Young possibly wild cat - should we feed it?

THREAD 2 YEARS OLD.
I’m sure the OP had done something with the cat by now.

Do you mean "wildcat" or "feral cat" ?

If you are prepared to have the cat living in your garden on its own terms, to feed it, make sure it has clean water every day, including while you are away on holiday, and that it has a sheltered place to sleep - go ahead and keep on feeding it.

If you do not want to take responsiblity for it, chase it out of your garden now!

It may become tame, or it may not. But by accustoming it to be fed by you, you must realise now that you are responsible for getting it to a vet if it is hurt or ill at any time.

Next point: if it is female it will have kittens - loads of them, around six in an average litter, six or eight times a year, so you will either have to catch the kittens and have them put down, or catch the mother cat when there is not a litter depending on her, and either have her neutered or put down.

However, adorable they are, you cannot find homes for all the kittens she will produce.

If the cat is male, the kittens he sires will not be your headache, unless of course, he persuades his mate or mates to move into your garden, but unneutered tom cats spray their territory and their urine stinks.

So, it boils down to: do you want a cat, or not? If you do, talk to the animal every time you see it in your garden and it will probably become willing to come near you. Have a suitable cat carrier or basket with a lid handy, and as soon as you can, lift cat gently, plonk it in basket, FASTEN THE BASKET VERY SERCURELY and go to the nearest vet, or animal shelter, if you do not want to keep the cat and cannot face having it put down.

If you intend to keep the cat, have it neutered, vaccinated and either tattooed or chipped so you can prove ownership.

And welcome to the world of cat lovers and all the pleasure they bring.

Thread is 2 years old!

Feed him. Don't let him be hungry. He's come to you for help.

Nour98

It’s kind to offer cat food instead of duck food—cats need meat-based diets. Feeding it won’t “steal” it or stop it hunting; many stable cats still catch mice even when fed. Just don’t overfeed, and see if it gets friendlier over time.

You are replying to a post that is 2years old
The op has probably made up her mind what to do with the cat.

I just saw this on Facebook and thought of this thread

From your description, this sounds like a feral cat, rather than a wild cat. There's also a chance that it may even belong to someone, as cats are notorious for establishing various "scrounging stations" with multiple households. For this reason, even if you did manage to trap it safely, a Vet or an animal refuge or charity might be reluctant to step in. Perhaps a starting point would be to contact the Cat's Protection League for advice.

Hardly think this is a wild cat as you say it is smaller than the local cats. Real wild cats are bigger than domestic cats and pretty rare so this is probably just a local stray. If you are not willing to feed it please get in touch with The Cats Protection as others have said. They will come and take it away or at least advise you. Hope for a happy solution for all concerned.

We’ve had cats, and dogs, for nearly fifty years, most rescued, some with health conditions and the latest quite elderly. I couldn’t not feed this cat and would try to help it any way I could. Cats Protection/RSPCA vary from area to area, as do vets, so I wouldn’t be put off contacting them. Good luck.

My barn cats (both rescued ferral) have a wide range and have been seen a long way from home. When one or other fails to turn up for a meal I worry (not about them going hungry, they are both good hunters) but that they are being fed elsewhere as I want them to come back. I am very fond of them, have taken responsibility for all their vets bills etc. Although well fed and tame to me they wouldn't let anyone else near them but like all cats are greedy opertunists.
On the other hand I did feed a malnourish young cat that turned up in our garden years ago. She quickly became tame enough to catch and within weeks produced a litter of four kittens in our green house.

I am a firm believer that you shouldn't feed somebody else's cat as they may have intolerances of which you are not aware. Do what others have suggested and call the Cats Protection League as they can do a number of things. They can check for a microchip and they can neuter the cat if it is wild so that there won't be a population explosion of wild cats. They can actually rehome a wild cat to somebody's garden so it is well looked after but retains its independence.

Next question: have you got close enough to him to be absolutely sure he is a he`? Otherwise you will have kittens on your hands sooner or later
DD's cat was a kitten from a feral litter. The mother just wandered on to a neighbour's property and made herself at home but never went indoors.

Third - wild/feral cats feed off of BIRDS. Your beautiful songbirds may go missing
Unfortunately, even some domesticated, well-fed cats do that.
DD's cat, although originally feral, does not catch birds but other seemingly sweet, well-fed little cats in the family do.

Some have the killer instinct.

If it's a true wild cat it will be very valuable and sought after as they are rare. Would contact a cat organisation as it could be trapped and go to a centre where wild cats are used for study and species preservation. Otherwise, if you keep feeding the cat you'll never get rid of it. Keep low level of food so that it searches for mice etc at least for spring and summer.

This is a joyful little beating heart who’s lost its family and is probably malnourished and starving, just trying to outrun predators.

First- it needs PROPER food to survive. Plan on putting out fresh WATER too. Everyday.

Second - he/she is prey for other animals and could become a meal for hawks, coyotes… or run over by a car.

Third - wild/feral cats feed off of BIRDS. Your beautiful songbirds may go missing.

Fourth - it’s important to call cat/animal protection services to catch and have them spayed/neutered. They should not propagate.

Fifth - Consider giving this little creature a chance at life - a good life with you. My rescue cat was a stray and is the best indoor pet I’ve ever had. She is so loving. I’m grateful to have her in my life.
Good Luck Little One!
USA Gundy

Stables will often re-home feral cats that can't be homed in a domestic situation.
How about asking around the stables to see if they recognise him and are responsible for him?

I'm soft hearted and would have to feed it and like already said, you would have to keep on feeding it.
Our first cat was a feral kitten. The family of them lived in a farmers barn.
All the kittens had sticky eyes and farmer thought they had hayfever. Wrong.
We took him, the kitten not the farmer to the vets the next day and he had got cat flu. Luckily he survived and he was the most loving and amusing cat we have ever had. He got knocked down on the road at 2 years old love him.

Please feed the cat, it can make such a difference to its health to receive a good diet. Are there any small cat charities in your area?I found an excellent one when I had stray cats in the garden. (The RSPCA and Cats Protection were no help at all.)
This small charity was so helpful,they trapped and neutered the cats and kittens and re-homed them, all except one which I kept.

I also live in a rural area and we have a few cats that visit our area one of my neighbors started feeding this cat just before lockdown over lockdown it started to come closer and crying at his house sometimes even going into his house and staying over night when ever it felt like. Unfortunately he moved away few months ago he did try taken it with him but it wouldn’t go. So it comes around every now and then then leaves it’s not the only cat in our woods he did report it and we never noticed anyone checking on them. He was told lots are being left nowadays. But he got enjoyment from it visiting him.

Are you sure, he is not one of the cats from the nearby stable?
Ask whoever owns the stable, if you can, take a photo of the cat on your phone, and take it with you.

If you start feeding the cat, you must be prepared to go on doing so, and be prepared to deal with any illnesses or accidents he might have, unless you are hard-hearted enough to ignore that he is ill or injured, which you are not.

If you were, you would not be considering feeding him.

During the summer he can live on the mice he catches, washed down with duck food, the occasional bird, and a duckling or two! He probably won't live a long or particularly healthy life on this diet, though.

Next question: have you got close enough to him to be absolutely sure he is a he`? Otherwise you will have kittens on your hands sooner or later, and a fertile queenie cat can have seven litters in the course of a summer, with anywhere between six and eleven kittens in each litter.

If he is an adult entire male, there may be the characteristic very strong and not, even to cat lovers', pleasant smell of tom cat from his urine, but not all entire males give off this scent, and even if you do smell it, the flowering currant bush, that does not produce edible black currants but looks exactly like a black currant bush smells exactly like a tom cat!

So basically, unless you can get near enough to his rear end to see his two furry testicles, you don't know if he is a male or not (male cats keep their penis inside their body until they feel the need to air it, incidently.)

If you are prepared to keep him, well and good, but before making the decision find out whether you can legally keep a "stray" I don't live in the UK so don't know the law regarding cats there. The police or nearest animal shelter can tell you the law, or you can google it.

And find out what it would cost to have the cat neutered - there is a significant difference in the price of neutering, according to whether he is a he, or a she. Cats should also be vaccinated against cat's flu, which is a killer, and a vet will probably advise other vaccinations against contagious feline infections - there are quite a number that can be fatal.

And remember that once he is used to being your cat, you will need to find someone who will feed hm, every time you want to go away for a couple of days, on summer holidays, visit family at Christmas etc.

I love cats, but all of this has to be taken into consideration before you decide to keep one, plus the fact that he most likely catches anything that moves, so there will be dead birds, squirrels etc. to bury.

On the other hand, you and he will have hours of pleasure in each other's company, and if you want, you can restrict him to the garden rather than letting him come indoors, as long as you make sure he has somewhere warm and dry to sleep, especially in the winter and access at all times to clean drinking water.

Thanks for all the helpful information. I will look for a snipped ear and contact cat protection for advice.

Cats protection seem to be very helpful where we live. They will lend a trap and arrange for cat to be checked for chip and organise neutering. RSPCA arent worth contacting. Sadly so many unwanted cats and kittens.

You might want to look at local cat rescue groups for advice on what to do, they offer sound information and many will come and trap & scan the cat for a microchip. Vets will also offer this service for free but the cat needs to be taken to them. If the cat is part of a feral colony it would be a kindness for the cat to at least be neutered and returned to the colony. If this has been done already the cat may have one ear tip snipped slightly to show that neutering has been done

Our best most loving cat was feral.

I'd feed the cat while deciding what to do. I'd like to think that somebody, somewhere, would help my cat if she ever got lost. If you decide to keep it, have it neutered and microchipped.