So this cat showed up in my garden yesterday…

[Inarightpickleandpreserve]

Yesterday morning this little small kitty showed up meowing really loud at the door. Never seen it before. Went out and came back and it’s still there. Went out again and it’s still there so I gave it some tuna from a can which was wolfed down.

The weather was awful yesterday and I couldn’t bear thinking about leaving it outside so I set up a little bed in the garage with a blanket in a laundry basket which a heat pad. Makeshift litter box with a shoe box and hastily purchased corner shop litter.

My girls and I took it to the vet and today and they said he’s a boy cat about 10 months old, no chip, not been neutered and did we want to take him home?

so £100 in pets home later we have one kitty that’s moved in with us!! He is very purry and seems happy to be inside and warm.

ive got a litter box, carry case, scratch thing, got him chipped and have some sachets of food.

what else do I need to do??? Help!!

Well done OP. That’s your boy!💙

I would also take his pictures down, some people are not what they seem. Ask for photo evidence that he’s theirs.

OP you are doing everything right. Just ignore the pile on from people who can't be bothered to rtft

Oooh that's your cat, how lovely of you to take him in, and yes the weather was terrible he could have been blown away. What have you called him? Something Christmasy? Noel, its got to be .

@AInightingale

they might be away for the Christmas period.

whoever is looking after it might not have local SM. Or be like me & would have to set it up (zi don't have any)

you really don't know why it's seemingly not chipped, it maybe the vet just didn't locate it.

@JingleSnowmanTree

A little under weight? Do you know what a 10-month kitty should weigh? He's more than a little underweight!

And how on earth can you be sure someone will be 'heartbroken'?? So, so many people who don't give a monkeys for the welfare of their animals.

And you suggest the OP should go to a rescue? Do you know why there are so many kitties in rescues? Precisely because of situations like this. Irresponsible people not getting their cats neutered and allowing them to roam and impregnate females, bringing more and more kittens into the world. Have you any idea how many cats an unneutered male can be responsible for in one year?

So, at the very least, the OP, by acting in the way she has, has likely saved a number of lives by her responsible actions in this case.

There is absolutely no excuse for not neutering your animal.

I AM VERY CLEAR IT IS NOT MY CAT

The cat begs to differ. 🙂

You did the right thing. Well done.

OP you have done everything right, if he does have an owner it's not like they have gone out of their way to find him, he seems really happy with you and you're clearly a lovely owner, I think he's be sad to go back where he came from.
Keep him, he clearly wants to stay with you anyway.
You did a lovely thing. X

what else do I need to do???

Whatever he tells you!

STOP with the 'no-one owns a cat' rubbish.

It's not true! FGS!

eg13catsandthelaw.pdf

CATS are regarded in law as the ‘property’ of their owner. The theft of a cat is treated as an offence under the Act, in the same way as theft of any other property is. A cat that is lost or has strayed is generally regarded as the property of the original owner. It is therefore necessary to make all reasonable endeavours to locate the original owner whenever possible!

@Inarightpickleandpreserve
It is abundantly clear from your posts that you care a lot for a young, cold, hungry little cat who literally appeared on your doorstep and had no desire to leave. Of course he was meowing for help!
I can understand why some PPs are saying you are stealing a cat - although their language could do with being a little less accusatory and harsh.
You may have been a little premature in your actions following his arrival at your door, especially with getting him chipped......
But I've interpreted your actions as coming from a well-meaning place, not from the place of a ruthless cat-thief. No way could I leave such a cat to its own devices, outside with no food or shelter, whilst you tried to trace its owner.
But It is also abundantly clear that you now know what you need to do to try and find his owner, if there is one.
If all your efforts fail after a reasonable amount of time........and in answer to your question "what else do I need to do??? Help!!".......you accept that you have been privileged to be chosen as the cat's new owner!
This will involve being a complete and utter slave to his needs for the rest of his life!
Remember.......dogs have owners, cats have staff 😄

A cat with that many distinct markings doesn't need to be hidden from social media because any pre missing photos will be hard to fudge to have the exact same markings.

😂😂

Short of getting the cat to tell you its life history, I would assume that he's home. OP has done all she can to find its original owners and drawn a blank. She has also followed her vet's advice so cannot be blamed or accused.

Cats tend to relocate themselves and the law actually recognises this. My advice would be to wait for a bit - until the end of January - before claiming ownership. Any distraught owners would have rung round and put up their own photos. If not, the cat stays where he is.

@Inarightpickleandpreserve .........and please keep us updated!🙏

It's a possibility that the owner is away, but what sort of eejit would go away for the Christmas period and leave a kitten that wasn't even chipped with a catsitter or relative who has let it escape? Most sitters would be breaking their necks to locate it, that would be a nightmare scenario for them.

@catsoop

what a load of utter rubbish.

he hasn't been missing 24 yet. The owners might be on holiday & the cat sitter/family/friend accidentally let him
out, not been for another visit yet.

kittens on first adventures sometimes get lost of course they're not sad to go home

It's unbelievable that shelters are bursting at the seams with cats needing owners, when so many here are so desperate to keep a lost kitten.

From 10 June 2024

Personally I wouldn’t have posted photos of him, but a general description. You might now get dishonest types looking for a free cat.
additionally there are plenty of missing pet groups on FB etc you could join and keep an eye on for anyone matching his description, as well as calling other local vets.

Get him neutered ASAP or he'll be spraying and fathering untold amounts of unwanted kittens

If you also read my earlier post you will see I said I’m on the fence about whether the OP has done the right thing. I’ve got a cat who is chipped and neutered and so I would fully expect him to be returned if found. Had I not taken those steps I’m not sure and I would be feeling irresponsible if he went missing.

You’re being so naive to think everyone is loving and responsible with their pets. Just this week I have seen a fb post of a load of kittens and cat dumped on the doorstep of a shelter and a post from someone who moved into a house and found 3 cats just left behind - the owner didn’t want to take them.

I’m wondering if you’ve got cats that aren’t chipped and neutered because you’re being very aggressive to anyone who implies the cat wasn’t being cared for?

I adopted a cat from cats protection nearly three years ago now. When they found her she was trying to break into somebody’s house, distressed, v similar she was ten months, already pregnant, not neutered or chipped. She is the friendliest, loveliest cat you could ever meet, so good with my young kids and very very attached - she follows us on walks if we aren’t careful and regularly comes to the playpark. I felt bad for a while - thinking this cat is so well socialised she must have belonged to somebody. But then I realised they hadn’t looked after her very well as she wasn’t chipped or neutered. I wondered if she had been dumped after lockdown or something. She’s much better off here with us - she has a skin problem we take care of, she’s chipped and neutered and she loves her life here. And she’s one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Oh yes and we adopted our cat from cats protection, but he was originally found wandering in a garden, strangely about 10 months old, underweight and not neutered! I know this from reading through his old vet notes. By the time we got him he’d already been through another owner who decided she didn’t want him so gave him to the shelter. He’s friendly enough although a bit shy with strangers.

This! And Un neutered as well. It's a hard life for young Un neutered Tom cats

i don’t understand why people choose not to chip their cats?