Blacky trapped in shed by snow.

[shadowsrescue]

 
Good suggestion with the snow.  I'll do that tomorrow morning.  It is funny how she is not eating all the food in the bowl.  She leaves a little and it is still there in the morning.  Even when she was coming two times a day to eat, her normal portion I gave her was a 1/3 of a can of high quality wet food and 1/8 cup dry and she ate most of it.  I don't think she is a big eater.  Even when she was missing for a week and showed up she ate a little more than 1/2 can wet and went back in her house.    I hope I see her in the AM.  Will keep you posted.  Good luck with yours too.

I always think they leave a little bit so that if they get really hungry and want to come back they know there will be something there.  I think it stems from their days when they had to fend for them selves.  They never knew when they would eat again so sometimes they left a bit so they had something to come back to later. 

My Shadow never ever finishes all of his food.  He always leaves a little bit in his bowl.  I always say he is not a member of the clean plate club.  I think he wants to know that there will always be something left in the bowl for him to eat late.r

Keep leaving her food.  It is just too cold to withhold.  She may be coming back over night and then just leaving again.

It is way too cold for any other creatures to be out.  I have the cameras on my deck and haven't seen anything at all in days.  I usually see the opossum, but it has been MIA too.  I still get some deer, but they don't come near the deck. 

 

[msaimee]

She may have other people feeding her. At one time, 3 other households on my block were feeding my feral. That may be why she isn's so hungry.

 

[Norachan]

I'm feeding a feral tom cat that lives somewhere in the woods near here. I know he can't be getting food from anyone else as there is no one else living here at the moment. He doesn't come everyday, maybe every 2 or 3 days. He looks very healthy though, I think he must be hunting for himself and just coming round when he hasn't caught anything.

As long as Blacky knows you are feeding her she'll come and eat when she needs to. You can't really force her to stay in her house, even though you'd like to. (I'd like to be able to make all the ferals I care for stay where I think they are safest but that's the thing with feral cats; you can't make them do what they don't feel like doing.)

Just leave food out for her as usual and have faith. She's a highly evolved little hunter with excellent lineage, she knows what she is doing. 

 

[feline03]

I'll continue to leave food out.   I don't think anyone  in the surrounding area feeds her.  When she was missing for 5 days I put flyers in all the houses and talked to one woman where I saw her in her yard a lot.  She said that as soon as she opened her door she ran.  I also spoke to a couple of other and they don't feed her except one woman that owned a bakery said she gave her muffins before.  I have been feeding her for a little over two years now and she has always come twice a daily faithfully for the last year.  It's true what Norachan says, we can't make the, do what we want.  Even if it is for their best interest. 

I'll keep the faith and truck on.  At least there is no heavy snow coming for the next five days, only a snow mix/rain for Sunday. 

Thanks for replying. 

 

[linda carella]

I have been feeding my big feral for 8 years now. April will be 8 years. I could not get near him for 2 years. After 2 years he would go in and out of my legs . This is the first winter that he comes in now . I now have a feral turn stray. But I remember in cold weather he would not eat. All most like he would hibernate. Did not even no how he went to pee. I use to worry so much and I still worry. I pray everyone I would open the door that he would and still be there. I love him more than anything. I had even going on vacation or to my daughter over night. I understand what you are going through. I would not worry to much about him not eating. We have the same weather as you. I would wait for the weather to break before you take him to the vet. March is almost here.