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Cat Forum / General Topics / September 2005Relocating with a stray cat
Hi all - I have had a stray cat living in my garden for the last 5 years. She sleeps in the bushes, will happily come into the house to visit, but wants to go out as soon as the door is closed. She never stays for more than 15 minutes or so. She can get in and out of the garden as she pleases, but is a pretty permanent fixture. I am moving house in two months time, and really don't know what to do with her. She has been fed and watered for 5 years now, so I would feel like I was abandoning her (although she does cope when I'm on holiday). However, I am concerned about whether it is fair to move a stray from its home environment, whether she would get lost etc. The new garden is far more "closed in", so although she would make it over the fence, I'm not sure if she would find her way back again. The usual rules of keeping a pet indoors and allowing it out gradually to familiarise it with its new environment aren't any use. I'm guessing that I will have to catch her and take her to an animal rescue centre, but any other suggestions welcome. Russell  SignatureAt least you show concern about her. Had a neighbor who moved, and left her cat in the neighborhood for us to take care of. > Hi all - > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Russell I have a feeling that she belonged to the previous occupant of my house - she was already in residence in the garden when I arrived and showed no hesitation of strolling in through the open door. She won't stay in though. To all intents and purposes she is my pet who happens to live outside - what I can't work out is whether it is best to try to relocate a wild animal - either with me or to a rescue centre - or best to leave her where she is. She *can* look after herself - she's fine (but sitting waiting for me) if I'm away for a couple of weeks. But then 5 years is a long time! Russell > > Hi all - > > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > > > Russell have you asked the people that are going to live in your house if they are prepared to care for the cat? > Hi all - > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Russell : I have had a stray cat living in my garden for the last 5 years. She sleeps : in the bushes, will happily come into the house to visit, but wants to go : out as soon as the door is closed. She never stays for more than 15 minutes : or so. She can get in and out of the garden as she pleases, but is a pretty : permanent fixture. I understand your relationship with this cat. I have one that lives in a coupe of backyards and spends a few hours at my 3rd floor porch everyday. I feed her. She like to comes in too, but then always wants to leave. : I am moving house in two months time, and really don't know what to : do with her. She has been fed and watered for 5 years now, so I would : feel like I was abandoning her (although she does cope when I'm on : holiday). This is very tough and I not facing a similar situation yet. If no one else takes care of her, my instinct would be to take her with you. But I know your dilemma. I even agonized over if it was in her best interest for me to feed her as I cannot always be there. Do you leave some food her when you go on holidays? If not, do you suspect there are others who look after her? > : I have had a stray cat living in my garden for the last 5 years. She sleeps > : in the bushes, will happily come into the house to visit, but wants to go [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Do you leave some food her when you go on holidays? If not, do you > suspect there are others who look after her? Faced with the same situation with 2 neighborhood strays we'd fed for several years, we brought them with us. To leave these animals behind to fend for themselves would have been a slow death sentence for cats who had come to depend on us. You simply can't assume that another neighbor or a new resident will pick up the ball and the average cat doesn't survive long "living off the land." Having worked in animal rescue, I've seen way too many cases where a realtor or a new resident will call wanting to someone to trap & remove "pesky strays" even after they've promised to continue feeding. They would invariably find someone willing to do the deed and because the cats are hungry and trusting, they are easy to trap. These poor animals end up in the pile of euthanized "unadoptables" at the county shelter. Please, please take this cat with you...you won't regret the decision. Nancy T > > : I have had a stray cat living in my garden for the last 5 years. She sleeps > > : in the bushes, will happily come into the house to visit, but wants to go [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > Please, please take this cat with you...you won't regret the decision. > Nancy T My concern is that left outside in a new environment, she will wander off and have no way of finding her way back. Once she is over the big fence at the back of my new property, the area is quite densely populated, and quite when she will choose to jump the same fence and land back in my garden, I don't know. I definitely want to take her with me, but I am concerned that if she becomes a stray in the new area, she will not have any idea where to find food, whereas - having presumably lived in this street all her life - she knows the potential food sources. Any suggestions how to manage the transition? I can't keep her indoors and let her out gradually to familiarise her as you would with a pet cat? Russell Russell I would catch the cat have the cat fixed and shots.. Cats and Dogs both have a homing beacon to where they live. Dogs just have a habit of caring less about coming home when they get out ever notice when a dog gets out and its owners are chasing it it just keeps going smelling all the new smells till they catch it. While a cat will take off to a location it feels safe takes a look around than gets the look Ok I rule the roost lets see what's around till I am hungry. Will you have a back porch that you can keep a pet carrier on where you can keep her outside for a little bit after the neutering so it can adjust to the move and place some food so it knows that there is food there. Worse comes to worse you take a outside cat and prevent it from breeding a new batch of strays. If the cats takes off and does not come back at least you know you did a good thing ( I know it is a heart breaker if it happens) but I had a stray neutered and the cat never left my yard afterwards except when the lawn guy came as long as the cat knows what a car is I take it you are in the city not the country there should be no problem Good Luck >Any suggestions how to manage the transition? I can't keep her indoors and >let her out gradually to familiarise her as you would with a pet cat? > >Russell Why ?? If you can not keep her inside for a while I would make sure then that she always has a good supply of her favorite food and lots of water where she can easily get to it whenever she wants and a place where she can have shelter and maybe she will not want to wander right away. http://members.aol.com/larrystark/ http://members.aol.com/larrystark/strays.htm > >Any suggestions how to manage the transition? I can't keep her indoors and > >let her out gradually to familiarise her as you would with a pet cat? [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > http://members.aol.com/larrystark/strays.htm She has never been an "indoor" cat. She will call in for a visit, but after 10-15 minutes she will be clawing frantically at the door. Although I'm sure that "staying in" could be built up gradually, that isn't going to happen in a few weeks in this house before I move. I also don't think she is house-trained ... there has been the occasional accident indoors. I've never installed a cat flap because I'm too concerned about what she'd get up to - she isn't used to being in the house alone. To reply to another poster, she must have been treated by a vet at some stage (or has something wrong with her!), because she has never had kittens of her own in all the years I have known her. I guess that the plentiful food supplies is a sensible idea. I think I'd just feel very guilty if she disappeared on the first day and I never saw her again! Russell > > On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 07:08:28 +0100, "Russell" > <ILUVMYCAT@NOSPAM.FSNET.CO.UK> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Russell Russell, Without knowing your financial or living situations, it's hard to advise you, but I'll toss out a couple of tried and true suggestions...Beg, borrow, or buy a large collapsible metal cage. Make it a comfy place with a couple of old towels at the rear for bedding - put Miss Kitty in said cage a week or two before the scheduled move. Litter pan and food dishes go in at door after kitty goes in. Even a really wild feral cat will use a box in a cage very quickly. If kitty pitches a fit, cover the cage with a blanket or sheet. She'll calm down. Do not let kitty out of cage under any circumstances until you are well settled in your new digs, then let her acclimate slowly while you get settled. For kitty's safety, keep the cage indoors. Although it may seem cruel, she is far, far better off confined to the cage and you will have one less thing to worry about during your move. The cage will become her "safe place" and you should leave her in it on moving day. You may find that she is a "changed" kitty after a few weeks in a cage(it's how we successfully tame ferals) Once cats get the hang of a litter box, you're pretty much over that hurdle. When you feel she is settled in her new location, you can move the cage outdoors (under your supervision) and gradually transition her to the yard. By that time you should also know if your new yard is within the realm of another cat's territory or is truly a safe haven for your buddy. You sure don't want to just let her loose if some big Tom is going to chase her off. If you can't possibly afford a cage, confine kitty to a secure, not easily damaged small room like a bathroom or laundry room and crate her several days before the move. Do not, under any circumstances, let her out of the new home's "safe" room for a good week. She needs time to bond with the new location and the hubbub of moving is distressing to even the most contented house cat. Planning for and securing the cats well before moving day saved both us and our cats an incredible amount of stress. Our confirmed outdoor pet cat decided to become a well behaved indoor girl after our move and the 2 ferals we moved are doing marvelously. Nancy T > > > On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 07:08:28 +0100, "Russell" > > <ILUVMYCAT@NOSPAM.FSNET.CO.UK> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 74 lines] > > Nancy T Thanks - I might try that. Buying a cage isn't a problem, but I hadn't considered keeping her in a cage for longer than the move itself. She isn't by any means "wild" - it's more a matter of constantly pitiful mewing, sad looks and clawing at the door after 15 minutes - and I've never felt the reason to "train" her to stay in - if she's happier outdoors, so be it. There is also the matter of "trust" - I've never left her alone or overnight in the house before, so I don't know if she has any bad habits, and a cage would allow me to try it out gradually over the first few days. Thanks to all for the advice. Russell you know what russell? i just read your first sentence again. i'm here to tell you that is no stray cat, that's YOUR cat ... > Hi all - > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Russell LOL...sounds like what our vet said when I brought Ornery in for his 1st check up after a week trying to find his owner. They took his blood work to check for Feline Leukemia,etc and I said the cats name was Ornery. When the doc returned to let me know how he was he said "It looks like there may be a problem"...I said "Oh? He is okay?" "He;s fine, but once you name a cat, that means he's yours."He said. Sure enough, he's at the vet today getting neutered. > you know what russell? i just read your first sentence again. > i'm here to tell you that is no stray cat, that's YOUR cat ... [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> >> Russell |
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