Wild Ginger Cat Appeared!

OwaynOTT

We just moved to a new house with our three cats.
We kept them inside for the week to acclimatise and then let them out for a few short periods to get to know their surroundings.

Two weeks and all seemed fine until a ginger cat appeared and starting aggressively attacking our cats.
Had seen no sign if the cat previously. Previously being around three months as I was moving stiff up and getting the house ready for a good while before we moved in in.
One of our cats has disappeared around 5 days ago and we can't find her. And this ginger cat is around all the time.
We can't let our cats go outside or leave a window open.
Out other cat had a running argument with ginger last night from ten until around 10 this morning. And now she has disappeared. She came back for food and stayed inside for a few minutes but managed to get out around 11 this morning and no sign since.
Both of those cats are female.
Only the male one left and he is gone all needy and won't ho outside or leave us.

What can we do with this ginger cat?
I've chased him off numerous times and fired stones near him ( not at him).
We don't think he's a cat from any of the neighbours. I think he is feral as he is huge with a massive head. And theirs no growling or sixing up with him, he just attacks.
Also any advice on how to get Aslan back. She left this morning and we don't want her to wander off completely like Blackie.

Nody

Sounds like an intact male; find a local shelter and ask to borrow a cage for TNR.

OwaynOTT

Heading down to vets tomorrow to see where we can get a cage. No shelter.

OwaynOTT

Got a trap and got Ginger the first night.
Woke up to him sitting placidly in the cage. Girlfriend tired to connect with him because she taught he was tame.
She tried the whole finger point and slow blink but he went all spitting dino out of Jurassic park on her.
Got him neutered in the vets but we weren't sure whether he was a she or not.
Partner asked when we went in to collect him.
'Well was he a he and wild?'
'Oh he's wild, can you not smell him' was the response. We could smell him in reception as he had sprayed everywhere and tried to bite them all.
Was told he would try and bite us through the cage but he was very calm when I carried him in the trap. We let him loose and we haven't seen him in a week.
The good news is I found Aslan in the long grass in the field beside two days after she went missing. All bitten up but she got mess and was fine after a few days rest.
Even better news is that a blackie who went missing three weeks ago came back this evening! We barely even recognised her, she was so rough. Very badly infected ear, lost a lot of weight and her fluffyness is gone as she's so matted.
Stinks to high heaven too but she's all for the hugs. Bringing her to get in morning.
Looks like the ginger terror is gone, for now.

OwaynOTT

He's back!

And we think blackie is actually Richard Gere out of Somersby.


Would a cats hair change colour much after three weeks being outside. She's nirmally mostly indoors. Her hair seems a bit brownish and her little white boots seem smaller. And she has a very small barely noticeable splotch of white on her forehead

maggiepip

Black will turn a brownish colour from exposure to the sun, don't know where the white would have come from unless he's gone a bit grey from all the stress! Edit, "she" sorry:)

Pumpkinseeds

OwaynOTT wrote: »

He's back!

And we think blackie is actually Richard Gere out of Somersby.


Would a cats hair change colour much after three weeks being outside. She's nirmally mostly indoors. Her hair seems a bit brownish and her little white boots seem smaller. And she has a very small barely noticeable splotch of white on her forehead

If he wasn't getting much food/good quality food it could fade to brown. The little black female we found that had been abandoned for a while was almost totally brown.

jimf

I was once told that most ginger cats are male can anybody confirm please

mymo

jimf wrote: »

I was once told that most ginger cats are male can anybody confirm please

Nope, a lot, but I know about half the totally gingers I know are female, in fact the vet told my friend her ginger kitten was male "cos gingers are all male" and he had kittens 4 weeks ago!
I had said he was a female, but friend said the vet should know!

DBB

mymo wrote: »

in fact the vet told my friend her ginger kitten was male "cos gingers are all male" and he had kittens 4 weeks ago!

It's a MIRACLE! :pac:

According to my vet, and in the hopes that my memory isn't letting me down here, about 10% of ginger cats are female.

Nody

mymo wrote: »

Nope, a lot, but I know about half the totally gingers I know are female, in fact the vet told my friend her ginger kitten was male "cos gingers are all male" and he had kittens 4 weeks ago!
I had said he was a female, but friend said the vet should know!

He may be confusing it with Calicos (which are all female with a few freak gene accidents for the males).

SillyMangoX

Ginger females are less common than males but in no way are the rare. They wouldn't be as rare as a tortie male for instance! From my understanding it's because the ginger gene is carried on the X chromosome; the males only have one X chromosome so they only need to inherit one gene. Females have 2 X chromosomes so would need ginger from both parents to be a full ginger colour, if they only carry it on one then they are tortie (calico). That's just a very basic understanding of it anyway, but as I've said, they're not rare at all just ever so slightly less common.

jimf

thanks smx for that explanation

OwaynOTT

Well. This situation has taken an unusual turn today.

Came back home after being out and my partner notices our Blackie outside and was wondering how she got out (we've been keeping in as she has been very sick since she came back).
She had t gotten out, she was still asleep in her room and the cat outside was the real Blackie! Came in hugging our other two cats and looked and acted the same as her old self.
The other Blackie that we've been looking after for the last two months including spending s fortune in the vets, looked slightly different and acted slightly different than before.
We put it down to the stress of being lost for 6 weeks or so.
So now we have two Blackies. The real one and the Richard Gere one.

So we brought the original 100% Blackie to the vet for a check up and to tell them the story. She was a bit skinny but otherwise fine so they treated her with working tablet and a flea and tick spot on.
Poor old Blackie got sick all over herself on the way home and lost control of herself and was a bit drunk.
Brought her back and now she's staying over night in the vets with a possible allergic reaction to the treatments.

Lose our cat due to Wild Ginger.
Trap and neuter Ginger.
Blackie turns up 6 weeks later in a right old state.
Spend two months treating her in the vets for infections, pollops and just everything.
Nearly 5 months after going missing another Blackie shows up.
Turns out to be the real Blackie and we been treated and loving a hideous monster imposter.
Bring the real Blackie to vets.
allergic reaction. Vomiting and lost of motor control.
Blackie spending night at vets while the fake Blackie gets fed and pampered.

the_syco

OwaynOTT wrote: »

She had t gotten out, she was still asleep in her room and the cat outside was the real Blackie! Came in hugging our other two cats and looked and acted the same as her old self.
The other Blackie that we've been looking after for the last two months including spending s fortune in the vets, looked slightly different and acted slightly different than before.

Jeebus! Can you get cats chipped? Just so that you know who is who!

OwaynOTT

the_syco wrote: »

Jeebus! Can you get cats chipped? Just so that you know who is who!

I'll be getting DNA passports for them now!

ihatewinter

You couldn't make it up. Hopefully the real Blackie will be fine. It's a brilliant story, I laughed while reading it probably shouldn't. Well at least you now have 4 cats instead of 3

OwaynOTT

ihatewinter wrote: »

You couldn't make it up. Hopefully the real Blackie will be fine. It's a brilliant story, I laughed while reading it probably shouldn't. Well at least you now have 4 cats instead of 3

It's a funny situation, so laugh away. Fingers crossed Blackie 1 is okay but with two dogs and 3 other cats, the inn is becoming full!

mymo

Not had a good laugh like that for ages, hope they're happy together with you.
Reminds me of the friend who found her black cat killed on the road, her and the kids dug a grave, planted flowers, said prayers, and went to bed.
Only to find the cat on the window in the morning waiting for breakfast!
Never found out who owned the poor deceased cat.
But zombie cat got a few chuckles!

OwaynOTT

mymo wrote: »

Not had a good laugh like that for ages, hope they're happy together with you.
Reminds me of the friend who found her black cat killed on the road, her and the kids dug a grave, planted flowers, said prayers, and went to bed.
Only to find the cat on the window in the morning waiting for breakfast!
Never found out who owned the poor deceased cat.
But zombie cat got a few chuckles!

Mmmmm, was her black cat named paddy or patsy?

mymo

No, she was named after a famous (male) singer!

OwaynOTT

mymo wrote: »

No, she was named after a famous (male) singer!

I also know someone who also buried someone's cat, thinking it her own.

Tasden

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Well. This situation has taken an unusual turn today...

When i read your post about her being different looking I was thinking to myself "are you sure it's actually your cat?" but then I read the explanations and it made sense so i felt silly that such a cute story though! New cat is a clever little thing!

Baybay

Only seeing this thread now. Op, what an amazingly kind person you are. I know you're out of pocket & that's rough but how lucky are the kitties in your life, even poor old ginger!
Love Richard Gere!
Black cats are beautiful. Well, ours is anyway! He's nearly six & in full sunshine has visible brown zebra stripes on his shiny black coat.

OwaynOTT

Tasden wrote: »

When i read your post about her being different looking I was thinking to myself "are you sure it's actually your cat?" but then I read the explanations and it made sense so i felt silly that such a cute story though! New cat is a clever little thing!

When I think back on Fakeys appearance now, I realise we were just kidding ourselves and putting the changes down to her time as a stray.

Baybay wrote: »

Only seeing this thread now. Op, what an amazingly kind person you are. I know you're out of pocket & that's rough but how lucky are the kitties in your life, even poor old ginger!
Love Richard Gere!
Black cats are beautiful. Well, ours is anyway! He's nearly six & in full sunshine has visible brown zebra stripes on his shiny black coat.

I'm not too sure we were that nice to ginger. Chasing him off and then trapping and neutering him and releasing him. Haven't seen him in months.


Some task of intergrating these cats now! Aslan and Climbie hate Fakey, Fakey hates everyone, Blackie loves everyone but everyone hates Blackie. :pac:

Baybay

I think you ultimately did Ginger a favour. He'll be getting older & perhaps less well able to fight off younger attackers. Being neutered should make him less aggressive which in conjunction to being less smelly might make him a more attractive proposition to the next kind person he meets.

prettyrestless

My mam also buried a cat, spent all morning fretting about how she'd tell me that my beloved kitty was dead, only to find my cat sitting on the window sill soaking up some sun. We still tease her about it to this day.

I'm glad you decided to keep Fakey (even if everyone hates him!) and that all of your cats came home eventually!