Stray cat - to take to a shelter or not?

rainglow

A stray cat has recently started to come around my apartment, and we (boyfriend and I) started to feed it. We've been feeding her daily almost two weeks now. I don't think she belongs to anyone as she's not particularly friendly - we can't get close enough to her to touch her, but she seems to like being around our patio. Even after eating, or when not scavenging for food, she's still outside snoozing. If we leave the patio door open, she'll venture about six inches inside, sit down, and then leave again as soon as we acknowledge her.

My problems/ questions are:

(a) Am I being stupid to get attached to this cat when I dont' have the resources to fully adopt her; take her to the vet etc? I can't imagine the heartbreak if she got sick and I didn't have the money to take care of her

(b) If I am being stupid, what should I do? Stop feeding her? Take her to a shelter?

(c) If I'm not being stupid, should I treat her as a wildcat and not let her in, or let her keep venturing into the apartment? I can't tell if she's coming in because she knows that's where food is, or because she likes being around humans!

(d) She squeaks at me a lot. Not just before I put food down, but in general if I talk to her. Does this mean she's in pain, or just chatty?

Thanks for any help - I have a nagging feeling that I shouldn't be feeding a stray, but I love cats so much that I couldn't not!

Tabitharose

sent you a pm!

TommyT

We "adopted" a cat in similar circumstances about a year ago, but ours wasnt in the best of health, she had leukaemia. Against all the odds she battled on and over the last 6 months she has been in the best of health. She goes on the odd walkabout, in fact she hasnt been seen since Sunday, but she is the best pet we have ever had. I never really liked cats up until this little one showed up, but if you do take her in you wont regret it.

kitcatz

Hi rainglow, maybe you should check just to make sure she isn't lost. Our cat has been missing the past 5 weeks. He'd be very affectionate with us, but wary of strangers, so although she might seem shy with you, she might still have owners. You could look up 'lost and found' on dspca.ie ispca.ie and irishanimals.com just to be sure, or post a found ad on them.

If not, it seems like she's happy with you. I think cats are unlike dogs, in the way that you have to earn their trust, and in time, she'll let you pet her and become a lot more friendly and affectionate.

Just some advice though, about neutering... a stray cat had kittens in our garden over a year ago. I left out food for her and ended up having to find homes for the kittens, I kept two myself, she went off and 4 months later she came back to our garden with another litter of 4 kittens, and I ended up finding homes for them. So, I know it's early days but at some stage, when you gain her trust you'd probably want to bring her to the vet to see if she has been spayed (or neutered if it's a boy).
It's a good sign that she's meowing at you! she's communicating with you! I think if you don't mind her being in your apartment, you should let her in, leave the door open to let her get used to the new surroundings in her own time.
Good luck

lostinnappies

sounds like she maybe a ferral cat. Ferral cats dont do well when it comes to rehoming. So you have three choices

keep feeding her and she will keep coming back
stop feeding her and after a while of heartbreaking crys she will move on
or take her to a shelter where they could try rehabilitating her to become a pet.

The discissions are yours and i wish you all the best with it.

PS, cats who make a lot of noise generally arent sick (unless they are trying to wee at the time). Survival of the fitest, if other animals know they are ill they become a target so they generally hide when they are ill.

MsFifers

My cats squeek at me too when they want attention, I'm beginning to learn when the squeeks mean:
1. Turn on the tap so I can play with the water.
2. Clean the litter tray I just made a stinker.
3. There is a moth flying around the lamp, let me at him!
4. Give me a cuddle.
5. I'm STARVING to death again, want more food. Yes I know you just fed me. I want MORE.

You have a big decision to make now because if you are regularly feeding the cat it will become dependent on you and if you aren't there to feed it some day, then it'll be a bit unfair.

The other thing is, if she isn't spayed, then it is GUARENTEED she will have a litter of kittens shortly. There are already too many unwanted cats in the world. So , if you aren't in a position to cover the neutering costs, it wouldn't be a good idea for you to keep her.

You should contact your local cat rescue groups and see if any of them can offer any assistance.

If you want to keep her - and it seems she is worming her way into your heart - maybe you could start a little savings fund for vets visits etc. You can get pet insurance (about 10 a month for a cat) but you still have to pay the first 60 I think yourself, and it doesn't cover vaccinators or neutering.

A friend of mine adopted a feral cat, who wouldn't let anyone near him at all at first, and after about 2 months it moved inside and now sleeps on their bed with him and his wife! They are both completely in love with their little furry friend, so if you do decide you can afford to keep it, I have no doubt you won't regret it.

rainglow

Thanks for all the replies I guess I have some tough decisions to make. I just can't be a fulltime pet owner at this point- I'm only renting this place, so am unlikely to be here for years and years. I'd love to take her in though; pet ownership is the only reason I'd ever buy a house!

I guess I might have to stop feeding her to stop her becoming reliant on me - but I'm so attached to her already!

Oh, I looked into the cost of spaying/ neutering (still not close enough to suss out the gender), so I might attempt a covert sedate-spay-release manoeveure even if I'm not going to adopt her.

cotton

Feral cats do take well to rehoming. I've lost count of feral or colony cats that I've rehomed. (I only rehome to indoor only homes) that are stretched out on a bed or couch with bellies demanding to be rubbed. It does take time & a little bit of effort but it can be done.

If you want to keep her, go for it. I got my first cat whilst renting over 14 years ago. She's still with me today, giving all the others grief!

hadook

You'll never see a true feral, all the rest are just misinformed pet cats that haven't discovered duvets, couches, human slaves and food on demand.

I brought my cat from home with me when I moved out and started renting and he never seemed to mind moving house every so often (I was in college so renting student houses mostly).

lostinnappies

hadook wrote: »

You'll never see a true feral, all the rest are just misinformed pet cats that haven't discovered duvets, couches, human slaves and food on demand.
).

lol thats funny. But i guess i was on about feral cats who are put into shelters only, they dont seem to imo do as well as feral cats who are taken into a home to be rehabillitated.