A black and white long haired cat has taken to following me home in the last few weeks. It has no collar, I suspect it has ticks or fleas and may be pregnant. She is a little dirty with grass and mudstains but is friendly and affectionate. She comes running whenever I chirp for her and purrs like mad when she rubs against my legs. I have started to feed her occasionally with little sachets of Wiskas and tubs of Sheba. She has came in to feed twice but doesn't appear to like to be carried or to be locked in. She seems quite old with a bad eye and a hip problem with her right back leg. I am not sure if I shoul call for her to be collected or to try domesticate her, she seems like she probably has had a previous owner who has let her go or has passed away in the area. There is a retirement home near to where I live so it's entirely possible. She does not wish to sleep inside at night but sleeps on my doormat or on the wall outside most of the time now. She has resisted my attempts to put a flea collar on her.

What would you advise me to do? I do suspect with her age and possible health problems she would not be adopted if she was put into an animal shelter. However I also am concerned if suddenly an army of strays or her with a new litter appear on my doormat soon.

Try a d get her to the local vet for microchip checks, then if there is one you can find out if she still has an owner. The vet should be able to advise on steps from there....

Maybe the catprotection league or a similar charity could advise also but I agree with bazaar1 to have the cat checked for a microchip and or registration number tattooed somewhere...

thank you for looking after the little furball, she has clearly taken to your kindness already!

yes check for chips, she might be a lost cat rather than a dumped one.

Depending on how 'old' she is, it's probably unlikely to be a pregnancy. Might be a pot belly from worms and constipation, I had one such stray, and had he not been male he could easily have passed for pregnant, such was his rotund abdomen, but 24 hours after worming and some Katalax laxative on his paws he was back to normal. Also older cats, like people, lose their muscle tone so their belly sags.

If you have no box to transport her in to the vets, and for what may be a one-off if she turns out to be a reclaimed lost pet, you can get a cheaper flat-pack pet carrier from a pet shop. But your theory about abandonment or local bereavement may be proven right.

Cat Protection definitely give these a call. They will be happy if you could offer the cat a home and will take care of all the other issues also. CPL often looking for homes for older cats with no donation required. Call them they will help where RSPCA probably will destroy.

call th RSPCA

don`t do this they will put it down.

She does not appear to like boxes AT ALL. I am trying to think of another way to try transport her to a vet to be checked for a chip but she seems terrified of boxes and cars and runs a mile. She is here with me drinking a tiny bit of milk and she's had some salmon. She was waiting outside my house for me when I came home from Sunday roast. She seems to like me, just perhaps has been treated cruelly before and so is hesitant to trust me too much. I am going to put some flyers up this week to see if she is missing and if I have no luck I will probably call the Cat Protection people for some further advice. My concern is trying to manhandle her to get to to the vet and being scratched to bits in the process.

wrap her in a thick towel before try to handle her, place her in a secure box and cover keeping her in the dark which helps with the stress during transport.

That's my concern. I don't get on well with many cats so I wouldn't like to send her to her death. She spent about 3 hours indoors tonight eating, nuzzling into my neck and climbing over my sofa. She knows to meow to be let out which suggests she has some domestic traits even if she's not been using them regularly. I will do as I planned for the week ahead and am going to keep trying to familiarise her with my home to build trust before I do much more. Her claws are very sharp so I don't want to upset her.

I'd call Cats protection - they may be able to send out someone who is skilled in capturing cats or has a mobile scanner. It does sound like she needs vetinary attention so another possibility is to see if the vet will come to you.

eta - my cat doesn't like being picked up and won't entertain wearing a collar. Its quite possible yours isn't feral but just didn't get such treatment as a kitten. I use a monthly spot-on treatment for fleas/worms instead.

If it turns out that she cannot be put in any kind of carrier, or taken loose in a car as she may be a danger to driving, then the Cat Protection League or an animal sanctuary may be able to loan a cage trap, which is around 3 foot long, a wire cage, with a pressure plate on which food can be placed, the feeding cat activating a trap door behind it.

She may feel more at ease being transported in such an open air cage, but of course some arrangement would be needed at the vet's so that you're not sat there in a waiting room with dogs, the cat then feeling much more vulnerable in a wire cage (they don't usually bother when there in pet carriers, peering out of slots or mesh doors at the alsation a few feet away!).

My local CP agency said they will get back to me in the next 48 hours. I also think one of the other local strays is one listed on their website so I have reported that as well.

She is being quite affectionate tonight and has slept indoors a bit. I think that's a good sign. I think she is beginning to trust that I don't want to hurt her, just feed and pet her. She has began bunting me. I think that's the term. I am hoping she will not need to be taken away if I can train her to be comfortable in my home. I think she is not used to eating regularly or being treated kindly. I have asked the neighbours whose gardens she likes to sit in if she belongs to them, they have said no. She is very friendly and I am hoping I might be able to keep her indoors sometimes even if she likes to run around a lot.

she sounds like a lovely cat. I hope all works out well for her & yourself!

I can't think why she'd be taken away permanently, unless it turns out she does have an owner somewhere.
It does seem she's beginning to trust you - this does take time with older cats, mine hid under the bed for three days when I first got her so you are doing well

Someone from the CPS came today to look her over but couldn't catch Oskar, the other stray I suspect belongs to someone in my area who advertised on their website their cat was missing. So apparently she is actually a he. He had a bloat on from not being fed regularly and should have his belly shrink to normal soon if I keep feeding him at least twice a day. I have got some spot on flea and tick treatment I need to use every month and I am going to get worming tablets in the next couple of days, they had sold out at Tesco today but said they will restock soon.

They said he is likely to be between 6 and 8 years old given his size and coat currently but he doesn't appear to be chipped so they have advised I keep up the flyers I have posted. If I don't hear more in the next few weeks, I might be able to keep him. He does appear to have been spayed though which does suggest a previous owner, just possibly one that didn't get him chipped. Again, I suspect his owner may have been elderly and not kept up with regulations. I have had to chase away some of the extra strays where they are attracted to him marking my doormat but I've managed to keep him out of three fights even though he scratched me trying to stop him once. I am taking advice from my mother's neighbour on how to take better care of him in the future.

Thank you for your advice and guidance, the Cat Protection people have turned out to be the better option as suggested since now he will not be taken away, locked up for 6 months and then possibly destroyed if not adopted. Your help has been greatly appreciated.

Soo glad there are people like you who don't just turn a blind eye or dismiss it as "not my problem" . Sounds like a lovely wee cat and already is showing trust in you. Keep us posted ! x

Agreed. and definitely keep us posted! (with pictures too )

Absolutely don't ever bother calling the RSPCA. They probably wouldn't have put it down, as they would most likely have not bothered to even collect the cat!

I found an injured stray and RSPCA said they only collect cats which their Inspectors find, and refused to allow me to drop it off at my local RSPCA centre. They told me to contact another cat charity!

Good luck with the cat OP, I hope you end up keeping him as he has obviously chosen you!

I feel pretty sorry for the RSPCA on the ground, the welfare officers go into it because they want to help, but they are limited by lack of funds, red tape and stupid policies.

I know the rspca do a lot of good work but they have their own set of rules, just over a year ago my brother got sick and went into hospital for a long time leaving his cat at home, i was feeding him but at that time i had an old sick cat of 19 myself and couldnt put her through bringing his cat home, so eventually my brother decided to let the cat go, i phoned the cpl who were full and said seeing as someone was feeding the cat he wasnt priority, then the rspca who told me they could not rehome cats of people in hospital the hospital and care workers had to, my brother wasnt given a care worker so the hospital said they couldnt help....a few weeks later after trying all the local rescues and shelters there was still no place for the cat, i phoned the rspca again and told them i could no longer feed the cat and they had to take him....not only did they refuse but they sent an officer out to me to give me a verbal warning that if i stopped feeding the cat i would be charged with neglect and animal cruelty.....i had a key so apparently the cat was now my responsibility. It didnt matter to them that i have a disability which effects my mobility and i find it hard to move and use crutches but i was still leaving my home twice a day, catching a bus and then walking for 15 minutes and up 2 flights of stairs to make sure the cat didnt starve.
Luckily i managed to find the cat a home privately but the rspca still did a check on my cats and my home and came back a few months later to check again....they're answer to my problem was to have the cat put to sleep and tell my brother it died of natural causes!!!!!!
my brother never did make it out of hospital but luckily his cat ended up being well looked after. I just wish i could have kept him but at that time it wasnt possible .....