Tomboy outside

ciera23

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Well, I found this big beautiful white male kitty outside my apartment the other night. I brought him in to give him some food but he seemed uninterested. He was meowing the whole time. He appears healthy to me, he's not fixed, has all claws and spelled like shampoo but my mom said it was flea dip. I was going to keep him in here but he fiercely scratched at my door and then kinda attacked me and started growling. I let him back out
and he went running into my neighbor's yard. Well, I seen him again last night. So, tried again to get him something to eat. He ate a bite of chicken but then started scratching at the door and growling at me. I bent down and started petting him and he seemed to like that but all of a sudden he clawed into my head and tried to bite. Did I do something wrong??? I didn't care that he did that but I was afraid that I couldn't keep him inside. He went back out again. In the meantime, I have called our local animal guy to come get him because he takes him to either the humane society (which is full right now) or to Dr. Dave's (a local vet). Well, I just seen him a few minutes ago over in the alley by that neighbor's house. Should I try to get him again and keep him in a carrier overnight or what?
I just can't stand to think of him outside!!!!!
 

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What are your goals for this cat? It's not clear what you are trying to do.

Are you trying to trap him, get him to a vet for neutering, then release him back to the streets? Are you trying to take him in off the streets and adopt him to be your indoor-only cat? Are you trying to be his primary caretaker and let him be an indoor/outdoor cat?
 
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ciera23

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Originally Posted by Nano

What are your goals for this cat? It's not clear what you are trying to do.

Are you trying to trap him, get him to a vet for neutering, then release him back to the streets? Are you trying to take him in off the streets and adopt him to be your indoor-only cat? Are you trying to be his primary caretaker and let him be an indoor/outdoor cat?
I just want to save him from being outside. I wanted to get him to the vet to be checked out and hopefully adopted out to someone. I personally do not like that cats are outside. They cannot survive out there for a long time and I worry about them. They need protection.
 

nano

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But there's nowhere to put him. 99% of the homeless cats collected by the animal control center in my area are euthantised after three days. And people looking to adopt only want the baby kittens or the cute little fluffballs that purr nonstop. No normal person will select an adult tomcat that hisses and bites people. This poor little guy will probably be one of the millions of cats put to sleep by public shelters this year in the United States.

The private groups in my area rescue a few young adult cats (1-3 years old) and give them a foster home until adopted, but there is very little that can be done with a cat like you describe unless you are doing TNR work or want to make a personal crusade out of it.

(Nano is my personal crusade...)

It is a very sad situation made all the worse by people who refuse to S/N their pets which produces all of these throw-away cats.
 
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ciera23

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Our shelter here in my town does not euthanize them. That is why they are full.
I think there are alot of people that want kittens but there are people that would rather have a cat that is already grown up.
I'm pretty upset about this situation and I want to do something to help him. I can't just shut the door and not care what happens to him.
 

maverick_kitten

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if he smells of shampoo/flea dip, isnt hungrey and fights to get back outside are you sure he's feral/stray and not someones pet?
 
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ciera23

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Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

if he smells of shampoo/flea dip, isnt hungrey and fights to get back outside are you sure he's feral/stray and not someones pet?
I am starting to wonder that. When I smelled the flea dip, I thought, OMG, this guy got outside and someone is looking for him. I have seen him for the past few nights. I might just walk over to my neighbor's house and ask if that is their kitty. I just worry about him. I don't want him to get hurt. Sadly I know that many people don't love animals like we do. Anyways, the other reason I wanted to keep him somewhere safe or take him to the vet's is because if he did get away, someone might be calling around looking for him.
 

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when i lost my cat i rang the vets to ask if she had been brought in. maybe you could ring them and ask if anyones reported a missing cat?
 
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ciera23

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Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

when i lost my cat i rang the vets to ask if she had been brought in. maybe you could ring them and ask if anyones reported a missing cat?
Good idea. I will start calling the ones in town here. Thanks for the thought....
 

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That is nice that your animal catcher guy takes them to the humane society and the vet. The dog warden guy here by me does the same thing. He brings them to the shelter and they only euthanize if the cat is really sick or badly injured, but the others are adopted out. He does the same with dogs too. They never go to the pound, at least not unless there is NO other option. There is a small kennel the dog warden keeps the dogs in so that people can come by and claim their pets or adopt the ones that are there. So most never even make it to even the shelter because they are adopted right from the dog warden. Next they go to the shelter or a rescue, before they are taken to the pound.

ANYWAYS.....ask around and call around and if no one lost a white male cat, at least take him in to get neutered. If someone did lose him, try and get them to neuter him when you talk to them. Otherwise, once he is neutered, he may be fine. Don't simply assume that since he kind of freaked when you brought him in, that that is how he always behaves. You are a stranger who blocked off the only means of escape he know (assuming he is a stray). Plus he is not neutered so he may naturally be a little more agressive. I have trapped many cats that I believed to be feral because of the way they behaved in the trap/carrier, but as soon as they were out and all fixed up and more comfortable with me, they would purr on my lap. Nano is right about agressive cats having a higher chance of being euthanized, but don't assume he is this way. He was probably just a little scared if he hasn't been in that close of human contact in awhile.

Also, while kittens do tend to be adopted faster in general, it is not always this way. In the past week my shelter adopted out about 8 cats and only 2 kittens. We have a couple litters of kittens available. There are also the sympathetic people looking to help a needy cat. If you do neuter him and vaccinate him, you can post a classified ad on Petfinder.com and offer an adoption fee to cover some of the vet costs. It is free and I use it all the time with good results.
 
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ciera23

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Originally Posted by Jen

That is nice that your animal catcher guy takes them to the humane society and the vet. The dog warden guy here by me does the same thing. He brings them to the shelter and they only euthanize if the cat is really sick or badly injured, but the others are adopted out. He does the same with dogs too. They never go to the pound, at least not unless there is NO other option. There is a small kennel the dog warden keeps the dogs in so that people can come by and claim their pets or adopt the ones that are there. So most never even make it to even the shelter because they are adopted right from the dog warden. Next they go to the shelter or a rescue, before they are taken to the pound.

ANYWAYS.....ask around and call around and if no one lost a white male cat, at least take him in to get neutered. If someone did lose him, try and get them to neuter him when you talk to them. Otherwise, once he is neutered, he may be fine. Don't simply assume that since he kind of freaked when you brought him in, that that is how he always behaves. You are a stranger who blocked off the only means of escape he know (assuming he is a stray). Plus he is not neutered so he may naturally be a little more agressive. I have trapped many cats that I believed to be feral because of the way they behaved in the trap/carrier, but as soon as they were out and all fixed up and more comfortable with me, they would purr on my lap. Nano is right about agressive cats having a higher chance of being euthanized, but don't assume he is this way. He was probably just a little scared if he hasn't been in that close of human contact in awhile.

Also, while kittens do tend to be adopted faster in general, it is not always this way. In the past week my shelter adopted out about 8 cats and only 2 kittens. We have a couple litters of kittens available. There are also the sympathetic people looking to help a needy cat. If you do neuter him and vaccinate him, you can post a classified ad on Petfinder.com and offer an adoption fee to cover some of the vet costs. It is free and I use it all the time with good results.
I spoke to my vet and told her to keep her ears open. I made calls to the vets to also let me know if they hear from anyone. I am going to try and get him again. I didn't see him last night and I am watching out for him tonight. I am so worried about this little guy. I don't want anything to happen to him!!!
You are right, he was probably just scared. I just didn't know what to do. I am so ashamed of myself for letting him back out. I am sick inside about it.
 

katie=^..^=

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Thank you for wanting to help this handsome boy. He needs your kindness and concern.

Please knock on your neighbor's door and see if this is their cat. If he is, talk to them about getting him neutered. There are a lot of people on The Cat Site that can advise you on getting financial help for neutering if that is a problem.

Otherwise there is also a lot of info on making friends with a stray of feral cat or trapping him and getting him neutered.

Just don't give him to a shelter where he is going to be euthanized when they get too full.
 

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He sounds like a moocher- meaning a cat that is owned already by someone clueless about neutering, and he makes the rounds in his neighborhood to get food. Don't always assume just because a cat is outside that it needs to be saved.
Often the cat is already owned, or has been lost for awhile and someone is looking for it.There are a lot of people who let their cats outside and not indoors. Probably why he growled, he is used to being outside and inside makes him nervous. Besides being an intact male, he will spay the dickens out of your house-
 
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ciera23

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Originally Posted by hissy

He sounds like a moocher- meaning a cat that is owned already by someone clueless about neutering, and he makes the rounds in his neighborhood to get food. Don't always assume just because a cat is outside that it needs to be saved.
Often the cat is already owned, or has been lost for awhile and someone is looking for it.There are a lot of people who let their cats outside and not indoors. Probably why he growled, he is used to being outside and inside makes him nervous. Besides being an intact male, he will spay the dickens out of your house-
You're right. I need to learn not to assume they are needing me to rescue them. I guess it's just my mindset. I bet you are right, he probably does have an owner because I don't see him at all during the day, only at night. I haven't seen him for 2 days now. Course, I am a worrywart!

I guess I would have to say I am against letting cats outside and I am not trying to sound nasty about it but there are so many elements out there that can harm them.
Yes, he definitely seemed irritable and nervous about being inside. He literally about tore my door off to get out!!
Oh man, I can't have him spraying in here either, that wouldn't be good.
 

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Originally Posted by ciera23

You're right. I need to learn not to assume they are needing me to rescue them. I guess it's just my mindset. I bet you are right, he probably does have an owner because I don't see him at all during the day, only at night. I haven't seen him for 2 days now. Course, I am a worrywart!

I guess I would have to say I am against letting cats outside and I am not trying to sound nasty about it but there are so many elements out there that can harm them.
Yes, he definitely seemed irritable and nervous about being inside. He literally about tore my door off to get out!!
Oh man, I can't have him spraying in here either, that wouldn't be good.
Not that I am advocating this or anything...but a neuter is a heck of a lot easier to conceal than a spay. I know some people who will neuter a cat if it comes into their yard often.

Katie
 

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Yes if it were me I would probably do just that. Neuter him and let him back out. If you can possibly get vaccinations too. You can assume he probably isn't UTD on vacs if he isn't neutered. At least neuter him and release him. I have done this a few times. If you can get a picture of him, maybe put a few up in the area and see if anyone calls to claim him. In the meantime, I would trap him and have him neutered.
 
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ciera23

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Alright, that is a good idea. I have been watching every night for him. Haven't seen him in a few days now.
 
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