"Failed" farm cat--should he come home?

Hi, first time viewer and caller, have been having this ethical and logistical dilemma and thought this might be the best place to get insight:

I work at a summer camp on a farm that promotes outdoor education. There is this cat, Nox, an un-neutered about 7 month old black cat that hangs around where interns live when it's not summer. 

Apparently his story is that he was got around October to handle a rat problem, but then was also brought inside and trained how to use a litter box and was fed fairly regularly so he was never very motivated to hunt. 

When summer started, the interns moved out and left Nox behind, thinking that he was used to wandering a huge space and would not want to live inside. 

The thing is, now, he appears to be quite skinny, does not hunt well, and scarfs down any food we give him. He also is always trying to get inside.

I will add pictures when I get good ones. 

He is also very friendly and will run into any open door that is leading inside. 

I have discovered just how therapeutic cats can be, and have a mental health professional willing to prescribe me an emotional support animal that would give me some housing freedom with pet policies and such. 

I live with my parents right now who are incredibly supportive and maintain that as long as he is my cat and I take care of him, they are willing to provide financial support as needed. 

Now. 

would it be ethical or right of me to take him home at the end of the summer if we have bonded during the summer?

I was thinking about treating him with some OTC flea and tick medicine now since he sleeps with me. 

I want to neuter him whether or not I end of taking him home because it seems wrong to just leave him and potentially more kittens and cats in this situation. 

I am worried that this will give him more stress or that as a new cat owner this would not be a good idea. At the same time, we already have a connection and I have noticed positive changes in myself. Would this be a selfish thing to do, bringing from a farm and wilderness space where he seems to not be flourishing and making him an inside cat with the potential to harness train in the future?

I take it the cat is "owned"? Since the little man is not "doing his job", they may be perfectly happy to let you have him. 

The unethical thing was to raise and feed him indoors and then just throw him out.

fyi, cats hunt even when being fed. Some of the best hunters would be even better if not  so hefty!

It would be cruel to leave this cat on his own. From the sound of it, he will either starve or be killed by a predator.

By taking him you would be saving his life. 

Oh, please be careful about otc flea and tick treatments, they have been known to kill. Do you have access to a vet where you could get some good stuff? I bet someone here could tell you what is safe. You might check out forums like health, I can't think of all the forums here, but I bet you could find the info in here, somewhere!

Oh jeez yeah I absolutely don't want to kill him! I also just don't want to end up with fleas and ticks on myself...

And his "owner", as I understand it, moved away (or at least the guy who took care or him primarily) and now there are various people who just leave some food out for him. 

I will try to see the vet situation, I had just also not realized how bad OTC flea and tick treatments are. Thank you for the heads up!

What tears me up is how that stuff is still on the shelves! If a food caused as much trouble, it would be recalled. Being out on shelves, for sale, makes people think it's safe. 

Well then, not owned, no problem! The two of you sound like a match made in heaven. No matter what your beliefs, heaven or just the grand scheme of things; you were put there to save this life.

At least ticks are easier to find and get off, the fleas are the hardest. imo

Look in Cat Health and Care and Grooming. 

Wish you could get your hands on some Revolution. That works on fleas, ear mites and most worms. Oh, and heart worms. Good stuff.

It is really late and the yawns are taking over! I hope we can chat some more tomorrow, or sometime  soon. I'd love to follow along with the two of you, and pics are always required!

Hi @camilaMilfuegos  Welcome to TCS.

I'm so glad to hear that you are thinking of giving this guy a home. If he is having trouble finding food now he's going to have a much tougher time in the winter. It's really not good to let un-fixed cats roam around outside either. 

I suggest you take him to a vet as soon as you can and have him neutered and treated for parasites at the same time. Google low-cost spay and neuter clinics in your area. Most of them offer discounts for stray cats, which I guess this guy is at the moment.

I think he'll be much happier as an indoor cat. Most cats are once they've realised how comfortable the life is.

Keep us posted, I'd love to see some pictures of him.

Thank you so much for the advice and support! I'm going to plan on taking him to the local PetSmart vet my next weekend off (the working situation also complicates things a bit, I get every other weekend free) and move from there. This is him a couple days ago when we had no cat food but he looked so hungry I gave him some leftover meat pie (no crust). We are now feeding him dry food. I'm also getting the understanding that its preferred to feed wet food more regularly? Will do research in the forums.

Thank you so much for taking care of this little guy!  I agree that you will be very happy together!

A few things - 

Banfield vets are questionable.  Are there any other options?  They gouge you on pricing and have a reputation for offering subpar opinions and care.  I would go elsewhere if at all possible.

Also, be very careful with what you feed him.  Onions and garlic are toxic to cats, so you'll want to limit human food.

You've been wonderful to care for this cat and take care of him. I can't see any ethical dilemma about bringing the cat home. The people who brought him to the farm have abandoned him, and if he isn't cared for, he will die. You've cared for him and taken care of him, so he's yours.

By all means, take him to a vet and have his flea problem taken care of. You don't want to have fleas biting you too.

BTW, black cats rock!

The way Nox was treated is why there are organizations like Alley Cat Allies and Neighborhood Cats and sites like TCS!  People just don't get it.

Please take him home.  A vet check, to make sure fleas and worms are not a problem and Nox is on his way to a happy house cat life.

Blessings on you for stepping up to the plate for this kitty!

I'm going to try to request to schedule an appointment with my local VCA. @talkingpeanut

And yeah, someone just bought him some fancy Whole Foods dry food and when I go to return my OTC flea stuff I'll pick up some cans wet food. He's off people food now!

This cat is the friendliest cat I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. In fact, I always thought my first not fish pet would be a dog, because that's the personality I tend towards, but Nox has changed my mind!

Cute fact, his name is actually Equinox, but Nox for short. 

VCA is great. The first visit is free, too, but you will have to pay for meds, dewormer, etc. Nox is on his way to a happy home, and he will be your loving friend for life.

I think its wonderful that Nox sleeps with you. I love it when my cats snuggle with me. My Honeybee saved me from depression as well. Sometimes the best medicine is a furry friend. honeybee spends most of her time with me. She follows me around and licks my hands and face. She loves to knead on my lap on a fuzzy blanket. She had a red blanket that she prefers to sleep on. Maybe because her orange fur sheds on it so visibly. She also curls up onmy chest at night when its cooler. If its hot she sleeps in the window. During the winter she parks her butt on my chest and keeps me warm. She snores as well. So let this kitty sooth you and bring him home at the end of the summer. And yes revolution is best. its expensive but kills lots of things. even worms. you would do well to get him neutered. He will calm down and not roam so much. And yes more pictures

Re: Flea meds. 2 years ago I put front line on 3 cats. Within 30 minutes they were all hacking and coughing. Luckily, none died, but it was close. Not long after that my cousin's dog reacted the exact same way to it. 

After this, I found flea combs on ebay for less than a $ each. The added benefit is they love to be combed. 

The VCA vets will give you some choices for flea medications depending on if he will be an indoor-outdoor cat or strictly an indoor cat.  There is a pill that can get rid of every flea on him for 24 hours which would be good to use if you are taking him home at the end of the summer and keeping him inside at home. (Your vet can tell you about it.) That way you will bring no live fleas with you into the house.  There is a new collar they use for fleas but I would advise against it since the cat can get hooked on something as simple as a protruding stick or branch, plus it's very expensive and if he turned out to be allergic to the ingredients, you would lose a lot of money.

@Red Top Rescue

Yeah, I am planning to ask the vet about the best thing now since he's outside mostly and plan on changing to a more appropriate for indoor cats at the end of August. 

Also, in response to a lot of suggestion to neuter him very soon, I don't feel entirely comfortable getting him neutered when I won't be able to completely monitor him and when he is still going out and wandering who knows where doing who knows what. I intend to get him neutered then summer ends so he's at home with me and in a much cleaner environment.

Getting h neutered now will actually keep him safer.  He won't feel the need to look for love, which will quite possibly result in fighting with other males - which will leave him injured and possibly infected.

Please reconsider neutering him ASAP.   Thanks!

So glad to hear he's found his home with you!

agreed!  Recovery time for males is less than 24 hours.

Really! I had understood that recovery time can be 2-7 days. In that case, will discuss with vet soonest time for neutering.
The opinions made when you(I) don't understand cat anatomy can be correct in intention but not in action. Good to know

What is VCA? 

The surgery for males is not anywhere near as invasive as with females. With all their "equipment" on the outside, it's fairly easy. Not saying there isn't some risk with any procedure, but this one takes less time to know if there are any complications. When I read your post, I was so ready to jump in, but then saw others had beaten me to it!

The risks keeping a male intact are not to be fooled around with. He may seem quiet, but if he catches scent of a female in heat, that's a whole different kitty. Traveling to get to her: more chance of getting hit by a car, getting attacked by a predator, fighting and getting injured and/or exposed to a nasty illness; it's very risky. 

I can tell it would break your heart if anything happened to Nox! We are going to try to give you the best advice possible. You were both so very lucky to find each other!