Stray cat - would like to keep

[Mistressofnone]

Over the summer, a sweet little cat started to appear on our shed roof. Always too timid to be approached though.

In November, our neighbour remarked that it was a stray. In December I went in our shed and discovered it must be living in there - it had made a little bed from an old patio chair cushion, covered in its fur.

I built it a little den and put an igloo style cat bed inside and have started to leave out food and milk/water. She/he loves it there and looking much healthier already. She now comes in the house and is so gentle with the kids. We have no other pets and would really like to keep her.

I have checked with neighbours and our local WhatsApp group but no takers. Also checked the local missing cats Facebook page for a match, but am wary to post on there in case someone unsavoury claims her.

The vet has said to bring her in next week (now early Jan) to check for a microchip. This is where I'm curious, does anyone have experience of taking in a cat who turns out to have long lost owners, and if so were they ok with you keeping it and signing over details?

We're really quite taken with her!

My stray cat who I took in was an unneutered tom with no chip (he was subsequently deprived of his furry baubles and is fully domesticated now and a massive softie).

He absolutely loves cat milk. Also, Lick-E-Lix are a big favourite.

@thecatneuterer I think I you've misunderstood me, reading my post back it's not very clear.
I meant that ime the lost cats with loving owners desperately looking for their adored pet are never Toms. Therefore the toms that are found rarely have an owner you can find so chances are the op will be able to keep him after he's scanned. Not that Toms don't get lost.
I also certainly don't assume everyone gets their cat neutered as a kitten. My experience of any animal owner, of any means or background, is that the responsible owners do the research, and the irresponsible don't. And ime irresponsible owner and loving caring home don't go together. And of course for cats being a responsible owner includes neutering them. I'm unfortunately all too well aware not all owners are responsible.

“does anyone have experience of taking in a cat who turns out to have long lost owners, and if so were they ok with you keeping it and signing over details?”

Yes. There are lots of reasons why cats get lost or run away - usually territory disputes with other cats. Neighbours feeding our cat drives me nuts. No you can’t just steal someone else’s cat. You have to accept if he is chipped they may well want him back! Next time do this before you get emotionally attached. And adopt your own.

@SpookyScarySkeletons that's so harsh when you don't know what happened. We had a cat taken by neighbours when I was young and it was very upsetting. Hopefully you will get a call some day!

@awesomekilick what a beauty your little one is! Loves a lap too by the looks of it.

@Fluffycloudland77 haha I'm glad GPs get it wrong too!

@thecatneuterer

So if you've seen him spraying and I can see the beginnings of tom cheeks then he's unneutered. Yes, neutered male cats can spray, but it's not usual. I predict that the vet is going to say he's a young, unneutered boy and that he doesn't have a chip (that's because cats that aren't neutered are almost never chipped - both because it's done at the same time and the sort of owners who are responsible to chip are also responsible enough to neuter).

And this is probably why he's a stray. Unneutered males can smell a female in heat from half a mile away. They go following the scent and then can't find their way home. This is why something like 85 per cent of stray cats in the UK are unneutered males.

That makes a lot of sense if he has come in search of lady friends! I hope he hasn't left a trail of kittens in his wake.

I'll definitely report back but I'm thinking and hoping you are likely to be spot on! Do you think he looks quite young then? I couldn't see any furry balls under the tail but there is a lot of fur obscuring it! Found it hard to make out a colon or exclamation mark so your analysis has really helped. You must have seen a lot of cats

@TheMadGardener thank you I will update next week! I am waiting for a cat carrier to arrive but will try to borrow one in the mean time. Any tips on getting them into the damn thing? Hope your little one is over it now 

@violetbunny thank you it's nice that the majority of you are in full support!

@PurpleVivo 😂 love a cat with attitude - adds to their character. That's one thing I found in the past with kittens, you never know what way their temperament will go!

What an absolutely beautiful cat 🐱!
I really hope that you can all live together happily ever after. Hi from another Epping forest resident!

[quote Mistressofnone]@SpookyScarySkeletons that's so harsh when you don't know what happened. We had a cat taken by neighbours when I was young and it was very upsetting. Hopefully you will get a call some day!

@awesomekilick what a beauty your little one is! Loves a lap too by the looks of it.

@Fluffycloudland77 haha I'm glad GPs get it wrong too![/quote]
Yep it's so so hard not knowing what happened to her. We are in a very rural area and me and NDN (also a crazy cat lady) went down the country lane and under all the undergrowth but no sign of her. We get a lot of foxes too.

In my mind I imagine her taking herself off to a lovely elderly lady's house... and not attacked by foxes 😢😢😢 she was a beautiful girl.

@TrainspottingWelsh there are large stables just up our road actually so maybe that's where he came from!

@TheSpottedZebra we were calling him Dusty Springfield 😄 but he doesn't need a last name! Might be the son of a preacher cat.

@RaoulDufysCat another one in the stray Tom camp.. interesting! Lick-e-licks that rings a bell. Is that a liquid treat?

@SweetBabyCheeses99

“does anyone have experience of taking in a cat who turns out to have long lost owners, and if so were they ok with you keeping it and signing over details?”

Yes. There are lots of reasons why cats get lost or run away - usually territory disputes with other cats. Neighbours feeding our cat drives me nuts. No you can’t just steal someone else’s cat. You have to accept if he is chipped they may well want him back! Next time do this before you get emotionally attached. And adopt your own.

There are many cats around here that are clearly from happy homes and I would not go feeding them willy-nilly. I gauged that this one was hungry and homeless for a long time before I turned to Purina. Honestly how do you not get emotionally invested in a sweet cat that needs help? But yes I am fully prepared that I may have to say goodbye and return it somewhere. If I need to shed a tear or two, it's my problem entirely. And I would happily consider adopting another.

@Sonata13

What an absolutely beautiful cat 🐱! I really hope that you can all live together happily ever after. Hi from another Epping forest resident!

Ah hey Sonata! [waving through the forest] Thanks very much. I'm hoping the stars will align! The only reason we didn't get a cat sooner is because of the speeding problem down our road but he seems to know to stay this side of the fence.

@Mistressofnone yes, it's sort of like chicken/fish flavoured yoghurt (which has a lot less lactose than milk). I know, it sounds and smells absolutely vile but sends my furry chap into a frenzy of desire. There's also a jelly version which is apparently equally wonderful.

Well that’s why there’s been no kittens if it’s a boy

I am another poster with my fingers crossed that he is an unchipped stray. He's very handsome. If he is a boy and is going to stay with you, then you could call him Dustin, although I personally think Dusty is gender neutral enough.

@Mistressofnone I suppose you could ask just incase, but virtually all the yards and farms I know go for ferals if they're actually after cats, or take in strays that turn up of their own accord.

They obviously haven't been looking for him, so if he's a stray they fed for a while I'd expect any decent person to be pleased he's found a good home, or he's theirs and they aren't bothered he's disappeared, either way it shouldn't prevent you keeping him.

Yes I would say he's fairly young - probably around two. Unneutered toms don't age well and tend to start looking really battered from all the fighting at quite a young age, and of course most develop those enormous heads so, as he still looks quite good, he can't be old.

On the subject of 'sexing' cats I have a funny story that happened only last week. We had a call from some people saying they had taken in a stray that they thought was pregnant. They had taken it to their local vet to check for a chip and to ask if it was indeed pregnant. The vet confirmed there was no chip and examined the cat. He pronounced that the belly was quite firm, which suggested pregnancy, but the only way he could be sure would be to do a scan, for which they would need to pay around £150. Well, they didn't fancy paying out, and didn't want a cat giving birth in their house, so called us to take the cat in and I went to collect it. I took one look at the cat and said I could tell them categorically that it wasn't pregnant without doing a scan. 'But how can you tell?' they said. I lifted the tail and showed them a huge pair of dangly testicles 'because he's a boy' was my answer.

And the vet hadn't noticed!! I wonder what would have happened if they'd paid for the scan ...

@thecatneuterer that's hilarious! How did the vet not notice?! That would have been embarrassing if they had charged them £150 only to make unveil some hairy testicles. Did they keep the cat once you confirmed?

@Mistressofnone
She was only Kitler for a little while when we first found her. She is Cwtch now

No they still didn't want to keep him, so he's now with us and looking for a home, minus his testicles.

Beautiful cat. And so heartwarming to hear of you looking after him/her so nicely.

And to know that whatever the outcome today (I'm hoping for no chip for you) they won't be a stray much longer.

There are so so many unwanted cats since Corona that I think you have a keeper.

Can't wait to hear your updates and good luck getting kitty in the carrier!!

Fingers crossed you can keep him OP. He’s gorgeous.

[quote Mistressofnone]@bruffin Kitler what an amazing name! 😂 And so very pretty. I'm glad she chose you as her people.

@IcedCoffeeMilkshake oh no you were very gracious in that situation! At least you know he is safe but ouch I would find that tough[/quote]
We decided that cats decide for themselves! he is now the only cat in his new home as opposed to our 3 other cats and 2 dogs. he does come in to say hi (hedge his bets according to DH) and snack on dreamies every few days. :)

Looks like your boy has also decided for himself- that you belong to him. :)

@nettie434 Dustin that's a cute name for a tom!

@JulieGoods and @Inastatus thanks for your kind words. Will update during the week for sure!

@IcedCoffeeMilkshake ah I'm glad he still comes to visit and is rewarded in Dreamies! What a great life.

@thecatneuterer

No they still didn't want to keep him, so he's now with us and looking for a home, minus his testicles.

Aww I hope he finds one! It's an eye opener speaking to you. Told DH what you said about there being roughly as many strays as owned cats and he was shocked too. We're both trying to get used to his new pronoun 😄

He's fallen on his paws with you I think OP.

Diva kitty has now forgiven me for Friday's vet visit. Despite her diva personality she's actually quite easy to scoop up unawares and stuff into a cat carrier. My last cat used to brace his paws wide to make himself too big to put in the carrier, it was far more tricky!

Just saw that you are near Epping Forest. We used to live near the edge of the forest (Highams Park). I put some of the Diva's neuroses down to her first 10 weeks of kittenhood with an irresponsible cat-hoarding neighbour before I was given her/rescued her. We live on the edge of Dartmoor now so she has a whole different lifestyle!

I was just looking again at those stats about stray and ferals OP. It was from Cats Protection which was launching a 'cat census' based on reports of strays:

"Cats Protection estimates that there are nine million stray cats and one-and-a-half million feral cats in the UK."

(and there are around 10 millions owned cats).

However their census, once completed doesn't show those numbers and seems to be only estimating quarter of a million. Well I've probably dealt with almost that number myself - and I'm only dealing with East London and surrounding areas, so I'm inclined to think that their initial estimate was nearer the mark. There isn't a road I drive down in East London where I don't know of a cat colony we've dealt with. Of course the picture is hugely different in different areas. In middle class areas there are probably very few strays and ferals. In deprived, inner city areas all back gardens are teeming with them. I sound as though I'm exaggerating - I'm really not. The average size of a colony I deal with is around 25, but I've dealt with some of 50 or more. And once you start making enquiries on any given street, to make sure you've dealt with the problem, you uncover more and more and more. So all this angst you so often read on here about 'don't feed cats you don't know - they will be someone's much loved pet' - is probably a reasonable stance to take if you happen to live somewhere very middle class - but causes immense harm if people living in the inner cities take notice of it - as the cats they come across which seem hungry are almost certainly strays or ferals and they need help.