What should I do? There is a stray cat who hangs out at my house and is used to hanging out with my 3 cats. I haven't been feeding it, but its been around so long that I don't think it'll ever leave.
I don't want to bring it to the pound because they'll probably end up killing it. Do I take it and leave it somewhere else, like at a strip mall where there are restaurants with dumpsters full of food? I feel guilty having to think about that, but whenever it hangs out with my cats, it gives them conjunctivitis. My personal cat of the 3, already has a slightly cloudy cornea when looked at an angle. Not sure if means that it has received irreversible damage. I believe that others living in the house have been feeeding it food, but I have told them not to, so it'll be forced to go away. As of now, it'll be 2 days that I haven't personally fed it and the cat must be starving cause it is practically at my feet meowing whenever it sees me eating anything. What should I do?
2007-05-12 21:17:59 · 20 answers · asked by cpc26ca 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
also i'm not sure if it belongs to someone else? It isn't malnourished/skinny, but if size is one true indication of health, it hasn't been keeping up to my cats...although SHE is as small as our smallest cat. (1 grey big brother, 1 grey medium sister, 1 small persian-looking sister). They were strays rescued from my father's work. Their mother gave birth to another larger litter of 6 and my dad "rescued" them and brought them to the pound, not realizing that they were going to be put down. In essence he killed our cats siblings. :( My cats are indoor cats...the stray approaches me when i'm out in the yard or the garage. How do I know if she has an owner, just one that doesn't leave a big giant bowl of cat food out like I do?...like a supplementary source of food?
2007-05-12 21:54:47 · update #1
OMG. Don't u see it just a poor little cat? WHy don't u feed it? IF u don't want it. then send it to my house though: 24259 La Glorita Circle, Santa Clarita, CA 91321. It's gonna die if u keep treating it like that!!!!!!!!!!!
2007-05-20 20:55:16 · answer #1 · answered by Salinda M 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You are asking a few questions, here. The most important question is whether the cat has a home, already. Probably not, if you see it around your home a lot, unless the owner never lets it inside. Here is one thing you could do to try to find out whether it has a home in your neighborhood. If you can confine the animal, as in your garage, a room in your house, a cage, do that and then put posters up in your immediate area. Put "Found Cat, your phone number" on the posters. See if you get any response. (Of course if you don't confine the cat, no one will respond, because it will be going home to its owners, should it have any). If you get no response, then you can feel pretty confident that there is no one looking after the cat in your neighborhood. Now you would want to see if there were any lost ads posted for the cat, and you might want to check past ads, if you can access them. If no one is looking for the cat, your next step would be to contact local rescue leagues for help in placing the cat. It sounds like the cat is friendly, so that is good. Here is how to contact them: One way is to contact the Petco or Petsmart in your area and ask if they hold adoption days or have a rescue league connected with them. If they do, then go to the adoption days and talk to the person running it. Tell them how worried you are about the cat, and you don't want to take it to the pound, but do need some help. Sometimes they will take the animal right away. Sometimes they will ask you to keep it until they can find a home for it. In this case that might mean feeding it, and then taking it to the adoption days on the weekends where potential families may see it to consider it for adoption. If the local pet store chains don't have a league that can help you, then look on Petfinder.org. This is the site where rescue leagues advertise animals they have for adoption. Type in your zip code and do a search as if you were looking for a pet. This will bring up the animals and the leagues that represent them, along with contact information. If you contact them and need to leave a message, don't say you are looking for a place to leave a pet. Just say something like, "I saw you have animals for adoption, on Petfinder, and I would like some more information." You will more likely get a response with this type of message than the former. The leagues are busy in the spring, so the sooner you move on this, the better. PLEASE - DO NOT LEAVE THE CAT SOMEWHERE ELSE. It will suffer. It will become more sick than it already might be. It may be attacked by other cats or wild animals, or hit by a car. If unspayed, it will have kittens to add to the whole problem. It will probably also never get the food it really needs, and lead a lonely and unhappy life. It sounds like it is a really friendly cat that needs your help. It has come to you because it knows you are nice; after all you must have nice cats it has come to. Please do not withhold food from it if you think it is not getting fed by actual, real owners. If your cats have eye infections, then you might need to treat them, and while you are at it, treat the little sweetie, too. It needs your help. Try to contact the people mentioned and if you go in person to an adoption day, try going with the cat in hand, letting them know how much you really need their help. I hope it goes well for you. By the way, animals given away for free run risks that could be hazardous. Any more questions critterden10@yahoo.com
2007-05-13 18:21:24 · answer #2 · answered by PR 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have two choices ~ take it to the pound, where they will care for it and try and find an owner to care for it, or adopt it, in which case you will be able to care for it and clear up the conjunctivitis.
My own view is, you've got three cats, they already know this cat, it's not going to be that hard to adopt it.
BUT, if you have a situation where that is not possible or not ehat you want, the pound is the humane choice. Taking the stray to a strip mall or dumpster will only ensure it gets sicker and eventually dies in pain, probably after having or helping create several litters of kittens to go through the whole problem again.
We recently adopted a stray into our home, and there have been some problems, but every time I see him so clean and well fed, it fills my heart with happiness.
Good luck with your choice!
RE: How to tell if it has an owner. Put a collar on it (if you can). When it next comes back, if someone else owns it, they will have removed the collar! But, if you are not sure that is another good reason NOT to take it somewhere else and dump it. You could also put a few posters up around the neighbourhood, asking does anyone own this cat. They are easy to run off on your computer and you probably only need one on two or three lightpoles near your own street.
2007-05-12 21:25:09 · answer #3 · answered by thing55000 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well you shouldn't be depriving it of food
if it is hungry you should feed it
and then think of something you can do with it
because starving it is not going to make it go away
it is just going to kill it
so If I were you
I would first feed it
then consider these options.
you could get it checked up and get all its medical needs taken care of, and then keep him\her
but if that is not an option
maybe you could put an ad in the paper saying free cat to good home
or you could take it to a local animal shelter that has a "no kill" policy
If you are unsure if you have any "no kill" animal shelters, call your local vet and ask them if they know of any.
Or you could always call a vet and ask them what you could do with a stray cat that you can not keep but you don't want it to stay on the streets or get killed
Those are some options I would consider if I was in your situation.
I hope this helps you
2007-05-12 21:29:19 · answer #4 · answered by Some one Special 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You mean you have 4 cats. The cat is not going anywhere. Trust me I know, I have the same problem around my house, but with more than one cat. It started with one female and "well, do I have to say more." I wish I would have taken the one cat and got her fixed. Because one litter has lead to the next, and none of them have gone anywhere.And you don't want to watch it starve to death either. Just bite the bullet and give the poor thing a place to call home. Good luck.
2007-05-12 22:27:03 · answer #5 · answered by beasley 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well. It sounds like you have a new pet. I would keep it if you can. Yes, it probably wouldn't get adopted out at the pound and end up dying. Your other idea of dropping it off is not a good one. I did that once and the dog catcher brought it by my house to tell me that he was headed off to put her down. And he did although I told him that she ran away. And if you dropped it off somewhere, well, someone else will just take it to the pound or it could get ran over. So please just keep it and add a new member to your house. The guilt and sorrow is not worth it.
2007-05-12 21:32:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but it does sound like this cat has adopted you, and you really should either find it a home elsewhere, even if it's an animal shelter, or take it inside and care for it properly. If it's vaccinated and looked after, it wont give your other cats diseases. Please dont just dump it somewhere else.
2007-05-12 21:26:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This one of the reasons I'm SOOOO against letting pets run loose.
If you care about your cats keep them inside and away from strays.
They can pick up all kinds of diseases.
As for the homeless critter try to find it a home or a humane society that does not kill strays.
2007-05-12 21:26:01 · answer #8 · answered by seekingwidow 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It kinda sounds to me like you're attached to this cat also. Another thing to consider is how attached your cats are to the stray? Take into your home and care for it, love it. It's like the old potato chip commercial, you can't have just one.
2007-05-19 01:15:00 · answer #9 · answered by Tammie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would adopt it and have the vet treat the illness. If you can't, then call your local humane society and they can find it a foster home until it can be permanently placed. Plus, if you are seen "dumping" an animal, you could be subject to fines for abuse-depending on your local laws.
2007-05-12 21:31:11 · answer #10 · answered by jan 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋