How do I work with a mysterious new cat?

Sorry to burst in on your forum like this; I can see you have a thriving community and I hope you can help.

Originally, we owned one cat. Over time that expanded to a second, as a cat appeared in our garden, shivering in the slight shelter of our summer house. Over time, she was coaxed in, then (of course) whisked off to the vet for a snipping. She's forgiven us but remains nervous of everything. Was she always a scaredy-cat or has she experienced horrible things: we'll never know. Two, three years on, she'll sit briefly on laps, purr happily on a bedspread or duvet next to a human friend, but always with ears pricked, ready for the next threat.

Our original cat, the tough guy, will ***** himself to any hand going, even going so far as to lurk where the passing school kids will stroke him, but shrinks and hides from new cats. He took weeks, really, to get used to the new cat mentioned above.

Now a cat has appeared in the back garden. It looks healthy, but I can't get close enough to find out more. It has no collar. It has come into the house several times, but runs away when I get up (at two or three in the morning!).

I'm soft-hearted and would happily let it feast on our food, but it seems to be distressing our current cats. Big Cat has taken to patrolling the window next to the door, sentry-wise, and Little Princess jumps at her own shadow.

I don't know whether to chase it away, or invite it in so they can get used to it. Ideas and advice, please.

The decision is yours really but I'd have this newcomer vet checked, spayed/neutered if needed and scanned for a microchip.

If there is no chip, bring it home and give it a room to adjust to being inside.  At the same time, I'd check the neighborhood, hang posters with info about the cat and contact the local shelter/animal control to see if it has been reported lost.

During the time it is in its own room, you will have time to access whether it and your residents can adjust to one another.  You can use that opportunity to try slow introductions and see what happens.

You can also look for a home for it, if no one comes forward to claim it.

We have two scaredy cats - Lord knows what happened to them before we found them.  One, Chester, the cat in my avatar, adores our alpha male, Halsey.  Halsey adores him, too.  They are such a pair, I'm very happy I took the chance to bring Chester in.  We weren't going to because he was so afraid, we didn't think he'd ever adjust.  But he has.

Thank you for caring about this kitty - and your other two!

It's been a while since that first post, but I'm happy to say that last night I finally managed to capture what has turned out to be a very muscular, un-neutered tom. We've been to the vet and there's no chip, so the cat and I are currently enjoying each other's company in a closed room for short periods. I'm on the sofa typing this, and he's hiding under the sofa at the moment. We've come a long way since he tried to bite me in terror last night!

The vet and I are pretty sure he's a long-time stray, getting into being feral. To be on the safe side, I'm going to hold on to him for a little while as suggested by Ondine, and put up a poster or two, then if nothing happens in two weeks the lovely lady at the Cat's Protection League has arranged a free neutering and chipping session.

Any further tips or good online resources would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your help so far!

Have you had him checked? No FeVL, FIV or fleas? If so I'd recommend letting your other cats sniff him from under the door for now (let them play near the room where you keep him) and also let his smell linger on your clothes so they get used to him.

Since you scared the life out of him by trying to capture him (not your fault, anyone would) he's probably a bit traumatised already and it may take a while until he trusts you. Keep interacting with him and offering food to gain his affection.

Since he has no chip/tattoo and isn't neutered I'd wager nobody owns him.

I may have been naïve, but I didn't ask about checking for FeVL or FIV. Fleas are probably there, so I'll treat him, and I think the one I use sorts out worms as well, but if not I'll have the joy of destroying our carefully-shaped trust by either poking a tablet into his unwilling gullet or doping his food. Poor little mite... tormented at the hands of a do-gooder.

I understand that with a very low feral population (believe me - round here he's quite an oddity) the chances of FeVL or FIV are low, but still I'm wary. Our doors are low to the floor, and I doubt any saliva or other fluids could get beneath unless our new addition decides to thoroughly soak the door with urine. Do I need to take any urgent action here, or are my risk assessments reasonable?

I, too, would wager nobody owns him, and such a shame, as his big, black eyes are so soulful and deep. He's a beauty, he really is. Sadly, in the UK there are several documented cases of well-meaning individuals being taken to court for neutering intact cats. It's ridiculous, but I have to make the effort to make sure he's not owned, however convinced I am personally.

Thanks for your help.

MandyBrigwell said:

 
I understand that with a very low feral population (believe me - round here he's quite an oddity) the chances of FeVL or FIV are low, but still I'm wary. Our doors are low to the floor, and I doubt any saliva or other fluids could get beneath unless our new addition decides to thoroughly soak the door with urine. Do I need to take any urgent action here, or are my risk assessments reasonable?

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IMHO, yes, chances of transmission through a door are quite low. I think it would be impossible for FIV and very unlikely for FeLV. Now fleas, thats a whole other matter. I've heard (but can neither confirm nor disprove) that fleas can jump on human clothes and be transmitted through them to other pets so I'd move fast with the treatment just in case.

FeralsRule said:

 
Now fleas, thats a whole other matter. I've heard (but can neither confirm nor disprove) that fleas can jump on human clothes and be transmitted through them to other pets so I'd move fast with the treatment just in case.

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Fleas can jump 33cm (13 inches) horizontally and 18cm (7 inches) vertically -

Flea treatment is on the way, although I think I'll be hard-pressed to get it on him as he's maintaining a below-sofa position at the moment. He's coming out when I'm not there to use the litter box (yay!) and there's even evidence that he's played with the toys I left casually lying about. Whenever I go in, however, he's back under the couch, steadfastly ignoring any little treats I might place near him until I'm well out of the way: as soon as I'm out the door there's a gentle crunching sound, so I'm assuming he's at least associating deliciousness with my good self.

Feeding... I really don't know whether it's best to leave food out permanently, as I do with the other cats, or whether to only offer food when I'm in the room. I've been eating breakfast and reading in there, just quietly at the other side of the room, whilst leaving offering food, but so far he's only eaten any when I've been absent. It feels cruel to remove the food unless he'll eat it in front of me... any comments?

Thank you all so much for your advice, by the way; I know there's lots more on the internet and I've been reading up on the forums; it's still nice to get other points of view.

I've been eating breakfast and browsing news on my iPad every day for the last few days, putting down extra food so that it's there and generally just hanging around. Last night I had to get a sleeping bag and rucksack from the corner of the room, and when I went in there was an almighty kerfuffle as my little guest panicked and knocked down the only remaining pot plant and hurtled beneath the sofa once more. At least he's been out, I guess... and more fool me for leaving the last pot plant.

I try to pop in three or four times a day, and always with something food-based and nice; I took some raw chicken trimmings in a while ago. He wouldn't eat them while I was there, but I left for five minutes to clear the litter box and when I came back the tray had moved and lo - the chicken was gone.

Am I doing this right?

More importantly, to me, am I causing unnecessary distress to a creature that would be best left alone? Should I just open the doors, allow him free passage from the house and admit defeat? He's clearly not happy, and I'm not sure I am, either.

This is actually quite normal.  He's unsure and that makes him jumpy.  Good thing to clean out the plant.  Is there any furniture you can remove, too?  It will give him less places to hide.  Sitting quietly with him will help get him used to you.  Read something out loud - it will get him used to you voice as well.

You are doing things right, don't worry.  Cats are creatures of habit, so it is going to take him awhile to get used to the new digs.  Get the flea treatment on him ASAP.  Fleas are very hard to get ahead of if they move in.

Thank you for replying. I can only put the flea stuff on if I can get to him, and to get to him I'd have to don my gardening gloves and pull a scratching and biting kitty out from the only place he's recently found safe. I won't do that.

That sounded very assertive, didn't it? In truth, I'm very scared and worried, but I know that the fleas can wait... I'm not even sure he has them. If he does, we treat him and Indorex the room. The other cats are all fleavoxed up to the eyeballs.

It's the behaviour I'm worried about. The more I keep him locked in there with food, water, toys and occasional human contact, the more I think he really just wants to be released.

The longer you keep him in there, the more likelihood he will realize a) how good he has it and b) this is his new territory.  Cats take awhile to get used to new stuff, so be patient.  Visit him often and keep a consistent schedule.  He will come around.

You can buy something called Diotomaceous Earth (DE).  Get food grade and sprinkle it on his wet food.  It has the consistancy of flour, so be careful not to inhale it.

It will kill fleas and some worms, so at least you can get rid of some.  They use DE for swimming pool filters and put chemicals in it, so make sure you get Food Grade.

Hang in there!  You are doing the right thing.

DE should not be used with cats or dogs!!!  They inhale it and it cuts up their lungs and leads to infections, pneumonia, even collapsed lungs .  DE is basically 12nm shards of glass with a hygroscopic effect - great for killing insects but should not be used with animals around.

If it is mixed with wet food, it isn't inhaled.  I've used it this way for years - just a pinch is plenty.

JMJimmy is correct about the possibility of inhalation.  It does have the consistency of flour, so be very careful.

It won't kill fleas/worms when it's wet though.  What it does is cuts into the carapace of insects as they walk over it and becomes lodged in there.  That in itself isn't enough to kill the insect (otherwise powdered glass could be used).  This is where the hygroscopic effect comes in.  It will gradually absorb water from the insect - you'll actually see them with a drop of water on them as it dehydrates them to death.  This is not something you want getting into your cats liver, kidneys, or lungs.  The L50 (lethality) is insignificant to a human but has been known to kill animals as large as a German Shepard.  I would highly recommend you discontinue putting it in their food and go with something like a flea shot.

JMJimmy said:

 
DE should not be used with cats or dogs!!!  They inhale it and it cuts up their lungs and leads to infections, pneumonia, even collapsed lungs .  DE is basically 12nm shards of glass with a hygroscopic effect - great for killing insects but should not be used with animals around.

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JMJimmy said:

 
It won't kill fleas/worms when it's wet though.  What it does is cuts into the carapace of insects as they walk over it and becomes lodged in there.  That in itself isn't enough to kill the insect (otherwise powdered glass could be used).  This is where the hygroscopic effect comes in.  It will gradually absorb water from the insect - you'll actually see them with a drop of water on them as it dehydrates them to death.  This is not something you want getting into your cats liver, kidneys, or lungs.  The L50 (lethality) is insignificant to a human but has been known to kill animals as large as a German Shepard.  I would highly recommend you discontinue putting it in their food and go with something like a flea shot.

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It does dehydrate the insects, but not from being hygroscopic, but instead from just letting the liquid out of the insect because of breaking the seal between the layers of its exoskeleton.  Humans, cats and dogs do not have exoskeletons.  While I agree with you that generally there are better flea treatments and wormers around, there are many WORSE ones manufactured by big companies (e.g. Sergeant's, Hartz) that kill animals every year, but evidently not enough animals to require those products be removed from the market.   I'd rather see those folks use diotomaceous earth than pyrethroids so commonly used in cheap over-the-counter flea medications that people buy.  Here is a quote from the following article:  http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

"I have heard from two people that said that they won't use diatomaceous earth anymore because "the tiny particles cut my lungs!" --- (deep sigh goes here) All I can say is "Did you actually examine your lung with a microscope and watch the diatomaceous earth cut into it?" - of course, they did not. I think the truth behind these reports is that these folks heard how diatomaceous earth works, and when they would breathe in the dust, it would make them cough - just as breathing in flour or corn starch would make you cough. And then they thought of the sharpness at a microscopic level. My understanding is that when diatomaceous earth becomes moist, the sharp thing is no longer happening. That's why you have to keep it dry when you use it.



I have heard that people working in the diatomaceous earth (food grade) mines have no greater health problems than the people working in any other mines. (I would like to get some sources for this info - if anybody has a link, please email me)

As long as you are using food grade diatomaceous earth, you are perfectly safe. Even if you breathe in gobs of it. Of course, if you are asthmatic or have lung problems of any kind, I would think breathing in big gobs of any kind of dust would be a bad idea."

I fought to get DE put in our apartment because at the time we had a bunny and the poison they used caused serious issues for rodents.  The only person in the entire company who could use it was the owner.  I had a lengthy conversation with him and he told me how they started using it because it was very effective for bedbugs & roaches.  They use dogs to sniff out these insects to make sure they get them all, and unbeknownst to them the dog was inhaling the DE - they had to put it down after it started coughing up blood & gasping for air.  They stopped using the product except in rare cases as a result.

As to the hygroscopic effect being what kills the insects, we'll have to disagree there.  As I said, if it was just a matter of slicing the carapace you could crush glass to the same size as DE and spread that around - that doesn't work unfortunately.  You talk about people in DE mines being fine - they would be.  DE is just a type of soil - once it's out of the ground they process it by grinding it up to particles that are 12nm or smaller, that's when it's in a form that can be used as pest control.  Normal DE, pre-processing, is much like a soft sand and relatively harmless.

Edit: That might be where some of the mixed information comes in.  12nm DE is for pest control.  Unprocessed DE is even used by some as a dietary supplement and does not work as pest control.