Stray Cat has adopted us - advice please!

julie777

A very friendly cat has decided it wants to live with us.
He is quite lovable but we cannot adopt him and have
done everything we can think of to find his owner.
Until the RSPCA has room for him, how much should we feed him and when?
Also, he has a tick next to his mouth.
Will it drop off in due course or should we remove it, risking infection or irritation to the cat?
It rarely wants to go out and seems to crave human company all the time. We do put him out at night as we don't have a litter tray.
We have never had cats or dogs so any tips appreciated please!

bxboards

Please don't give it to the RSPCA, that'll be a death sentence for it.

Cats tend to choose people they like and trust so you should feel flattered. If you cannot rehome him, find a local Cat's Protection charity.

julie777

I can't bear to think of that! Why do you think the RSPCA will put him down?
The inspector said that if they take him he should be offered as a pet because he seems basically healthy but may need some dental work.
Also he has such a nice nature.

The Cats Protection seemed less helpful than RSPCA to be honest.

fairy_lights

Have you taken him to the vet to get scanned for a microchip?
If not I'd take him to be checked over, the vet should be able to give you advice on the tick and if he has any other health problems you need to know about.

Carrot007

julie777 wrote: »

I can't bear to think of that! Why do you think the RSPCA will put him down?
The inspector said that if they take him he should be offered as a pet because he seems basically healthy but may need some dental work.
Also he has such a nice nature.

The Cats Protection seemed less helpful than RSPCA to be honest.

So someone is going to pay the RSPCA to adopt a cat (enforced donation, whatever), and then spend £500 odd on dental work rather than get one free?

Artytarty

The tick will be causing him discomfort being near his mouth.
I won't fall off, it's having a feast on poor moggie!
Easily removed by vet or nurse with a special tool.
Could you not give him the use of a little tray at least while he's with you?

Feed him wet and dry food, though depending on how bad the teeth are he might not manage that.
A desert spoonful about three times a day seems roughly right.
It depends on age and activity and size.
Hard for me to say as mine are big gorbs!

Rubik

Have you tried looking on Animal Search Uk or the National Pet Register? Local Facebook groups are also a great way to search for missing pets or let others know you've found a stray (who may be a missing pet).

Take him/her to the vet to get scanned for a microchip and get the tick treated at the same time. Search for local rescue centres rather than using the RSPCA who have a nasty habit of destroying healthy animals.

Why can't you have the cat live you? You have the privilege of being chosen by the cat so he obviously thinks you are rather special and loving

rach_k

Try local rescues. The ones near me are on Facebook so if you can't find one, ask on a local community page and I'm sure somebody will direct you. They may not be official charities but they will do more to rehome him than the RSPCA will.

I give my cat a pouch of wet food per day, then she always has biscuits down. I think most cats will regulate their own food intake pretty well so just top up the biscuits as needed, or if you read the back of the packet it will give you a feeding guide.

Sorry to ask but is there a reason you can't adopt him? Sometimes the reasons people think are big enough can be easily overcome, you just have to know how.

charlie3090

Rspca are crafty beggars at times,

I took a 10-12 year old cat from them, they waived the fee because of the age (I gave them £50 donation anyway).

poor old thing has a long term eye problem but they assured me he was fully vet checked,

after a couple of weeks I knew he needed dental work because of his smelly breath, so £530 later he had 8 teeth removed,

there is no way they didnt know,his teeth were rotten.

still he has a lovely life now,

Charlie.

kazwookie

1. Take the stray to the vet, to see if it has a chip, and ask them to remove the tick.

2. Take a photo of cat and put on FB etc pets lost and found in your area, in case someone is looking for it.

3. Do not feed it

4. Leave it outside do not let it in your house

5. Put an old container with water outside , so it has some thing to drink

julie777

Thanks everyone for the advice. To answer some questions:-
Yes we did most of the things suggested. We didn't feed it straight away but after 4 days of mewing we had to succumb.
Keeping a cat out in the summer when you want windows open is easier said than done! We were indeed flattered that he wanted to come in.

Good news is that the RSPCA have done a stirling job of finding the owner who had not only moved address but changed their phone numbers too and did not update the microchip records. They only live a couple of miles away but the cat left home on New Years Eve! It's amazing he is in such good condition still.


Owners and cat were very happy to see each other again so
it is a happy ending.