Feeding a stray cat

Test For Echo

I’ve left food out over the cold spell for a stray black cat that lives in the area. I first noticed it a couple of years ago so it’s well fit to survive on it’s own, however, yesterday & today I’ve noticed it appears within minutes of me leaving food out.

Hopefully the poor wee thing has somewhere warm(ish) to sleep but I thought I’d help out by making food a bit easier to come by. Is there a danger of it becoming dependent on me leaving food out for it?

Graces7

Why is that a danger?

It may have been surviving but all cats need some human help at some stage.

We fed at one house a number of ferals/strays as many here do. It is a privilege.

Now there is one feral around who only once has come in for food, I wish he would come more.

This weather is appalling for them.

Test For Echo wrote: »

I’ve left food out over the cold spell for a stray black cat that lives in the area. I first noticed it a couple of years ago so it’s well fit to survive on it’s own, however, yesterday & today I’ve noticed it appears within minutes of me leaving food out.

Hopefully the poor wee thing has somewhere warm(ish) to sleep but I thought I’d help out by making food a bit easier to come by. Is there a danger of it becoming dependent on me leaving food out for it?

me_right_one

Feed 'em with .22's

Dotsie~tmp

A wild cat will stay wild and usually have a place to curl up. There's no harm feeding it. Especially in the harsh weather.

star-pants

me_right_one you may take a nice looooooooong break

Test For Echo

me_right_one wrote: »

Feed 'em with .22's

*Yawn*

Happy enough to keep feeding it but for some reason I just wasn't sure if feeding strays was the right thing to do.

s10

well as long as its strays.
i presume ppl say dont feed em because of rats get hungry too and might take lodging under your building.

Graces7

In this weather, feed is my policy. The one ??feral?? I have seen up here has only taken food once, three nights ago when the temperature was so low.

He may well "belong" somewhere else but was clearly desperate and took the melon shell full of oat and lard "cake" I had put out for the birds.

Test For Echo wrote: »

*Yawn*

Happy enough to keep feeding it but for some reason I just wasn't sure if feeding strays was the right thing to do.

Amalgam

I know this is an emotive issue with many, but if you feed a ferile cat, you give it the chance to survive against the way of nature and.. breed.

The area where I lived in Dublin, the feeding of ferile cats by well meaning folk would encourage a healthy breeding cycle, even in the depths of winter. That reproduction presents a whole set of problems, for the cats.. and the humans living there too.

I was (mistakenly) under the impression that cat breeding was 'seasonal'.

irish_goat

Our cat used to be a stray, it lived with a crazy cat guy neighbour who had about 10 cats in his house(at least) but when he moved out he just released them from his house. Our one hung around our garden so we started leaving food at the back door and then started leaving food in the back porch. Eventually it got less scared of us and dandered into the kitchen so we started feeding it there and managed to pet it a few times. Wasn't long before it took up permanent residence.
Point is that if the cat you're dealing with has been in a home before then it might see you as it's new owner if you start feeding it and maybe grow to rely on you permanently.

Adventure Pout

it is good that you feed that poor cat,particularly with the horrible weather outside..
I am feeding 2-3 strays at the moment. Initially it was only 2 (mother and daughter) as I trapped them before the cold weather and have them neutered, otherwise I know that from March there will be lots of kitties around.. So make sure that the strays you are feeding are or can be trapped and neutered otherwise you can end up with lots of breeding and inbreeding next spring..
I am feeding the 3rd cat who just join the 2 others, cause I find it unfair to leave her without food,and am planning to catch her at some stage in January to have her neutered as well.. She is a calico cat, so it is 110% she is a female..
But fair play to you for having a good heart and not letting those poor animals starve to death with the cold winter

The Sweeper

Feeding a feral cat is a big-hearted thing to do, but just be aware of potential consequences - where do you draw the line? If it wanders up one day dragging one leg, are you going to take it to the vet, or shut the door and stop leaving the food out to boot?

As others have said, feeding a feral cat can lead to you feeding 10 feral cats. However, that's not to say you should simply ignore it and make it someone else's problem. You could try giving it a home yourself, or finding someone else who will; you could try laying out some cash by having it neutered so it won't breed, and then just continuing to feed it (and worm it every three months) - this has the advantage that it will continue to occupy the territory around your house, preventing other cats from claiming that territory if you remove the feral cat. (This is the basis of trap, neuter, release programmes.)

Anyway - the notion of 'dependency', that it will stop hunting or doing whatever else it does and rely on you for food - is probably the least of your - and its - worries.

Graces7

Good for you..

The one here is erratic; I am sure he belongs to the farm where the dog was barking; only house for a long way.

And I saw tracks in the snow.

One of our dogs - and they alert when the cat comes near - "treed" it one dark night.

So there is usually food left near the door now.

It does not come every night.

Adventure Pout wrote: »

it is good that you feed that poor cat,particularly with the horrible weather outside..
I am feeding 2-3 strays at the moment. Initially it was only 2 (mother and daughter) as I trapped them before the cold weather and have them neutered, otherwise I know that from March there will be lots of kitties around.. So make sure that the strays you are feeding are or can be trapped and neutered otherwise you can end up with lots of breeding and inbreeding next spring..
I am feeding the 3rd cat who just join the 2 others, cause I find it unfair to leave her without food,and am planning to catch her at some stage in January to have her neutered as well.. She is a calico cat, so it is 110% she is a female..
But fair play to you for having a good heart and not letting those poor animals starve to death with the cold winter