Cat hanging around

AngelMoo · 6th July 2012, 9:57 AM

A few weeks ago a cat started hanging around our place. I say she because my female cat and her have stand-offs but it's much more civil than with an old tom cat in the area. This cat has a collar bell so she obviously had a home at least once but she was thin (not boney though) and always seemed hungry... and we couldn't have that. Then I noticed that she was eating the scraps that we threw out for the birds (I'm sure I saw her trying to eat state bread). We started to put out food for her that our fussy cat wouldn't eat. In the past 2 weeks mum bought extra cat food and we've been feeding her each day... I even put something out for her to sleep in.

Turns out she's a really nice cat and the other day I discovered that I can pick her up... she's still a bit timid, hiding behind plants a lot of the time but she's getting used to us. She doesn't belong to anyone we know and there have been a couple houses sold in our street recently so I'm thinking that she could either be lost or got left behind.

Anyway, we're going to try and take her to the vet to scan her for a microchip. Best scenario is that she's just lost and she can be reunited with her family... but I'm a little worried about what might happen to her if they either don't find a chip or if the owners can't be found. I guess she would have to go to the pound? I don't want her to be put down but my cat is horrible so we can't have another with her (I kind of want to swap them

).

I guess I'll be back once the vet checks her out and we have an answer but can anyone see flaws in my plan? Contingency plans will be made to ensure she finds a home if it comes to it.

broccoli · 6th July 2012, 10:04 AM

No, you definitely have to have someone in authority try to track down her people. If she's just lost, she'll find her way home and if she's been dumped she may get a new home if she's offered for rehoming if her people can't be located.

That needs to happen before you start worrying about anything, but when you say your cat is "horrible", what do you mean? She may not like the idea of this cat, but at this stage, this cat is an intruder on her turf. Your cat MAY be able to accept it if it comes to that.

Start with the vet. Her people might be looking for her and have no way of knowing that she's holed up in your backyard.

psychobunny · 6th July 2012, 10:13 AM

also check for a tattoo in the ear.... if there is one there then she is deff chipped (or been used as and experiment by a tattoo artist)
the last cat we had was abandoned... sadly it seems to be quite common - i hate people that get pets and dont take responsibility for them

broccoli · 6th July 2012, 10:14 AM

I thought the tattoo was to show sterilization?

Gonadman2 · 6th July 2012, 10:19 AM

Our cat got lost one day (don't know if he was taken or not, he's too trusting of people and animals) and eventually we got him back a month later. Someone rang the ranger, they returned him to the Cat Haven, and they read the microchip and phoned us to say that he had been found.

That was a pretty awesome day. He was very skinny also, and very happy to be home. He doesn't leave the yard much anymore, always wants to come home after 30 mins - hour after being outside now.

This cat might be in the same situation?

AngelMoo · 6th July 2012, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broccoli

That needs to happen before you start worrying about anything, but when you say your cat is "horrible", what do you mean? She may not like the idea of this cat, but at this stage, this cat is an intruder on her turf. Your cat MAY be able to accept it if it comes to that.

That cat doesn't even like us sometimes. I'll be standing next to her and she'll randomly try to attack me with her sharp bits. She can be nice, she'll sit on me and be smoochy sometimes but she gets annoyed VERY easily so when she's had enough she'll give me a death stare and attack if I make a wrong move. I can't subject another cat to her. Maybe that's a topic for another time: what's wrong with my cat!

Doso · 6th July 2012, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broccoli

No, you definitely have to have someone in authority try to track down her people. If she's just lost, she'll find her way home and if she's been dumped she may get a new home if she's offered for rehoming if her people can't be located.

That needs to happen before you start worrying about anything, but when you say your cat is "horrible", what do you mean? She may not like the idea of this cat, but at this stage, this cat is an intruder on her turf. Your cat MAY be able to accept it if it comes to that.

Start with the vet. Her people might be looking for her and have no way of knowing that she's holed up in your backyard.

This, your other cat is just being territorial. regarding the pound what happens if they go their without a chip or any other identifiable information (tag etc) they stay at the pound for 7 days after which you can claim her back, but you need to be on their backs about getting your cat back!

We did this for 2 strays that we took in, in fact the second was an obvious stray so the pound let our vet hold him & do all the desexing, micro chipping & injections for us rather that at the pound but we had to pay a little extra from memory but obviously at the vet their was less chance of cat flu & getting lost in the "system"

broccoli · 6th July 2012, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelMoo

she'll give me a death stare

I've got a book called "do cats need shrinks?" about weirdo cat behaviour. Maybe try to get that out of the library and have a squizz?

AngelMoo · 6th July 2012, 10:42 AM

When I get home I'll check her ear if I can coax her out

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gonadman2

This cat might be in the same situation?

I really hope it's this and she has a nice home to go back to... and at least she will have been taken care of while lost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by broccoli

I've got a book called "do cats need shrinks?" about weirdo cat behaviour. Maybe try to get that out of the library and have a squizz?

Our theories range from her mother being a feral to her needing hormone therapy

psychobunny · 6th July 2012, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broccoli

I thought the tattoo was to show sterilization?

you are right.... i guess i just link the 2 since most of them get chipped at the same time to save money.

still, check the ear, if its been desexed chances are its chipped too

Pinkeh · 6th July 2012, 2:29 PM

Sometimes people move and forget to change their addresses in the animals register. I received my cat as a stray and she warmed up to me so when we went to the vet she found a chip but the owners had moved. so it was either rehoming (or put down). we said we'll home it and and the vet kept it instead of sending it to the pound (until the waiting period finished), and so it doesnt get lost in the system.

AngelMoo · 6th July 2012, 6:27 PM

Well it was dark when I got home and it's impossible to find a black cat in the dark. Report from mum though was that she no longer has her collar so I'm not sure what happened to it. Will borrow a cat box and if I can locate her we'll take a trip to the vet. Update expected tomorrow arvo.

Melzawelza · 7th July 2012, 9:45 AM

OP, you're on the right track. Take the kitty to the vet to be scanned, if she needs to go to the pound put your name on her and either adopt her after her time is up or find a rescue group that will pull her out for you.

broccoli · 7th July 2012, 10:14 AM

This cat isn't feral, it had a collar EDIT: and it let OP handle it.

It could easily have run off in fright when the people were packing up their stuff to move house. The problem finding cats is that they go into hiding mode and don't come out. If they are hiding on somebody's property, the only way you'll find them is if the person catches them and turns them in somewhere where they can be located by the owner.

AngelMoo · 7th July 2012, 10:50 AM

well this morning was fun... I go outside and am greeted with a meow, pick up, lots of pats and I got some pics of her. Then put a plate of food out and went to a friend's place to borrow a cat carrier. Got home and couldn't find her! Vet will have to be another day and I won't leave her unattended

Checked her ear during the pick up session and couldn't see any tattoos.

6th July 2012, 9:57 AM	#1
AngelMoo Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,597	Cat hanging around A few weeks ago a cat started hanging around our place. I say she because my female cat and her have stand-offs but it's much more civil than with an old tom cat in the area. This cat has a collar bell so she obviously had a home at least once but she was thin (not boney though) and always seemed hungry... and we couldn't have that. Then I noticed that she was eating the scraps that we threw out for the birds (I'm sure I saw her trying to eat state bread). We started to put out food for her that our fussy cat wouldn't eat. In the past 2 weeks mum bought extra cat food and we've been feeding her each day... I even put something out for her to sleep in. Turns out she's a really nice cat and the other day I discovered that I can pick her up... she's still a bit timid, hiding behind plants a lot of the time but she's getting used to us. She doesn't belong to anyone we know and there have been a couple houses sold in our street recently so I'm thinking that she could either be lost or got left behind. Anyway, we're going to try and take her to the vet to scan her for a microchip. Best scenario is that she's just lost and she can be reunited with her family... but I'm a little worried about what might happen to her if they either don't find a chip or if the owners can't be found. I guess she would have to go to the pound? I don't want her to be put down but my cat is horrible so we can't have another with her (I kind of want to swap them ). I guess I'll be back once the vet checks her out and we have an answer but can anyone see flaws in my plan? Contingency plans will be made to ensure she finds a home if it comes to it.

6th July 2012, 10:13 AM	#3
psychobunny Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Melbourne 3044 Posts: 999	also check for a tattoo in the ear.... if there is one there then she is deff chipped (or been used as and experiment by a tattoo artist) the last cat we had was abandoned... sadly it seems to be quite common - i hate people that get pets and dont take responsibility for them __________________ Together we fall, divided we conquer... no, wait. Stuff for sale

6th July 2012, 2:29 PM	#11
Pinkeh Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 7,254	Sometimes people move and forget to change their addresses in the animals register. I received my cat as a stray and she warmed up to me so when we went to the vet she found a chip but the owners had moved. so it was either rehoming (or put down). we said we'll home it and and the vet kept it instead of sending it to the pound (until the waiting period finished), and so it doesnt get lost in the system. __________________ Photography: Gear, Flickr ASUS P8P67 EVO, Core i5 2500K, Sapphire 6970x2, 32GB Corsair Vengenance RAM, WD Caviar Black 4TB, Green 4x 3TB, NZXT Phantom Red Full Tower, Cosair TX950 PSU \| QNAP412 4x2TB Hitachi 7k3000 RAID5 \| BF3 Stats

7th July 2012, 9:45 AM	#13
Melzawelza Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 820	OP, you're on the right track. Take the kitty to the vet to be scanned, if she needs to go to the pound put your name on her and either adopt her after her time is up or find a rescue group that will pull her out for you. Last edited by Ma Baker; 7th July 2012 at 10:17 AM. Reason: Quote and reply to quote removed

6th July 2012, 10:04 AM	#2
broccoli (Taking a Break) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6,312	No, you definitely have to have someone in authority try to track down her people. If she's just lost, she'll find her way home and if she's been dumped she may get a new home if she's offered for rehoming if her people can't be located. That needs to happen before you start worrying about anything, but when you say your cat is "horrible", what do you mean? She may not like the idea of this cat, but at this stage, this cat is an intruder on her turf. Your cat MAY be able to accept it if it comes to that. Start with the vet. Her people might be looking for her and have no way of knowing that she's holed up in your backyard.

6th July 2012, 10:14 AM	#4
broccoli (Taking a Break) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6,312	I thought the tattoo was to show sterilization?

6th July 2012, 10:19 AM	#5
Gonadman2 Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Perth Posts: 854	Our cat got lost one day (don't know if he was taken or not, he's too trusting of people and animals) and eventually we got him back a month later. Someone rang the ranger, they returned him to the Cat Haven, and they read the microchip and phoned us to say that he had been found. That was a pretty awesome day. He was very skinny also, and very happy to be home. He doesn't leave the yard much anymore, always wants to come home after 30 mins - hour after being outside now. This cat might be in the same situation?

6th July 2012, 6:27 PM	#12
AngelMoo Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,597	Well it was dark when I got home and it's impossible to find a black cat in the dark. Report from mum though was that she no longer has her collar so I'm not sure what happened to it. Will borrow a cat box and if I can locate her we'll take a trip to the vet. Update expected tomorrow arvo.

7th July 2012, 10:14 AM	#14
broccoli (Taking a Break) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6,312	This cat isn't feral, it had a collar EDIT: and it let OP handle it. It could easily have run off in fright when the people were packing up their stuff to move house. The problem finding cats is that they go into hiding mode and don't come out. If they are hiding on somebody's property, the only way you'll find them is if the person catches them and turns them in somewhere where they can be located by the owner.

7th July 2012, 10:50 AM	#15
AngelMoo Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,597	well this morning was fun... I go outside and am greeted with a meow, pick up, lots of pats and I got some pics of her. Then put a plate of food out and went to a friend's place to borrow a cat carrier. Got home and couldn't find her! Vet will have to be another day and I won't leave her unattended Checked her ear during the pick up session and couldn't see any tattoos.