Please help me with a feral/ stray cat

[silken]

You likely don't need any more opinions at this point, but here's my 2 cents anyways! What about a garbage can with lid for your garbage? I'm surprised raccoons or dogs haven't been at it before this cat. It is the law here to have garbage cans and even at our cabin at the lake. We have had cats for years and they have all been strays. Right now we have 3 although none of them were real 'ferals'. One of ours was living in an overhang porch of our house in a cardboard box with a rug and catching the sparrows at our feeder. She has long fur so survived our -40 prairie winters in zone 2b of Canada, but was slowly starving. When we realized she was there she was almost like a wild animal about her food but it was because she was so hungry. Now she lives indoors full time, has been spayed and is twice the weight of when we found her. She is the gentlest of cats. Many cats that are not actually feral are still very cautious and will not let a stranger approach them. You could lure it and make it trust you with food and then use a hava heart trap. My sister who fosters cats for her local SPCA until they are deemed adoptable has had training on ferals and a true adult feral is likely not adoptable. But it could at least be trapped, neutered and released or humanely put down. And it may just be a scared lost kitty that needs to be adopted. I would think your neighbors would be willing to transport it once caught if you do all the work of feeding and trapping it. Then their garbage will no longer be torn open.

[Gin]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

well even if the cat is put down at the shelter - probably a more humane death - tho I suppose it could depend on the shelter - but the shelters near me use the same injections as are used by vets for pet euthanasia

More humane then being shot at and maimed not killed . I worked at a shelter for 2 weeks when the manager was gone . Pick up a vein press plunger gone . Sad but some times there is no choice ..

[LinhT]

Originally Posted by silken

What about a garbage can with lid for your garbage?

Yep, I do have a lid on my garbage bin. It still got in. Some of the neighbors are questioning whether or not it may be a racoon.

Originally Posted by Triffid

All Cats that go through peoples trash are strays?
Not So!
Some cat owners do not feed their cats enough and/or have more than one so there is competition for food. This can result in the cat getting food from where ever it can.

It would be nice if every one cared as much as you obviously do!

That's a good point. If it does belong to someone, all I have to say is, it BETTER be spayed/ neutered. Every family member of mine who gets a pet, gets the same lecture from me:

"Is it spayed/ neutered? I don't give a @$%# if you don't have time or money. You need to get it fixed or you shouldn't be getting a flippin' pet."

Indeed, I do care very much about animal welfare. I come from a family of some animal abusers. One did not spay his cat. She had kittens and he drowned the entire litter in a bathtub because he was too lazy to take them to a shelter. Another one used to kick his German Shephard violently in the chest and leave it outside in the winter till it's paws were frostbitten. He thought that was funny. He also used to grab the head of his Pekingnese and bang it's face against the wall until it was bloody. I was very young when these things happened and either could not do anything or did not know who to call. After college, I became a regular donor to ASPCA. I made it clear to all my family that if I ever witnessed any more animal abuse/ neglect, I'd report that person and take the animal away from them with or without their consent. Blood relation will not get in the way of me picking up the phone. I will not think twice about it.

[silken]

Unless you saw the cat getting the lid off, I would definitely say raccoon, not cat getting into the garbage. It also doesn't sound like typical cat nature as they are much more picky eaters than dogs and raccoons and wouldn't want most of what is in the garbage. One thing about a stray or outdoor cat, they certainly help control rodent population! But that still doesn't solve the problem of the stray cat!

[Gin]

Tracy , I am sorry for the bad memories I have a few and they don't ever go away ..
As a kid I did some things if caught would of been smiling for the camera holding a number lolol , turned the slaughter house horses out into a 100 acre field , swiped ingrown halters off foals and off of a horse that was belly deep in water in the winter and cooking in the summer tied to a fence in a field no food or water the Humane Society finally took the horse ..
This was many years ago I had to call them daily and beg . Being a kid don't think they took me serious .As an old woman would do it again ..

[Triffid]

LinhT, like Gin, I am sorry that you had to go through those experiences. It's never nice when you have to witness cruelty no matter the form. And Gin, it warms my heart that you kept calling about the horse!

On a brighter note a story that may cheer you up (just a little).
My mum (Cat-woman as she's known by her neighbours) has been recently fostering another batch of abandoned cats. One of these Cats was a heavily pregnant female who my mum and the RSPCA decided to call (Big-)Bertha.

She was so heavily laden with kittens that she literally waddled! So much that mum and the inspectors were expecting a bumper load of kittens. As it turned out she had only four, big healthy babies (poor Bertha!). All of these kittens have been found good new homes (before they were even ready for release) and Bertha has now been neutered. The kittens will be neutered when the time comes (just one of the conditions set down by the RSPCA).

So for all the cruel & ignorant ones out there there, there is also those that dedicate so much spare time to help out where there can

[Becky Jo]

Bless you Ladies for a loving heart.


From the cat lady in Freedom Township Mi Becky Jo

[silken]

For the last 30 years, my husband and I have had from 1 to 3 cats sharing our lives. They have always been strays that in various ways found us. Most of them needed vet care from injuries etc. but all ended up happy, healthy and loved! Right now we have 3 of them!

[Izzie]

I always adopt from shelters as well. And we always try our best to get adult cats, rather than a kitten. I've seen too many waste away mentally, waiting for months to be noticed in the shelters.
And blacks/greys are a favorite too. They also get overlooked, because they often blend into the steel kennels and aren't as visible.

[got ants]

This thread is still going?

I apologize if I offended anyone, but since I work in pest control, and have done so at an animal shelter, I can tell you first hand they aren't as humane as you think. The dogs in the back that aren't fit for adoption, it's just sickening.

Keep in mind the first post of this thread was in reference of a feral cat. Some of the most humane methods of putting an animal down may seem inhumane to others, since they have no first hand knowledge of how it effects the animal. A well placed shot is not felt by an animal.

Again, my apologies if I offended anyone.