Yes, and keep her inside. Really. It wont be cruel.
We agree on something? 
I’ve had many cats, and I can assure you they are never happy to be taken for a car ride, regardless of how well you know them ;). Two options: 1. find a vet who makes house calls (lots of them do in my area but I’m not sure where you are) or 2. coax the cat into a carrier with treats or catnip (inside your house), then close the door to the carrier and transport the unhappy cat to the vet. I’ve never known a cat who liked the carrier, the car, or the vet…but it’s in their best interest to go.
The indoor/outdoor argument is always alive & well. Everyone has a different philosophy: some say never let them outside, it’s dangerous and others say quality of life is more important than quantity and you wouldn’t lock your kids in the house forever & deprive them of quality of life, just to keep them safe. You will have to figure out which side feels right to you. Also IME some cats love to lounge around the house day in and day out and others like adventure. My male cats have all been roamers, while my females prefer the great indoors.
We have some friends who used to have a cat that they let outside, I thought it was awful. It would kill things and leave them on the steps or even bring them inside. It would get into fights with other animals and get injured, I know one incident in particular cost them a couple of thousand in vet bills. In our neighborhood now, I know of at least one that was taken by a coyote. For those reasons (plus what I’ve read about the decimation of the songbird population due to domestic cats, plus the aggravation to neighbors who don’t want cats using their gardens as litter boxes), I would never have a cat that was allowed to roam outside. It would really bother me worrying about it. I do think it’s nice for them to have a screened porch or window perch. I disagree that it is cruel to keep a pet cat inside.
I think it’s so nice of you to take an interest in the cat and want to help it. I would contact the vet you would take it to, maybe they can let you borrow a carrier. It does sound like the cat has been someone’s pet, so it might not be too alarmed by a ride in the car in a carrier, although you might get some unhappy yowling on the way. But that sounds like the right next step.
Pet carrier.
All cats die.
You know the rules! :mad:
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3. Hi, Opal!..(Aye, I still feel the need to do this.)
An excellent idea.
BTW, once inside the crate, the cat will tell you, “I have never hated you more than I do right now.”
This isn’t necessarily true. I adopted a stray cat that had been living at the barn where I boarded my horses. She became an indoors-only cat immediately and never once showed any desire to go outside.
Yes, the cat may like being indoors just fine, in which case, I would encourage it to stay in. But some cats, once outdoors at some point in their life, go absolutely insane if kept locked inside. We tried to transition a cat to being indoors-only and she went nuts, bolted, and never returned.
My experience with indoor/outdoor cats is that all of them (five), except the one just mentioned, died of old age or ailments that didn’t have anything to do with them being outdoors. We had foxes, racoons, skunks, opossums, and the occasional free dog that got off a leash, but our cats never once got in a tussle with any of them. There were no other cats nearby for them to be territorial with either, though. And de-worming and fleas on the other hand, had to happen every couple years, something that wouldn’t happen with an indoor cat.
My one indoor/outdoor cat lived to 22. Most cats try to hide if they are mortally ill, so a couple, yes, we did find after death, as they were sleeping outdoors in the spots where they chose to be. But that’s just how they are. I wouldn’t keep a cat indoors simply because of that.
Also yes, crate the cat to take it to the vet. At least then if the cat pees or poops in fear, it’ll be contained and able to be cleaned easily. Maybe the vet will let you borrow a crate so you don’t have to buy one for what could be a single trip.
Check outside for angels breaking the seven seals.:eek:
Vote for indoors. Follow your instincts.
True, but indoor only cats in general live longer, healthier lives.
Nesta, from your description I’m leaning towards stray. Someone may have moved and left the cat, or ?? The fact that it has medical issues that should be addressed would indicate to me that it is not currently homed (although sometimes people just ignore things).
Pet carrier is the way to go. You can get cheap ones at a variety of places, from Target to PetSmart.
I’d start letting the cat inside and see how that goes. She should go to the vet to get her side checked out, but I wouldn’t make shoving her in a carrier the very first thing that you do as soon as she’s inside. You want her to like your house.
Exception to that: if she starts to seem listless, the area looks infected, or she otherwise seems to be ill and require immediate medical attention.
If she seems generally healthy, I would take the extra few days to transition her to live with you before you shove her into the box.
This indoor cat idea must be some special US bullshit, like the French believing in graphology. Sure, have an indoor cat if you live in a skyscraper, a minefield, or surrounded by rabid wolves. But anywhere normal? Bollock to that.
Could you put up a little shelter for the cat, like a small doghouse, just something to shelter from the rain? Put some old, clean rags or towels in there. Also, use the same food and water dishes. If the cat submits to being taken to a vet, have the vet check for a chip, and get it shots, or whatever the vet recommends.
If you name the cat it’s yours, or maybe you are the cat’s.
Have you talked to your neighbors about the cat? Can you tell from the condition of the fur if it’s been brushed in the last week or two?
As mentioned earlier in the thread, I would not be at all surprised if this cat already has a home, or perhaps several. There’s one of those in my neighborhood–a yellow longhaired male. He’s very friendly, lovey-dovey, always hanging around begging food from me. He’s also very friendly, lovey-dovey, and always hanging around begging food from the lady next door, and the house across the way, and three doors down. Meanwhile, he really belongs to the girl on the end of the block, and he’s getting fed at some or all of these houses. (He’s an indoor/outdoor, but she leaves him outdoors about 90+% of the time.)
Yup I bought into it for a long time & only had indoor cats, and my kitties were perfectly happy with that. But then I adopted my first adult male cat, who had formerly been a stray. No way in hell was this guy going to be imprisoned in my house. He would yowl plaintively at the door constantly begging to go out, but I never caved. Eventually, he became an escape artist and clawed or bit his way out of an upstairs screen and jumped! He also would wait until someone was coming into the house and bolt out the door. Eventually I had a discussion with my vet who suggested I stop fighting him, get him vaccinated for rabies, and let him lead a life of adventure. He is now 10 and comes and goes as he pleases & he is happy. That was the right decision for THAT cat. IMO they are all different and everyone has different circumstances, so you need to make the decision that works in your case.
I used to have indoor-outdoor cats, which is a lot easier and the cats like it. But I lost a few too many to outdoor causes. (One ran away, one was eaten by something one night, and two were hit by cars) so my recent cats have been indoor cats. That being said, I have three cats, and the oldest was acquired when I was letting cats outdoors. The vet agreed that I shouldn’t make her stay inside. He said that outdoor mortality declines sharply if a cat survives a year. Basically, that means they know to avoid cars and most carnivores.
The younger two live indoors. One of them is okay with that, the other is insanely jealous of the lady who is allowed outside. But he is an unusually stupid and clumsy cat, and I don’t trust him. So he only gets outdoors when he escapes, which is rarely. Honestly, if his sister complained about being penned up indoors as much as he does, she would be an indoor-outdoor cat, too.
So I’m on the “it depends on the cat” side of the fence.
Also, if I lived in Great Britain, I would certainly let my cats out. There aren’t any important predators of cats there. But we have coyotes, fishers, and great horned owls, all of whom like to dine on cat. And we have foxes, skunks, and racoons, who mostly leave cats alone in favor of less pointy prey, but could potentially be dangerous.
How many outdoor cats have you had, for how long, nicky?
Considering how much damage is done to local ecosystems by wandering cats, I think all wandering cats should be captured and confined. If it doesn’t have a microchip or collar, it’s yours. If you don’t want to keep it, take it to a shelter.
Anyone who lets a cat wander off their own property is irresponsible. There are actually quite a few options for cat-proof fencing nowadays that keeps cats from wandering, so you can have an indoor-outdoor cat that is content and happy and that doesn’t wander around killing things, annoying the neighbors, and suffering a premature demise from a coyote or a car.
My current cat is an indoor/outdoor. I tried to keep him in at first but he just wasn’t happy about it and was driving my roommate nuts. The roomie smokes on the porch and the cat, Gaffer, is faster than he is. Eventually he got his freedom. He is in at night though, and in his own room so he can’t do the quick-step after hours.
I’ll tell you a little about Gaff. He was actually born in our bathroom closet on Valentines Day 2006. His mom was ours but we didn’t get her to the vet in time and she had her litter. Nov '07 I broke up with the ex and he kept Gaffer. I’d moved into an apartment and he stayed in the (rented) house, with our adult son and a roommate. Total batchlor pad! Anyway, Gaff was free to come and go and pretty much left to his own devices. He had a couple of disagreements with cars, wasps and other cats but survived 'em all. He also survived the ex, which is why I got him back almost four years ago. By then I was back in a house so there was no problem. I got him fixed and had his shots done asap. I’d been over to the house often enough that he was fine with me.
The first darn thing that he did, actually about two weeks in was to crawl down an open furnace pipe under the bathtub and get stuck way back under the house. Fortunately this 1914 house has been added onto all over the place and he happened to be over a room sized crawl space. Fortunately the owner knew a guy with metal cutters. Unfortunately, he got the beast out then let him go, so of course he bolted into the space between the floor and crawlspace ceiling. A day later, after I crawled around the entire space calling him, he finally came back out of the hole!
All this is to show that cats are resourcefull, resilient and completely unpredictable! If you take on a cat, expect anything but remember that they are tough little critters and can survive quite a lot. Gaffer is now ten and currently passed out on the bed behind me. I’ve known in/out cats who lived to 20 and 21. They can be very successful outdoors. On the other hand, a lot of cats just dissapeared. Several got hit by cars. Its risky out there.
Gaffer just wasn’t ever going to be happy totally indoors, so out he goes. Ultimately, its up to the cat. If he wants out, good luck every time you need to open the door. If he’s used to being outside, better he has a little freedom, even if its just an hour when you’re home and can let him back in before dark.
4 over 15 years. No deaths. 1 used to fight but she was an adopted stray.
Although i do live in cat utopia.
Cat flap is the norm here in the UK.