Stray cat has gone missing

[Whereswally2]

For a while now I've been feeding a stray. He has lingered around our house for months and never gone far. If you cant see him lurking through the garden he is yowling at all kinds of hours of the night. He was finally letting me get close to him and I could see he had all sorts of scratches and wounds. I was never too sure if he was a stray or just a local farm cat. His breathing was also very deep and rapid and as I was close enough I could hear he was wheezing. I planned to continue to lure him enough so I could trap him and take him to the vets. He also wasnt castrated as he got the neighbours cat pregnant. I was concerned about his breathing and wanted to get him a vets as soon as, only problem is I cant find him. He is no longer around the house and I havent heard him cry during the night. He never strays that far as I'm assuming I'm his source of food. What can I do? I'm worried I was too late and his is dying somewhere underneath a hedge or in the woods. He was such a sweet boy. Do strays do this? Will he come back? I've already gone hunting for him with some treats and a pouch. I've tried to look in the dark places to see if he is there as I know when cats get sick they go off somewhere quite.

Yes, strays do disappear and return. I've got 3 strays hanging around my house and I've noticed that 2 out of the 3 of them are often gone most of the day. Sometimes, I don't see them until the following day. Hopefully, he'll return soon and you can catch him. Have you got trap cage? If not, can you borrow one from a local rescue centre? It took me approx 2 years to tame my Bertie, a big brute of a Tom, full of wounds and eye problems. I persevered and he settled down to domestic life pretty quickly, thereafter

I agree strays do disappear and then reappear (I'm involved in cat rescue,)

If the worst happens and he doesn't reappear then there is no reason to feel that you were too late, you weren't, you have been helping him to live his life his way with regular food and love from you, sometimes that is all we can do. If he returns then I agree with the previous poster about contacting your local rescue to see if you can borrow a trap.

Thank you for caring enough to look after him and feeding him, unfortunately with cat rescue it has to be done to the cats timeline as frustrating as that is and trust can only be built up over time.

I hope your boy returns soon 🐈

He may well come back, he might have gone off on a romantic quest, they will roam a very long way in search of a female in heat. I also agree that getting some help from a local cat rescue is a good idea. Whatever happens you have been making his life a lot easier and more comfortable, which is just a lovely thing to have done.

Thanks for all the advice he came back as if nothing ever happened! He is still breathing quite quickly and I am really worried. Someone is coming with a cat trap tomorrow at the least I hope he can get castrated through the cat protection as I know right now his hormones are driving him mad and he is constantly at the neighbours cat. He also has alot if black gunk under his eyes and his ears look red raw with irritation on the inside. I've given him some food again and he took food from my hand 3 times! Any handy tips as to how to get closer? I could of petted him today but felt it would be abit too soon

Great news that he's back! You've worked really quickly arranging to trap him. When he's trapped and taken to the vet, ask them to tip his ear, which shows he's been neutered, (they'll probably do this automatically), get his teeth checked, cleaned and have him wormed and de-flead, whilst he's under the anaesthetic. I ask the vet to do this when I take cats to be neutered. If you're planning on making him yours, ask them to microchip him as well. He won't know what's hit him

Awwww I’m so glad your stray boy is back, he knows he’s got it good with you looking after him 😀

The ears are probably ear mites, you can get drops to put in which probably isn’t possible for you to do but the vet would be able to do that, speak to the rescue who should be able to help with the cost.

Eating out of your hand is good, it shows trust, I tend to just touch them first just for a second if the opportunity presents itself and build up from there.

I feed some abandoned/stray/feral cats and some are still too timid to let me touch them, but I can stroke some now, it just takes time and trust.

If stray boy isn’t ready to be a house cat yet then if you have a garden or yard you could always put a shelter out for him. There are videos on YouTube showing how to build one and they are quite cheap to make.

Thank you again for looking out for stray boy, I wish there was more people out there like you 👏👏👏👏👏

@CatServant2020 I was thinking about what to do on the terms of the next steps for him if he hasnt got a chip or a home. Ideally i would keep him as I feel like he has chosen me and he is a handsome sweet boy! However my family have a dog (that chases him) and a cat already that he terrorises. I put that down to the fact that the stray hasnt been castrated and has a litter of kittens next door so he is fuelled with hormones but I dont know if him staying with me would work I'm hoping if he gets the snip his temperament will change and he will become friends with my cat but I doubt it. And I'd be upset to have to take him away from this area he is clearly attached to. However I know he needs a family to take care of him so he doesnt get to this state again. I gave him his dinner and some more treats from my hand! I'm abit unsure about the petting as he is still quite skitish and I dont want to jeopardise all the hard work I've put into bonding with him. Is there any signs when cats are comfortable around you enough to be petted I can look out for?

He might calm down after castration, would your dog chase him if he was in the house?.

Please don't bring a stray in to terrorize your resident pet, let cats protection home him.

@Fluffycloudland77 I think the dog chases him because he sees his owners doing that. The family I live with used to shoo him away because he was fighting with our cat. The dog likes to copy what others do around his for praise. I'm sure if we showed the cat affection over time he would change his stance

@Closetbeanmuncher this is something I'm very much considering

I'm really glad to hear that OP, I think alot of people lose any consideration for their current animals when it comes to taking in strays.

Personally I think it's a bad idea seeing as the dynamic has already been set.

I’ve fostered a couple of older male ex-stray cats, for CP. they are easy to adopt out once they get over their initial settling in. He probably has big chunky Tom cat cheeks, people love that! One became an absolute cuddle monster, a total lap cat. The other wasn’t quite so affectionate but still made a lovely companion for his new owner.

Can Cat's Protection get the neighbours' cat done too? Why the hell haven't they? Irresponsible twats. I'm glad you're helping this cat OP.

All of my cats have been strays directly from the streets, no rescue centre involved. Only one of them was a problem with one of my other cats. She was fine with the other one. We muddled through.