Feral Cat or a Stray?

[LittleSpiffy]

My dog and I discovered a cat this evening.  Pretty laid back considering my dog acted like a total fool when she saw the cat.  I sat down and got my dog to kinda-sorta behave.  After a few moments, the cat started to approach us...until my dog started acting like a nut again (she REALLY wanted to get up close to the cat, lol).

I left some food and water out for it.

In my experience, feral cats don't approach humans (or dogs).  Could this cat be a stray?  Someone's pet? 

What do you guys think?

[kaoskat]

Probably a stray or owned. Ferals will approach people if someone has taken the time to tame them. I've owned several ferals myself. They are never quite the same as other cats, but they aren't "untameable" by any stretch, they just take more work. However they tend to stay a bit cautious, so the fact that he's approaching you and your dog with such little hesitation, he's likely stray or owned. If he was feral, he'd likely take quite a bit of coaxing and bribes unless he knows you already.

[ember86]

Probably a stray or owned. Ferals will approach people if someone has taken the time to tame them. I've owned several ferals myself. They are never quite the same as other cats, but they aren't "untameable" by any stretch, they just take more work. However they tend to stay a bit cautious, so the fact that he's approaching you and your dog with such little hesitation, he's likely stray or owned. If he was feral, he'd likely take quite a bit of coaxing and bribes unless he knows you already.

I agree, I have two feral cats (indoor) we trapped them. And while they're not found of me one just loves my mom when it's time to feed the cats! So the cat that you found seems more like an outdoor cat or a friendly stray.

[Aflame]

sounds like a stray / owned cat if you havent seen it before maybe its lost most of mine have been other peoples  we used to take them back to the house they lived in but it was obvious that they just got chucked out again as they would turn back up that night to be fed so we just kept them my nainy always fed the stray cats aswell as our own  so when we went round asda we would have about 20 cans of cat food and 3 boxes of buisquits !!! xaflamex

[WhispersOfTheWind]

there's a possibility the cat could have recently been abandoned.  i rescued a stray who i saw around for days that never ran away when i approached her.  i just walked up to her and grabbed her and took her home.  she was infested with ticks so she had definitely been outside for a while.

[melodys_angel]

It may be an owned cat that's just an outdoor kitty?

[Eviecorn]

It may be an owned cat that's just an outdoor kitty?

That's what I was thinking too.

[High Flutter]

No one has asked if the cat had a collar.
Do pet cats require collars where you live?

In some parts the collars must have bells so it's harder for cats to stalk and kill wildlife.

Easier to tell abandoned kitties from outdoor pet cats - why keep your collar on the cat if you are letting it go?  Which is a dumb thing to do.  Find the cat a real home or at least a shelter that isn't full.

In years gone by I've lost pet chooks, guinea pigs and the neighbor lost a rabbit to ex-pet cats.
Some ones father down the road actually caught one of the monster cats (which had the nickname Horse).  He trapped it & killed it quick with a hammer.  I found out years later.

[Vintergatan]

No one has asked if the cat had a collar.

To be fair, if the kitty had a collar, we wouldn't have this thread
But keep in mind that even if she had a collar, it might have fallen off.
I guess a good way to tell if she belongs to someone is to try and pet her and see the state of her. If she is well fed and with nice fur, she is either an outdoor kitty or a recently abandoned one

[bulleta]

If the cat approached you, I would say the cat doesn't have an ingrained fear of humans. They could be an outdoors cat, or lost or dumped... it's hard to tell. But if you're familiar with the area, and haven't seen it before, then the cat may be new.

If you can get close enough to the cat (probably without your dog ) snap a picture and check shelters, local vets or animal control to see if the owner has reported them missing. I know my local shelter posts lost cats & dogs for the area all the time on Facebook. You can also run ads in the paper, the paper I work at does this for free - but some papers may charge. Ask your neighbors too, cats don't typically stray too far from their home if they just got out. They might also know if the cat's been around for awhile, or if someone else takes care of it, etc.

If you get on good enough terms with the kitty, try and feel the back of the neck for a microchip. It'll be like a grain of rice. If the owner had their cat microchipped, have a vet or an animal shelter scan the cat to see if the owner registered their chip. That'll give you contact information. 

Actually, if a cat looks really rough, matted etc... that could still be a recently dumped/lost cat. Indoor cats don't know how to handle the elements like a cat that's lived it's life outside - they're scared and there's all this nasty weather and dirt they don't know how to deal with.  So they can look pretty rough, although this is easier to tell on long haired cats. This is what a shelter volunteer told me once. I know a cat I rescued that was dumped was covered in mats, and dirt. After I took him in - he was gorgeous from then on. Course he had a friendly human groomer after that.

Feeding a cat is a good way to earn trust - just know that once they know where food is, they will continue to show up for it. And other critters can turn up too for a free meal. I've had coons and opossums show up on my deck.  That depends on where you live though. heh. And if the cat is intact... well that's a whole 'nother bag of problems. Kittens, yowling, cat fights, spraying... etc... Our shelter always says being a feeder is okay, but not to be a breeder.

If you are convinced its a lost/abandoned cat, and cant find the owner and don't want to keep it for yourself or cant find anyone, you can try and contact a shelter for help. Do try to find a no-kill shelter, that'll give the cat the best odds (most people want to adopt kittens/puppies and overlook older pets). I want to say 70% of cats brought in to shelters are euthanized. The shelter may not be able to take them, though. Many just don't have space.

I hope it all works out for you and the cat. These are just suggestions if you keep seeing the cat around and want to help. I didn't mean to get so wordy. Sorry! 

[High Flutter]

No one has asked if the cat had a collar.

To be fair, if the kitty had a collar, we wouldn't have this thread

Oh. Yes.  Um, somehow I missed the obvious - thankyou for pointing it out.

What everyone else has said so far about the kitty's responsiveness to humans & it's general state of well being is good advice.

It's hard to decide whether to take in an animal (to the vet, a shelter or otherwise) because it *might* be abandoned.  Still, if I am driving and see an animal that could be someone's pet crossing the road, I will always stop & get out, because nothing deserves to get hit by a car.  Which will happen if it keeps *looking*.

[Vintergatan]

It's hard to decide whether to take in an animal (to the vet, a shelter or otherwise) because it *might* be abandoned. 

Yes, this is always such a hard dilemma This summer my brother in law found a cat in the lava fields, and he took her in, but he was stressed that maybe she had kittens and that he was taking her away from them (since spring is pretty much the only time strays here can have kittens). But we figured in the end that she didn't and we were relieved and now she has a forever home ^^
Then again, pretty much all cats here are outdoor cats (mine aren't and people are treating me like I'm abusing them or something /facepalm) but they almost never have collars, and many are not even chipped (which is required by law), so it's really hard to tell if a cat belongs to someone or not.

[Spike]

I own a feral kitten. Found him in a junk yard 2 months ago. He's now 4 and a half months old (I think because his baby teeth are falling out). He ran away when I was catching him, now he's the sweetest little baby. He headbutts me, he acts so affectionate.. He's a little.. Say.. Different from other cats.. But he's a very pleasant boy. And another amazing thing is he gets along so well with the dogs! And he is so good in water.. Sometimes.. So the cat you found definitely sounds like a stray/owned cat.