There is a kitten living in my garden

[onenightonlykitten]

A kitten appears to have moved into my garden. She’s been visiting 3 weeks but hasn’t left my garden for the last 4 weeks so I caved and gave her something to eat as she looks to have lost some weight (the pic of her bugging close up is a fortnight ago)

I’ve posted in 3 local facebook groups and asked the local vets but no one seems to be missing her

What do I do now????

and I already have 4 cats so letting her move in is not an option

slightly concerned she’s going to get pregnant

Why does everyone assume she has an owner?? She hasn't left the garden and she's been losing weight. Have you any idea how many cats are being abandoned at the moment? Or maybe she's lost. Whatever, it is terrible advice to ignore her.

OP - you need to get her scanned for a chip. Any vet should do that for free. If no chip then can you afford to get her spayed? If so, do it and then contact rescues for help with homing.

If not then contact rescues straight away but keep a look out for signs of pregnancy.

I assumed an owner because she looks healthy and not skinny in the pictures.

Cats don't start off looking skinny, and many are good at finding food sources. She has barely left the garden and she's losing weight. Both are red flags that shouldn't be ignored.

I’m not assuming an owner unless she is lost - which can happen. Otherwise I agree it doesn’t sound as though anyone is looking out for her but OP, and thank goodness for kind people like OP.

<looks out at our fat orange boy currently sleeping on next door's garden furniture when he has a perfectly good set of garden furniture right here>

She's lovely, OP. The Cats Protection here will come out and trap/scan - might that be an option?

There will be charity volunteers who can come and trap her and scan for a chip.

They don't. But this cat looks very healthy so can't be too far from home.

Join nextdoor. It's almost exclusively lost cats and cleaner posts near me! I suspect this cat has an owner somewhere not too far away.

You don't always get what you want in life OP 🥰

Any update with the Not your Kitten who probably thinks she is ?

I’d just keep her, kittens shouldn’t be skinny hanging around in random gardens they should have a home to go to my guess is lost or abandoned.

I’d get her scanned for a microchip before making any decision to keep her.

We found this handsome fellow in our shed a year ago, he was tiny, covered in fleas. No one responded to Facebook posts and he wasn’t microchipped so yes, we got a new cat! Here he is enjoying my favourite garden seat ❤️

She is still here and taken up residence behind the rabbit hutch under a couple of laurel bushes

charities saying they don’t have capacity to come and help trap her so I’m making it my mission for the weekend

she has let me stroke her and you can feel every bump down her spine and she’s so thin just in front of her hips

I have been putting some food out but not full meals

she grabs big mouthfuls then runs back to her spot to eat them -still very skittish but will sit on the rabbit hutch having a bath

Oh @Upwiththisiwillnotput he is absolutely beautiful 🥲

Aaah OP it sounds like you are making positive steps in the right direction with her. Poor little mite. How old do you think she is?

I think probably 4-5 months when I compare her to kittens I’ve had

Why not a full meal though if she’s underweight

I’m not a cat person, I would get a vet to check if she has a chip.

Poor little scrap. It definitely sounds as though no one is looking out for her but you. It’s a step forward that she is letting you stroke her.

@Upwiththisiwillnotput what a handsome fellow.

The cat distribution system is at work

As she is losing weight could you de-worm her?

Love your 5th cat x

You are supposed to give them small amounts frequently. Feeding too fast causes problems.

At least make sure she has water. It’s been so dry and warm.

No decent rescue charity would contemplate trapping a cat (which is what would be required) just to scan/paper collar. If a cat needs to be trapped then there needs to be a plan in place to neuter straight away. No rescue would consider trapping, releasing and then retrapping, not only because of the time commitment but also because cats become trap-shy. So in this case a rescue is needed to at least neuter.