HELP! Found a stray, how can I trap him?

I didn't see Buddy last night. Lily and Georges were there tho. I don't think Buddy was around, because he was chasing Georges the other night.

The association didn't call me back, but that's OK for now. I'm going to try and befriend Buddy first. If and when we establish a feeding pattern, he will be much easier to trap.

I talked to yet another neighbor, and she actually feeds a colony not too far from here. She wants to help with Buddy, and knows about the association. That's how I learned that if I can trap him, I just have to call them, and they will pay for the neuter. If I foster him, they'll pay for food and vet bills. If he's released, I can buy food from them at great prices.

I hope I see him tonight, I'll keep you guys updated.

Lyzzie said:

 
I didn't see Buddy last night. Lily and Georges were there tho. I don't think Buddy was around, because he was chasing Georges the other night.

The association didn't call me back, but that's OK for now. I'm going to try and befriend Buddy first. If and when we establish a feeding pattern, he will be much easier to trap.

I talked to yet another neighbor, and she actually feeds a colony not too far from here. She wants to help with Buddy, and knows about the association. That's how I learned that if I can trap him, I just have to call them, and they will pay for the neuter. If I foster him, they'll pay for food and vet bills. If he's released, I can buy food from them at great prices.

I hope I see him tonight, I'll keep you guys updated.

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That's great. You're doing so well with this Lyzzie.



Georges is your neighbors cat, right? How about Lily, does she have a home too? It's really lucky that there is already a colony care-taker set up close by and that the association are willing to help you. Things are looking good for Buddy already.

Good luck with befriending Buddy.

@Norachan Georges and Lily both have homes, I know them and their owners. They're both black cats, they are really cute, and Lily is just a cuddle bug. I began feeding her last year, she was almost skin and bones, and just stuffed her face every time I brought food out. I talk to her owner and told her what I was doing, and why. She made up some kind of excuse like "she eats less in summer". Yeah right. This year, she seems like she's well nourished. Good for her.

Anyway, a neighbor just told me that he saw Buddy last night, waiting below my window! It was around 9 PM, he was early! I went outside at 9:05 PM, I must have just missed him. He was probably scared by the neighbor closing his shutters. So, tonight, I'm going out there at 8:15~8:30.

He came back, that's really good, I was scared for him last night.

Yes, pretty soon Buddy will have you trained to his schedule!  

I really don't mind, Sparrow got me trained to his really fast! 

He came back! He ate a bit of wet and then Sparrow launched himself on the window. Long story short, I went outside and he was still there. As soon as I crouched, he left, but quite calmly. So, I followed him. And I found him!! He was in a quiet dark alley, so I went in, and was able to take pictures. And, he actually came to me, head butt my hand, and let me pet him. He even rolled around on the ground, and tried to play with my hand. His fur was coarse, and because it was dark, no way to look for a tattoo, or if he was neutered or not. But after looking at the pics, I think he is tattooed on his right ear.

So, officially meet Buddy :






On pic #3 I can see ink inside his ear, what do you guys think?

What do you mean by ink & tattoo? Are you asking if he's fixed? Because in America the top of the left ear is lopped off if the cat is fixed & returned to the outside (trap, neuter, & release). (Sounds painful, but they do it whe cat is being fixed.)

Buddy looks terrific. Either someone is feeding him or he is finding food elsewhere. Good luck with him.

@Primula I don't think we do the ear thing here. We have two choices for identification : chip or tattoo. I can see some ink inside his right ear, so I think he was tattooed at one point.

About the neutering, I don't know if we have a special way to tell just by looking, like the ear in the US. I'll ask around.

Here's a close up of his ear :


He doesn't look famished, and he doesn't feel like it either. I don't know what to think, but the only way to be sure is to trap him, and get him to the vet.

So are you saying he could be tattooed but not fixed? Our system is much better. As I said, if we see a cat with a lopped-off ear tip he is definitely fixed.

Buddy could be a cat who has been dumped or left behind. People are cruel.

Yes, he could be tattooed but not fixed. There are a lot of ads for lost pets, when they are identifiable but not fixed, or the other way around. Your system is better, I can't imagine why we wouldn't have a way to tell if ferals are fixed or not. I'm going to ask around, maybe there is a system for this and I'm not aware of it. Until last year, I didn't even know there were TNR groups in my town.

So what is the point of being tattooed?

Lyzzie said:

He doesn't look famished, and he doesn't feel like it either. I don't know what to think, but the only way to be sure is to trap him, and get him to the vet.

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Yes, that does look like an ear tattoo. From what you've said about being able to touch him I think he must be either lost or dumped. The vet should be able to trace his previous family by the tattoo. So if he is lost and you're able to reunite him with his people, that's great! But if he was dumped he's quite friendly, which means things will be a lot easier for you when you bring him indoors.

Great news either way!

Primula said:

So what is the point of being tattooed?

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It's just a way of identifying the cat. It was used a lot before we had chips to ID them with. It sounds unlikely that anyone would go to all the trouble of getting their cat tattooed but not neutered, it's usually done at the same time.

But I guess you never know.

The vet will be able to tell if he's been fixed or not.

Actually, the SPA here only tattoo the animals, the neutering/spaying is left to the owners (at least in kittens). So, it's entirely possible to have a cat tattooed but not fixed. I talked to more neighbors today, and there is another kitty lost. Black, petite and with a collar. Missing for 3 weeks. I'll keep an eye out. I also learned that there is a lot of students renting here, they take a cat because they're lonely, and when they leave, they leave the cat outside. That's infuriating. So it's possible Buddy is one of them.

I live near a university as well.  The local rescue has a recruitment effort for students to foster cats while they are here,  It is working well.  Sometimes the students adopt the cats but mostly, it gives the cats a temporary home and lots of socialization.  More importantly, it is teaching the kids responsibility.  Many of them have no clue what happens to abandoned cats, especially unfixed ones.

That's not a bad idea at all! I'll talk to the association about it. Thanks @Ondine!

New development. I followed Buddy again tonight, and talked to another neighbor. Apparently, Buddy's owner is living at the end of the alley! I'm going to go and talk to him tomorrow to make sure it's the same cat.

Oh, I hope his owner is more responsible than he appears.  So glad you're going to talk to him.  Fingers crossed it goes well.

@Ondine I hoped so too, but that's kind of not going that way. I went to talk to the owner, he wasn't there. I ended up talking to yet another neighbor, who knows the cat and the owner. Buddy's name is actually Loocky. Loocky also eats at the neighbors, and at my place since last week. Apparently, when his owner is not home, the cat is left outside. I saw Loocky's front yard, I hope it's not as bad inside. I don't want to judge, but find it difficult not to. According to the same neighbor, Loocky is attached to his owner, greeting him and following him when he comes home.

I'm still going to go and talk to the owner, hopefully late this afternoon, or tomorrow. We'll see what happens, but if there is a way to keep Loocky, I'm gonna do it.

Didn't get to speak with Looky's owner yesterday, he wasn't home the two times I went. But another one of his neighbor was there (I never talked with that many neighbors EVER), and confirmed that the cat is Looky, they also see him around, and he comes to eat their dog's kibbles when the dog is not outside. She told me Looky was old, and had some medical problems is the past. He's the "King of the Neighborhood" because he fights with every single cat he encounters. I told her that was probably because he wasn't neutered, and that the behavior would stop if he was. She was surprised, she didn't know. She's going to talk to the owner and tell him to call me. He has my number because he got the flyer I left in his mailbox. Why he didn't call when he got it I don't know.

As I was leaving I saw Looky, I called him and he went right up to me, demanding to be petted. I did, and took the opportunity to check him over a bit. His coat is still coarse, he has a scab on his neck under his chin. I didn't think to check if he was neutered, but he let me touch his ears. He either have ear mites, or they are just really dirty. I also got part of his tattoo. I'm going to call the I-CAD (it's a centralized entity with all the pet carnivores IDs from France) and check the owner's name.

I'm still feeding him, and I will keep going to the owner to talk to him. I'm getting a bit angry at him to be honest.

That would make me furious too. What are the laws about neglecting animals in France like? If he goes away and leaves Looky to fend for himself for days at a time he really isn't a responsible pet guardian.

It's great that you are talking to so many neighbors though. I spoke to a lot more people than I would have done when I was trying to get all the neighborhood ferals fixed. My Japanese got a lot better too. Is French your first language? (It's hard to tell, your English is flawless.)

I hope Looky's person turns out to be just a bit ignorant than really neglectful. Maybe you can encourage him to take better care of this poor cat.