Help! Advice needed on what could be a lost cat

[Elsathelion]

Hello,

DH and I got back home about an hour ago and found a very distressed, miaowing cat on our doorstep. She was very clingy and desperate to come inside.

She has a collar on so obviously belongs to someone but there is no phone number / address etc on it. She doesn't seem to be injured but she is pretty thin.

I am worried that she is lost and is trying to get in from the cold. We can't let her in because we have a dog and a cat who would both go nuts and we don't want to keep her inside in case she knows where she is and she's just out exploring.

I have put a box outside for her (tucked in under some steps so it's out of the wind) with a fluffy cat blanket in it and I've left her some dry food which she started wolfing down immediately. I've also had a quick walk around to check for missing cat posters and didn't see any.

Do you think she will be OK outside? It is soooo cold! I would hate to think of my cat being outside all night but we really can't have her in the house as our two pets would probably attack her.

Can anyone else think of anything more I can do? Poor little thing.

Thanks for any advice you can give me

[MrsPresley]

Could you take her to the local vet and see if she's microchipped?

Or phone the local cat/animal rescue in case she's been reported missing somewhere.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I would have taken her in and put her in the kitchen with water, tray etc and then kept my own pets upstairs with me.

Thats what I did when I had a stray cat turn up.

If she is thin and hungry I would assume she is lost or abandoned.

[Elsathelion]

Hello, thanks for your replies. I'm just about to take her to the vets now (they were closed when we found her).

Fluffy, I did think about doing that but our dog can open all the doors in our house so I didn't think it would be safe to have her in the kitchen. I did relent at around 3 this morning though and put her in a cat box in the bathroom with food and water (jammed the door shut from the outside to stop the dog)!

Anyway, she seems fine and I'll keep you posted about whether she's chipped or not,

thanks again

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Bless you for being so kind. Fingers crossed that she is chipped.

[Elsathelion]

Hello, just a quick update:

We took her to the vets and it turns out she is actually a he ; he isn't microchipped though and I've contacted lots of vets / shelters to report him as found (no reports of a missing cat fitting his description).

The great news is that a friend of ours who lives v close by is happy to take on fostering duties while we stick up posters etc and, if he isn't claimed, our friend would love to keep him so the little puss will either get back to his original home or have a happy new one.

The pusscat is sending his furry thanks to everyone for your advice,

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

how lovely.

[Sparklingbrook]

Oh, I love a happy ending.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Microchipping ought to be compulsory. If he cant fend for himself he might be lost.

I really wish people would take more responsibility for their animals.

At least this one has a happy ending so yay for you and your lovely friend.