How to befriend possible stray?

[Elouera]

We moved house last year and have daily visits from a cat with no collar- eating food left out for the hedgehogs. Neighbours don't know who owns it, but I realise it might someone farther away. Its grown in confidence and visits whilst we are in the garden without running off now. Other than taking it to a vet to check for a microchip and putting up signs, is there anything else I can do to see if it has an owner? If it is stray, can we ever befriend it enough to allow a pat?

You may well be able to befriend it. If you can, I'd take it to a vet to scan for a micro chip.

Might be worth looking at any local community Facebook pages or posting on them?

Regular food helps a lot. Is it very thin?.

@Fluffycloudland77- no, it doesnt look any thinner than the other cats that visit. It does have an almost saggy stomach skin hanging, but not thin elsewhere. I'm unsure if that means its a female that had kittens at some point, lost weight or just has a saggy stomach?

Thanks for everyones ideas. Do most people have a collar on their cat? I clearly have limited experience with cats due to a child hood cat allergy which I've managed to outgrow, but am interested in having one now if possible.

Some do, some don’t. You can print off paper cat collars, put your mobile number on and sellotape it on their necks.

Saggy stomach can be completely normal, it's called a "primordial pouch". Main purposes are allowing the cat to stretch more along it's belly, as a potential fat storage to "save up" for lean times, and as a protection for the soft innards.

My 2 house cats have this (Boycat's is bigger than Girlcat's), and neither are either under or over weight.

Update: I saw the cat eating the mealworms I'd put out for birds, so put a pouch of cat food out for it instead. I sat quietly and it let me get close enough to pat it, with a friendly meow! I'm suprised but happy.

Would a stray do this or is it likely owned and just building confidence with us too?

@Elouera

Update: I saw the cat eating the mealworms I'd put out for birds, so put a pouch of cat food out for it instead. I sat quietly and it let me get close enough to pat it, with a friendly meow! I'm suprised but happy.

Would a stray do this or is it likely owned and just building confidence with us too?

It’s likely owned and greedy. Don’t feed it unless you’re prepared to pay for it’s vet’s bills.

Just food and time should do it, OP. Maybe a catnip toy or half a sachet of lick-e-lix as an added inducement? Sounds like you're taking it slow and not making kitty feel crowded, so that's good.

Our greedy Tom cat would do this and he is very well looked after. In fact a lady down our road tried to take him in because he hung around her house meowing so much. He's just very vocal/constantly wanting attention and food despite getting lots of both at home. Cats tend to be disloyal opportunists and if they see food they will usually eat. One of our cats also wears a collar and the other doesn't. The cat without the collar has a tummy pouch and I do worry she might be mistaken for a stray, but she chooses to be a house cat 99% of the time. None of what you have written suggests this is a stray.

@Fluffycloudland77

Some do, some don’t. You can print off paper cat collars, put your mobile number on and sellotape it on their necks.

This is good advice if you're really worried

The answers on this thread show just how little people know about the stray and feral cat problem in the UK. It is estimated (proper study that I'm sure I could find if I put my mind to it) that there are far more stray and feral cats in the UK than there are owned cats. Yes it might have a home, but it's extremely likely that it doesn't. The advice to 'not feed it as it might belong to someone' is what causes so much of the suffering I see daily.

If it doubt you should always feed. Then, if you can get close enough, either put in a carrier and take to any vet for a chip check (should be free) or put a paper collar with a message on it or, if it's too scared to get close enough for that, ask a rescue for help. But feed until you know for sure that it doesn't need your help.

@thecatneuterer

The answers on this thread show just how little people know about the stray and feral cat problem in the UK. It is estimated (proper study that I'm sure I could find if I put my mind to it) that there are far more stray and feral cats in the UK than there are owned cats. Yes it might have a home, but it's extremely likely that it doesn't. The advice to 'not feed it as it might belong to someone' is what causes so much of the suffering I see daily.

If it doubt you should always feed. Then, if you can get close enough, either put in a carrier and take to any vet for a chip check (should be free) or put a paper collar with a message on it or, if it's too scared to get close enough for that, ask a rescue for help. But feed until you know for sure that it doesn't need your help.

If it’s feral then it has its own food source anyway. Feeding a cat because you quite fancy one but can’t be bothered going to a shelter is poor behaviour. ‘If in doubt you should always feed’ is terrible advice, she could have poisoned it.

It doesn't seem to be feral because it is allowing the OP to approach and touch it. As thecatneuterer says it could be lost or abandoned, and feeding regularly until you can investigate will help it. The small rescue I volunteer for collects many cats every year who have survived on regular food handouts from kind people. They are often still in a pretty bad way. The paper collar idea is a good one, that's our first step before picking up a cat.

@Chemenger

It doesn't seem to be feral because it is allowing the OP to approach and touch it. As thecatneuterer says it could be lost or abandoned, and feeding regularly until you can investigate will help it. The small rescue I volunteer for collects many cats every year who have survived on regular food handouts from kind people. They are often still in a pretty bad way. The paper collar idea is a good one, that's our first step before picking up a cat.

It could just as easily be someone’s pet. The OP hasn’t even tried to find out.

I don’t think you’d actually poison a cat with cat food.

I’d feed a cat if I thought it was in trouble.

@Pumperthepumper too many cats have died and been in awful conditions as stray because people refuse to feed and kept walking past
I'm pretty sure the cat neuterer knows very well what she's talking about and yes, unless obviously fat/owned then feed first, ask questions later

@Pumperthepumper If it’s feral then it has its own food source anyway

You couldn't be more wrong. Maybe a few cats that live in grain stores or something can manage to survive without being fed, but even farm cats need feeding. Ferals in gardens (which is where most are) all rely on being fed by kind people. Those that aren't fed do end up dead. I've been working with urban ferals for the last 20 odd years. I really can, very confidently say, that you are talking rot.

And yes, we are all suggesting that she should find out if it has an owner. What we are though saying is that she shouldn't ignore and and should feed in the meantime.

Some vets and rescue centres come and check for a microchip at home. You can put a paper collar on it with your number, look at local pets lost and found sites

[quote QueenPaw]@Pumperthepumper too many cats have died and been in awful conditions as stray because people refuse to feed and kept walking past
I'm pretty sure the cat neuterer knows very well what she's talking about and yes, unless obviously fat/owned then feed first, ask questions later [/quote]
It’s not true though - my ancient old Tom is the scrawniest, scabbiest looking cat in the world. The responsible thing to do is to take it to the vet or try to find an owner, not feed it because you quite fancy a cat to pat when you’re in your garden every so often.

And everyone is saying she should try to find an owner. She should just feed it in the meantime.

[quote thecatneuterer]**@Pumperthepumper* If it’s feral then it has its own food source anyway*

You couldn't be more wrong. Maybe a few cats that live in grain stores or something can manage to survive without being fed, but even farm cats need feeding. Ferals in gardens (which is where most are) all rely on being fed by kind people. Those that aren't fed do end up dead. I've been working with urban ferals for the last 20 odd years. I really can, very confidently say, that you are talking rot.

And yes, we are all suggesting that she should find out if it has an owner. What we are though saying is that she shouldn't ignore and and should feed in the meantime.[/quote]
How has it survived so far?

Well it's not a feral is it, we've established that. So it could be a stray. It may have been thrown out, left behind or simply got lost. It may not be finding much food at all right now. It may have recently had a feeder who has gone away/died and it's now trying to find another food source. And all this might have happened quite recently. We just don't know.

There's a lady on my local fb page who goes absolutely mental at the village for feeding her cat. She goes nuts saying its been eating hot sausages and smells like plug in air fresheners.
Cats are very crafty and greedy so it wouldn't be surprising if it did have a home.
We've had a cat go missing who now lives up the road and won't acknowledge us, it was obviously fed elsewhere and preferred it but my son was sad. For that reason I'd say get your own cat if you want one, don't try and keep that one.
That's not to say ignore it but I wouldn't try and befriend it until it's "yours".

@thecatneuterer

Well it's not a feral is it, we've established that. So it could be a stray. It may have been thrown out, left behind or simply got lost. It may not be finding much food at all right now. It may have recently had a feeder who has gone away/died and it's now trying to find another food source. And all this might have happened quite recently. We just don't know.

It could also just be someone’s pet. I think it’s absolutely fair to say the OP shouldn’t feed it unless she’s prepared to pay for its vet bills.