Stray Cat Showed Up Tonight!?

Question

I already have 4 cats and 2 kittens.....3 neuterd males and a female (that will be spayed as soon as kittens are weaned) and 2 kittens that will also be fixed ASAP.....Here's my problem....a stray cat showed up tonignt....this is the seconed time this has happened to me since I've lived here for only 4 months....the other stray was also a male and he's now part of our family....I'm not sure what to do...it's suppose to be below freezing tonight and I just don't have the heart to leave him outside..but I really don't need another cat..So should I bring him in for the night or will he be okay outside in the cold...I know cats have fur for a reason....I just don't want to feel bad about leaving him out....right now he's laying on my couch looking at me...I have him seperated from my other cats for now...especially my female because I don't think he's been neutered....which dosen't surprise me..seems no one cares to truly take care of their animals anymore...so please give me some feedback

Thank You all so much for your answers....I'm going to bring him in for the night...I wouldn't be able to sleep "knowing" he's out there and cold. And tomorrow I'm gonna call the vet...have him fixed and get shots and either find him a home or keep him...Thanks again :)

I'm hoping I do find the owner, but either way I'm gonna get him fixed and shots...I wish all people would do that and keep animals from suffering like this...It's just not fair

Answer 1

You have a big heart. I empathize with you, the same thing happened to me about a month ago, a stray black and white kitten showed up to my door, starving. Now she's a spoiled butter ball. There isn't anything wrong with allowing the cat to stay inside for the night or two, just keep him separated from the other cats, not just because he isn't fixed, but also he may be carrying a contageous disease, like FeLV, which is highly contageous and deadly. Also, if you touch him, wash your hands before touching the other cats, cat diseases are often transmitted via human touch. Anyway, if you simply can not or do not want to take on another cat, what I recommend is to first see if any friends want him and if not, then I would look for a local Noah's Ark, which has a policy not to euthanize, and unfortunately, your last resort should be the local animal shelter, I don't know your animal shelter's policy, but many euthanize fairly quickly. Another option is to have him neutured, often you can find an animal clinic to do this as cheaply as possible and keep him as an outdoor cat, of course provide him a way to get out of the rain and cold, like set up a small plastic dog house with a warm old sheet or blanket, or get a card board box and cut a small hole out for him to crawl in and out and fill it with a warm blanket/old sheet. Keep an outdoor food bowl and water and well, let him be. Outdoor cats are easier to manage, but they are still another mouth to feed....I hate to see kitties who so desparately want to be loved and taken care...it just breaks my heart....and it makes me angry that people take no responsibilty for their animals and expect them to die or others to take care of them, which is how your getting strays. It seems to me that there is ether feral cats breeding, or someone is not takeing responsibility and not having their cats neutured/spayed....I recommend to solve any future stray problem to start a trap and release program, where you trap and neuture/spay cats and then release...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap-Neuter-Return this is the wikipedia page on it. Anyway, good luck and I hope this helped a little! I really sympathize with you! We just have tooo big of hearts for out furry feline friends....

Answer 2

While I do not know where you live, I had a similar situation happen to me. I had a female cat that attracted a male feral cat. It was rather sweet, as they would lay next to one another when they were in my yard. ( They were both fixed - but still enjoyed each others company.)
Any way, the whether got colder and I worried about this cat too. So what I did was get a metal clamp style lamp. Make sure that you use a big light bulb like for a flood lamp, not a standard light bulb. I got a cardboard box and put a towel in the box. Then to get the male cat to go into the box and get used to it, I started to put his food bowl into the box. He had to get into the box to eat and then at night I turned the light on and aimed it into the box. ( I put in dry food that I mixed with canned food.) I have a metal railing near the box. I clamped the light onto the metal railing.
Eventually he started to use the box. I could tell that he had slept on the towel. I figured that between the heat of the lamp and the towel, he should be fairly warm.
It can get as cold as 16 degrees at night where I live.
The funny thing was that since I live on a fairly busy street, the people who saw the box thought it was funny and asked me about it. I said that that was my "cat house".
I hope this is of some help.
This cat was a true feral in that he didn't meow or let you pet him.

Answer 3

I would suggest 3 weeks and to make sure the stray is vaccinated etc in the first week. As a foster carer, I had three come in, they looked healthy, other than one was starved and I kept them isolated 21 days. I introduced them to my cats as we like to see how they get along and if they need to be an only cat etc. After a while we had problems and the foster cats got a mucky eye and one of my cats got it too. My cats are vaccinated but the shelter cats weren't so it's important. You should also have a snap test done on the stray at the vet to make sure it's not carrying FIV and FeLv. A corona virus titer should be done to make sure the stray isn't at risk of FIP. Cats can be asymptomatic but still be shedding the virus. This means they can appear well but they are excreting the virus.

Answer 4

I have acquired 2 stray cats over the last couple of years due to irresponsible people. They are primarily outdoor cats, mainly because I am asthmatic and allergic to cats. However, during the cold months, I only think of their comfort and well-being. We leave our garage door about 4 inches off the ground- just enough for the cats to fit under when they are outside. I have an area of old pillows and blankets set up off the ground for them in the garage. When it is really cold, however, they spend most of their time indoors. I also have an indoor cat, who I have grown immune to over the years-he is 10. Both strays, one female who we had spayed, and one intact male - get along with the indoor cat, and both of our little dogs. You have to do what you feel is right. There have been plenty of days in the years past that our 2 outdoor cats have spent outdoors. As long as they have dry shelter such as a garage, he should be fine. Once you let him into your house, and heart, it's all over, tho- lol! We never intended to keep the intact male, and it has been a year, now, since he popped out of a bush and followed us home while walking our dog! The rest is history.

Answer 5

If you really can't keep him, let him spend the night in a closed room with food and water and a litterbox, and find him a new home asap, or take him to an animal shelter. It is very irresponsible to let cats breed and then throw the kittens out in the cold. Not to mention cruel. Thank you for being concerned with this little critter.

Answer 6

Oh, you are in the same situation I'm in right now. I have a little bed set up on our porch, (which is a covered porch), for the stray to sleep in. He's really sweet, but I just can't take in another cat, I have two indoor cats of my own. I even went so far last winter to use a covered pet carrier with a heavy blanket thrown over it, and with blankets and a heating pad underneath them to keep him warm. I just can't stand the thought of a pet outside in the cold. I feel the same way, I wish people would be responsible and take care of their pets, but so many just don't care. Then it's left up to us real animal lovers to worry about them. If you can't set up a bed for him, then keep him inside and separated from your other cats, but understand this will be an ongoing situation. Do what you feel is right, and bless you for caring!

Answer 7

i had the same problem last year. I left it outside for a couple of weeks with some blankets in a box, some food and water, and it did fine.
of course, being a sucker, when it was getting WAY below freezing i put her in the spare room with a bed and food (my cats an inside cat and hates other cats ) and it took me a few days to find another home.

definitely put up notices at the mailboxes around your area and any corner stores and notify shelters in your area that you have him... he may be a wanderer and sees you as a second home, but his owner may be wondering where he is.

he will be fine with sort of cold weather, but to be nice make him a little box with some old rags, and some water and food.
if his owners dont claim him in a few days and hes still around, feel free to find him a new home with friends or co-workers

Answer 8

find a room your other cats will not en ter, or you can close it where the cats or kittens will NOT get into, and keep it there, give it a laundry basket with some blankets in it. also leave some food and water/milk in the room. ive done the same thing :]

Answer 9

I would say what you're doing is fine for now.
You definitely want to keep him away from your other cats because he may have feline luekemia or some other disease you don't want to spread.
I would say keep him in for tonight and call around tomorrow.
Your best bet would be if you have a Humane Society in your area, I'm sure they would help you!!

Answer 10

Just keep him in another room for the night. And let him out in the morning. He may just go to his other home.