Feed him, regardless of whether you plan to keep him/her or not. You can always take him/her to the shelter later if it isn't working out.

My experience has been that I've sometimes found some of my best pets when I wasn't looking for them.

Sleeping in your lap in 3.... 2.... 1....

quote:

Originally posted by GaryBF:
St. Charles has an animal shelter, take the cat in and put up for adoption. It may even be chipped, which the shelter can check.

We had a cat go missing for 70 days. The phone rang one morning. It was a vet telling us they had the cat, brought in by a couple who had found him and cared for him awhile before taking him in for shot updates.

It is hard to put in words how happy we were to get that cat back. He had been with us for 14 years. We had had him chipped, and kept the chip outfit updated after the move.

My outdoor kitty never comes in the house.
His food, water and bed are in the garage.
A phenomenal hunter, he left me a mole and small bird one day last week.
Get your new family member his shots and let him stay outside.
His hunting skills will not be diminished.

Try not to be a big disappointment to your new cat's choice of servants.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Feed him, he will still hunt.

We feed the outdoor cat that adopted us once a day. She's a straight up murder machine. I've seen her come to the back door for food then walk across the driveway into the woods and stalk something.

I currently have 6 "indoor" cats and 4 regular "outdoor" cats. One of the outdoor cats is the mother of 3 of the indoor cats (and a 4th, which died in 2014), but has only recently, after 12 years, begun allowing me to pet her. Another of my indoor cats is the son of an outdoor cat, now deceased, who had obviously been someone's pet (based on her actions). "Little Mother" (the 12yo mom) does jump indoors when I go out to feed them but immediately comes back outside--otherwise the indoor cats stay indoors and the outdoors cats stay outdoors. I feed the outdoor cats once a day (dry food and wet treats), provide clean water and sufficient shelter, and even some heat in the cold winter days. They seem to continue their normal feral lives, anyway.

I'm in agreement that you should feed your new friend and make it welcome, but keep it as an outdoor cat. Don't worry about making it dependent--cats are not like that. I would think it a good idea to have it examined by a vet and given the normal shots, etc. Most of my outdoor cats have had some vet interaction, even though they are not given the full "pet" treatment. We have an association and I do worry about them if they are absent for several days.

flashgguy

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Feed him, he will still hunt.

I agree. Cats love murder.

Used to have indoor/outdoor cats that we fed. The cats would kill birds and eat them, and leave some for us sometimes.

Having our indoor cats now, who are coddled and fed, they still will catch a mouse in the house once a year and chew it up.

Like all indoor cats, they stare longingly out the window at birds, wishing to go on a murder spree. I have no doubt if they ever got out, they'd be terrified at first, but then they'd revert back to their natural murderous instincts.

Feed the kitty.

It would be especially good to see if you can arrange for "fixing" the ferals.

San Antinio has an active feral cat coalition. Thry have humane traps. You catch the cat, take it to the designated facility, it is neutered or spayed, given rabies shot, etc. for $20.

All 12 of our cats have been fixed, and all the cats we have tended to before, except one feral male we never could trap. He's gone now.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JALLEN,

Good looking cat....

1. feed him/her....it will still hunt
2. great idea about flea and tick med.
3. Quick trip to a vet or animal control place to check for micro chip. He's nice enough that someone may have put a chip in him and they'll want him back....That's a definite "Win/Win" situation !
4. You're a good person .

quote:

Originally posted by matthew03:
Ok, just to explain how this works, because you are posting like you are in control of what is happening here, you are not. Cats are natural rulers, and we are destine to serve them, that cat chose you, he/she will be informing you shortly of what you will be doing for him/her.

^
I think I recall part of the Kittysburg address something to the effect of 'government of the cat, by the cat, for the cat shall not perish from the Earth."

Oh my, that cat looks EXACTLY like the cat I grew up with. We got our cat the same way you got yours. I'll never forget. 1980 or so my sister and I were at 2 week overnight camp. When my parents picked us up they told us a cat was hanging around our house. Mom fed her. We wound up keeping her, spayed, etc...

We couldn't come up with a name, so her name was kitty. Kitty was an outdoor/indoor cat and killed several birds/squirrels/mice/etc... every year. Even got into a fight with a groundhog once that gave her a small limp for the rest if her life. Kitty lived 16+ years.

What a great cat. Shortly after we got her we found out I am allergic to cats (and dogs), but we still kept her. Geez, seeing that cat you posted brought back a lot of memories.

Wish I could find a picture of kitty to compare. It's creepy how much your new cat looks like Kitty.

Yep, been there, done that. Someone dumped our latest cat in my neighborhood. He was a street cat for a while. We kept getting glimpses of him when we would pop around a corner and surprise him. He would take off! One night I started talking to him and got him to come to me from the storm sewer. He had a collar and his coat was in good shape. He is a cross between a tabby and a Maine coon, complete with the coon tail.

We started feeding him some and he became our outside cat and the keeper of the back yard. We were worried at first that he would decimate the bird population as he was catching them, and eating them, at least once daily. The vet said he was in good shape and just a little thin since he had been living in the sewer. That was at 16 lbs. He is now a healthy 18 lbs and a master hunter.

We feed him but he still eats everything he catches. He prefers fresh food, I guess. He is absolutely the best cat I have ever had, follows me around outside like my dog would. So, yes, feed him, he will still hunt.