I always wanted a cat, preferably a Ginger, but my house is not "cat friendly" for several reasons (other pets, exposed cables, new carpeting, etc.). At some point I plan to build a small addition to house one, but for now I've been reduced to watching Internet cat videos and learning everything I can about cats.
However, recently a cat has taken up residence in my backyard, a Ginger! I assume he's a male, small, maybe 6-12 months old and feral because whenever he saw me, he ran and hid under the house. He also seems to have a tipped ear. So I started feeding him (and water of course although I've never seen him drink any). He came close to me to eat as long as I sat quietly nearby. But now, a few weeks later he's become quite vocal, I assume when he wants to be fed. But now I realize he's also calling for attention. He comes right up to me and walks around in circles rubbing against my leg with his tail held high meowing and meowing and allows me to stroke him with a long handled brush. Then he will sit by my door "calling" for me to come out of the house when I leave. But he won't "play" as I've tried rolling a ball at him or waving a fake bird on a string around with no reaction to either. I tried some catnip with minimal effect.
I'm also not sure how much to feed him. He has eaten every last morsel of every meal, so I'm afraid to give him too much or too little. All I can do is keep him fed and safe (although I live in a very urban area there have been many coyote sightings in my neighborhood.) But obviously he's imprinted on me and seems to crave more attention than I can give him. That makes me feel guilty and a little sad.
So any suggestions on dealing with him would be appreciated.
However, recently a cat has taken up residence in my backyard, a Ginger! I assume he's a male, small, maybe 6-12 months old and feral because whenever he saw me, he ran and hid under the house. He also seems to have a tipped ear. So I started feeding him (and water of course although I've never seen him drink any). He came close to me to eat as long as I sat quietly nearby. But now, a few weeks later he's become quite vocal, I assume when he wants to be fed. But now I realize he's also calling for attention. He comes right up to me and walks around in circles rubbing against my leg with his tail held high meowing and meowing and allows me to stroke him with a long handled brush. Then he will sit by my door "calling" for me to come out of the house when I leave. But he won't "play" as I've tried rolling a ball at him or waving a fake bird on a string around with no reaction to either. I tried some catnip with minimal effect.
I'm also not sure how much to feed him. He has eaten every last morsel of every meal, so I'm afraid to give him too much or too little. All I can do is keep him fed and safe (although I live in a very urban area there have been many coyote sightings in my neighborhood.) But obviously he's imprinted on me and seems to crave more attention than I can give him. That makes me feel guilty and a little sad.
So any suggestions on dealing with him would be appreciated.
Last edited by a moderator:
