talking" to her telling her we love her with our cats and dogs thru the window pain while she is directly below us, and will let me come as close as a few feet away from her.. me on the patio, her peering thru an opening at the corner of the privacy fence..

This afternoon for first time, she hung out but didn't eat her food.. I was watching thru the glass screen door(which I've down several times with no problem) when she came up toward the bowl, but she looked at me funny and retreated back to the bush.

She hung out under the bush and even let me talk to her thru the opening and just looked at me, but never ate and then disappeared again sometime after the sun set..

She ate a lot this morning, and may be getting food someplace else but I really felt bad..

We think she lives someplace but we have seen her in the shelter at 430 am one night when one of my dogs woke me up so he could pee.. Also I should add it was bitter cold that night.


What do you think..? Feral or stray or indoor outdoor cat..?

Thank you so much for your input..

MC
I think you got a skittish outdoor stray. Cautious but accepting food offers. If she had a warm safe home I doubt she would choose to sleep outside in the cathouse. Since she has been around awhile I'd say its safe to assume she can hunt. plus people see a nice well cared for cat outside in the cold many hearts break and will offer food even if never before or a cat person. I have a feral (Missy) that im trying to turn into indoor cat. And she tries to hunt but I have yet to see her kill/eat anything.
 
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mattc1126

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Thank you both so much for your input,

Another concern I touched on has become an issue. She showed up this morning but the same situation as yesterday afternoon as she isn't eating.

It's Rachel Ray dry food which all our cats and she have loved but she is refusing it..

I bought some cheap canned friskies shreds which i fed her and our cats yesterday morning (as a change of pace, we feed our cats a little more expensive wet food but they love cheaper stuff sometimes) our older cat threw it up last night and I'm wondering if it made mrs Mfeebee sick as well..?

She has never ignored food before,

what can we do to get her eating (trusting us) again..?
 
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mattc1126

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She actually ended up eating this morning and came back and ate this afternoon as well..
 

ondine

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She sounds more like someone's cat who is wandering - being fed by you and others.  Might be why she didn't eat yesterday.  You might want to survey the neighbors and see if they know who she is.  Maybe hang some posters with a vague description and your number.  Don't be too detailed - sometimes people who harm cats or trade them to dog fighters will say it's their cat.  If they have the description from your poster, it isn't hard for them to say the  cat is theirs.
 

dr rizk

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Thank you both so much for your input,

Another concern I touched on has become an issue. She showed up this morning but the same situation as yesterday afternoon as she isn't eating.

It's Rachel Ray dry food which all our cats and she have loved but she is refusing it..

I bought some cheap canned friskies shreds which i fed her and our cats yesterday morning (as a change of pace, we feed our cats a little more expensive wet food but they love cheaper stuff sometimes) our older cat threw it up last night and I'm wondering if it made mrs Mfeebee sick as well..?

She has never ignored food before,

what can we do to get her eating (trusting us) again..?
If the cat isn't eating I'd say its a tell tale sign she is getting food elsewhere. The only other reason really I can think of is if she was sick. Changing food sometimes can upset there stomach. For her I'd stick to what you know works. But remember she likely hunts too. Maybe reduce the meal size so nothing gets wasted. If she eats it all in 5- 10 minutes maybe offer her more as needed. Good luck.
 
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