How to Care For a Stray Cat

It's hard to ignore stray cats, especially when they show up hungry on your front porch. If a stray is friendly, chances are it used to have a home and is either lost or has been put out to fend for herself. Truly feral (wild) cats are very shy and may never show themselves.
Your choices range from ignoring her--she will leave once she realizes she won't get fed--to taking her inside as a pet house cat. It is possible to responsibly care for stray cats without making them a house pet, though. Be aware that in most jurisdictions, if you provide food and care for an animal it is legally yours.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Make sure the cat does not belong to somebody else. File a found report at the local shelter and put up some flyers in the neighborhood. Sometimes moving house can freak cats out and they escape to find their familiar surroundings.

2. Know that any outside cat must be spayed or neutered to prevent more unwanted litters. Call your shelter or cat rescue groups to find a low-cost vet clinic. It is possible to get this surgery done very inexpensively in most places, you just have to call around.

3. Make sure they have water too, especially during cold weather when everything freezes.

4. Be aware that cats can tolerate fairly cold weather, but they get chilled very easily if wet. I have two old airline dog crates covered with plastic tarps and filled with straw near the back of my city lot for the cats. If the weather is bad I put food in there so it stays dry while they eat.

5. Ask yourself how committed you are prepared to be with veterinary care. If a cat is very sick or hurt she will just lie low and there is nothing you can do. With some basic knowledge of vet care and a sympathetic veterinarian to sell you medication, basic care can be a do-it-yourself endeavor for simple things like bite wounds or bad flea infestations.

6. Be aware that if you decide to give a stray cat access to your house, they may be miserable (and noisy) if they cannot go back outside when they want to.

Resources

• Alley Cat Allies

[justabarkaway]

on 4/23/2009 great info thanks!!

[LilacGirl]

on 5/23/2008 Great information, and much needed with so many stray cats around everywhere.