Adopting a stray cat?

kittykitcat2233

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Hiya all, I just have a couple of question about a stray tom cat in my area.

I started seeing him about once a week in the summer of 2014. He is a long haired black cat that had a very clearly visible break in his tail. I tried to get him inside with food but never had any luck as I would always miss him. In the end he just disappeared for about 6 months and reappeared with only half a tail. I assumed a recue had gotten to him, had neutered and fixed his tail and realised him because he was feral. Since then I have routinely seen him every evening while he passes through my garden. A couple of months ago I saw him cross a main road about 10 roads down from where I live. I'm 99.99% sure it was him because I don't know to many other cats that have half a tail too lol. So I contacted my local animal rescue and told them my predicament. This led to the question if he wasn't neutered and was roaming then was he ever taken to the vets? Was it possible his tail just fell off?

The woman at the rescue was a saint. She gave me lots off food to take home to try and start feeding him again. At first other cats were eating the food but in the end I managed to catch him eating the food. I ran outside and made an attempt to shake the packet. He bolted across the garden but then slowly started to come over (Thinking back he must off been really desperate to have come over to me). I fed him some more food but couldn't manage to grab him as he was very skittish. I continued feeding him for about a week and a half until it got to the point where he was waiting and sleeping in my garden. I started to wonder whether he was really feral or maybe just a stray. He didn't have the same attitude I have seen in most of the feral cats. I also started to realise how swollen and distended his belly appeared from worms.

I then borrowed a trap from the kind lady at the rescue and started trying to feed him in the trap. Instantly he knew what the trap was. He refused to go any where near the thing and would just stare at the tuna expecting it to grow wings and fly towards him. So instead I tried a different approach and tried to lore him inside. At first he was really skittish but after a couple of chunks soon gave in. He even let me stroke him for a while. Finally on Monday I managed to lore him inside and shut the door. At first he froze but then he started to meow and soon hid under the table. I picked him up and placed him into a carrier (without a hiss or scratch) and took him to the rescue.

The woman told me she would keep me up to date with his progress and phoned me yesterday to say how things were going. She said they took him to the vets to neuter him and found a microchip on him. I off course was completely mind blown. However this didn't last very long. She promptly told me that the microchip only had a road name (5 roads from me) and a number on it which was dead. Most likely he was abandoned when they moved house so they were able to carry on with the neutering. She also estimated him to be a about 8/9 years old.

Over this whole period I have completely fallen for him. Before I enquire about getting him from the rescue I'm worried in case he carries on roaming around the neighbour and still sprays. Would he settle down now that he's neutered? Or would he carry on living like this, after all old habits die hard lol. I would keep him in at night time off course. I know that some cats just enjoy exploring but for him I'm not so sure. Since we started to feed him he practically lived in our garden.

Ps I live in the uk. I understand that most cats are indoors in the US however its quite common for all cats to go outside over here.
 

shadowsrescue

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What a great story.  Thank you so much for rescuing and helping this sweet kitty.  You have done the most important thing in having him neutered. 

It will take awhile for his hormones to settle.  It can take 3-6 weeks.  Most males once neutered will stop wandering as the drive is no longer there.  Yet wandering for some is a habit that can be hard to break.

Would you be willing to try and have him be an inside/outside cat?  He could learn to spend some time inside the house yet still have some freedom to be outside too.  You also could get the microchip updated with your name on it. 

You will just need to try and see if he will stop wandering.  Most of my male feral cats stop once neutered.  Yet I have had 2 that never stopped.  It's hard to say.  If you offer him yummy food, a home and love he may very well forget about his wandering days!

As for spraying, it will also depend on how often he sprayed before.  It too can become a habit.  Yet once the hormones are shut down and he no longer feels the need to mark his territory, he may very well stop.  I have one of my feral males who was neutered young.  He still sprays outside very once and awhile.  The good news is that since he is neutered, the odor is much less offensive.
 

ondine

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Thank you so much for helping him!  It sounds like he can use it.  Providing him with a home is the best thing you can do.   His previous "owners" certainly didn't do what they should have.  How terrible to be that old and be abandoned!

He will definitely calm down once he is neutered.  You may find that he wanders less, too.  He won't need to look for food and will no longer be looking for love, so you may find he wanders less, too.

If it is possible, can you keep him inside for a few days?  Neutering is not that hard on a cat but with his age and history, he may need a little more coddling.  You may find he's ready to be an indoor cat.

He will be skittish whether he's inside or outside for a bit.  He has to get into a routine (food at the same time every day, etc). Once that is established, he'll be happy to stay in his own garden.
 
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kittykitcat2233

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What a great story.  Thank you so much for rescuing and helping this sweet kitty.  You have done the most important thing in having him neutered. 

It will take awhile for his hormones to settle.  It can take 3-6 weeks.  Most males once neutered will stop wandering as the drive is no longer there.  Yet wandering for some is a habit that can be hard to break.

Would you be willing to try and have him be an inside/outside cat?  He could learn to spend some time inside the house yet still have some freedom to be outside too.  You also could get the microchip updated with your name on it. 

You will just need to try and see if he will stop wandering.  Most of my male feral cats stop once neutered.  Yet I have had 2 that never stopped.  It's hard to say.  If you offer him yummy food, a home and love he may very well forget about his wandering days!

As for spraying, it will also depend on how often he sprayed before.  It too can become a habit.  Yet once the hormones are shut down and he no longer feels the need to mark his territory, he may very well stop.  I have one of my feral males who was neutered young.  He still sprays outside very once and awhile.  The good news is that since he is neutered, the odor is much less offensive.
Thank you so much for helping him!  It sounds like he can use it.  Providing him with a home is the best thing you can do.   His previous "owners" certainly didn't do what they should have.  How terrible to be that old and be abandoned!

He will definitely calm down once he is neutered.  You may find that he wanders less, too.  He won't need to look for food and will no longer be looking for love, so you may find he wanders less, too.

If it is possible, can you keep him inside for a few days?  Neutering is not that hard on a cat but with his age and history, he may need a little more coddling.  You may find he's ready to be an indoor cat.

He will be skittish whether he's inside or outside for a bit.  He has to get into a routine (food at the same time every day, etc). Once that is established, he'll be happy to stay in his own garden.
Thank you both so much. It was definetly an emotional rollercoaster. I'm thinking alone the lines of keeping him indoors for a month or so just so he settles down then letting him out again. The problem is I have a year old cat right now who is an indoor only cat. My previous cat was a neutered male who got hit by a car. I couldn't deal with this ever happening again so always kept her inside. I wouldnt mind letting him be a indoor outdoor cat as he seems to be quite street smart (always walks on the pavement normally lol) and as you said he does seem rather 'tired' of the rough life. For example when I was feeding him other cats would sometimes appear and try and steal his food. Instead of fighting them he would just sit there and let them take it. He just seemed very defeated. I really feel sick to my stomach thinking he has lived like this for a number of years. I honestly can't believe someone would do this to him. How long would I need to keep him inside before he starts fix onto my house as a home? Is there a danger he might just go back to his old routine when let outside and not return?
 

ondine

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Is there a possibility he can remain and indoor only cat?  Slow introductions to your resident cat can help them adjust to one another.  He sounds like he could use a break and living inside will certainly do that.

When we relocate feral cat colonies, they need to be confined to the new territory for 3-4 weeks.  If he's already familiar with your yard, you can release him sooner but, with those other cats, you'll have to watch he isn't chased off.  (Another reason to let him remain indoors).
 
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