Rehoming cat to a farm

[LastingLight]

I rescued a cat from my office building's parking garage. He is very friendly, clearly not feral. I'm trying to find his owner and he has been ensconced in our bathroom since yesterday. We have 3 older cats and he is a youngster so integrating him into our household might be difficult, and we don't really want another cat.

The owner of the farm where my horse lives says he can come there to be a stable cat. The problem is that there is nowhere at the stables to confine him. I'm worried that if I just let him go free there he will run off, never to be seen again. Any ideas on how we could handle this so that he accepts the stables as his new home?

I'm not sure about how to do it. I could ask the people at CHAT who do in fact do this and get back to you. However I don't think you should be doing it. It's very sad for a friendly cat to be shut outside without human company for the rest of his life. Also I imagine the farm already has cats and you probably don't yet know how he feels about other cats.

Also available homes for ferals are so very scarce and the demand from rescues so great for such homes, that it seems a shame to use a home that could have gone to a feral for a friendly cat that would rather be in a family home anyway.

So, first things first, I take it you've had him scanned for a chip? And is he neutered?

Just took him to the vet. He is about a year old, doesn't have a chip and isn't neutered. Vet is doing tests for leukemia and aids, if clear he will get snipped tomorrow.

Please ask CHAT how they do rehoming to farms? He will have a good life, there are always people around the stables and they're all animal lovers who will give him attention. If he likes hunting there is also a constant supply of mice and rats.

First prize would be to find his owner, which we're trying to do. Second prize a home with another family. Then it's a toss-up between us keeping him (if our other cats will tolerate him) and taking him to the farm.

Oh, Lasting, he is a sweetheart! I do hope a suitable place can be found for the little lad..

OK I will ask and get back to you OP. Please feel free to pm me if I forget.

You say you're having him tested for FIV before you have him snipped. Personally I wouldn't bother. Cats with FIV can live to a ripe old age, with no FIV related symptoms at all. Also the chances of passing it to any other cats once they are neutered are very, very slight indeed. So really, as long as he's neutered, whether he has FIV or not shouldn't really make much difference. Whatever you do don't let them put him down if it turns out he has it. CHAT do not routinely test for FIV for this reason. We only test if there are other factors which make us suspect it or wish to rule it out.

he's lovely
he doesn't look like a stray though

Where would he sleep when it's winter though? He doesn't sound like a farm cat.

We had 4 cats btw, a feral came to live with us. It's not a big deal. Once your over 2 one mores no trouble.

Exactly Fluffy, he doesn't sound like a farm cat. Farm cats tend to sleep in barns though. So it's a good life for a feral, but not so great for a cat that would prefer humans, central heating and a lap.

And yes of course, four cats is nothing! If I only had four I'd feel as though my house was empty.

I hear you. We will see what our cats think of him when we introduce them and take it from there. Must point out though that I live in Cape Town where we have mild winters so a blanket in a box in the tack room should be cosy enough.