How To Get A Stray Cat Inside
One day, I had a hunch that I might get her in the door. I shut all the other cats inside the house, and left the front door opened to a small enclosed breezeway we have. She came in. Somehow, I was able to close the door behind her.
Did she freak? Yes, a little. But fortunately she was so hungry that she got her head temporarily stuck in a Dixie cup full of food that I had grabbed quickly. That enabled me to quickly get the other cats in the bedroom and shut that door. Then, I opened the house door. She dashed in, but again, I had a feeling she was a gentle cat just scared.
Initially she hid in a tiny utility room close near the front door. I gave her some time. I was easily able to reach in and scratch her chin. She began purring. I knew she was definitely not feral but she could have come close to that line.
Every journey with taming a stray cat will be a little different. You sometimes need to rely on your observations and your gut feeling. Does the cat seem friendly? Scared or truly wild? To me, Karma seemed scared, but not yet truly wild. She was close to feral, though, and I dont think she would have survived long, had she turned feral or not been integrated into our household.
Can I Rehome A Stray Cat
You can decide to take on a stray cat yourself if no owner can be found. If you’re unable to keep the cat, a local animal rescue charity may be able to help. Try contacting your local RSPCA animal centre, Cats Protection or other reputable organisations. Some of these are listed on our lost and found contact list .
Giving a home to a cat in need can be hugely rewarding but it’s also a responsibility and a long-term commitment. Consider carefully whether you have the time, space and money to help care for a stray cat. If the cat becomes ill or injured in the future you’ll be responsible for ensuring that they get the veterinary care they need.
If after consideration, you’ve decided to take responsibility for a stray cat – thank you! There are so many benefits to doing so. Cats that come into our care will live in one of our catteries until we can find them a suitable ‘forever home’ – this can be stressful for many cats, especially those stray cats who have been used to the freedom to roam and live outside.
Taking on the responsibility yourself means the cat can return to a place they know and feel comfortable. You will also be helping us to care for more cats who are victims of cruelty or neglect and have been brought in by our dedicated inspectors by freeing up a space in our centre.
If you decide to take on responsibility for a stray cat, please make sure you get them microchipped and have your contact details registered so that you can be identified as the owner.
Homemade Kitten Formula Recipes
Vet approved
Having a litter of kittens is often a joyous experience and watching those tiny balls of fluff grow up into confident youngsters can be a real pleasure. But sometimes, things dont go to plan, and the queen cannot provide the kittens with the milk that they need. This might be because they are sick themselves, or they are not producing enough milk, or they reject their kittens. Sadly, it might even be because the queen has passed away during labor.
If you find yourself in this situation, you may quickly need to find someone to feed your hungry kittens. Can you rustle up something at home that will do the trick? The answer is yes but it might not best choice.
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What To Do If You Find A Newborn Kitten
This article is now outdated. An updated version of this information can be found at bit.ly/HelpOrphanedKittens
During kitten season, its not unusual to discover a nest of unattended kittens or a single kitten seemingly abandoned by his/her mother.
by Valerie Sicignano, NYC Feral Cat Initiative
During high kitten season in the spring and summer, its not unusual to discover a nest of unattended kittens or a single kitten seemingly abandoned by the mother. You want to help, right? Before jumping to the rescue, consider these recommendations.
First: Wait & Watch
You might have come across the kittens while their mother is off searching for food, or is in the process of moving them to a different location. Try to determine if the mother is coming back for them, or if they are truly orphaned.
To do this, stand far away from the kittens 35 feet or more. If you stand too close, the mom will not approach her kittens. You might need to go away completely before the mother cat will return to attend to the kittens. It might be several hours before the mother cat returns until she no longer senses the presence of humans hovering near her litter.
The mother cat offers her kittens best chance for survival, so wait and watch as long as you can. The best food for the kittens is their mothers milk. Remove the kittens only if they are in immediate, grave danger.
If the mother cat returns
If the mother cat does not return
Kitten Care & Bottle-Feeding
First Steps
How To Get Started
Adult feral cats are not socialized to people. Never attempt to handle an adult feral. If kittens are caught at an early age they can be socialized and placed into a loving home. Depending on the kittens age it could take anywhere from a few days to even weeks to socialize them. Kittens that are four weeks of age that have finished weaning can be taken away from their mothers. At this age it is pretty easy to socialize a feral kitten. Kittens that are left with the colony after four weeks will take longer to socialize and you will not be able to socialize kittens if they are still with their colony.
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Community Cats Need Your Support
There is finally movement on the Los Angeles T/N/R injunction. A draft environmental impact report was recently released, and decisions that come from this process will impact policies in the City of Los Angeles and across the country for decades and generations to come.Community cats need your voice!Support cats and TNR efforts by signing our petition!Let the nation know that ALL cats deserve to be safe, healthy, and valued!
If You Feed A Stray Cat Will It Stay
Have you ever wanted to start a big argument online? Just pose the question of whether you should feed stray cats or not and then step back. You will absolutely get what you came for. The question of whether stray cat should be fed or not is a very emotionally charged one that evokes passionate responses. Heres another question that gets people revved up:
If you feed a stray cat, will it stay?
In a word, yes. We could end this article right here and be done with it, but thats not why youre here. It is also not why this website exists. So for the benefit of all our readers, this article will explain why stray cats will hang around after being fed and why you should think twice about doing it.
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A Complex Situation With A Wider Problem At Hand The Importance Of Thinking Twice Before Feeding Stray Cats
ARTICLE BY: Dr Tess Vitesnik, Ten Lives Head Veterinarian.
On any given day, most people would seek to provide food and shelter to a hungry homeless animal that crosses their path. There is an immediate problem and an immediate solution: You are hungry, and I can feed you. As a vet, I know how rewarding it can be to provide care and fulfill the needs of a vulnerable animal and most of us wouldnt need to search very far to encounter a stray cat who would happily accept a meal or three. When I kept running into Spot on my walks past an abandoned house in my neighborhood, my instinct was to reach for a can of cat food. I couldnt help but wonder about the complexity of the situation and the wider problem at hand. Why are there so many stray cats out there? And is feeding them helping them? Is it kind, or can it do more harm than good?
The more food that is available, the more cats will frequent a location. The more food that is available, the higher the pregnancy rates are in females. The more food that is available, the larger the litter sizes a female will produce. The more food that is available, the higher the carrying capacity of the environment at hand. By providing a food source to one or more undesexed cats a person is directly causing an increase in the stray problem. At a bare minimum, the person regularly feeding a cat needs to ensure it is desexed.
A few stray cats can quickly become many stray cats, with more and more mouths to feed.
Adopting Out The Kittens
The final step. Successful socialization is the most important part of the process, so make sure you teach them to trust and like humans as early as you are able! Please spay and neuter them before you adopt them out , they will not only be more attractive to adopters, but it will also help prevent this cycle from happening all over again. Once they are fixed, advertise liberally! Use social networking sites, tells friends, relatives, colleagues and acquaintances, and get them adopted out as early as you can! The older the kittens get, the harder it will be to find them homes.
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They May Affect The Wildlife In Your Area
One major disadvantage of a stray cat population in your area is that they threaten the local wildlife. The US alone has an estimated number of 70 million stray or feral cats according to National Geographic. Since these cats do not have owners or permanent homes they end up hunting for prey, usually the local wildlife such as birds and small mammals. As a result, wildlife may become depleted and unbalanced.
For Kittens Twelve Weeks To Six Months Old
Kittens 12 weeks to 6 months old who are not social and become extremely frightened and/or aggression when handled by people may be difficult to catch without a live-release trap, and have passed an important window when they can be easily and effectively socialized. The best thing to do is consider Trap, Neuter / Spay, and Return them to where they were found.
- Be sure to post a found report on our website.
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Don’t Move The Cat Or Her Kittens Unless They’re At Risk
A mother cat and her kittens should only be moved if they are at risk or vulnerable. This is because disturbing a mother and kittens can lead to stress and/or aggression which can risk the health of the kittens. Kittens that are unweaned are dependent upon their mother for survival – inappropriate disturbance may cause the mother to abandon her kittens.
In the situation that you’re not prepared/able to look after the welfare of the cats and you’re adamant that you want them moving despite the advice above, you should contact your local animal centre or animal welfare organisation – they may be able to help with rehoming. Kittens can be rehomed when they are eight weeks old.
In the case that the stray cat rejects a kitten, please get in touch with us via our helpline on 0300 1234 999.
Scrambled Eggs Can Also Be Offered To Cats
Most people have eggs in their refrigerator, and it doesnt take much to whip up an egg and scramble it before offering it to a stray cat. Dont season or salt the egg, as any seasoning or salt might not be healthy for the cats digestive system. Wet and dry cat food does not use any seasoning either, so you dont need to add seasoning.
Many cat food brands use eggs in their formulas to provide the choline needed for proper vision development. Eggs also provide B vitamins, which a stray cat might be missing in its diet.
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Will A Stray Cat Go Away If I Stop Feeding It
If you stop feeding a stray cat altogether, it may continue to visit in the coming days and weeks. However, when it realizes that no more food is forthcoming, itll seek out other more reliable food sources.
Cats usually stake out a territory and rarely move away from their chosen space. It may be forced to hunt or seek out other people to feed it. However, the chances are, the cat is finding other sources of food near you.
What Else Can You Do For The Stray Cat
As well as looking after their nutritional needs, it would be best if you also were looking for a safe place to keep the cat until you can get them to the vet.
Carrying out some basic first aid like cleaning and dressing any wounds will also help them feel more comfortable.
Taking the cat to your local shelter or registering with Petfinder are also good options, as they will be able to help you find a new home for the kitten.
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Determine If There Is A Mother Cat
Dont kitten nap! Resist your instinct to scoop up abandoned kittens right away. Even though they are adorable and helpless! It may seem counter-intuitive, but the best thing to do for the kittens is not to move them.
Keep an eye on them and see if a mother cat comes for them. Mom cats move their kittens often and she may be in the midst of moving them and on her way back to these seemingly abandoned kittens. Or she may be out looking for food. It is not unusual for a mom to leave her kittens for several hours looking for food. Stand at least 30 feet or more away from the kittens for a few hours to see if mom will return.
If you move the kittens, she wont be able to find them and continue to care for them.
If there is a mother cat, is she nursing and caring for the kittens? Its best to leave them with mom until theyre weaned.
Kittens begin to nibble at wet food at 4 weeks of age and are fully capable of eating on their own at 6 weeks. . Ideally mother and kittens should be provide with a shelter in a safe environment: a garage, outdoor cat house, or bathroom if the person is able to bring them indoors, until the kittens can eat on their own.
If you see no visible health problems , go ahead and leave food out for the mom and continue to monitor her as she cares for her kittens until they are eating solid food and are 5-6 weeks old.
For help determining the age of the kittens you are looking at, check out kittenlady.org/age.
Fresh Supply Of Water
The hot summer days when the rain is nowhere to be seen can dry out all the water from the ponds, streams, and puddles. When those water sources are not available, kitties can get thirsty and dehydrated. While the summer brings drought, cold winters result in freezing of those water sources.
How can you help thirsty kitties? Put a water bowl outside and change the water regularly to prevent it from getting unsanitary. If possible, put the water bowl under some kind of cover to keep it from the dirt.
During the winter time, use bowls that are deeper and narrower to prevent the water from freezing. You can also use heated water bowls and black bowls that attract the sunbeams and keep the water liquid.
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What To Feed A Stray Cat Without Cat Food
There are millions of homeless cats living in the United States alone, despite the efforts of hundreds of thousands of shelters, rescue centers, and kind-hearted folk who adopt. Chances are you will run into a straycat or two in your neighborhood as the seasons change, and as unneutered felines give birth to more kittens.
Stray cats may come sniffing around your neighborhood, or you may find one begging for food at your door. If so, its unlikely you will have time to run to the store to stock up on cat food.
So now youre faced with a question: What to feed a stray cat without cat food?
In this article:
- How to Handle Stray Cats
- What to Feed Stray Cats
- Donts
Is It Bad To Feed Stray Cats
You may have encountered stray cats in your neighborhood, took pity on them, and gave them food. These stray cats have been socialized to people and had owners before but may have gotten abandoned or wandered off. These lost or displaced cats eventually become feral cats if they are homeless for a long time.
It is not bad to feed stray cats and it is a humane act to feed homeless and hungry cats. However, many vets and cat experts do not encourage feeding them. This is because they need health care and should be checked to ensure that they are not carriers of diseases or even rabies.
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