Young possibly wild cat - should we feed it?

I echo some of the comments on here.

Last year I trapped a stray cat and took him to the vets. I was prepared to pay for his neutering myself, but the vets didn't want to know as "he might belong to somebody". Even though I had assured them he was a stray.

The RSPCA also didn't want to know unless the cat was in some sort of danger.

Cat Protection were prepared to do something about it until a neighbour said although the cat was a stray they were feeding him and didn't want him to be neutered!

Sorry, this post was about feeding a cat wasn't it? Feed him by all means if you are concerned about him and wouldn't mind him visiting for food for as long as it takes, but don't expect any of the charities/vets to take much notice.

He didn't even know how to purr

Our cat was totally feral and wild- it took me 1 month of very patient feeding, for him not to run away at the slightest movement. You should see him now

My last cat was feral - he wandered into our garden 12 years ago, in a bad state. I used to leave food at the bottom of the garden. He'd eat it quickly then run away (didn't stop to clean himself, his fur was terrible). When I noticed he had a weeping wound, I rang RSPCA. They didn't want to know. I managed to trap the cat in a carrier (after a few weeks) and took him to a vet. I had him treated, chipped and neutered, and I kept him - I already had 2 female cats. I had to sleep downstairs with him for 4 nights, he was terrified of every noise (tv, 'phone, washing machine, etc). He became a gentle, affectionate cat, the nicest I'd ever known, in 40+ years of owning cats. He was with us for almost 12 years, then was hit by a car last October, aged about 19. I miss my Mr Cooper.

It needs to be caught by the RSPCA, neutered and vaccinated. A cat will wolf a large meal and then go out hunting and bring back a hot supper to enjoy.

I would feed it, you do not want it to eye a duck for Sunday lunch, do you?

If it’s truly feral it will probably remain so. My ex took on several feral cats and some became friendly but others didn’t. I couldn’t not feed it if it was me. Mind you, if it’s female you might end up with several more! If it’s a proper mouser being fed won’t put it off catching mice. We had a big fat British Shorthair that killed anything that moved.

If you can trap it, take it to cat rescue or vet. You could try taking a photograph and putting on the local page of Fb to see if anyone recognises it.

Germanshepherdsmum

I couldn’t not feed it. But if you start you must carry on.

Same here

I couldn’t not feed it. But if you start you must carry on.

Perhaps try a local animal charity to get it rehoused if you don't wish to take responsibility for looking after it..

We took in a wild cat. Twenty three years later we mourned his loss. He was a huge cat and after he trusted us was very loving. He would dribble with pleasure when you stroked his head. We actually have a little memorial garden for him because he was with us so long- we didn’t realise cats could live that long, he must have been at least 25 because he was well and truly adult when he turned up in our garden.

If you start feeding it, you’ll have to keep on feeding it. Are you prepared to take on that responsibility?

Much as I love cats, I’d alert someone such as the Cats Protection League and let them deal with it.

It is too early to day if cat is feral or not, he/she might not trust you yet

I would feed the cat and trap to be neutered/spayed