Cats Dilemma

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.
One thing I've found out is that if you do a mean thing to an animal or person even with good intentions, you'll regret it later. I guess you've found this out as well in hindsight. There were a few occasions when one of my cats tested my patience to the limit and I ended up scaring him, and the result was always that both of us were upset. So, I recommend refraining from meanness unless it is in self-defense and so on. There are people who are mean by nature, but it's better not to be around them. Again, I hope that the cat comes back and you become friends again.
 
I had been feeding a stray all black cat for 15 years, it slept in the back of my garage (I made a comfortable place for it), it was around all the time but no others, it was territorial it seems. Sad it has not been around since Jan this year, I think it might have died or got killed.
Strange it was not a friendly or aggressive cat, it would sit or lay there and watch me then go on its rounds of the area. Yes you do get attached to them even though its a stray.
 
But I'm not willing to pay out of pocket to get stray cats fixed. I'd trap them and deliver them to WCAS and release them, but I don't think I want stray cats hanging around my property all the time. They may do this after mid august. I don't know how they'd trap this cat or where it is now that I chased him away. I will say a prayer for the cats.
There are some really low cost options for this if you ask around. Taking it to your vet is the most expensive way. Taking it to a county resource is the cheapest way ( I've done this in Anne Arundel County MD). Or find an organization that will do it.
 
You're talking about the worst-case scenarios. I have three indoor-only feral-rescue cats. I used to feed them outside like you did. It took the friendliest one the longest to adjust, but the continuous loud meowing to go out stopped for good after seven weeks. The cats adjust to things better than us humans do.
OK, that said, I have 3 house cats of my own and am not wanting to adopt more cats, every time one shows up on my property.
I don't want an untested cats getting close to my 3 cats when they're in their catio, and put them in danger of FIV, FLV, etc.
This manx cat is unfixed and was getting too close to my calico the other day. This is what I don't want. I don't want to risk their health by untested cats in my back yard. I love all cats but this is what I personally need in my life. I get attached to cats easily and I don't want this to turn into a hoarding situation.
 
You could have feed it at a specific time and picked up the food dish and left no remnants behind to attract other animals. Then have it spayed or neutered, you would have done a service to the animal society.
It wasn't leftover food that attracted other cats, it was the cat itself because he spent hours in my back yard, waiting for more food.
There was the black & white mean cat that wanted to fight with the manx cat b/c he spent hours in my back yard, and the long haired tabby that chased the manx off while he was eating.
So I don't condone feeding an animal then turning on it and running it off.
It was my mistake to befriend him in the first place. I admit my mistake, but this was a can of worms I don't think I wanted to open.
I get attached to cats too easily, and I prefer to focus on my 3 house cats and not see needy cats looking in my windows, threatening to infect my house cats when they're in their catio.
 
We have a couple around, I dont feed them but I dont bother them either. As long as they are hunting mice or moles they are welcome. I will walk outside if I suspect they are stalking birds and they run off as soon as they see me. I do think they have killed a few baby bunnies but everything hunts baby rabbits so it might not be them. All I find is some scattered patches of rabbit fur. I admire feral cats independence but do feel sorry for domesticated animals that have been turned out.
Perhaps I could talk to the manx can and even pet it, but not feed it.
I'm fine with outdoor cats killing squirrels and mice, and even a bird or two here and there.
 
Don't feed him all the time and don't let him rely on you for all his food but rather as a treat so to speak and only put out food when you are around so if the other cats come you can pick it up so they won't get any. I can tell from what you've said you like this cat no reason you can't be buddies.
 
Don't feed him all the time and don't let him rely on you for all his food but rather as a treat so to speak and only put out food when you are around so if the other cats come you can pick it up so they won't get any. I can tell from what you've said you like this cat no reason you can't be buddies.
Good idea. I was thinking I'll feed him but not several times a day, maybe once at dawn and again at dusk at most, and feed him away from the house, next to the garage where I can watch and make sure no cats try to steal it from him. It took time to make friends with him, and now I'd hate myself if I ignored him. At least one meal per day of my food would do him some good but like you said, don't spoil him with too much food or he'll rely solely on me for food and spend most of the day here waiting for food.
 
My black cat was a ferrel. I caught him and took him to get fixed. He now sleeps on my feet all night.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210704_165814062.jpg
    IMG_20210704_165814062.jpg
    92.2 KB · Views: 17
Been there . Very difficult to resist :( . It only adds to the suffering of those being fed and have kittens who then suffer from hunger and disease . A chain of pain ☹️ . Put it on irresponsible / heartless people :mad: .
 
Manny the Manx cat was out in the bushes tonight, so I talked calmly to him and fed him a good meal of canned 9 Lives cat food with a raw egg yolk and some pieces of raw pork. He absolutely loved that and he let me pat him. I will feed him a good supper every day from now on -- away from the house. He's quite a smart cat. What he eats in the daytime hours is up to what he can round up but he can count on a good supper here every day.
I love cats, and I feel relieved that he got fed today. It was like I restored his faith in humans, again. I may ignore him in the daytime but will feed him supper. That might have been my mistake : to feed him often during the day. But we'll work things out and this guy will eat good food every day.

DSC_7483a.jpg
 
Strays are sad and mostly a result of people not getting their animals sick. Our local shelter is full and not taking anymore surrenders.

I was mowing my field last weekend and chased up a litter of kittens from a brush pile from a tree I had cut down in March. They were wild and wouldn’t let me catch them. 2 tortoise shell/ calicos and a gold one that I saw.

D2E15787-F5E9-49D6-BA93-668CF2C54EFA.jpeg
 
Strays are sad and mostly a result of people not getting their animals sick. Our local shelter is full and not taking anymore surrenders.
People also abandon cats when they move to a place that doesn't allow pets, or feel they can no longer afford to feed the cat, or they get a new baby, or they claim a new allergy, and other reasons. A domesticated cat, dumped in a feral cat colony can be a bad thing for the domestic cat.

Most shelters are full this time of the year b/c it's kitten season. They should free up more soon.
 
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?
Stray cats are pests. While you might like them your neighbors may not, they tend to spray, poop, screech, jump on cars and scratch paint, and create even more feral cats.

They also are known to carry deadly diseases and viruses that can be transmitted to humans, of course they can also get rabies too.

Don't encourage proliferation of feral cats, do not feed them, your vet is correct, you're going to cause yourself and neighbors more trouble down the road.
 
I had been feeding a stray all black cat for 15 years, it slept in the back of my garage (I made a comfortable place for it), it was around all the time but no others, it was territorial it seems. Sad it has not been around since Jan this year, I think it might have died or got killed.
Strange it was not a friendly or aggressive cat, it would sit or lay there and watch me then go on its rounds of the area. Yes you do get attached to them even though its a stray.

I think it's the purring. All is good in the world when the cat's purring away nearby.
 
Back
Top