Alley cat

Throughout my life I've kept dogs as pets, but when my last little one died a few months ago I vowed not to take on the responsibility of another animal. Recently, however, a stray cat has been coming in to my garden who I occasionally fed a few scraps of food to and when I saw him sheltering under a tree for the night in some pretty lousy weather I decided to buy him a box at the local pet shop which he could use when he wanted to.
Of course, I've also started to buy tins of cat-food for him which he initially polished off with relish but have found that over the past week or so he is eating very little of this food (although he still takes tit-bits readily such as when I open a tin of salmon). I don't really understand cats and I'm wondering if it's natural for them to reduce their food-intake when the weather warms up. I don't think he trusts me well enough to allow me to pick him up to take to a vets for examination, although he allows me to stroke his head. I hope that he's not ill.

 

Hello, Jack by the hedge! It's very common for cats to cut back eating when the weather warms up. For example, our 11 year old Magic Sam who weighs 5.2 kilos has virtually touched his food today, perhaps a teaspoons worth and 1/4 of a chipolata when he'd normally he a whole one.

They are also very picky and choosy when it comes to flavours ... and just because they like it one day doesn't mean they will like it the next!

We're having tuna salad this evening and you can guarantee he'll eat some of that!

They are unique characters and great companions. We've had cats for over 38 years and can't imagine our household without them! them to pieces!

Give it a while and let him come around at his own pace .. he may actually have a home and you are his "second" home ... this is also a common occurrence. Shiney is "second" home to four of them I believe!

 

he,ll be moving in soon maybe thats whats the matter with him, not happy with a box :D :D

 

Hi Jackbth
Hope you decide to share your home with the cat as you obviously love animals.
He/she will move in when it suits if you allow.

Stray cats often make really loving pets as they choose you and I'm sure Michaelmasdaisy will agree as that beautiful cat on her avatar was once a stray.

 

Yup, sure do! Trouble with 'stray' cats is, as LoL said, he may not be actually be a stray at all, just locked out a lot. It's amazing to me that so many people still have the "put the cat out at night with the milk bottles" mentality. A neighbour across the road from me would do that and her lovely, shy little cat would spend the entire night sitting on her front doorstep! Being a night-owl, I would see her at all hours of the night and in all weathers, waiting for them to get up in the morning and let her in again!

But my TomTom was definitely a stray - from a recent experience, I'm quite sure that he was a drive-by dumping. I've assumed this because I took him the the vet's recently and on arriving home, realised I needed to dash over the the shops for something, so I opened the car - right outside my gate - and 'encouraged' him out. I've done it before but usually inside the drive. Twenty minutes later I returned to find my neighbour doing her best to console a distraught cat who was still where I'd left him and howling like little wolf! I felt awful! It took him a whole week to trust me again but it gave me a hint as to how he suddenly appeared in our neighbourhood and lived rough for 3-4 years before I adopted him!

BTW, it took me three months to win his trust in the first place and trust is a delicate thing when they're been abused and rejected like that. Wouldn't be without my TomTom now and he's so loving, I'm sure he knows he's been rescued. You'll be well rewarded if you take your visitor in.

 

I too have kep't Cats for many years,they do have their own little ways which you can pick up on after a while ,but at the same time cats are very independant creatures.Love the furry things to bits.

 

my mother had a cat and she was obssessed to get this cat in every night, we used to say to her thats what cats do go out at night, her reply to us was no no no my cat doesnt stay out at night annoying all my neighbours, she has to be indoors, that cat never had 1 night out, my mother just wouldnt allow it

 

good for her!!

 

in winter my cats like to be warm and tucked up in bed by 11.00 pm but in summer they love to be out all night, tho they can pop in for a nibble,
ps re feeding a stray, try a top quaility dry food ...... as my cats won t touch fresh food if not eaten up staight away

 

Thanks for all these observations.
I did wonder if my "alley cat" belongs to somebody else as there are times when he disappears for a whole day and, although he's a bit grubby, he's not in terrible condition. I've seen a flea on him so gave him a spot-treatment but am wondering whether or not to attempt to treat an ear which discharges a clear liquid (probably due to mites) as, if somebody else owns him, he might already be on some medication.
I think I'll play it by ear (no pun intended!) and watch his behaviour over the next couple of weeks. The test might come when I'm away at the week-end and the neighbours will have to throw him scraps over the fence; he might decide his bread is better-buttered elsewhere!

 

I was in a similar situation 2 years ago, when my new and young lady next door neighbour moved in. She had 2 cats who used to sit on my fence all day, but used to bolt if you went out in the garden, and wondered what they were scared of?

One day one of them was eating something in the garden and my wife said "look those cats are starving!" The owner used to kick them out in the morning and get them in last thing at night.

So we put food down, but gradually put the food nearer and nearer until one day I was able to reach out and stroke it while it was eating. (took about 4 weeks)

From that moment, that cat changed and used to follow me about all day where ever I went, and I regarded him as a real friend. But then after about 3 months, she moved again and I never saw the cats again! (the other cat was more indepenent)

So there are probably quite a lot of cats that have owners, but behave more like strays, just don't know how people can treat them like that?

 

I am so against people who chuck cats out to let them fend for themselves. Why bother to have them as pets.

I can't go to sleep until my babes are tucked up in bed. They can have free range all day, but must be in at night. Usually they are in the daytime anyway, by choice ... they like their creature comforts, especially in the winter when a log fire is going!

Currently, Magic Sam is snoozing in the shade under a Bouganvillea which hangs to the ground by the woodpile and the two little 'uns are curled up together snoozing under the Euryops (which we call the Daisy House) in the Sand Garden. We check on them about every hour.

 

Our boys (Bobby & Wesley) are never out at night,like to know they are safe & sound i.e. on my bed!!!!!!!!

 

I agree 100% Gogs! :D ... the little ones are just learning to jump on the bed but tend to sleep on one of the sofas in the living room at the moment ... won't be long before they'll be joining Magic Sam with us!

 

I am so pleased to see that so many people are deeply concerned about cats. As I have gone on my life's journey I have become more and more distressed at some of the things I have witnessed that sometimes it makes you wonder if you see things that other people don't. Last year I had to complain for three solid weeks to the local RSPCA to get a small horse taken from a paddock where she could't be seen from the road unless you knew she was there and she had no water and only the weeds in the paddock to eat. It got very cold just before winter and we are quite near enough to the coast for it to affect winter temperatures. At last she was removed about 3 days before Christmats! In years gone by - I have even taken "shut out" cats (whom I knew were NEVER let in because they were full of fleas and worms) under my teporary wing and medicated them and fed them up without actually kidnapping them. However it ended up with them becoming my cat instead of a stray. Did I care? I leave you to guess.