Missing Cat

[Dallas1pd]

Put lots of nice fresh hay inside the dog house, no blankets because they tend to get wet. Hopefully when it gets cool, he will use it.

I have two of my own feral cats, that I adore. I would love to bring them inside, but they will only let me get so close. They've been here for two years. They were spayed/neutered last year after I spent weeks trying to trap them. They climb across my fence, along the porch and onto the family room roof, and look inside the kitchen and dining room windows.

They have 3 dog houses - including one outside the front door. And it took them a while, but they now use two of them. We shovel the front of the house first during snow, and my husband blows paths through the yard for them.

Just give it some time, and be patient. Cats are amazing survivors! And extremely smart.

Here is Fuzzy looking in the dining room and talking to Max.

Dallas

[MommaCat]

Hi Dallas,
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
How often should I change the straw in Reilly's little cedar house? Should I use hay or straw or does it matter? I have also thought of putting straw around the house under the deck so it's not as muddy for him. I have to regain his trust after his disappearance of almost 2 weeks. I adore him Dallas.. and I worry about him being outside especially when the weather turns cold.

I haven't seen him today...but I htink he knows that I love him and I am here for him. I have seen him walk on the deck and look inside at my fur sons. It breaks my heart Dallas.

Did you trap your wandering fur child or did you gain enough trust to pick him up and able to take him to the vet?I Am so afraid that if I trap him and once all taken care of and brought back here.. he'd run off and never come back. He is SO SKITTISH.I had made 5 steps forward and now have gone 3 steps back since he disappeared anr returned.

THank you so much for your helpful input. Andagain does it matter if I use hay or straw?

Blessings,
Deb

[mruffruff]

If you trap him and release him in your yard, he'll still hang around. I've done this with more than 20 cats over the last 2 years and they always come back.

As an example, there is Louise. She is a calico that I trapped in late February. I had her spayed, shots done and released her back into my front yard. There were several others that I did around the same time. None have left yet.

I have a pen on the side of the house that opens into the cat's room. My seven have been inside for 3 years and not one has escaped. But Louise has been brought into the house (twice) and found a way out of the pen. Last night she ate dinner in the cat room.

Guess who was on my front porch for breakfast this morning?

I feed them all at the same time every morning and night and slowly reach out to touch them. I can pet them all while they eat now. But I still can't pick them up. Louise spends her days on the porch and loves a tail scritching.

I worry every time one of them mises a mealtime. It's the price you pay for having outside cats. And why I'm moving as many as I can inside.


They now come running when I shake the Temptations bag.

[MommaCat]

Thank you so much for your helpful hints.
I think Barn Cat had suggested that I use hay in his house instead of blankets... Can I use Straw instead of hay? Does it make any difference?

Thanks,
deb

[Dallas1pd]

Straw or hay is fine. It's really just for insulation - it will keep him warm as the weather turns cold. Change it when it gets dirty - that just depends on the cat.

What I did with all my ferals was trap them, take them to the shelter for spay/neuter. The shelter keeps them for a week, to ensure they are ok. Once home - they get a huge dog crate for another week inside the house. Then I take the crate outside and let them go. They take off for the hills - but are back by next morning for breakfast.