Information About Stray Cat Food And Its Feces

[Neo815]

Hello frienda,

I am feeding a stray cat for a while now. It uses my garden soil as her litter box. It buries its feces in it. I want to know if it poses any danger to the garden soil or is it harmful for the health of people of the house?

I want to take her to the vet for spaying but she doesn't trust me enough to let me come near her. But today she was meowing when she saw me. It has never happened before. I don't have a humane trap either so I will use some heavy blanket to trap her.

I also want to know that how many times a day should I feed it? I was leaving food outside at night but it attracted other cats. That's why I have decided to feed it at day time. What is the best time to feed it and how much food is her daily requirement? I am giving her dry cat food.

If she meows then what does that mean? Is she hungry?

Thanks.

 

[maggiedemi]

I feed my cats twice a day, 7am and 7pm. At 7am they get half a cup of dry food each, then at 7pm they get 3oz of canned food each. (a 3oz can each or they share a 5.5oz can). On the garden thing, I suppose it could be dangerous, but when I was a kid my cats always pooped and peed in the garden, it was hard to stop them without a fence.

 

[Sarthur2]

Is she possibly pregnant? If so, she needs double the food.

Also, cats who live outside and are intact and fend for themselves burn far more calories than fixed, indoor-only cats, so her meowing could mean she is hungry.

Your best bet is to catch or trap her and get her fully vetted. I hope you can do that soon.

Farmers have always used manure as fertilizer. I would think it would pose no harm.

Thank you for helping her!

 

[Neo815]

I don't think farmers use cat manure as fertilizer. From what I have been reading it is quite harmful. This is new information for me.

It is very difficult to catch a stray cat without a humane trap.

If I keep feeding her she will make my house her territory and use my garden as her litter box. I had no idea that cat poop is so harmful.

 

[maggiedemi]

Well if it makes you feel any better, my childhood cats pooped and peed in our garden and I'm still alive. I tamed my feral cats outside, then just let them walk inside, so I never had to trap them. I leave the carrier out and they go in it with no problem all the time. They don't associate it with going anywhere scary.

 

[Neo815]

How long it takes for a cat to trust you? She had a kitten who made a bond with me after two weeks. She was rubbing her body against my legs and giving me love bites in such a short time. But this cat is not allowing me to get near her. She is an adult cat and very suspicious of humans.

I can't keep her as a pet. I just want to get her spayed. I don't want her to chose me as her person.

Please guide me so I can take her to the vet and then release her without any kind of bond.

She is already getting her food from somewhere else as she appears to be very healthy. She is not dependent on me for food.

 

[orange&white]

I stopped organic vegetable gardening because of the dozens of feral cats born in my neighborhood every year. I purchased a lot of good-quality soil to till into the ground and apparently made the most-attractive super-sized litter box in a 5-mile radius. One cat pooping in your garden is probably not too bad, dozens will put too many toxins in the soil. I guess the worst is toxoplasmosis.

If you don't want her to bond with you, then feed her only long enough to get her trapped and spayed. When you pick her up, release her and stop providing any food. She'll go back and hang around wherever she is currently eating most of her food. Can you borrow a humane trap from a shelter? Ours loans them out for a $50 deposit, which they fully refund when you return their trap.

 

[Neo815]

Sorry, there are no Animal shelters in my city. I am from Pakistan. I couldn't find a decent cat carrier or a humane trap. It is very easy to catch a cat with a humane trap.

 

[orange&white]

Can you construct a drop trap with a floor? Some pieces of wood, chicken wire and a few nails will work.

 

[Neo815]

No thanks. I might end up hurting the cat and myself in the process

 

[orange&white]

We had some feral kittens born in my backyard when I was a kid. My dad made a drop trap with a cardboard box and a stick. You'd have to be pretty quick to weight the box as soon as trapping to make sure they don't push out underneath.