Should I adopt a stray cat?

In My Humble Opinion
1

For the last month or so I’ve noticed a white, long haired cat wandering my neighborhood. Stray cats aren’t a rare sight since my subdivision was carved out of farmland and my back yard abuts a cornfield. I’ve always taken a live and let live approach to strays, not being a pet person, and figured if they were happy to keep their distance then so was I.

A few weeks ago, late at night, I saw a white splotch by my shed that wasn’t usually there. I grabbed a flashlight and discovered it was this white cat, and immediately feared it was dead or in trouble. It just looked at me for a bit and then curled back up and ignored me so I let it be. The next morning it was gone. Since then driving through the subdivision I’ve noticed it running around from time to time.

I smoke, but never in my house, so I’m out on my patio quite often. The other night when I went out the cat was sitting not too far away. I looked at it and said, “Hi Kitty.” I stood there for a few minutes, but then took a few steps toward him/her thinking it would run away. Instead it came up and did that usual cat cheek-leg rubbing thing they do. I felt sorry for it so I gave it a small can of tuna. Now I’m his/her favorite person in the world. The next night there it was again, and I gave it a few Vienna Sausages (which I feel bad about because I only had them in the pantry to try them out as a camping snack, but I had five of them before offering them to the cat and they are barely fit for consumption.)

I bought some cat food yesterday in case it came back. It obviously appreciates free food but I don’t know how healthily I can keep feeding it from my pantry. It didn’t come around last night, but it was raining so it was probably hunkered down somewhere. It’s back tonight, though, and while I don’t think it’s as fond of the cat food I bought as the tuna, it’s eating it, and also loving on me quite a bit.

I’m considering adopting this cat. The problem is I’m not a pet person. I like friends’ pets just fine, but if asked if I wanted a pet a few weeks ago I would have answered that I might at some point but not any time soon. If asked a few years ago I would have said never. Pets are a lot of responsibility, and one easily avoided. But I like this cat. I think it must be an abandoned or escaped pet, not a feral stray, because it is so socialized with people. It hasn’t hissed or swiped at all as I pet it, and it really seems to want to come inside. If it’s been living outside for over a month, sleeping in places like my yard, the chances of anyone else helping it seem slim.

So I ask the animal lovers of the ‘dope, what do you think? A few things if you think they matter:

• I’m a 38-year-old guy who lives alone.
• I’m usually out of the house 10 to 12 hours straight each day, so the it would be alone a lot of the time.
• My house is about 2,300 square feet, so it seems to me the cat would have plenty of room to wander around.
• The yard isn’t fenced, but I would try to keep the cat indoors.
• I haven’t had a pet as an adult but we always had a cat while I was growing up, so I at least know the basics of giving it food and the fun of a litter box, and that it will demand lovin’ and attention at inconvenient times.

I’m worried about some of the practicalities of adopting a stray. If it has fleas or other parasites that won’t be fun. If I adopt it my first priority will be taking it to the vet for a checkout. I’m assuming it’s litter box trained, but if not I’m not even sure how much of a challenge that is because the cats we had when I was young never had a problem. The cats we had were also of the shorter haired verity so shedding wasn’t much of a problem, but this is a long haired, so I assume there will be cat hair everywhere even if I brush it frequently. My biggest concern, though, is something unforeseen that turns out to be a deal breaker, and what would I do then?

So, those with cat experience, do you think I should adopt the poor thing? Or, because I’m ambivalent to having a pet, should I do something else? My other choices seem to be to stop feeding it and do my best to ignore it until it goes away, or try to take it to a shelter, assuming they want strays.

2

  1. What have you named her?

  2. Parasites/fleas are pretty easy to deal with. Your instincts to get it to a vet asap is the right one.

  3. If it wants in your house, it probably already knows about indoor living and what to do with a litter box. Truly feral cats wouldn’t have any interest in your house.

  4. It sounds like you have a good lifestyle/house for a cat.

  5. It’s a commitment. You’ve had cats before. Commitments always have their pain-in-the-ass moments. They also have their rewards. Only you can say if you’re ready for this commitment.

3

I think your first action should be to check the ‘‘lost’’ ads from your area for about the last six weeks or so. I don’t know how many vets are in your area, but its worth taking a pic of your new buddy and emailing it around. Maybe. Post a ‘‘found’’ ad of your own.
After you make sure the cat isn’t lost, and missed, then you can figure it out.
I’d be inclined to go on with the feeding but not try to bring it in just yet. If you don’t find any sign of the previous owner after a couple of weeks then take it to the vet for shots, a checkup and probably worming. If its not fixed, you should get that done. Some places will spay and neuter feral cats and then return them to the area where they were picked up. It may have already been done.
Some cats just can’t handle being indoors, especially if they have been a stray. Don’t lock him up right away. If you can, feed him on the doorstep and let him come in and check things out with the door open. Try closing the door with him inside only when you are home and can reassure him and let him out again.
By the time it gets cold again he’ll probably be happy to stay in.

4

I believe the cat has adopted you. Not the other way around.

5

You should totally adopt this cat!!!:slight_smile:

6

I think keeping this particular cat indoors would be cruel.

7

I don’t have much of a problem with any of this, but this statement makes me think.

IMO, dogs are different than cats. I know many people who have one dog and leave them alone for 10-12 hrs a day. The dogs become lonely and tend to tear up stuff.

Cats, OTOH, like to be king of the castle for hours on end and may treat it differently. We all know that they are cats, and anything goes. But they do tend to be curious, especially if they’re exploring new digs. If they’ve already established their turf, the destruction factor goes way down.

However, I think that if the kitty has a buddy, the day will be that much more fun for the kitties and less destructive for your home. We have many stray cats in my apartment complex, and I have noticed some of them tend to travel around with certain others. I’m not a cat behavioral shrink, so I don’t pay that much attention. But I do notice it happens.

8

Don’t they chip cats where you are?
Take her to the vet, they can give her a basic health check, and maybe she could be reunited with her people straight away.
Now, if she’s been abandoned, you’re going to have to make a decision.
All my best cats just turned up one day, ( I live by the railway), and cats can live by themselves happily for long periods.
Is indoor/outdoor an option?
It’s more or less compulsory in the UK. Rescues often demand it before adoption.
My ex-strays always live indoor/outdoor, coming in for food, bad weather, and lovin’s, and out for whatever cats do, and toileting.
I have cat boxes for bad weather and laziness. Could that work for you?
Is there even a no kill rescue available?

9

You need to take the cat to the vet ASAP to see if it is microchipped. If it’s someone’s lost pet, this is how it will get home. You will be a hero to the people whose pet you returned. If you miss the cat, check the shelters.They are full of adult cats wehose owners couldn’t keep them for many different reasons-- occasionally the owner passed away. If the cat is not microchipped, you might still see if anyone has called the shelter looking for a cat of the description. If not, the cat is yours.

Cats sleep a lot, and it will probably sleep most of the time you are gone, but then want intense attention from you the whole time you are there. If it gets to be to much, you might want to consider a buddy. Two cats are actually less work than one. You scoop the box a little more, but they are way less demanding of your attention.

10

Solitary cats often dislike having other cats around. I would not assume it would be happier with a rival in the house.

But yeah, try to find out if someone is looking for this cat, and if not, keep it. Cats make great pets, especially tame, affectionate cats like this one. And if it is used to being a solitary car, it will do fine with your being away a lot of the day.

11

If you want a cat, then sure, go ahead. But if you just have fuzzy feelings about one brief encounter with a particular cat (aka infatuation), then no. It has never occurred to you before that your lifestyle needs a cat, so don’t commit yourself to a decade of being attached to something you need to give daily attention to. In the past ten years, how many things have you done in your live that would have been burdened by a commitment to a cat? Is that what you want?

If you have already thought of a name for the cat, that is a strong warning signal that you should not. One does not acquire pets (nor babies) just because it is fun to think up cute names for them.

12

It sounds like you are thinking this through pretty carefully. If you and the cat are working out an amicable relationship, I would say go for it. White cats in particular can have a difficult time outside, as they are more visible to predators.

Taking him/her to the vet first thing is a good idea.

Of course, you know the rules, pictures please. :smiley:

13

This white cat may already belong to another family in your neighborhood. It apparently isn’t afraid of people. Lot’s of people let their cats roam without collars as they get caught on fences, branches, etc.

I have friends, that years ago had an orange tabby cat, that was an indoor/outdoor cat, not declawed and no collar for the reasons I mentioned above, but it was chipped. The cat normally came back every evening, but it was not unusual for it to stay out overnight. One time she didn’t come back for a few days…no biggee. Fast forward a couple of months, one evening they are sitting on their front porch and their son was playing in the front yard, and their cat was laying in the grass. Another family in the neighborhood was walking, and their daughter noticed the cat and started screaming, “Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy!!” The girl runs up into their yard and starts petting the cat, who is open to the affection from the little girl. The girl starts to pick up the cat, and my friend says, “hey, where are you going with our cat?” The parents both have a conversation and it turns out the other family thought the cat was a stray that they adopted a few months back. Turns out the cat was getting fed at both houses!

Cat’s ain’t dumb and are probably more suited for a polyamorous lifestyle than we are.

14

So long as you’re not very close to a busy road or live in coyote country, it sounds like maybe you should just let it be an indoor/outdoor cat. Let it come in when it wants, and let it go out when it wants. This pretty much solves your litterbox problem as any cats I’ve had that are indoor/outdoor always went outside for their business. No issue just keeping a litterbox around if you want to though. I think it’s healthier for a cat’s disposition (comparing my experiences with indoor/outdoor vs indoor only) and it makes your relationship with the cat more relaxed. You don’t have to play with it all the time and such. In fact, all the cats I’ve had with access to the outdoors almost never wanted to play as that was like kids stuff for them. Maybe if you got them high on catnip. But otherwise they looked at a toy like, “I can go out and chase after a real live mouse or garter snake whenever I want and you act like this stupid fluffball is entertaining compared to that? No. Take it away.”

15

I’m away 10 to 12 hours a day (taxidriver) and I have always had cats. If it doesn’t belong to anybody, it will be happy going its rounds when you are away, and be happy when you get home. Much better than the life it has at the moment.
A cat door will be a good idea (if the outdoor isn’t too dangerous). There are some which read the chip and don’t let other strays come in.
Should a deal breaker come up, a shelter will be easier found when the cat is used to a home.
I think you should try it.
I got my first cat by feeding a stray. After a few months where it came and was fed every evening, it came with a small kitten one evening, left it and never came back.

16

Most of our cats have been strays that we got attached to. My husband and I joke that our method of adopting a cat is: “Oh, look, there’s a cat.” looks around furtively grabs up cat and runs

One valuable tip I can offer: Litterbox training will be easier if you add a layer of dirt (or maybe some leaf litter, some prefer that) over the kitty litter at first. It seems to make the, “Oh, that’s where I can go,” light bulb go off faster. You can also start the training outside, say on a covered porch. If you can actually get ahold of some of the cat’s urine or feces, you can kind of prime the litter box for them.

Any, good luck to you & the cat whatever you guys decide.

17

I’ve had indoor and outdoor cats, and cats that go outside die.
I encourage you to find his/her owners and have a veterinarian check her/him out.

If you adopt the cat, please keep it inside. :frowning:

18

Thanks for all the great feedback and advice. If I adopt him/her I want to be fully committed to doing what’s best for the cat, and be ready to love it for as long as we’re both kicking.

I think the best outcome would be if it’s chipped and can be reunited with a loving family that thought they would never see it again.

That’s a real possibility. I’m a little surprised it’s still hanging around here after more than a month, and looking as well as it is, if it doesn’t have a home base. To my untrained eye it doesn’t look malnourished like a lot of strays, but it’s hard to tell under all that long fur. Last night I noticed something on its side that is either an injury or mange or something, where the fur is missing a little and it feels rough. It didn’t seem to like it when I rubbed it there, so I didn’t take a close look. I would hope if it does have a home already that the owners wouldn’t let a problem like that develop, but until I get a better look I don’t know how serious it is. This cat also seems starved for attention, but maybe it just knows that’s how to get treats.

Some very good points. I haven’t noticed any lost pet fliers around, but we also don’t have any telephone poles close so I’m not sure where they would be posted. I’ve searched around Craigslist, Facebook, and what websites I can find and haven’t found any matches. The closest that looked like the right breed was in another town 20 miles away. It looks like we have five or six vets around town, so I’ll take a picture and email them to see if there are any hits.

I’m finding recommendations online to contact animal control and the police. Is there any reason not to? I usually think of animal control as the people you call to remove dangerous or nuisance animals.

Maybe I should rethink the timeline of taking it to the vet, and do it regardless of whether I decide to keep it. It’s the logistics I’m unsure about. This cat may not be happy to be taken for a car ride with someone it doesn’t know well. Do you have any advice for the least stressful way to go about it? I think I should also be more certain this cat is really a stray before I end up taking someone’s outdoor cat to the vet.

With all the suggestions of indoor/outdoor I must be out of touch with what’s considered humane. The cats we had growing up were indoor / outdoor, but the sad fact is that eventually they wouldn’t come back, and I hated not knowing what happened to them. They would sometimes have unfortunate encounters with dogs and other animals. It’s a scary world out there. I live on a cul-de-sac a few streets deep into the neighborhood, and although there is a higher speed limit road within wandering distance, I don’t think traffic would be a major problem. I have seen and heard coyotes in the field behind my house, but not often. There’s also the occasional raccoon looking for an easy meal, which is why I can’t just leave food out for this cat all the time. I was thinking that keeping the cat indoors would be protecting it, but I’m reevaluating and coming around to the idea that some cats want to be free. I guess if I adopt it I’ll let it decide if it wants to lounge around the house or roam instead.

19

See, that was what I was thinking. But everyone else seems to agree to some extent with:

20

We have two cats my Wife rescued from a dumpster during the Perseid Meteor Shower. “Perseus” and “Andromeda”, think I. No, “Percy” and “Ginny” says she, but I digress.

Having been rescued from the dumpster, they don’t want to hear anything about outside. They run away from an open door. :slight_smile: