Questions About A Stray I Just Met

[amphitryte]

Hello everyone! For a bit of preface on the situation, there has been a stray cat coming around to our house and he likes to spend time around our car in the garage. My family members and I have seen this cat around for a couple days now and just yesterday did I go out and give it something to eat. He seemed smaller than our domestic cat, who is almost 2 years old now.

The cat was very affectionate and vocal, and almost seemed to want to follow us back into the house. He ate all of the food and water we gave him and was purring when I went to pet him.

So I have a few questions on my situation:

- The cat has been coming here for a while, as I mentioned, and acts normal and very appreciative. In my playful interactions with him, his nails grazed the skin of my arm. The scratches did not break skin and the red markings from the contact are just about all gone this morning. Would I be right to worry about some sort of sickness the cat can pass to me, or am I just overthinking it?

- Should I keep feeding the cat? The cat seems to show up in the daytime, hang around near our car, and then leave. I wonder if he has an owner, but he had no collar so I'm not sure. His nails felt a little dull during the contact, too, perhaps pointing to someone trimming them. I live on a block full of apartment complexes, so it could be someone's outdoor kitty. However, should I keep leaving food out for him? He seemed to really like what we gave him and wasn't picky like the cat we already have

 

[catsknowme]

Welcome to TCS! Thank you for caring for the newcomer. Drinking all the water is indicative that he was truly hungry and thirsty - cats evolved to get over 70% of their water intake through food only so they only drink when they are dehydrated from not enough water in their food (or lack food). I am glad that you are showing him play as well as food but he needs better claw control. Typically, it is not a good idea to use your hands as toys - use a teaser toy (a rag tied onto a stick) or a laser instead. If the redness subsided, you should be fine. You could try flyers and social media for "found cat" but please, for his safety, do not show his picture - just give a description & add "owner must identify" (you can draw a stick kitty with crayon or use a cat emoji) and for your protection, start a contact email address just for this situation. Whether he is a lost cat or not, he is needing the attention, food and water that you are giving him. Please continue to care for him!
and don't forget to keep us updated!

 

[KarenKat]

How sweet that you are feeding him! I agree with catsknowme about putting up flyers and asking around.

As for the scratch, the only real concern is possible infection which is the same risk for even indoor cat scratches. If the redness is going down it should be fine. If you get scratched or bit again, I would wash it and put some Neosporin on it to make sure you never have an issue. But other than that I wouldn’t worry.

 

[amphitryte]

Welcome to TCS! Thank you for caring for the newcomer. Drinking all the water is indicative that he was truly hungry and thirsty - cats evolved to get over 70% of their water intake through food only so they only drink when they are dehydrated from not enough water in their food (or lack food). I am glad that you are showing him play as well as food but he needs better claw control. Typically, it is not a good idea to use your hands as toys - use a teaser toy (a rag tied onto a stick) or a laser instead. If the redness subsided, you should be fine. You could try flyers and social media for "found cat" but please, for his safety, do not show his picture - just give a description & add "owner must identify" (you can draw a stick kitty with crayon or use a cat emoji) and for your protection, start a contact email address just for this situation. Whether he is a lost cat or not, he is needing the attention, food and water that you are giving him. Please continue to care for him!
and don't forget to keep us updated!

I saw the cat again this morning and I gave him some more food and water. Once again, he ate it all up. When there's no one around, he tends to keep quiet but when he realizes we're here, he starts meowing very loudly. Does this mean he wants attention or should I be looking out to see if he's hurt or something? He was walking normally and his coat looks good aside from being a little dusty. He's a beautiful black cat with green eyes (eerily similar to my own kitty). I think he's getting more accustomed to me and my family now that we've started to feed him more.

 

[catsknowme]

Awww, the poor darling....he stays quiet because he is "hunkered down" (in hiding) and when he's meowing to you, he is probably pleading for attention and protection. it sounds like he is lost or abandoned
I am so happy that you are looking out for him! He sounds beautiful - black with green eyes is more unique and therefore highly sought after, in my experience.
Are you able to groom him with a comb? Does he have fleas? Maybe you can provide him a box with an old towel as a cat bed so he can feel secure. Sometimes when cats are desperate and scared they try to stop you from leaving by grabbing at your legs - if he does this, make a "tschh!!" noise and tell him "no". Does he need neutering?
No matter his story, I pray that he finds himself in a good home soon.

 

[tnrmakessense]

Hello everyone! For a bit of preface on the situation, there has been a stray cat coming around to our house and he likes to spend time around our car in the garage. My family members and I have seen this cat around for a couple days now and just yesterday did I go out and give it something to eat. He seemed smaller than our domestic cat, who is almost 2 years old now.

The cat was very affectionate and vocal, and almost seemed to want to follow us back into the house. He ate all of the food and water we gave him and was purring when I went to pet him.

So I have a few questions on my situation:

- The cat has been coming here for a while, as I mentioned, and acts normal and very appreciative. In my playful interactions with him, his nails grazed the skin of my arm. The scratches did not break skin and the red markings from the contact are just about all gone this morning. Would I be right to worry about some sort of sickness the cat can pass to me, or am I just overthinking it?

- Should I keep feeding the cat? The cat seems to show up in the daytime, hang around near our car, and then leave. I wonder if he has an owner, but he had no collar so I'm not sure. His nails felt a little dull during the contact, too, perhaps pointing to someone trimming them. I live on a block full of apartment complexes, so it could be someone's outdoor kitty. However, should I keep leaving food out for him? He seemed to really like what we gave him and wasn't picky like the cat we already have

I keep peroxide close by and squirt it on any scratch I get, from any creature I come in contact with. Knock wood, I've never had a reaction.

 

[amphitryte]

Hello again everyone!

The little black cat that has been visiting our family has been wanting to follow us inside our home for a while now. He's been particularly close with my mom, who spends a lot of time with him. We'll be taking him to the vet tomorrow, which I am very excited for since the reviews say its a great place to go to with pets. The check-up is free and I hope that we get him his vaccinations tomorrow and get him fixed on a later date.

My mom is worried about him, considering he doesn't want to budge from moving from our garden and he cries often. We would love to bring him inside, but we have our own domestic cat and we are wary about their contact.

Even though he is yet to be vaccinated (but he will be tomorrow), should we bring him inside? Should we just keep the two of them apart for the time being? I don't want him to spend the night in the garden and he doesn't seem to want to go into hiding like he used to. He has really bonded with my mom and has started lying outside our window and meowing loudly.

PS: Looking at him closely, we found out that he is a polydactyl cat! He has extra claws on his front paws, and I had a feeling he was considering he had "thumbs" on his paws. Does that pose any health problems for him?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Can you keep them apart until the vet gives him his shots and the all-clear health wise? The vet should also check his paws just to be sure his toes and claws are ok

 

[maggie101]

Sounds like he's ready to be inside. Keep him in a separate room. I would extremely worry about a black cat at night getting run over. I rescued a black kitten that finally showed up on my porch. Neighbors were complaining about his crying every night. The cat he hung out with had leukemia(trapped and adopted). Luckily, he did not. He was scared the first night but was playful the next day

 

[Jcatbird]

I always keep new rescues separated from other kitties until the vet clears them as healthy and flea/ parasite free. It’s just a good precaution. Introductions are something you will need to do as well. The new kitty should be fine once you take these steps. With young kitties I keep them in a bathroom or in the bedroom with me ,if they prefer ,until they adjust to life in my home. Thank you for caring about the little one!

 

[danteshuman]

I agree with everyone. I will add that there is probably a low cost spay/neuter clinic near you. Until he is fixed I wouldn’t bother introducing him to anyone and I would keep 2 doors between him and the outside (his hormones will be riding him hard to claim territory and find a queen in heat.)

Can we see a picture of him just for cuteness sake?

 

[amphitryte]

I agree with everyone. I will add that there is probably a low cost spay/neuter clinic near you. Until he is fixed I wouldn’t bother introducing him to anyone and I would keep 2 doors between him and the outside (his hormones will be riding him hard to claim territory and find a queen in heat.)

Can we see a picture of him just for cuteness sake?

It's uncanny how similar he is to my own cat. He seems to have a fondness for going after lizards and beetles, too. I was lucky to find a very good vet near me, as the check-up will be free and the vaccinations cost $15 each. Their spay and neutering process is also 10% off.

I'll be happy to take him inside, as he cries often and I believe it is irritating the older cats in the area. My mom said that a bigger, white cat came into our garden to drive this little guy away last night. He's back and he's unharmed, but we got worried about that.

 

[Kflowers]

Bring him inside and put him in a separate room. You don't want to chance him vanishing right before his vet appointment, or getting hurt
now that you've decided to keep him. A cat fight could seriously increase the cost of the vet.

 

[walli]

He's so pretty!! The neutering will make it easier to bring him in.
it takes a couple weeks for the hormones to subside maybe a bit longer.

 

[movinintime]

He looks EXACTLY as my feral, Blackie!! You sure it is not him? LOL I love him too in this gorgeous pic of him!

 

[Kflowers]

Remember there will be fireworks this week and they may frighten him into running.

 

[Purrrfectttales]

You probably want to keep them separated for at least 3-4 weeks to make sure he doesn't have anything contagious. You might also want to have him tested for FIV since he has been outside. Definitely get him treated for parasites and fleas! If you bring him in and he has an active flea infestation it can be almost impossible to get rid of. Another consideration might be - do you believe that he might belong to someone else? You might check with any neighbors or in the community to make sure he's not missing. My neighbor has an indoor/outdoor cat that I mistakenly believed was homeless. (Good thing I didn't take her in or I would have been accused of stealing her cat!)

 

[amphitryte]

The little stray outside of my house cries often, so much so that I think he hurts his own throat. With his mouth open, he also drools onto the pavement. I'm worried that he's hurting his throat.

Is there any way to make him stop? Any medicines that would help his throat? We've tried to catch him to take him to the vet but he got too scared so we did not push him further. Is there any way we can help this stray cat?

 

[amphitryte]

So the little black stray I wanted to take to the vet proved that he certainly did not want to be placed into a carrier. However, my family definitely does not want to leave him alone. He meows so often that his voice becomes scratchy and I think he may be hurting his own throat. That's why I would like a vet's advice on this.

However, we just don't know how to bring him along. We have a large carrier that we got, plenty of space for him in there, but the moment he managed to lure him in with treats, he started to yowl and thrash and he let him out soon afterwards.

Should we wait it out until he comes along? We just don't know what to do, and he opted to not bring him in our home due to our domestic cat. I don't want him to hurt his throat anymore, but he meows so often he just can't help it. He's still eating and drinking the water we provide for him, so maybe it's not too bad, but I don't want his condition to potentially worsen.

 

[LTS3]

Can you contact a rescue and ask about getting this cat trapped so it can get the vet care it needs?

I doubt a cat can hurt its throat just by constantly meowing. If anything, the throat might be a little sore and hoarse. Open mouth drooling can indicate dental issues.

I'm not sure if there are any medicines to help an irritated sore throat, prescription or not. That is something a vet would know.

If the stray isn't spayed or neutered, the constantly meowing is basically the cat's way of looking for another cat to mate with.