Background: for the past couple of months, I've been leaving a bowl of food outside on our back porch. My indoor cat has been so picky lately, and I hate throwing out perfectly good food. I figured since there are strays/outdoor kitties in our neighborhood, it wouldn't go to waste if I left it out. Sure enough, the food always disappeared, usually within a few hours. The past couple of weeks, there's been one cat in particular that shows up morning and dusk for food. At first he (I think it's a male - more on that later) was very wary of us and wouldn't allow us to approach within 6 feet. He would wait for us to put the food down and walk away to a safe distance before approaching the bowl. He would eat with one eye on us and startle if we moved at all. He would polish off anything we put in the bowl, raw or canned. He eats like he's starving, but he's not underweight at all. He's very muscular, healthy looking, with a dense, short-haired coat. He's pretty clean although there are a few brown spots in his ears, so he may have mites or possibly they just need some cleaning. He's about 12 pounds I think, with big paws and very long sharp claws. I can't tell his age although he doesn't seem very young or very old. He doesn't meow much at all. I've heard him meow softly only once.
So here's where it gets weird. His behavior has completely changed in the last couple of weeks. He's become really affectionate and even walked into the house once, bold as you please. He loves being petted! He head butts my hand to get me to pet him. He will roll around on the ground at our feet and scent mark our feet and shoes. He's even climbed onto my lap a couple of times. He reaches out with both paws and grabs my hand to get pets. He also does that to my leg when I head inside as if he's saying don't go. He's very gentle when he does this and hasn't scratched me at all. He's taken to hanging around our back porch more and more. It's hard to believe that he's a stray and not someone's pet. He's clearly socialized. He's also heard our indoor kitty meowing inside the house but doesn't react at all which I thought was odd. He clearly hears her because he perks his ears but there's no other reaction.
To get to the point, my dilemma is about what to do next. I think I can see testicles which means he needs to be neutered. I have no problem with paying to have it done although at this point, I'm not sure how I will get him to the vet. I haven't tried picking him up yet, so I may need a trap. However, I would feel weird doing this if he is someone's pet already. If he isn't someone's pet, we would adopt him as our outdoor kitty at a minimum and consider bringing him in at some point. Oddly enough, he looks like my indoor kitty's big brother, another blue mackerel tabby.
So what do you think I should do? 1. Assume he's a stray and work on getting him to the vet to be checked for a microchip and get neutered ASAP? 2. Assume he's someone's pet and try to track down the owner? I'm not sure how I would even do that. I guess I could get a collar for him and attach a note somehow and ask them to contact me? Suggestions? I really have no experience with this.
Here's a picture of his privates. Male?
So here's where it gets weird. His behavior has completely changed in the last couple of weeks. He's become really affectionate and even walked into the house once, bold as you please. He loves being petted! He head butts my hand to get me to pet him. He will roll around on the ground at our feet and scent mark our feet and shoes. He's even climbed onto my lap a couple of times. He reaches out with both paws and grabs my hand to get pets. He also does that to my leg when I head inside as if he's saying don't go. He's very gentle when he does this and hasn't scratched me at all. He's taken to hanging around our back porch more and more. It's hard to believe that he's a stray and not someone's pet. He's clearly socialized. He's also heard our indoor kitty meowing inside the house but doesn't react at all which I thought was odd. He clearly hears her because he perks his ears but there's no other reaction.
To get to the point, my dilemma is about what to do next. I think I can see testicles which means he needs to be neutered. I have no problem with paying to have it done although at this point, I'm not sure how I will get him to the vet. I haven't tried picking him up yet, so I may need a trap. However, I would feel weird doing this if he is someone's pet already. If he isn't someone's pet, we would adopt him as our outdoor kitty at a minimum and consider bringing him in at some point. Oddly enough, he looks like my indoor kitty's big brother, another blue mackerel tabby.
So what do you think I should do? 1. Assume he's a stray and work on getting him to the vet to be checked for a microchip and get neutered ASAP? 2. Assume he's someone's pet and try to track down the owner? I'm not sure how I would even do that. I guess I could get a collar for him and attach a note somehow and ask them to contact me? Suggestions? I really have no experience with this.
Here's a picture of his privates. Male?