A few months ago my cat of 15 years died. I used to let her outside in the yard with me and a couple times I noticed her together with another cat. I assumed it was a neighbors. It’s seemed pretty healthy. It started showing up on my porch every morning and I figured it was looking for my cat. I recently noticed that cat around my property again only now it’s limping and looks in rough shape. I’ve realized it’s living under my deck. I just started putting food out for it. I was wondering if it’s practical to try to take him in or help it in someway.
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Stray cat under my deck
- Thread starter Jb157
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Well, if he needs help I would see what I could do. How feral is he? Are you able to approach him at all? Can you gauge if he has any socialization at all? Do you see any wounds? How long has he been hurt? Does he seem to be getting worse? Better? The same? Is he still eating? I know, lots of questions........
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I’m not sure. He used to hang around my cat outside. He never ran away if I was nearby. I saw him a few weeks ago and he ran under my deck when he saw me. I noticed then that he wasn’t moving right. I saw him again today and he’s clearly frail and limping on his front leg. It’s clear he hasn’t been eating. He was standing on my deck. I tried to bring out some food and he ran under the deck when I opened the door. I left it outside and he came back out to eat after awhile.
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I’m so sorry for your loss It seems to me that as you said this cat was friends with your cat He has now gotten injured and even though he can’t find his friend he is taking a chance on you helping since you were good to his friend It’s a great sign that he will come eat when you leave the food out What type of door do you have leading to your deck? Just wondering if he can see you like thru a screen door or a glass sliding door you could leave open sit on the floor and softly talk to him It sure sounds like he needs your help if you can build up some trust He did make the first move that’s in your favor
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That’s great that he’s eating. I would give him wet if you can. Offer both wet and dry. If you can build him up a bit that would be beneficial. Try to let him see you when he eats but keep your distance. Try to convey that you’re safe. Like S Sylvia Jones said, talk to him softly, calmly. Look at him but don’t stare. When you do make eye contact, blink slowly so he sees that you’re not being an aggressor. If you can get him onto the porch, do you think he will freak out if you close him in? If you can. Then see how he reacts and reacts to you. This may all take a few days. Or longer. But if you can get him inside and he will deal with it, maybe you can get some sort of calmative from your vet to mix with his food. Since he will be enclosed (be sure he doesn’t escape while having a tranq on board!) maybe that’s would be your opportunity to catch him and get him to the vet. Be safe tho. You don’t want him to bite you (not saying he will but you know, a scared kitty!). Wear protective gloves to protect your hands and forearms. A thick towel to pick him up if he will let you, if not, maybe a have a hart trap? But if you can be friends with him, that would always be best unless his medical status is at a crisis point. Just keep feeding him up until you can make a plan. Thanks for watching out for the guy. He does obviously know your place is refuge or he wouldn’t have come back. I am sorry you lost your little love.
I do agree that helping this cat is the right thing to do. He sees your home as a haven or he would not be there and his friendship with your departed cat has connected him to you. If this seems as if he needs attention more quickly than he is progressing in his acceptance of you, I do recommend a humane trap like Havahart which can sometimes be rented from shelters and feed stores. You can get a lot of advice about trapping here if you need it.
