What should I do about stray? cat?

[lindberg99]

We've had this orange cat hanging around our house. I was sure it was my neighbor's cat because they have an orange cat. But my neighbor was over tonight and the cat was there and she said it is not theirs.

This cat is really driving me crazy! It is by our house every day. It has climbed in my van and ripped open a loaf of bread and also got trapped in the van one night and peed on my passenger seat. It is always waiting in front of our house and a nuisance because it tries to run in when we go out. I cannot believe this cat belongs to someone in the neighborhood because it is constantly by our house. I'm not feeding it, I have no idea why it hangs out here all the time.

Should I take it to the humane society? I feel bad doing that because it might get put to sleep but on the other hand, this cat is driving me crazy!!

[LeahBoo]

It seems when a friendly cat just shows up in a neighborhood, it has usually been dumped off. If you don't want to keep it, put a post on craigslist offering it for free. Maybe someone wants it.

[kittywitty]

I would hate to call humane society unless they are no-kill. My friend just did that and it turns out it had babies left behind. They killed the cat within a day before they found the kittens and they hand fed them, but they all died. I would suggest finding a farm that needs it, asking all the neighbors (just in case!) and putting a free ad in for it.

[phatchristy]

Maybe you could contact a cat rescue place, and trap it?

Is it friendly or interested in human contact? Is it an intact male?

Just wondering. If the cats hanging around there someone likely is feeding it.

[lindberg99]

It will come up to us so it's not a feral cat. I'm sure that I could catch him relatively easily. I have assumed it's a male because aren't the orange colored tabbies usually male? I'll have to try and get a better look.

I will ask my other neighbors about it. The cat does not look skinny so I'm betting someone is feeding it. The people a few houses down have an outdoor cat so I'm sure they have food outside. I don't know, maybe someone else in the neighborhood who just decided they would have an outdoor cat too?

[lindberg99]

OK, I got the cat to come up to me. It's a female, which means it is probably pregnant. She's got nipples showing, doesn't that mean she's pregnant?

Ugh, I feel so bad about this but I cannot deal with another cat (we already have 2 who were the kittens of another stray), let alone a cat with kittens! If I took her to the vet, would they spay her even if she was pregnant? Then I could try to find a home for her.

[rayo de sol]

Don't take the cat to the shelter if they'll kill it. That would be cruel.

If I were you, I'd ask the neighbors about the cat--maybe it belongs to one of them.

If that doesn't work, you could try to find it a good home by posting on Freecycle.

Are there farms near you that might want another barn cat to catch the rats?

If none of this works, just ignore the cat. Live and let live. Lock your van.

[Catubodua]

Originally Posted by rayo de sol

Are there farms near you that might want another barn cat to catch the rats?

please don't advocate dumping animals by farms! (actually, don't advocate dumping animals anywhere). the old "the farmer will take care of them myth" is not even the least bit true. most farms will just shoot and kill - as the saying goes, shoot, shovel, shut-up.

many vets will spay/terminate the kittens if you want to go down that road.

sounds like someone dumped their cat when it got pregnant. i would call your local humane society and ask if they have any room or any suggestions or can give you contact info for cat specific rescues in your area.

[lindberg99]

I might have found a home for her. One of my friends is checking with her sister. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! This is on a farm but the owner (friend's sister) would definitely know and want her. I would never take her somewhere and dump her.

[Noelle C.]

Catu, Rayo easn't advocating dumping the cat on a farm. She asked if the OP knew of any that might WANT a cat.

[kittywitty]

I agree, we were both asking to find farms who WANT or NEED cats. NOBODY advocated dumping them.

We have a friend who is always looking for barn cats, and it's better than starving or getting put down at the shelter here. I don't know any farms where the farmer shoots and kills them. We used to live on a farm and often had animals dumped by us and we took care of them.

[lindberg99]

Good news, my friend's sister is going to take the kitty!!

I'm so happy that I found a home for her.

[OhMeOhMy]

Congrats on finding a home for the cat!

I am going through something similar too. The person who lived in our house before us (who I know) took their cat, but it came back and now she has washed her hands of it. Well he showed up here a couple times and was afraid of us, so it hung around outside. Now it showed up the other day with a bad neck wound. I am freaking out and trying to catch it so I can take it to the vet. I can't really afford it, but I can't ignore it in good conscience either. After we get him fixed up I am taking him to the local no kill shelter.

[lindberg99]

I can't believe the owner didn't come and pick him up! It seems like they could have just kept him in the house for a few days until he got used to the new place and stopped running off. I hope you can catch him.

[Kirsten]

Originally Posted by rayo de sol

If none of this works, just ignore the cat. Live and let live. Lock your van.

The lock your van part made me laugh. I am sitting here picturing a cat opening the van door... I assume the OP leaves the windows down? I'd stop doing that - as anything from other cats to raccoons to squirrels can get in there and wreck stuff.

Glad you found a home for stray kitty! If you hadn't, I'd suggest a no-kill shelter. We just adopted an abandoned mama cat at one a month ago. Someone moved away and left her outside to fend for herself. A nice neighbor brought her in. All kittens were adopted out, and this sweetheart of a mama cat was waiting to be adopted - SO skinny but just a love. She is asleep on the chair right now...

[lindberg99]

Oh, the van thing was when DH left the side door open. He said he needed to get DS's booster out of the van, could I unlock it for him? I looked out a few hours later...it was downpouring rain and the side door was open and the cat was inside. I used my remote to shut it. I don't know why he left it open and it didn't really occur to me to check the van before I shut it. But yes, my friend said that I was lucky it was just the cat and not a racoon. I can't even imagine what a racoon could have done to the inside of my van!

DH found a replacement passenger seat for $100 so he's going to buy that so we don't have to live with a whiff of cat urine every time we open the van.

The cat is doing well at the farm. I feel bad she will be an outside cat but at least she does have shelter and food.

[MaWhit]

I'm glad you found a home for her. You did good.