mauijnp

Hello. I recently had a stray older kitten (definately not full grown, I am
not sure of age though) take up residence in my shed and my yard. I have
never owned a cat, much less an outside one. If it turns that no one is
missing her (flyers are out) then she might be able to stay here (depending
on how the dog acts with her here and how she acts with him). However, I am
not sure to what extent do outside cats need care and attention? Do I buy
food, put out water, a bed? Can she come and go as she pleases and be fine?
Basically, what do I do if she stays? Thanks.

gail

If you want to keep the cat as a pet, he/she needs to be neutered or spayed
(definitely). Also, provide fresh food, water, and shelter. The cat also
needs to be given shots for distemper, rabies, etc. by the vet.
Gail

mauijnp

spayed


thanks for the help. If it comes to all that, she will need a new home. is
all that really necessary?

alison

Yes Absolutely , would you give a dog any less than this ?
I would also ring all the local shelters and vets and also have her
checked in case she's beenmicrochipped
Alison

ted davis

Spay/neuter is not really optional ... unless you actually want an
uncontrolled exponentially increasing population of cats (if the
kitten is female) or the stink, noise, and fighting that goes with
male cats.

The shots can be considered optional on the basis of calculated risk:
the less the probability of coming into contact with other cats, the
less likely that the cat will get one of the diseases. However, if
not neutered, such contact is certain. If you are very attached to
the cat so that a fatal disease would have a major impact on your
family, the shots are necessary; on the other hand, if the cat just
lives there and isn't important to you, then they the shots are less
important to you. There are also financial concerns: ideal is one
thing, affordable is another (I have a dozen cats and could never
afford the $1200+ a year it would cost to keep them vaccinated, but I
would id I could afford it because they are all pets, though some of
them aren't pets very often ... or even around all that often).

Flames to /dev/null

--
T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu)

mauijnp

well, I am allergic to cats so she would never be an inside cat. I would
also never spend that much money on her to be an outside cat because she
could always run away on me. Hopefully someone will claim her, if not, I
hope I can find her a good home that will give her all the stuff I won't.
Here she can have food, water and a bed but that's it. I will check with
the local shelters and vets, thanks for the advice.

alison

That's a problem being allergic to cats I hope someone claims
her. If she is young she might have a better chance being rehomed
than an older cat . Do you have any local no kill shelters that could
take her if you can't find her a home ?
I don't think she would runaway just because she is outside, many
people keep ferals and AFAIK they stay put but she might want to start
coming inside when it gets cold. It snows where you are , I remember
you saying about Maui not liking it or not wanting to go out
Alison

mauijnp

no other cats are around.

thanks for the input

mauijnp

she is definately not full grown, my best guess is a few months old (like 5
or 6) but I don't know much about cats. I've already asked a few people
about taking her in, I really think she'd make an excellant inside cat.
Hopefully she'll get a nice home, she deserves it!

not sure if they are no kill or not, I'll have to check that out.

yeah, it snows here but luckly that's no for a few months.

Oh yes she will! There was obviously a cat nearby that mated and
resulted in her birth, and believe me, when she goes into heat, which
she is at the right age to do, Tomcats WILL find her and you will have a
much bigger problem when she gets pregnant and has a litter. Or two. Or
three.

PLEASE, at the very minimum, catch her and get her spayed and vaccinated
for rabies and distemper. If you don't it is guaranteed you will be back
here asking what to do about her kittens and the resulting population
explosion of cats.

1 intact male and female and their offspring can produce as many as
420,000 cats in just seven short years. You can make a huge difference
by the one simple act of getting this kitten spayed ASAP.

Megan

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
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