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How do you tell if a cat is 'homeless'
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kizzie
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by icelady:
“I know a cat can fend for itself but for one that may have been part of a home a perhas wandered too far or been left behind or whatever reason means it may not have those natural instincts, the fact it is so placid around 2 (big breeds) of dogs tells me it has at some point been with a family. Plus I dont like the thought of an animal out in the cold over winter if it needn't be.

I am not convinced it is a stray as like I said it was no where to be seen on saturday until this morning but it once again has been outside my house since this morning and is still there now. It was outside a 4.30am the other morning when my husband went to work.

I guess distressed is a strong word, maybe I am just worried and feel if it has an owner and they have seen my note on his collar they could quickly put my mind at rest and I can be happy he will be looked after.”

Is it getting so thin you can see its ribs, is it tatty, does it shelter from the wind/rain in a spot in your garden?



I would just put another note on make sure to your satisfaction that it cant come off unless someone takes it off. Let them know that if you dont hear from them, you will assume its a stray and keep it.
icelady
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“Is it getting so thin you can see its ribs, is it tatty, does it shelter from the wind/rain in a spot in your garden?



I would just put another note on make sure to your satisfaction that it cant come off unless someone takes it off. Let them know that if you dont hear from them, you will assume its a stray and keep it.”


It is quite thin, but I don't it is worryingly thin and it sits either in front of the front door or the patio doors like its waiting to be let in.

Thanks for the advice I have just been out and put another tag on him.
Katana1000
07-11-2011
Sorry if I missed it, but did you take the puss to the vets to see if he's chipped? they will check for free.

Its not always a case of a scenario like this that the cat is looking for a second or third home, often it just needs a new home for many reasons and knows winter is coming up.

Not sure if you checked with the Cats Protection either .. sorry.

I'd home him/her in a heartbeat.
icelady
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by Katana1000:
“Sorry if I missed it, but did you take the puss to the vets to see if he's chipped? they will check for free.

Its not always a case of a scenario like this that the cat is looking for a second or third home, often it just needs a new home for many reasons and knows winter is coming up.

Not sure if you checked with the Cats Protection either .. sorry.

I'd home him/her in a heartbeat.”

HI

Yes I have had him checked by the vets and he isn't chipped.
Katana1000
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by icelady:
“HI

Yes I have had him checked by the vets and he isn't chipped.”

Good on ya.

I'd take him in if you want to, a responsible owner would have had him chipped.

Your call though, if you cant please alert the Cats Protection.
icelady
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by Katana1000:
“Good on ya.

I'd take him in if you want to, a responsible owner would have had him chipped.

Your call though, if you cant please alert the Cats Protection.”


My husband isn't keen on taking him in but he wouldn't turn it away either I will wait and see what happens with the other tag I have put on.
kizzie
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by Katana1000:
“Good on ya.

I'd take him in if you want to, a responsible owner would have had him chipped.

Your call though, if you cant please alert the Cats Protection.”

Whoooh you cant just take someone's cat! Its not law to have them chipped ( it should be) and until it is then people do not have to have it done.


All thats going on is a cat likes to sit and stay outside OPs home , they probably fuss it and play with it.( and have fed it) so it comes back for more.
icelady
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“Whoooh you cant just take someone's cat! Its not law to have them chipped ( it should be) and until it is then people do not have to have it done.


All thats going on is a cat likes to sit and stay outside OPs home , they probably fuss it and play with it.( and have fed it) so it comes back for more.”

If you read th OP correctly you would have had the full story correct.


We did not feed it or fuss it as you call it for 6 days and then I asked on here what I should do and whether people thought I should feed it.

Please read properly before making generalisations.
kizzie
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by icelady:
“If you read th OP correctly you would have had the full story correct.


We did not feed it or fuss it as you call it for 6 days and then I asked on here what I should do and whether people thought I should feed it.

Please read properly before making generalisations.”

but I bet you didn't ignore it, I bet you kept looking to see if it were still outside, bet you spoke in a kind voice.

I know this because its something all us cat lovers do.

Something as simple as that can make a cat adopt you.
Katana1000
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“Whoooh you cant just take someone's cat! Its not law to have them chipped ( it should be) and until it is then people do not have to have it done.


All thats going on is a cat likes to sit and stay outside OPs home , they probably fuss it and play with it.( and have fed it) so it comes back for more.”

Calm down

If its at Iceladys house all the time and there are no missing cat notices in the area, then it is probably lost, homeless for many reasons or anything really, but the poor mite is obviously looking for a home ... if it did sit in a warm van it might have come from one end of the country to the other (it wouldn't be the first time) and with no chip, how long do you wait to see if an owner can be established (one that never had him chipped at that) I'm sorry but my gut instinct at this stage would be to take him in, that's Ice Ladys (and her husbands) call though.

Failing that hand the puss over to the Cats Protection, any genuinely concerned owner would be contact them anyway I'd have thought.

I know you mean well, but so do I
kizzie
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by Katana1000:
“Calm down

If its at Iceladys house all the time and there are no missing cat notices in the area, then it is probably lost, homeless for many reasons or anything really, but the poor mite is obviously looking for a home ... if it did sit in a warm van it might have come from one end of the country to the other (it wouldn't be the first time) and with no chip, how long do you wait to see if an owner can be established (one that never had him chipped at that) I'm sorry but my gut instinct at this stage would be to take him in, that's Ice Ladys (and her husbands) call though.

Failing that hand the puss over to the Cats Protection, any genuinely concerned owner would be contact them anyway I'd have thought.

I know you mean well, but so do I ”

Or as people have said to me on here, there could be changes in its own home a new baby or kitten and its not lost or a stray just making its feelings known.
icelady
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“but I bet you didn't ignore it, I bet you kept looking to see if it were still outside, bet you spoke in a kind voice.

I know this because its something all us cat lovers do.

Something as simple as that can make a cat adopt you.”

I am not a cat lover, I have never owned a cat in my life, although obviously I would never hurt any animal. I never touched or talked to it...it literally jumped from the hedge and started to follow us. Obviously the children said ahh look at that cat and we looked but that was all and it did this every morning and every evening on our way to and from school for 5 days on the 6 th day it followed us to our door as explained in my OP, I fed it on the 7th day after asking on here on the 8 th day my son who is 3 let it into the house and I fed it again (outside). We didnt see it then for one and a half days and now it is back again.

I don't need to go looking for it seeing as it peers into my living room through the patio doors.

I find you a little patronising to be honest.
Katana1000
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“Or as people have said to me on here, there could be changes in its own home a new baby or kitten and its not lost or a stray just making its feelings known.”

Whatever, this is all hypothetical though and we should not fixate on one possible scenario.

I just hope the poor cat finds a home (original or not) as its obviously going hungry, not due to neglect from Icelady, just that she mentions it wolfs down food offered.

I know what I would do, you know what you would do, lets leave it at that.
kizzie
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by icelady:
“I am not a cat lover, I have never owned a cat in my life, although obviously I would never hurt any animal. I never touched or talked to it...it literally jumped from the hedge and started to follow us. Obviously the children said ahh look at that cat and we looked but that was all and it did this every morning and every evening on our way to and from school for 5 days on the 6 th day it followed us to our door as explained in my OP, I fed it on the 7th day after asking on here on the 8 th day my son who is 3 let it into the house and I fed it again (outside). We didnt see it then for one and a half days and now it is back again.

I don't need to go looking for it seeing as it peers into my living room through the patio doors.

I find you a little patronising to be honest.”

Your very first post

"I would be happy to rehome it" Kind of tells me a lot.

I dont care what you find me but I know next week there will be another thread on here saying " Someone is feeding my cat" and then you will get all the same people saying different views this time.
kizzie
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by Katana1000:
“Whatever, this is all hypothetical though and we should not fixate on one possible scenario.

I just hope the poor cat finds a home (original or not) as its obviously going hungry, not due to neglect from Icelady, just that she mentions it wolfs down food offered.

I know what I would do, you know what you would do, lets leave it at that.”

You dont know its hungry at all.

I know cats very well they are sneaky little buggers and can get food out of cat haters let alone lovers.
icelady
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“Your very first post

"I would be happy to rehome it" Kind of tells me a lot.

I dont care what you find me but I know next week there will be another thread on here saying " Someone is feeding my cat" and then you will get all the same people saying different views this time.”

And what does it tell you...that I want to steal some one's cat!!!

It is what it is...I would be happy to rehome a lost animal if no owner turned up and lets face it, it isn't like I haven't put any effort in to trying to chase his owners.

And what have what future threads got to do with what I am talking about now, they have no relevance to my issue what so ever..it sounds to me like you have an axe to grind with people on here and I am an easy target to vent it through. The fact that you have mentioned 'someone is feeding my cat' more than once tells me that much.

If you do not care how you come across then please do not reply to my posts again as your attitude stinks.
icelady
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“You dont know its hungry at all.

I know cats very well they are sneaky little buggers and can get food out of cat haters let along lovers. ”

And of course your 'knowledge' of cats is more important than that of anyone else's.
Katana1000
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by kizzie:
“You dont know its hungry at all.

I know cats very well they are sneaky little buggers and can get food out of cat haters let along lovers. ”

Well you obviously know best, but I think its about point scoring with you now, you can have the last word as I'll bow out of the thread now.
kizzie
07-11-2011
Originally Posted by icelady:
“And of course your 'knowledge' of cats is more important than that of anyone else's.”


I didn't say that did I? but someone who has had cats since she was born and up to age 50 would know a bit more than someone who hasnt, no?

Im not trying to offend you, im just trying to say that its pointless asking for advice on this in here, as if you came onto here ranting because someone was feeding your cat the same people who are now advising you to feed this one would be ranting at how nasty this other person was to feed your cat.



Ive said what I would do, and this time if it comes back still with the label ( note) on then keep it, if it comes back without the label (note) then discourage it from staying outside your home.
cats_five
08-11-2011
Originally Posted by icelady:
“The bit in bold is exactly what I am trying not to do to be honest but I can't leave an animal to fend for itself, no matter how capable of doing so it is.

I am actually finding it all a bit distressing now to be honest, if it is owned the owners should take more care of it and be resposible enough to renew its name collar and courteous enough to let a concerned person know.”

What do you suggest to those of us (like me) who have a cat that refuses to wear a collar?
cats_five
08-11-2011
Originally Posted by icelady:
“And of course your 'knowledge' of cats is more important than that of anyone else's.”

You also said:
Quote:
“Sorry if this seems a silly question but I have never owned a cat (only dogs) but I am in a bit of a quandry with regards to a cat we seem to have 'inherited' this week.”

Those of us how have been owned by cats know that outdoor cats are great opertunists. I still say - don't feed it, don't let it in your house, but keep an eye on it. Let the local RSPCA and CP know, and any other local rescues - for example the one the people who were feeding Rufus took him to when he was ill (not the vet you note) is a local one-off. If you can take a reasonable photo that might help. The people who were feeding him had no idea where he had come from because he was going across fences and back gardens.

Also, a cat might wolf food down because it has had a history in the past of being left hungry. I was fostering a cat with kittens and she couldn't walk past food without eating, yet despite having delivered 5 good-size kittens and have plenty of milk she was tubby. I have a cat of my own who has never been hungry who is simply a gannet and makes himself sick from time to time. The point is it's unsafe to infer the cat is starving because it eats quickly.
icelady
08-11-2011
Originally Posted by cats_five:
“What do you suggest to those of us (like me) who have a cat that refuses to wear a collar?”

I would presume your cat will be micro chipped, so someone like me didnt have a wasted trip to the vets to add to it.

It seems that on here I cant do right from wrong with some pwople.
cats_five
08-11-2011
All my cars are microchipped and always have been, but many people don't think to take a cat to the vet or a rescue to get it scanned. The people who were busy feeding him were amazed he was chipped as he's a moggie not a pedigree.
icelady
08-11-2011
Originally Posted by cats_five:
“All my cars are microchipped and always have been, but many people don't think to take a cat to the vet or a rescue to get it scanned. The people who were busy feeding him were amazed he was chipped as he's a moggie not a pedigree.”

Do you lose your cars often then...sorry I couldn't resist.

The cat was still outside the house this morning and I have decided to phone cat protection if it is still there tomorrow.

It goes to show though, that when people show a caring side to animals in such a situation that there will always be people unhappy about it, maybe that is why there are so many strays because some cat owners consider it wrong for people to be concerned about their cats and it then stops genuine caring people from trying to help. If all people were responsible enough to pay a few pounds to get their cat/dog chipped then it would save a lot of trouble.
Katana1000
08-11-2011
Well said Icelady.

C'mon Guys, here we have someone who is not a cat owner, who has never had a cat and who is concerned for a cats well being, she's to be commended not criticised over ifs buts and maybes.

Please let us know how this pans out Icelady.
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