I stopped feeding the Manx tabby cat I had been feeding for 1 to 2 weeks. My vet suggested I do this, because stray cats were being attracted to my property. If I continued to make my property a haven for stray cats, it may eventually be overrun by cats, and that would be more than I bargained for. So I befriended this skittish Manx boy cat after a week or so, and then turned my back on him, and now I feel bad about it. This cat was coming here 2x a day and spending a lot of time here, as if he had a friend in this world, and now I've driven him away. I scared him away with a broom, then I tossed a baking pan onto the sidewalk which made a lot of noise and scared him. After about 3 times, he's not coming here any more, but now I feel bad because I built trust in him and then took it away. I have no idea where this cat is and if he's eating enough. He can catch birds and mice, but he loved to rely on me and my canned foods and raw meats.
All creatures deserve to eat and I find it hard to turn my back on a hungry animal. I hope I'll feel better about this in the future. He's an unfixed cat and the local shelter has no room to take in any cats until Mid August. I get attached to cats easy and I think it would be too much for me to have my property overrun by stray cats. I have 3 house cats of my own and I want to focus on them and not stray cats in the neighborhood that could potentially infect my cats when they're in their catio.
How would you react to a stray cat on your land that could be hungry?
Would you try to see if it's hungry, or shoo it away?