Maj. Grey is gone :(

Maj. Grey hasn't been sighted
anywhere since the catfight Tuesday afternoon.

It is now Friday, and we are due for rain
and snow tomorrow. I am so heartsick
that he may have been injured, and worse
that he associates ME with the cat fight,
and so won't come to the house anymore.

How can I catch him if he stops coming
for food and I can't see him?

And then there's shelter in my yard if only
the other cat wouldn't chase him.

I left food out all night for him, and someone
ate - I saw his nemsis eating it... chased him away from
the yard yesterday eve and this morn.

No Grey at his usual time. So I left food, called every 30 mins
for him.

It has been warmer than usual, so perhaps he is out
doing what nature calls him to do? Roaming?

But then again, perhaps he's trapped in the sewers?
Injured and not able to come to me... It is SO
sad to think about.

Please send good vibes for him! If I could just
SEE him come in the yard, even if he'd not let
me near, I'd feel SO much better. Sigh.
I guess this is why ferals are hard to love
and care for. When something happens and
you can't help them...

This was my greatest fear with waiting to trap him. I know you were concerned he wouldn't be able to stand up for himself once neutered, but I believe from what you have described that Major Gray did not start out life as a feral and will never be a "fighter". It is unwise to leave food out all night as the chance is you will attract raccoons and other animals instead of Major Gray. My advice is to leave food out a dawn and dusk...and remove it if you do not see Major Gray make an appearance. For his sake, I hope he returns. If the cat that he was in a fight with was owned...I would talk to his owner...and if he isn't, but has a feeder..then I would talk to them about the risks of allowing an intact male cat to get into fights (FIV,FELV,injury) not to mention that any intact male will be out in spring trying to find females to get pregnant. At this point...it is a waiting game to see if Major Gray returns...and if he does, I wouldn't wait on trapping him.

Katie

Come home, Major Grey! It is hard to decide how to care for these guys. Can you put a note on a collar on the other cat, his nemesis? Let them know that he will be going in for neutering unless claimed by an owner. I hope Grey is not seriously injured!

opilot- if he is injured, he can't come home. My guess is he went to ground to try and regenerate and recoup. He will come back, and should he be injured, you should then be able to capture him easily. Even, just picking him up by his scruff believe it or not. Don't give up, and don't count him as lost.........yet-

The other guy has no collar! None of her cats do. Tho all are fixed,
so that this boy is probably a fixed cat. And why they can't
keep it inside. Well, at least at night anyway. That cat is out
all hours and weather. GRRR.

I just am so heartsick. I won't be able to rest till I spot
Maj. Grey again. TNR is right, I do think he was a former housecat
turned loose and not fixed. (I mean, sleeping on the bed?)

I will stop leaving food out all night. The other hood cats
will nibble it - and I can't tell if it is just Grey or not. But
I will continue for the daylight hours, since he may come
from dawn to dusk to eat, and me not know being away
or asleep. If I put out at 5:30 am and take up at 8pm
should give him plenty of time to come by and snag
at least ONE meal.

And I will try to "stake" out the feed bowl and
watch.

Esp. round 11 pm which is the time I saw him before
I left on vacation. (That was when he first
started to come - then he began to come earlier
and "wait" around in the am for me to get up
and feed... )

(Tho, the other cats should not nibble kibble if
they are well enough fed at home, correct?)

So, please send good vibes for Grey.

And if anyone has any experience with how to trap when they
don't "show" themselves anymore??

Or suggestions -
should I try trap at the feed station in my yard?? (likely
catch my own kitties, LOL!) Or by the sewers
where I first started to feed??

Thanks all! With help and luck and lots and lots
of prayer I may get to rescue this boy earlier
than I thought...

Are you sure all her cats are fixed? Are you sure this one belongs to her? I would still have that "talk" because even if this one cat is fixed...if it has a fight with another cat that carries FIV/FELV, her cat could also become infected. If she wants to let her cats have the outdoor experience...building an outdoor enclosure is ideal (and oftentimes not expensive to build).

As far as where to trap....you may want to start at the sewer...less chance you will trap your own cats there...but, be prepared in case you do trap a different cat from Major Gray. A good rule of thumb is..if you do not know whether a cat is owned or not, to have it looked over by a vet. Certainly sometimes you will catch a neutered male...but if you trap one that is intact and neuter it...you have made that cat's life better.

Katie

I'm sorry, opilot. I know how much time and concern you've put into Major Grey's care.
Don't give up on him yet. Percy has been missing for almost 3 weeks, but I still look for him every morning and evening. They could always surprise us.
As hissy said, if he is hurt, he'll recoup before coming home.
Sending many good vibes to you and Maj. Grey!! Come home, buddy!

Thanks Sunnicat. I know how much you hurt
about Percy. Any chance Percy could have
found someone else to "home" with?

I always will wonder about my sweet Lexi cat that
found me.

How she came to be where she was, did she
come in on a truck or by car, did she just
get dumped? who owned her, did
they want her back?

So maybe, just maybe, Percy
found someone like us to care for and love him.

I'll keep everyone posted. I'm still working on
checking on the grey tabby white foot guy...

And on getting a trap... If I trap by the sewer I'll catch
way too many of my neighbors cats... all of them use
that gutter/sewer as a "thru way" to the horse farm
across the street....and most don't have collars on.



So, my yard. By the feed bins. And I'll keep ole
Lexi and Diablo and Shebs inside for a 24 plus
period, to give me time to trap...

Take me a day or two to set up and get
traps. Set traps this Monday...since
we've a holiday (extra expense) and
bad / wet weather coming up...

be prepared to take to vets when
they re-open on Tuesday/Wed
am after new years...

and if I get the fuzzy grey guy and he is NOT
neutered... off to the vets we go!

anyone else I'll probably "know". And I figure
I may get the possum that comes round.

I'm hoping. Fingers crossed. Maybe he'll show
this evening round 11 pm - his usual time...

PS. Sunnicat, I forgot to tell you the tale of
the cat that came back. We moved and slyvester
(a garbage dump cat / college rescue) moved with us.

The new house freaked him out, and he paced and
howled for 24 hours solid - finally he got out by
accident. He disappeared of course in the new hood.

We did not see hide nor hair of him for 6 weeks, tho we went and
searched high and lo and called and everything.

We did posters ads the works.

He had a broken jaw making eating hard.. we
feared the worst...

Then my sister was out 6 wks later walking 1 mile from home,
and she spotted a cat that looked like him! She
called him, AND HE CAME!! It was Slyvester cat!!

She carried him the whole way home, tho he struggled
with her and scratched at her.

He was very much thinner - 8 lbs down from about
18lbs!! (we figure he lived off his fat and bugs and
lizards..). But he never left the house again to roam after
that episode. We had him for 13 years.

Take heart about Percy. Someone nice could have him,
or he could be nearby and okay.

Thanks so much for posting Sylvester's story, opilot!

This is a fairly rural area, with only one house on our section of the road, and that house is a mile away. There are plenty of barns and grain bins that Percy could find shelter in, if need be. I'm just at a loss because he has been out here for 3 years (he came yowling out of a corn field in the summer of 2002, probably only about 10 weeks old and absolutely adorable). In all this time, he's stayed gone 2 weeks, at most, and always seems to hold his own out there.

I hope Maj. Grey wasn't hurt too badly in the fight with the other cat. My heart aches thinking of him out there alone and injured, as I know yours does too.

We'll keep sending good come home vibes back and forth, never know!

PPS. sunnicat: cat fancy mag Jan 2006 issue - letter to editor. Couple living
in rural PA. Cat got out on vet visit. 2 years later - cat came back to
back porch meowing for food! Couple still has no idea how he survived or where he was. Sooo.. sending vibes to you for Percy's recovery!!

Originally Posted by opilot

PPS. sunnicat: cat fancy mag Jan 2006 issue - letter to editor. Couple living
in rural PA. Cat got out on vet visit. 2 years later - cat came back to
back porch meowing for food! Couple still has no idea how he survived or where he was. Sooo.. sending vibes to you for Percy's recovery!!

Click to expand...

Oh my gosh!!!! 2 years???

sending vibes from scotland to you both ,my whole familey and the three wee spoilt babies send them also fingers crossed for you both xxxxcherylxxx

Actually I saw a segment on Animal Cops San Francisco where they picked up a stray cat on the streets, took it back to the shelter and scanned it for a microchip (as most shelters do right away) Turned out the cat came from Florida and when they contacted the owners (luckiliy they hadn't moved) they found out the cat had been missing for 7 years!!!! The owners flew out and got the cat. It was amazing!!!

I never had Lexi scanned for chip. Because mainly, the vet comes
to me, I don't go to her, and the scanner she has isn't portable
(or I think so anyway...)

But, I am seriously considering bring
in for a scan, since she is so much Manx (I am SURE she's
got a manx parent on one side at least and possibly papered)
and she is so very much obviously a house pet...I can't
tell you what a cutie she can be!

I would think that she would have been chipped
by a breeder if sold by (responsible one of course), or by new
owner (if responsible of course!).

OTH, I think Lexi has a great home with ME! And she's
bonded well to me/us, so maybe I wouldn't want to find out who
owned her, since I might not want to give her up, LOL! and couldn't
afford to ship her cross country either...
(Besides I'm attached to her, LOL).

As to Grey - no new sightings to report. Last night SOMEONE
came to eat food round 11-12 at night - I caught a glimpse
but could not tell if it was Grey or other cat or possum. Suspect
another cat...

I left outside the gate so that grey could get food without coming thru gate
and possibly being "jumped" on. Interestingly, the food
I left out at feed bin was eaten, then the food by the gate
was nibbled and "covered" - as ferals do with food that they
are going to come back for later...

I removed the food that wasn't eaten... I put a bowl by
the gate, and one by the feed bins of dry chow. Grey
used to eat the wet, when I first started feeding, then
stopped - mainly as it got colder I think. The food probably
was freezing or too cold...

The dry food by the feed bins was totally eatn (off the plate
and the bowl was nibbled). The bowl outside the gate
was COMPLETELY empty almost, and knocked on side..
I figure my possum or possum/cat combo got to it.

But Grey could have snagged a meal. In the dark, he is almost
invisible to see...But I fear it was the other 2 cats - the one
that is scaring everyother cat (bully) and his smaller side kick
(who may be female ??).

Definitely need to do the Trapping
round here to find out if we've got males or females and
the status (fixed unfixed).

Meantime, I spoke to friend about trapping - she wants to find
out who owns the grey tabby - we want to tell them that it
is beating up the hood cats, and if we catch it again, we
are going to present her w/ vet bills for our cats. She needs
to keep inside!

alternately, if we catch - i may just take to shelter. If it is friendly,
then it could be adopted out - and if the owner cares, he/she
would probably call the shelter first to "retrieve"... of course,
I don't want possible PTS fate for it.

That's a terrible option - but if she won't keep him in, and he's beating
the crap out of all the hood cats (mine, and all the people I know with
cats round here)... then we have to remove him. Fixing him (if
fixed) probably won't solve that problem of aggression to other cats.

What a mess! Anyway, vibes please all. First that I visually "see" Grey
(which will ease my mind immensely!!) and second that I can
catch for vet visit care.... If I try the trapping and can't catch
him, I don't know what i'll do. Sigh.

I will warn my fellow cat owners I am trapping before I set up trap -
that should reduce the no. caught incorrectly, LOL.

I hope Grey shows himself soon. But I have to disagree with suggesting the neutering will not reduce the agression. My boy Will was extremely aggressive towards the other cats, and since his neuter has not been in a single fight. He and Josie are almost cordial now, where before they just hissed and yowled. Although he still knows he is top cat of our place, and still sprays outside, there is no more fighting.

If the other cat is unneutered, and Grey is unneutered, then they can't help but fight. Its just natural. Once they are both neutered, while they may not become friends, that instinct to kill the other tom is gone. Your neighborhood will become a much more peaceful place cat-wise if all the outdoor cats, or in and out cats are speutered.

And you should have Lexi scanned, just for your peace of mind.

Thanks Beckiboo! Yeah, I've talked to vet about scanning
Lexi.

We are going to maybe do in the New Year, once the Grey
issue is solved.

I do think that maybe just maybe someone really
wants her back. But, OTH I did such a good
job of checking out leads and looking for her
owners - shelters, papers, flyers, the internet -
how could I have missed them? :0

Sides, I had to put so much work into rehabing -
the owners had definitely taught her to roughhouse
and bite during play. She would have been unable
to go to other homes... luckily she wound up with me!
I fixed the "behavior" issue, gave a ton of love
and attention and now she's a sweetie (well mostly
anyway!)

Good news on Grey! I sighted him, yesterday
afternoon. I had scared him from yard inadvertantly.
I rushed in and got a can of food, tapped and called
him left it out and crossed fingers. He ALMOST came
back in my sight, but decided better to hide in the gully.

Later, someone ate all the wet and nibbled dry -
within 1 hour. I THINK he came back under cover of
twilight/dusk to eat.

This am, no Grey, but the other nasty guy was heading
to the gully. I think he had been out all night .

Anyway, I am now somewhat relived Grey got a meal
(I think!), and is still hanging around. But I must
get him soon, or this other nasty will drive him off...

And yes, I must get this nasty cat too!! I am warning
neighbors today trapping will take place this month,
so they should watch their cats and only let them out
from dawn to dusk. Otherwise I may catch in trap.

If the nasty cat is altered, I see no hope of
changing his behavior. He wants to be alpha -
and he is beating the crap out of all other cats.

The best scenario is to get Grey fixed, keep inside
*if I can* till spring arrives and he is sure of his food,
and his "home" here...
and then release and hope for the best.

And I am further telling them, that if I trap in my
yard with no collar, tag or id chip, and not altered
the cat is going to be fixed, tipped and released.
So, if they don't want their cats to be
trapped and fixed, and want them safe, please
either keep inside at night, or tag and collar
them... (and make sure they are fixed too!).