How long should I wait to claim this stray cat?

He showed up at my old house that I am moving out of last week, and he was an instant friend when I opened a can of food for some feral cats that eat at that house.  He acts friendly like he has been someone's cat, I don't want to steal someone's cat but he was really skinny and inhaled the food like he was starving when I first fed him.   It is out in the country,  so somebody might have dumped him out.   He has gained a little bit of weight,  but he is limping now and needs to go to the vet, and I am moving out and taking the ferals I feed with me, so he needs to move soon if he doesn't belong to someone else.   

Friendly cat.

No collar

Probably not chipped

Hungry

Limping

I'd say if he has a family they certainly aren't caring very well for him.  Get your rescue on! 

charliana said:

He showed up at my old house that I am moving out of last week, and he was an instant friend when I opened a can of food for some feral cats that eat at that house.  He acts friendly like he has been someone's cat, I don't want to steal someone's cat but he was really skinny and inhaled the food like he was starving when I first fed him.   It is out in the country,  so somebody might have dumped him out.   He has gained a little bit of weight,  but he is limping now and needs to go to the vet, and I am moving out and taking the ferals I feed with me, so he needs to move soon if he doesn't belong to someone else.   

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He either got dumped, or got astray.

If astray, you will prob find his old family, if you search vigorously enough.  A tip: dont describe him too closely.  Let the right owner identyfie himself by giving correct description.

If he god dumped, no legal owner will answer.  But somebody whom want a cheap cat for misuse may claim him, so - dont describe too closely, or demand some sort of payment / donation.   What may turn up, is of course a voluntary whom is villing to adopt him.  Such an adopter will be happy to pay a reasonable repayment for your costs, and or a suitable donation for a charity, in the cats name.

You can cover all variations, by having messages on the message boards around, as skissed above, AND fetch him with you.

If nobody claims him, he is yours entirely legally.   If somebody claims him - they will fetch him.

As I understand it, you ARE willing to adopt him yourself?  Swell!

I hope you'll get him the veterinary help he needs and then take him home with you. If he was someone's cat who went missing, there would be pictures of him posted on telephone poles and in your community, and on social media lost and found pet sites. Caring and responsible owners look for their lost pets. Irresponsible and negligent pet owners don't deserve to have pets. It sounds like he's a dump. Thanks for taking care of this kitty.

When you take him to the vet, get him scanned for a microchip.  If he doesn't have one, get him a rabies shot and a microchip and that registers him as YOURS.  If he has been there a week already and there are no signs showing up on poles and fences around your area, then either he isn't missed or his former owners are not that concerned about his absence.  If a former owner showed up with a good story, they would be willing to pay any vet bills and could reregister the chip in their name.

Check Craigslist too. Sometimes people post missing pets there. I work in a town that is extremely vigilant about flyers on telephone poles, etc. It's worth checking. My guess....that cat is yours!

He is not neutered so everytime i had a cat carrier i couldn't find him. I finally got him and i thought he would be upset about being shut in a carrier and he laid down to take a nap when i shut the door. He looked around during the car ride, but didn't cry once on the way home.

I brought him in my house and put him in the laundry room for tonight. He ate, used the litter box and crawled into the cat bed. My other cats knew me and were still scared of the new hoise when they moved. He acts like he has always lived here.

I am really worried that he could have a home somewhere and he will be sad because he misses his family, but he is still limping and if i dont take him and he doesn't have a family he will be lost and hungry when i am completely moved out of the old house. Plus his foot is infected from a cat bite.

If he doesnt have a chip should i get him neutered right away or wait longer to see if an owner shows up that doesn't want him neutered.

He looks very happy and content in your home and has obviously chosen you to be his human. Take him to the vet as soon as you can to treat his foot, and get him neutered as soon as possible. No need to keep worrying about whether or not he has another home. If he had a responsible caregiver, he would not be outside limping, coming to you for food, and he would be neutered because responsible cat owners get their cats spayed and neutered. If finances are an issue, see if there is an Animal Friends or Humane Society in your area that has low-cost spay and neuter clinics. If this cat had a responsible owner, someone would be looking for him, posting his picture on telephone poles and on social media. He is your cat now, and he is very lucky to have found you!

I agree completeely with @MsAimee.   The cat obviously knows where he belongs.  If he wanted to be somewhere else, that is where he would be.  A lot of people get a kitten for free because it's cute but never get it shots and never get it neutered, and as it grows up it goes out and learns to be an adult the hard way, getting in fights and getting beaten up by older more experienced males.  Eventually they become neighborhood tom cats, if they don't die from infection and disease, and they go around the neighborhood making babies wherever they can.  In most cases they don't live more than five years, but there's another generation behind them waiting to take over the territory.  I have ALWAYS taken those young males to be neutered regardless of if they might have an owner.  If no sign appears looking for the missing cat by the time he's recovered from being neutered, I put him up for adoption if he's young and friendly.  Some of those folks still send me pictures every year of the wonderful males they got from me.  Anyhow get antibiotics for the foot and get him neutered and microchipped as soon as you can, and bring him along to your new house.  The Cat Goddess has gifted you with one of her sweet children, so just say thank you and move on. 

He's home from his foot, neuter, shots and revolution treatment. He has to wear a bandage for 2 days. Poor baby didn't have a good ride home though, The car broke down on the way home from the vet, so i had to walk down the dirt road carrying a big cat carrier. He is home recovering in the cool now. I'm not driving the husbands car again after that, there was no warning it just started dying.

Have you named this handsome cat yet? How wonderful that you've done so much for him. He will be a faithfull friend to you for a long time.

I haven't decided for sure but I might call him Rocky.



The vet said the Revolution would help with the ear mites. Does the revolution completely take care of the ear mites? The other vet would always give me ear drops when cats had ear mites.

Here is Rocky and his bandage. His bandage comes off today. He acts like he might have been bottle fed. His pain medication is in a syringe and he acts like he is getting fed. I thought he was going to grab the end of it when i was putting it away. I would think it would taste bad.

He also doesn't know how to play nice with people. The other 2 know not to dig their claws in. I brought him some toys to give him something else to attack.

Very good idea with the toys.  Always play with a cat using a toy, never with your hand or body except where you need to pin him, in which case scruff him on his back but pink him with the toy.  Also, keep his claws clipped.  They dont need to be terribly short but they need to be short enough to be dull, not needle sharp.  If he was a bottle baby then he may not know how to play nice with others.  It's something they learn from mom and siblings, and from experienced fosters if they grew up with them, but inexperienced owners often don't know what to teach or how to teach it, and then the kitten gets big and it is a problem.  We have several threads going on here right now about cats who are playing way too rough for their owners, or else are treating their owners like they would a subservient cat, i.e. the house cat is the alpha cat, not the owner.  That needs correction but there is a right way to do it so the cat learns respect but not fear, just as they do with other cats.

He looks pretty happy and at home with you. Cats who haven't been raised properly, or who have spent a lot of time outside on their own, sometimes have habits that are the result of poor socialization. I took in a cat almost two years ago who was "owned" by a man who had over a dozen cats that he let roam around outside. They weren't neutered, and they all had bad parasite and flea infestations. "Sonny" is a super friendly cat who walks on a harness outside with me, and who greets everyone who comes through my door. However, he has a tendency to give a right hook to people, and to nip at them sometimes--if he's done being petted, or when I have to comb his long fur or trim his claws. These are not acceptable behaviors, but he was already 3-4 years old when I took him in, so it's taking some time to re-socialize him properly. Your kitty will learn, too. I recommend getting a wand toy, which is an interactive toy, and playing with him when he's fully recovered. He can work out his energy that way and play with you in a positive way. A scratching post will also be helpful and give him a place to dig in his claws. Rocky is a perfect name for him.  

Rocky is feeling better now and taking me for walks

What a gorgeous kitty! I'm so glad you took him in -and not only got him vetted but are also providing him the forever home and loving companionship he obviously really craved! He's lucky to have found such a kind, compassionate soul...he definitely wandered into the right yard! !!! I hope you have many happy years of walks together in your future!

charliana said:

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• charliana
• Jun 24, 2016

Rocky is feeling better now and taking me for walks

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Wow!! Look at what lots of love and good care can do in such a short time [emoji]10084[/emoji]️ Rocky looks amazing and very comfortable in his harness and leash!!

  Rocky is SO handsome, alert and confident in his pretty blue harness! He was sure super-smart to choose you to be his forever-guardian! If he did have a family who is missing him, they must have prayed overtime that Rocky was found by someone such as yourself. Kudos for all your efforts in rescuing this cat - had he not found you, his wounds would have made him miserable for a very long time.....infections are, sadly, too often fatal for feral/homeless cats.

He is so cute! And I agree, our cats are the ones who take us for walks, not visa versa   I'm so glad you decided to keep him.