How long should I wait to claim this stray cat?

[charliana]

Ok, somebody has figured out i will feed their cats if they dump them out at the old house. There is another starving crippled cat outside. She attacked the food and you can feel her bones when you pet her. I just have to check and see if there are kittens somewhere if it is a girl, i was not looking for another cat.

 

[Norachan]

The same thing happens to me @charliana  I have had three unwanted kittens dumped outside my house over the years.

Thank you for helping her. If you take her for a check up at the vet they'll be able to tell if she's nursing kittens or not. Are you able to keep her yourself or are you going to try and rehome her? I'm sure she really appreciates the food in any case.

Please keep us posted.

 

[kittychick]

charliana it's happened to many of us ---help one & many many more start to show up. A lot of us say "it's like a sign's gone up in 'cat speak' that says "Nice human inside who'll feed you. And more!!! For the first 24 years my husband and I lived here, we saw perhaps 2 cats, and those more "passing thru" then looking for a home. But beginning about 7years ago, feral cats & strays started showing up with regularity! We started TNRing, and sadly, many go and don't come back a bit after the neutering (or move on to another part of our neighborhood). Currently we have a steady 5 that eat every meal here, sleep here, come for treats & pets here....in other words, whether we or our bank account likes it, they're basically ours!

Can you touch her? (In other words, dump/stray vs pure feral). If you can get her into a carrier, I'd do so as soon as possible - poor thing sounds absolutely miserable!!!!

If she needs to be trapped, go through a lot of steps talked about with Rocky to trap her. Before you trap her --- talk quickly with shelters since it sounds like you can't keep her if she's social. And talk to (in person - not ever phone) shelter workers are underpaid, overstressed people---who respond best to kind, calm conversation). If you let them know you're a very compassionate cat person whose heart is bigger than their wallt, & that you've already gone thru this once - keeping that cat, they may be more willing to help you with this one (instead of putting her "on the list"---which means she may never be helped).

See if you can Surrender her to them- even offering a donation (as much as you can afford - remember you still have kitty mouths at home to feed!!!) to offset their cost (shelters put WAY more into the average cat than the adoption fee pays for). In the meantime, offer her plenty of food & fresh water. -- it sounds like she truly needs it poor baby! And if she IS feral, have her spayed/neutered/etc through a local group that will do that at a discount. Then, after a holding period, release her back where you got her, putting up a sheltered (fairly hidden) feeding station to help her survive & provide her a shelter for cold/rainy/etc days. This forum is a wealth of info for all of that!!!!! good luck!!! It sounds like HER good luck was finding YOU!!!!!

 

[kittychick]

And meant to add good luck and keep us posted ---hopefully all goes well. Sounds as though she needs you desperately! [emoji]128575[/emoji]