- May 19, 2011
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Sorry for the not-particularly-helpful topic, but I can't think of a better way to summarise this.
It's to be expected where we live (built-up area, farming fields within a mile) that cats would wander into/around our garden, and that chances are they're well domesticated and they like stroked by my wife, etc.
However, a particular cat (I don't know much about cats, but it looks fully grown and young) keeps coming around, miaows piteously, wants to come into our house given half the chance, and will sometimes camp out on our doorstep for quite a while. It is slightly nervous around me (I don't typically approach cats, I'm allergic), but not to the point where I would question whether it has been domesticated. My wife strokes it quite a lot, and since my wife did a bit of sunbathing, the two have spent quite a bit of time together.
Normally cats (in my experience) tend to act a bit aloof. Generally, they will let you stroke them if you cross paths, but once you stop it isn't long before it moves on. This cat however seems to be very clingy.
It doesn't have a collar on, but its fur looks healthy and it doesn't look skinny or fat. I've seen it hunt and catch a bird once, and I think it eats them (there's a load of feathers but no corpse behind a bush in the back garden) rather than just playing with them like a lot of well-fed domesticated cats do because they're not hungry but the instinct is still there.
My wife is sympathetic to the cat and is worried about it. She has fed it a treat once, then tried a little standard dry cat food. It ate the former and ignored the latter (different occasions). My opinion is that the cat looks healthy and it ignored dry cat food, so it can't be going hungry. As far as I'm aware, my she hasn't fed it any more.
We've thought about putting a sign up to ask whether this cat has an owner, and if it doesn't, perhaps we should call the RSPCA for them to pick it up. If it had an owner, then chances are it would know how to handle winter time.
Advice/suggestions appreciated.
It's to be expected where we live (built-up area, farming fields within a mile) that cats would wander into/around our garden, and that chances are they're well domesticated and they like stroked by my wife, etc.
However, a particular cat (I don't know much about cats, but it looks fully grown and young) keeps coming around, miaows piteously, wants to come into our house given half the chance, and will sometimes camp out on our doorstep for quite a while. It is slightly nervous around me (I don't typically approach cats, I'm allergic), but not to the point where I would question whether it has been domesticated. My wife strokes it quite a lot, and since my wife did a bit of sunbathing, the two have spent quite a bit of time together.
Normally cats (in my experience) tend to act a bit aloof. Generally, they will let you stroke them if you cross paths, but once you stop it isn't long before it moves on. This cat however seems to be very clingy.
It doesn't have a collar on, but its fur looks healthy and it doesn't look skinny or fat. I've seen it hunt and catch a bird once, and I think it eats them (there's a load of feathers but no corpse behind a bush in the back garden) rather than just playing with them like a lot of well-fed domesticated cats do because they're not hungry but the instinct is still there.
My wife is sympathetic to the cat and is worried about it. She has fed it a treat once, then tried a little standard dry cat food. It ate the former and ignored the latter (different occasions). My opinion is that the cat looks healthy and it ignored dry cat food, so it can't be going hungry. As far as I'm aware, my she hasn't fed it any more.
We've thought about putting a sign up to ask whether this cat has an owner, and if it doesn't, perhaps we should call the RSPCA for them to pick it up. If it had an owner, then chances are it would know how to handle winter time.
Advice/suggestions appreciated.
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