WIBU to get a third cat?

[matildasquared]

We've got two rescue cats, a grumpy old female and a sweet-natured male, both from a shelter.

A very scraggy, scarred tom was hiding in our garden last month. I've started feeding him. In the past few weeks he's gone from wolfing down the food and hiding, to coming out to greet me, complete with headbuts and purrs. He sleeps under my garden bench.

His coat has got a bit better but he's still quite scraggy, with bad scars on his face. He's clearly been a pet at some point, possibly still is? I let him sneak into the kitchen once but don't fancy letting an intact tom in the house normally. He thankfully doesn't seem to understand the concept of the cat flap.

So I know toms sort of migrate around but it looks like he's happy to stay. He's taken to hanging out on our kitchen windowsill all day long.

We're going on holiday this week but when we come back we need to make a decision. As I see it the options are:

1. Advertise him as a stray/lost cat. See whether I can get him to the vet to have a chip scan. I doubt there is anyone looking for him.
2. Put him on the wait list for our local shelter.
3. Get him fixed and add him to our house.

He's a lovely cat but we have a good situation now with our two cats (and two people). I don't want to mess up what we have.

On the other hand--I am starting to feel responsible.

What's the reasonable thing to do?

I would advertise him first before making any other plans. Ring all the shelters and put posters up.

He might have some owners desperately wanting news of him.

Yeah, I'll get a photo of him and contact all the shelters and vets, then take it from there.

Get him to the vet to see if he is chipped. Get him neutered. Keep him!

I would take him in. Has he met your other cats yet? If they really don't get on you could find him another home but I think you've been chosen!

Will you be able to get a neighbour or someone to leave him some food while you're away?

He'll tell all his little tom friends and then they'll all show up in my garden looking pathetic.

Then I will be a crazy cat lady.

Where are you??

Is he ginger??

Lost my ginger boy almost 2 years ago and have never given up hope!!

No, he's black and white.

Aw, elahrairah, you've broken my heart. I hope you find your boy soon.

Is this cat around when your cats are outside? If so, how do they interact - aggressively?

The answer to that will probably give you the answer to Q3.

With regard to Q1; I would probably agree, based solely on your post, that it is unlikely that there is somebody looking for him.

With Q2, I would only really suggest that if it is the type of shelter that never puts down animals.

If you don't feel happy with adding him to your house then, maybe, there is a half way answer. Carry on feeding him and, perhaps, make some sort of shelter for him underneath the bench - if it were a dog you might call it a kennel.

You hear people talking about ''indoor'' cats that are always kept inside and ''outdoor'' dogs - typically working dogs that are always kept outside - perhaps there is a case here for treating him like an ''outdoor'' cat.

Well my younger cat is a lover not a fighter. My older girl is an asshole. But even she's warmed up to Stray Tom once she saw me feeding and stroking him.

I've put out the word on our local shelter's facebook page.

Awww, thanks!

:)

He's called Knuckles and he's awesome. Very headbutty.

His wife and daughters are still here with me. And his best buddy. We all miss him.

aw lovely thread. I luffs cats.

still referring to the other thread watch out for mad mumsnetter cyclists.

Take him to the vets to check for a chip. If he hasn't got one, welcome him in. I did the same for a stray four years ago and he recently passed away. He was a happy soul right to the end and I was glad that he spent his last years in comfort.

I had a sad old tom cat move into my house once. I had three other cats at the time and they seemed to know he was on his last legs and ignored him. I would find him cured up asleep in odd places.

I got him neutered under the RSPCA scheme but paid for him to get a bad tooth removed and a few other bits.

He died a few months later.

When I told me story it turned out he had an owner who just didn't look after him, plus a few other neighbours who fed him.

Very similar to ours! We have 3 cats all under 3, boy, girl and a Hemaphrodite (long story) this old 3 legged grey boy started visiting 18 months ago, he can't really see and his mouth droops at one side, we started giving him treats outside he would always wait on the kitchen windowsill, fast forward to now he lives here! He does go out (the other 3 are indoor) but he does come to bed at the foot of our bed every night, we think he is really old, I even made a 'cabin' in the garden for when we are out from a kitchen bin on its side lined with polystyrene and carpet, it even has an ikea throw and a mini cushion I made and waterproof cover! He waits In it til we get home, so glad he found us xx

Oh go on. What's another one. I have 4.

I have 5.

6 including my missing one who I still think of as mine even though he's probably someone else's cat by now.

7 including the tiger I adopted and send money to. Although she lives in Nepal.

I have 23 - it's a slippery slope I tell you .

Definitely get him checked for a chip and neutered if necessary. Then keep him.

Oh what a sweet thread. I have a big fat ginger Tom who is well cared for. But next doors cat is a mangy thing. I had to change the cat flap to outy only as I often found him/her on my bed!! I even deflead it once. I would love to adopt it but it already has on owner and as we don't get on with NDN I am treading carefully.

catneuterer can I come and live with you? 23 cats sounds like heaven!

We've got one moving in at present. He's downstairs with the foul tempered calico, don't think the upstairs boys will tolerate him.

He's lovely. You can never collect too many cats.

And now he's gone! He wasn't there for his breakfast this morning. My husband hasn't seen him all day. Not around for tea either. This after seeing him every day for weeks.

Maybe he got online and saw what I was writing yesterday about getting him fixed.

"Thanks kindly ma'am, much obliged, but I've got to ramble on."

He was worried about his nuts getting the chop!

Coil no, mad cat lady definitely isn't accurate when she's talking about chips, checking with shelters and neutering. That's more responsible, considered cat lady, really.

My mum looked after a stray for over a year, a big black beauty he was, fixed him up but he would never move in. She made a bed for him under the barbeque. She loved him. He disappeared a few weeks back, not seen since. :(