Stray Cat Problems...

ezwriter

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A little background on my cat situation before I start:

I live in a one-bedroom apartment. I have 5 cats. A female (Shuggie), probably about 5 years old, and her litter of 4 males (Conan, Francesco, Buddy Boy and Jellybean), who will be 3 years old around  this coming Easter. The female was abandoned by her former owners, who moved out and left her behind to fend for herself. I don't know how long she was living outside before she wandered (pregnant, unbeknownst to me) into my apartment and my life. She is an indoor/outdoor cat. The males are all indoor cats.

I'm having an issue with a stray. He is an adorable black cat (I call him Jack), probably about a year old, who has been following me around the apartment complex off and on since he was a kitten. Now he is basically living on my back porch. I put food out for him there, and a soft cat bed that he sleeps in. I give him as much affection as my limited schedule allows. He loves getting attention, being petted, belly rubs, and playing with catnip toys. He's just a great little guy, and I've become very attached to him.

If I didn't already have 5 cats, he would definitely be my cat, but it's not meant to be. My cats are like a little mafia and will never accept a new member into the house. I bring him inside occasionally (he is always dying to come in), but it usually doesn't go very well. My cats get very agitated with his presence. It doesn't get to actual fighting, but there is usually a lot of howling, moaning, groaning, hissing, and general hostility. Even when it's relatively peaceful, I can tell my cats are stressed out whenever he's in the apartment. The males have lived very sheltered lives indoors and are not used to other animals, and their mama is very territorial and resents the invasion of a stranger onto her turf. Even with all this, Jack still likes to come inside.

I can't say that it is my cats only that are responsible for all of the bad vibes. A couple of times I've seen Jack get "that look" in his eyes, and proceed to run up on one of the other cats, although he falls short of actually doing anything to them, that's enough to completely freak my cats out.

The most heartbreaking thing, though, is the fact that my cat Jellybean is also a black cat (although to me he looks nothing like Jack; he's twice Jack's size for one thing), and even after I put Jack back outside following a ruckus, the other cats often proceed to turn on Jellybean, as if they are confusing him with Jack, and poor innocent Jellybean has to hide under the bed until they calm down.

There are also issues with him hanging outside. My mama cat, Shuggie, likes to spend time outside with me, and we often go for walks around the grounds of the apartment complex. Nowadays, our walks are ruined by Jack, who comes running up to me whenever I set foot outside. This sends Shuggie into hiding, usually under a car, until Jack leaves.

I've tried to find Jack a home via Facebook, to no avail. The only no-kill shelter in my city is the Humane Society, and they make it extremely difficult to turn in an animal. They open the doors at 10AM, but people begin lining up at 5 or 6 in the morning. So, in order to turn him in, I would have to wait in line with him in a carrier for 4 or 5 hours, and I could still be turned away. Add to that the fact that I've been told by a lot of people that black cats tend to languish in shelters. Even if I didn't have to get up at the break of dawn on a Saturday and wait in line for 5 hours to get him in a shelter, I would still feel terrible thinking that he could be stuck in there in a tiny cage for months.

And, even though I realize that cats don't experience the exact same type of emotions that humans do (not saying that they don't experience emotions at all, just that they're different), the thought that he might feel betrayed by the human who's been taking care of him really bothers me. And I hate the thought of not at least being able to check up on him, even if it's only looking at photos of him online (what can I say, I'm very attached to the little stinker.)

I'm not sure what to do at this point. The ideal situation for me would be to find him a loving home without him having to go through a shelter first, but that's proving difficult...especially since, from what I've observed, I really can't recommend that he live with other cats, so that rules out most potential homes ("cat people" always have cats already; that's why they're "cat people"...)

Have you guys ever experienced anything similar? What did you do? What would you do if you were me?
 

shadowsrescue

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Thank you for caring about Jack and wanting the best for him.

First off, have you had him neutered?  What about your inside crew is everyone spayed/neutered and up to date on all vaccines?  This is very important as they are all having some interactions.

If Jack is not neutered that could be the initial issue between all the cats.  Once neutered and hormones settle down, Jack might mellow and the cats might accept him easier.

Cats are not pack animals like dogs and can take a very long time to get used to each other.  I have brought inside two stray/feral cats and introduced them to my inside crew.  The first time it took one solid year. This time around, it has been 12 weeks and all is going very well.  It is a process.  When you just bring a new cat inside the house, all heck can break loose.  Cats need time to adjust and there are some guidelines to follow that greatly help.

Poor Jellybean.  This is all redirected cat aggression.  The cats cannot get to Jack so they take it on on the weakest member.  

For now , if you continue to allow Jack time inside the house, be sure that all 5 cats are put away.  There should be no face to face time at all.  Get a Feliway plug in and/or some Comfort Zone spray.  Both will great help.  You can find them with pretty good prices on Amazon.

If you would decide to try and bring Jack into the pack, I can provide some guidelines for you.  Yet, if you just want to find him a home, keep looking.  He seems quite attached to you and with some effort, if might work to make him an inside only cat.

Since he lives on your back porch, you might be able to do some work between a screen door.  Yet it works best to have all of the cats inside together, yet Jack separated.  Since you only have a one bedroom, Jack would need a place of his own.  He would need a litter box and a place to be safe away from your other cats.  Most cats can learn to coexist with each other, but you need to take the process slowly and follow the steps.

Here is a video that show a brief description of introductions

 

ondine

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I second the suggestion to make sure everyone is neutered/spayed.  No small amount of problems are the result of unfixed cats, fighting for territory, mating rights, etc.  Jack will be a lot calmer once neutered and less likely to get into mischief, either with your current crew or with other neighborhood cats.

Is there a way to turn your porch into a catio just for Jack?  I know that depends on your landlord but you may be able to buy one of those two story crates for him.  It will keep him out of trouble and you can adapt it with a house for him to sleep in.  You could even attach a doghouse with a lift-up lid for his litter box.

If you do not have a cat tree or two, I would get some.  This will increase the spaces the cats have in your apartment, thus giving them more places to go to when they feel overcrowded.  It would probably lessen any hissy fits, even if Jack doesn't come in.

Thank you for caring about Jack.
 

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You have been given some great advice so far! And please don't give up on trying to place Jack as an inside cat - I recently adopted a  companion cat for my disabled daughter. We had been looking unsuccessfully for a calico cat to replace her 18 yo cat Christy who was put to sleep last fall; the cat that we adopted was already slated to be surrendered into the shelter. We were on a medical trip and I happened to look on Craigslist for a town that we would be driving thru, and there was an ad for kittens; when I texted the number, the response was all the kittens had been homed but there was an adult calico cat! I had to make a second trip (almost 500 miles, round trip) to get the cat but she is the PERFECT cat for my daughter (the former owner had major medical issues so the cat is an old pro at being a 'nurse/companion' cat).
 

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Thanks for all you do for this poor Jack, and your little mafia so far.  I am an apartment dweller with too many cats already... and two of them were not meant to be mine, we just couldn't find homes for them despite getting them fully vetted and desexed... so I feel your pain. I just want to say, you cannot rule out that Jack can't be around other cats.  Depending on the situation, he may fit in with other cats, just not yours... or maybe even with yours, with the proper introductions.  Though I am sure you know best.  I have two cats in the apartment that just hate each other so I know just like with people, it doesn't always work out - but sometimes it more combination of cats, timing and personal situation.  And some cat lovers might just be up to the challenge... we cat lovers are a stubborn lot like that.  We likes the problem children - makes us feel magic or something to be able to help them.  Just out of curiosity though, is Jack fixed?  are your boys fixed, I am assuming momma kitty is at least spayed?  So Jack hangs around outside... how do your cats deal with that?  Besides momma being scared under a car when he is around and she is outside, do they care about him being outside while they are inside? 
 

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I agree with MollyBlue.  Jack may adjust just fine to a new home where there are already one or two resident cats.  Let new owners know that they need to keep him in a totally separate room for at least the first few days so all the cats can get each other's scents before a face-to-face introduction.  You might also find someone who just lost their only cat and would like to adopt a new kitty.

I know my local Humane Society where I volunteered doesn't accept strays, only people's pets (though I don't know how they prove that people actually own the cat versus bringing a stray).

You might consider Craigslist to avoid having Jack sitting in a shelter, then you could meet and accept or deny the new potential owners personally.  CL has a bad reputation for animal abusers and torturers going there to get "free" animals, so you have to be very careful.  But if you meet people face to face, it should be fairly easy to screen out the bad guys.  They recommend charging a small ($25 - $75) rehoming fee.  If you haven't had Jack neutered, immunized or wormed then I would ask for a smaller rehome fee.  If you have invested in Jack's medical care, then you could ask more.

Also if you let people know in what general area of the country you live, there may be a cat lover right here on this site who lives close enough to you to want to adopt Jack.

It may take some time, but I bet you will be able to find Jack a good forever home where he will be well taken care of for life.
 
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ezwriter

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Thanks for all you do for this poor Jack, and your little mafia so far.  I am an apartment dweller with too many cats already... and two of them were not meant to be mine, we just couldn't find homes for them despite getting them fully vetted and desexed... so I feel your pain. I just want to say, you cannot rule out that Jack can't be around other cats.  Depending on the situation, he may fit in with other cats, just not yours... or maybe even with yours, with the proper introductions.  Though I am sure you know best.  I have two cats in the apartment that just hate each other so I know just like with people, it doesn't always work out - but sometimes it more combination of cats, timing and personal situation.  And some cat lovers might just be up to the challenge... we cat lovers are a stubborn lot like that.  We likes the problem children - makes us feel magic or something to be able to help them.  Just out of curiosity though, is Jack fixed?  are your boys fixed, I am assuming momma kitty is at least spayed?  So Jack hangs around outside... how do your cats deal with that?  Besides momma being scared under a car when he is around and she is outside, do they care about him being outside while they are inside? 
Thanks for the response.

Jack is not fixed. All of my cats are.

I think you're right that it could work with other cats, but my worry would be that if it didn't work, Jack would wind up being taken to some high-kill shelter, or just thrown out in the street. If it were a particularly docile, friendly cat, it might be OK. But as sweet as he is with me, and as small as he is in size, he seems to trigger fear in a lot of other cats...not just mine, but the other strays that hang around as well. That'll probably change a bit once he's fixed.

My boys are "kind of" OK with him being outside. They occasionally hiss at him through the sliding glass door, and once or twice they've worked themselves into a howling frenzy over him being there, but usually they just either watch him quietly, or else ignore him and go about their business.
 
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ezwriter

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I agree with MollyBlue.  Jack may adjust just fine to a new home where there are already one or two resident cats.  Let new owners know that they need to keep him in a totally separate room for at least the first few days so all the cats can get each other's scents before a face-to-face introduction.  You might also find someone who just lost their only cat and would like to adopt a new kitty.

I know my local Humane Society where I volunteered doesn't accept strays, only people's pets (though I don't know how they prove that people actually own the cat versus bringing a stray).

You might consider Craigslist to avoid having Jack sitting in a shelter, then you could meet and accept or deny the new potential owners personally.  CL has a bad reputation for animal abusers and torturers going there to get "free" animals, so you have to be very careful.  But if you meet people face to face, it should be fairly easy to screen out the bad guys.  They recommend charging a small ($25 - $75) rehoming fee.  If you haven't had Jack neutered, immunized or wormed then I would ask for a smaller rehome fee.  If you have invested in Jack's medical care, then you could ask more.

Also if you let people know in what general area of the country you live, there may be a cat lover right here on this site who lives close enough to you to want to adopt Jack.

It may take some time, but I bet you will be able to find Jack a good forever home where he will be well taken care of for life.
Thanks for responding.

I don't like the idea of Craigslist...like you say, too many potential abusers. I'd rather he sit in a no-kill shelter being taken care of by animal lovers, with an eventual adoption to a loving home, than to deliver him into the hands of someone who would do him harm.

I'm going to keep trying. I am in San Antonio, Texas. Willing to take him to Austin, Houston, Huntsville (Texas),  maybe even Dallas.
 
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ezwriter

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Thank you for caring about Jack and wanting the best for him.

First off, have you had him neutered?  What about your inside crew is everyone spayed/neutered and up to date on all vaccines?  This is very important as they are all having some interactions.

If Jack is not neutered that could be the initial issue between all the cats.  Once neutered and hormones settle down, Jack might mellow and the cats might accept him easier.

Cats are not pack animals like dogs and can take a very long time to get used to each other.  I have brought inside two stray/feral cats and introduced them to my inside crew.  The first time it took one solid year. This time around, it has been 12 weeks and all is going very well.  It is a process.  When you just bring a new cat inside the house, all heck can break loose.  Cats need time to adjust and there are some guidelines to follow that greatly help.

Poor Jellybean.  This is all redirected cat aggression.  The cats cannot get to Jack so they take it on on the weakest member.  

For now , if you continue to allow Jack time inside the house, be sure that all 5 cats are put away.  There should be no face to face time at all.  Get a Feliway plug in and/or some Comfort Zone spray.  Both will great help.  You can find them with pretty good prices on Amazon.

If you would decide to try and bring Jack into the pack, I can provide some guidelines for you.  Yet, if you just want to find him a home, keep looking.  He seems quite attached to you and with some effort, if might work to make him an inside only cat.

Since he lives on your back porch, you might be able to do some work between a screen door.  Yet it works best to have all of the cats inside together, yet Jack separated.  Since you only have a one bedroom, Jack would need a place of his own.  He would need a litter box and a place to be safe away from your other cats.  Most cats can learn to coexist with each other, but you need to take the process slowly and follow the steps.

Here is a video that show a brief description of introductions

Thank you.

My cats are all fixed and vaxxed. Jack is not. I've been trying to figure out the logistics of getting him fixed, since my understanding is that he will need a clean, safe, quiet place to recover for a few days after, and that place can't be my apartment, for obvious reasons. I may wind up just paying to have him stay a couple of days at the vet.

As much as I love Jack, I just can't see it working for him to be a part of my cat family. For one thing, I already kind of feel guilty for keeping Shuggie's entire litter of 4. I really didn't know anything about cats at the time, and I thought she'd love the company and would want to be with her babies forever. Little did I know that she was 100% perfectly fine being the only cat in the house, and now pretty much resents having to share her living quarters with 4 other full-grown cats who are all bigger than her. So I think that bringing in yet another cat would screw her life up even more than I already have. Maybe if I lived in a big house where they wouldn't have to interact much, it'd be different, but as it stands, I think I've messed up her situation enough.
 
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ezwriter

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I second the suggestion to make sure everyone is neutered/spayed.  No small amount of problems are the result of unfixed cats, fighting for territory, mating rights, etc.  Jack will be a lot calmer once neutered and less likely to get into mischief, either with your current crew or with other neighborhood cats.

Is there a way to turn your porch into a catio just for Jack?  I know that depends on your landlord but you may be able to buy one of those two story crates for him.  It will keep him out of trouble and you can adapt it with a house for him to sleep in.  You could even attach a doghouse with a lift-up lid for his litter box.

If you do not have a cat tree or two, I would get some.  This will increase the spaces the cats have in your apartment, thus giving them more places to go to when they feel overcrowded.  It would probably lessen any hissy fits, even if Jack doesn't come in.

Thank you for caring about Jack.
Thank you for responding. All mine are fixed, Jack isn't. Currently trying to figure out how I'm going to get that done. (Money isn't the issue, him having a clean, safe, quiet place for post-op recovery is the issue).
 
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ezwriter

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Thank you for responding. All mine are fixed, Jack isn't. Currently trying to figure out how I'm going to get that done. (Money isn't the issue, him having a clean, safe, quiet place for post-op recovery is the issue).
 
I second the suggestion to make sure everyone is neutered/spayed.  No small amount of problems are the result of unfixed cats, fighting for territory, mating rights, etc.  Jack will be a lot calmer once neutered and less likely to get into mischief, either with your current crew or with other neighborhood cats.

Is there a way to turn your porch into a catio just for Jack?  I know that depends on your landlord but you may be able to buy one of those two story crates for him.  It will keep him out of trouble and you can adapt it with a house for him to sleep in.  You could even attach a doghouse with a lift-up lid for his litter box.

If you do not have a cat tree or two, I would get some.  This will increase the spaces the cats have in your apartment, thus giving them more places to go to when they feel overcrowded.  It would probably lessen any hissy fits, even if Jack doesn't come in.

Thank you for caring about Jack.
Also, I love the catio idea. Not sure what crates you're talking about, but I like the idea of tricking out the patio, kitty-style. My patio is probably too small to keep him confined there 24/7, but I could definitely make it a better place for him to hang out while I search for his forever home. I live in a big complex, so I don't think the managers would care.
 
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ezwriter

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You have been given some great advice so far! And please don't give up on trying to place Jack as an inside cat - I recently adopted a  companion cat for my disabled daughter. We had been looking unsuccessfully for a calico cat to replace her 18 yo cat Christy who was put to sleep last fall; the cat that we adopted was already slated to be surrendered into the shelter. We were on a medical trip and I happened to look on Craigslist for a town that we would be driving thru, and there was an ad for kittens; when I texted the number, the response was all the kittens had been homed but there was an adult calico cat! I had to make a second trip (almost 500 miles, round trip) to get the cat but she is the PERFECT cat for my daughter (the former owner had major medical issues so the cat is an old pro at being a 'nurse/companion' cat).
Thank you for responding. I plan to keep looking until I find him the loving home he deserves. I think he'd do very well as an indoor cat. He seems fascinated with coming inside, and makes himself right at home. If it weren't for my 5 hostile monsters, he'd probably stay inside forever.
 

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I understand your concern about Craigslist.  You would have to be comfortable with the idea of telling someone "No, you cannot have the cat," if you got a bad vibe from someone who inquired.  But you may run into that anyway trying to adopt the cat out by yourself instead of having experts at a shelter place the cat.

One other idea would be to ask some of the local rescue groups if you could sit in on one of their weekend PetSmart adoption days and if you find an adopter for Jack the new owners would make a contribution to the rescue group.  Or better yet, and easier, have you called any rescues to see if they will take him and find him a home?  It would be nice to get him into a foster home at minimum instead of having him sit in a cage at a shelter.

Well, it's very kind and generous of you to be working so hard to help Jack find a place.
 

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Well I know you have the best of intentions for Jack, and I  hope it all works out.  I want to point out a couple things though.  This has been going on for almost a year now.  The perfect home for every street kitty just doesn't always materialize... and the cats we have rescued from the streets are generally healthier than the ones we have rescued from the Shelters... and I am not trying to disrespect the Shelters but they are overcrowded and in the ones around here disease runs rampant in certain of them.  A friend of mine just rescued a cat from a lady with her own no kills shelter and a couple weeks after adopting her the cat went into heat.  Somehow this poor kitty slipped through the cracks.  Last week, she had to have a mammary tumor removed, and just found out today, it is cancerous... and she has only had the cat a couple months.  Luckily this lady has a heart f gold and is going to continue to pay medical care for the cat... *sigh*...

So, what you need to decide is whether or not you can keep this cat, even if you keep it as an outdoor cat... not the best life, but a good life all the same.  Or you can decided you do not want to keep the cat and then just examine your options about which shelter will take him, or which individual will take him.  I respect that you are concerned about what happens to Jack in his future home, but your fear of the unknown could prevent Jack from finding a forever home.  We wish we could save them all, but the truth is, we cannot. 

Buttercup is the stray momma kitty we took in.  She is a sweet cat, but she is lousy with other cats, she has trust issues, she is food aggressive and  I only being honest -not mean- when I say she steals the joy I had in my other rescues before taking her in and I wish we would not have done it.  Now we also have her son who has the feral gene and he is quite a handful.  He wants affection like he sees the other cats get, but he cant be touched. I could go on and on... You know the situation best, and after a year, you know whether or not you can make it work. If you can't make it work, I think the kindest thing to do is to get the cat to a shelter and let someone not attached to the situation sort it out - or, if you find an individual willing to home Jack, I think you need to give Jack that chance at finding happiness.  

Best of luck to you, Jack, Shuggie and the Mafia. Keep us posted.  
 

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I've heard horror stories about websites like kijiji and Crag list where sellers have been abducted, killed, assulted etc. I personally would stay away from them. But if you chose that put an adoption fee there to deterre the weirdos who use house pets for sport. $50 or so.
 

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A little background on my cat situation before I start:

I live in a one-bedroom apartment. I have 5 cats. A female (Shuggie), probably about 5 years old, and her litter of 4 males (Conan, Francesco, Buddy Boy and Jellybean), who will be 3 years old around  this coming Easter. The female was abandoned by her former owners, who moved out and left her behind to fend for herself. I don't know how long she was living outside before she wandered (pregnant, unbeknownst to me) into my apartment and my life. She is an indoor/outdoor cat. The males are all indoor cats.

I'm having an issue with a stray. He is an adorable black cat (I call him Jack), probably about a year old, who has been following me around the apartment complex off and on since he was a kitten. Now he is basically living on my back porch. I put food out for him there, and a soft cat bed that he sleeps in. I give him as much affection as my limited schedule allows. He loves getting attention, being petted, belly rubs, and playing with catnip toys. He's just a great little guy, and I've become very attached to him.

If I didn't already have 5 cats, he would definitely be my cat, but it's not meant to be. My cats are like a little mafia and will never accept a new member into the house. I bring him inside occasionally (he is always dying to come in), but it usually doesn't go very well. My cats get very agitated with his presence. It doesn't get to actual fighting, but there is usually a lot of howling, moaning, groaning, hissing, and general hostility. Even when it's relatively peaceful, I can tell my cats are stressed out whenever he's in the apartment. The males have lived very sheltered lives indoors and are not used to other animals, and their mama is very territorial and resents the invasion of a stranger onto her turf. Even with all this, Jack still likes to come inside.

I can't say that it is my cats only that are responsible for all of the bad vibes. A couple of times I've seen Jack get "that look" in his eyes, and proceed to run up on one of the other cats, although he falls short of actually doing anything to them, that's enough to completely freak my cats out.

The most heartbreaking thing, though, is the fact that my cat Jellybean is also a black cat (although to me he looks nothing like Jack; he's twice Jack's size for one thing), and even after I put Jack back outside following a ruckus, the other cats often proceed to turn on Jellybean, as if they are confusing him with Jack, and poor innocent Jellybean has to hide under the bed until they calm down.

There are also issues with him hanging outside. My mama cat, Shuggie, likes to spend time outside with me, and we often go for walks around the grounds of the apartment complex. Nowadays, our walks are ruined by Jack, who comes running up to me whenever I set foot outside. This sends Shuggie into hiding, usually under a car, until Jack leaves.

I've tried to find Jack a home via Facebook, to no avail. The only no-kill shelter in my city is the Humane Society, and they make it extremely difficult to turn in an animal. They open the doors at 10AM, but people begin lining up at 5 or 6 in the morning. So, in order to turn him in, I would have to wait in line with him in a carrier for 4 or 5 hours, and I could still be turned away. Add to that the fact that I've been told by a lot of people that black cats tend to languish in shelters. Even if I didn't have to get up at the break of dawn on a Saturday and wait in line for 5 hours to get him in a shelter, I would still feel terrible thinking that he could be stuck in there in a tiny cage for months.

And, even though I realize that cats don't experience the exact same type of emotions that humans do (not saying that they don't experience emotions at all, just that they're different), the thought that he might feel betrayed by the human who's been taking care of him really bothers me. And I hate the thought of not at least being able to check up on him, even if it's only looking at photos of him online (what can I say, I'm very attached to the little stinker.)

I'm not sure what to do at this point. The ideal situation for me would be to find him a loving home without him having to go through a shelter first, but that's proving difficult...especially since, from what I've observed, I really can't recommend that he live with other cats, so that rules out most potential homes ("cat people" always have cats already; that's why they're "cat people"...)

Have you guys ever experienced anything similar? What did you do? What would you do if you were me?
We had a stray last year. She had two kittens that we were able to integrate. But our resident stress cat and the mother cat were going to shred each other. I found a truly wonderful rescue that we took the mother cat to. She's still waiting for her forever home but she is so well cared for and they have great catteries that if she lived her life there it would be better than outside and at risk. I keep in contact with the rescue and even visit when it's possible.
 

orange&white

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San Antonio is a big city, and if you're also willing to drive Jack to Austin, Houston, Huntsville then that covers a big population in Texas with lots of cat lovers. 

Sending out vibes hoping that someone in one of those cities who would love to have a healthy friendly young cat will soon be reading here and offer Jack a home. 
 

ondine

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If he has vertical space (shelves, places to  climb), a small patio wouldn't be out of the question as a permanent home.  The key is giving him his own space- his own territory.  A visit a couple of times a day will help keep him socialized -you could make it part of his routine.

A home of his own is best, of course, so keep looking.  But absent that, his own little safe space on your patio would seem like heaven to him, I'm sure.
 
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