I adore cats. I have 3 of my own. The other night my youngest, Lulu, was sitting in the basement window howling and carrying on, there was a cat with it`s face pressed up to the window looking in. I went outside to check on it, deep in snow. It went under my neighbors (vacated house 2.5 years now) overhang. I put a thick folded towel to get it on something dry and put out a bowl of
food. I saw foot prints by my other basement window too. The next morning the food bowl empty, either the cat or something
ate it. Refilled it, empty again today. I checked the Humane Society lost pets website, but nothing. I never see the cat any
more. But as long as the food disappears I will refill it, it is cold outside and this cat has enough problems, at least the food
will supply some comfort and energy. If I see the cat again I will put heat under the towel, I have these Frisbee looking
discs you microwave for 7 minutes and they stay warm for 8 hours or better. I feel bad for the cat, and this is all I can
do for it. If I could ever get the cat I would take it in and see if it has a microchip, someone may be distressed over their missing
cat, I know I would be.

I am a cat softie too. I ended up with six living with me for about eight years. Now sadly, down to one. You could put a box (with an opening cut out) for it to shelter in. If the cat is still coming for food, it may sleep in it. Is there some way to provide water that doesn't freeze right away, or are you not that cold there? I sure hope you can help it find a home.

@freedombel Although I volunteer at a shelter and a rescue organization where I specialize in working with dogs, the pet who shares our home is a Tuxedo cat named Charlie. I adopted him from the shelter six years ago when he was just a year old.

I too have fed cats who turn up at the door. If you put a box outside you might want to have a hole cut into it at the back side as well as the front and keep the box far enough from a wall that a cat has an escape route if needed to get away from another cat or predator.

June_nmexico

Thank you, Dutchlady1.

Hi, June. Welcome to ATP. I'm glad you mentioned the importance of an escape route. Cats need that to feel secure.

echoes said:I am a cat softie too. I ended up with six living with me for about eight years. Now sadly, down to one. You could put a box (with an opening cut out) for it to shelter in. If the cat is still coming for food, it may sleep in it. Is there some way to provide water that doesn't freeze right away, or are you not that cold there? I sure hope you can help it find a home.

It freezes here, I will put out a box. As far as water I can put some out...a few times a day.

June_nmexico said:@freedombel Although I volunteer at a shelter and a rescue organization where I specialize in working with dogs, the pet who shares our home is a Tuxedo cat named Charlie. I adopted him from the shelter six years ago when he was just a year old.

I too have fed cats who turn up at the door. If you put a box outside you might want to have a hole cut into it at the back side as well as the front and keep the box far enough from a wall that a cat has an escape route if needed to get away from another cat or predator.

Thanks, thoughful advice. And Welcome! Glad you are here.

I saw an interesting tip people could do for Feral cats. Get those styrofoam ice chests people use & cut holes in them for an opening (& I guess an excape). They're more insulated than cardboard but maybe still put the towel & heat disk down.

Our stray mama cat and her sort of feral kittens spent the first winter outside. There were five of them. We fashioned the styro box from the old hot tub cover.

Linda, have you seen the cat again?

I feed, and trap the feral cats to be nipped. Ive never been able to get them to go in a box, but I think they stay in the sewer most of the time. In fl. they are not going to freeze to death, but freezing is freezing and I feel sorry for them.

echoes said:Linda, have you seen the cat again?

No, just that once, but every morning the food bowl is empty, so I fill it, I also put some water out (going to be 34-45 degrees this week, good!)
and I put a box out with a towel in it. So if it is the cat eating the food it is getting accustomed to it being there, and I will make sure I refill it
daily and check the water.

I've got seven cats, two are outside only, four are in-and-out, and one elderly ill cat is inside only. The outside cats have to be out because they fear being inside. One related to them is tame because I more or less tamed her while still young...she chose to start staying in at night one very very cold time. The other three were kittens (now over 1.5 years) abandoned at about one month old. Unfortunately, Little Kitty, one of the outdoor kitties can be mean and really hates the three youngest cats. There have been fights...I hate that! Sometimes she's outside the window and one or more of the youngest ones are inside the window and they try to fight through the window...at least, nobody gets hurt that way!

I care for stray cats. I bought a dog igloo house and lined the inside with straw that doesn't rot like hay, and that keeps them dry and fairly warm especially in winter. I get all the cats fixed and vaccinated and when food is offered they pretty much stick around forever! I try to find them homes but it's hard sometimes shelters are always full of homeless animals. There are many ways to trap cats so you can get them fixed, sometimes cats are strays but friendly it all depends how much human interaction they had when kittens or if mom was a pet or not. Sometimes people let there friendly female pet cats outside that aren't fixed, they get pregnant, have kittens, and the kittens are a little shy but with care become friendly, but many people never take in the kittens so they become strays roaming around for food even though mom is someone's pet, it's a shame. 😕 At least if your cat goes outside make sure they are fixed so no more cats are born homeless and so males don't spray and get into fights.

I take care of the feral cats to. I havent seen a black one for a week, that has come around for years. Im pretty sure the neighbor did, or had something done with it. Still sad when I go to feed it, and it isnt there. The cat it hung with looks for it to, hesitates to eat, but finally does. I have found it takes two generations to get the ferral out of the cat. It it rare that a kitten taken in, at least for me, doesnt run away in the spring.
Luckily, in gainesville, there are two places, that if you trap the cats, will fix and vaccinate them. They just ask you let them out where you trapped them, they say they try to get back to where the came from, and that usually doesnt end up good. They want them right back in their territory.

https://animalpetitions.org/12...

Since we are talking about cats, I just got this in my email this morning and I signed it. I don't know if the petitions do any good or not but at least *I* know I made an effort and that's all anyone can do.
Please consider signing and forwarding it to friends. I usually spend 10 min a day signing petitions for animals. It is heartbreaking to do sometimes, but I feel better knowing I am trying to help at least.

I LOVE cats, good thing I am allergic to them or my husband would have had to move out by now

Frillylily said:https://animalpetitions.org/129023/imprison-men-who-allegedly-blew-a-cat-up-with-fireworks/comment-page-4/#comment-1895161

Since we are talking about cats, I just got this in my email this morning and I signed it. I don't know if the petitions do any good or not but at least *I* know I made an effort and that's all anyone can do.
Please consider signing and forwarding it to friends. I usually spend 10 min a day signing petitions for animals. It is heartbreaking to do sometimes, but I feel better knowing I am trying to help at least.

I've heard of so much animal abuse. Teen pouring scalding water on a stray cat, man torturing his roommates cat because it meows too much, sick people...

I cannot even wrap my brain around people who do this kind of stuff. I am certain they can't be 'cured'. You have to be a demented soul to inflict that kind of pain on an innocent being for no reason other than entertaining yourself. There are not even words.

We have a neighbor here that traps ferrals and has them fixed and released back here. She had like 20+ cats last I knew. I think she feeds them a minimal diet so they don't starve. She said they are not her pets though, she doesn't try to tame them or bring them inside, I don't blame her, there are just waaaay too many out this way.