Cat's been gone for about 3 days...

I'm just iffy about ear clipping since Hector got an infection. Wasn't my choice to clip her or I would have said not to do it.

IndyJones said:

Since he is technically your cat you don't need to have the ear clipped. That is for hard to handle cats. Just attach the tag to his collar and you should be good. My Hector had her ear clipped and it got infected.

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Ear tipping is the universal sign that a cat is spayed/neutered.  Since this cat will be living outside and may wander, it would help for anyone else who might trap him or think he is a stray to know that he has been neutered.  Also if you are using a collar, you want to be sure it is a break away collar.  You don't want him getting it caught on branches or fencing or other objects.  A break away collar will snap off if the cat gets caught.

All of my feral cats have been ear tipped.  There has never been a problem with the ear getting infected.  They only take off the very tip of the ear.  

Maybe Hector was a freak incident or maybe it got infected in a fight IDK she was tiny but picked fights with the neighbors cats before she became an indoor cat.

As I said the shelter had her fixed so I really don't know what the vet that did it was like.

So, dude disappeared again (this time for about 6 days before coming back). He checked into his room for the night and then left again for 1-2 more. He stuck around yesterday so I called and made his appointment to get him fixed. Turns out, he already is! (Don't you know I felt stupid.)

So if he's not courting - why would he disappear for so long? I can't find him anywhere when he's gone but eventually, he's always come back.

Is there anything cheap but decent that will allow you to track your pets? I've done some research but couldn't really find anything.

Tempus said:

 
So, dude disappeared again (this time for about 6 days before coming back). He checked into his room for the night and then left again for 1-2 more. He stuck around yesterday so I called and made his appointment to get him fixed. Turns out, he already is! (Don't you know I felt stupid.)

So if he's not courting - why would he disappear for so long? I can't find him anywhere when he's gone but eventually, he's always come back.

Is there anything cheap but decent that will allow you to track your pets? I've done some research but couldn't really find anything.

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Some cats just have the wandering bug!  I had a feral cat once that wandered and wandered.  I got him fixed and so hoped he would stick around.  Nope.  He still wandered just as much.  I hated not knowing where he went.  

I too have looked into the GPS tracking devices, but they are expensive.  Have you considered building him an enclosure where he could still live outside, but be safe?  There are tons of ideas floating around.

Thank you for taking him to the vet to check for a neuter.  With male cats it can be really hard to tell sometimes.  

ShadowsRescue said:

 
Some cats just have the wandering bug!  I had a feral cat once that wandered and wandered.  I got him fixed and so hoped he would stick around.  Nope.  He still wandered just as much.  I hated not knowing where he went.  

I too have looked into the GPS tracking devices, but they are expensive.  Have you considered building him an enclosure where he could still live outside, but be safe?  There are tons of ideas floating around.

Thank you for taking him to the vet to check for a neuter.  With male cats it can be really hard to tell sometimes.  

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Well, he currently lives on the deck at the back of the house, when he's home. The only way on and off the deck (besides jumping!) is a set of stairs. Can you think of anything that wouldn't look ridiculous but could keep him from going down the steps? That would fix the problem.

A baby gate?

Honestly not sure why I asked the question. He'll get off the deck if he wants to. He can jump up onto the railings. I caught him perched up there yesterday. So all he'd have to do is jump on the railing, walk across, and hop down onto the top step. It'll never work.

Is it at all possible to build an enclosure on your property? Doesn't have to be fancy or elaborate just some chicken wire hardware cloth on all four sides and across the top to keep him from jumping it

Not mine but gives you an idea of what I mean you could even add a heated dog house for a sheltered sleeping area

I've actually been looking at that (though your picture didn't load for me for some reason - I'm guessing it's the content filter at work) since I last posted. I found this article that could work: http://www.7thheavencats.com/safe-outdoor-enclosure.html

Doesn't look so hot though so not sure how the rest of my family would feel about it. May be considered an eye sore.

I'll take a look at what you posted when I get home.

This site has tons of ideas

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-enclosures.htm