Hi all,

I'm new here and registered as I have a question I think some of you may be able to help me with.

My wife and I have a homeless cat that lives in our back garden. When I say "lives" I use that word in the correct sense, she is always there night and day and has been for at least the last 6 months.

In the last 3 months or so we have taken to letting her into our kitchen and feeding her cat food once a day (often twice at weekends) as we're not sure where else she would be obtaining quality food. Over the months we have come to care for this cat and are concerned about her well being over the coming winter. We have plenty shelter in the garden (lots of trees and bushes) but it's getting harder and harder to turn her away of an evening and she is becoming much more affectionate and friendly towards us both so making her sleep under a bush in the rain feels awful.

No doubt you're thinking "just let the cat move in" but I have a mild cat allergy and, while I have no problem spending time around cats in the short term, giving one free reign of the house would sadly not be an option. So, what I am asking is, are there any tips as to how to help care for this cat. How to keep her warm, cared for and healthy so she does not freeze or become unwell.

We have considered a cat flap or some kind of small outhouse (what do you call a kennel for a cat anyway?) but neither of these seem like an ideal solution. Maybe they would be but neither of us are experienced cat owners and we'd really just appreciate any tips at all that anyone has as we just want a friendly cat to be happy and safe.

If you need any more info to answer the question accurately please ask as we'd rather not wait much longer with the current weather conditions.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this and (hopefully) reply.

Do you have a good shed? If you do you could put a cat flap on it and put some blankets on the floor for the cat to curl up in. Also have you thought about putting some posters up asking if someone has lost a cat?

Thanks Paul. We actually do have a small shed (more of a child's play house from a family how lived here many years ago) and that could be an option although two thoughts/concerns immediately come to mind.

1: The "shed" is in pretty poor condition and we would hate to have it collapse on our cat friend. I imagine we could remedy some of those issues fairly readily but it's still an initial worry.

2: Lots and lots of cats pass through the garden every day. and I mean LOTS. So how would we be able to ensure it didn't just turn into a cat hostel for any passing cat that fancied stopping by for a sleep? Maybe there is no way to do this but again, I'm not well up on cat care so stupid questions will probably be common.

Also, how easy (and indeed expensive) is it to install a cat flap? I assume it's not the hardest job ever but if you've seen the shelves I put up just above the computer I'm sat at you'd probably understand my concerns when it comes to DIY

Again, thanks for the tips Paul and please keep them coming people, they're all really appreciated!

Oh, and I meant to mention. This cat is not "lost". She is able bodied and free to roam but she simply has nowhere to go so we have not considered a poster at this stage. Maybe we should but I'll see if we can find any other tips for the mean time. Thanks.

I would still put up some posters just in case because it could be that the owners moved and took her with them and then she got out and tried to return home and they may be looking for her in that area but obviously she can't go home because her old home does not have her owners living in it?

haha just a possibility ( mainly because my cat went "home" when we moved house and we had to go and find her)

the chances are though she is one of those poor cats that gets left behind when someone moves house

but anywaaaaaaaaaay

I would seriously consider the idea of the little shed being a home for her. . .you could even put snuggle safe discs in there to keep her warm ORRRRRRRRRRRRR throughout winter you could take mild antihistamines (over the counter ones) and allow her to come in at night time? just shut her in the kitchen and let her out again in the morning and not let her into the living room or bedrooms or anything?

__________________

Thanks Nicky, some good ideas there. I nver heard of Snugglesafe discs but Google just informed me what they are. They look pretty cool! Well, pretty warm but you know what I'm saying.

We did consider the letting her live in the kitchen at night option but didn't know if that would be the kind of thing that would upset her if she decided she wanted to go for a midnight mouse hunt in the garden or something. We want her to be warm and safe but I don't like the idea of coming downstairs to a manic cat who's had a 7 hour freak out beacuse she thinks some mad man has imprisoned her. I'm probably just worrying too much but, like I say, I know little about caring for cats. Feel free to put my mind at rest.

to be honest in the really cold weather she will probably much prefer to be inside anyway

My cat is quite an outdoorsy cat and she loves to stay out at night in the summer but in the winter she will be sitting waiting by the door to come in. . .and then she's just happy to go out again in the morning.. .you probably wouldn't even need a litter tray because she is used to going outside for wees so she would probably just hold it whilst she was inside and go when you let her out

my cat wont even use a litter tray she would rather sit there with her legs crossed until you let her out again than use one! and they can hold it for a very very long time as well so it's unlikely she would have any accidents in the house either

I think that making the little house outside for her wouldn't attract other cats as long as you didn't leave food out there for her
you could leave her a bowl of water in there and just feed her in the kitchen and let her out again if you'd prefer her to stay outside . . .they get really thick winter coats (she will have started to get it by now anyway) and will generally keep themselves warm but I'm sure she wouldn't say no to a snuggle safe under a blanket when it's raining or snowing

I think either way whether you decide to let her in or keep her in the little house she will think it's fantastic just because someone cares about her she's lucky to have found you

and don't worry about not being experienced cat owners. . .cats are very easy to care for because they are so independent

I wonder if she spayed? it's so hard to tell with females :/ I'm just thinking that if she ended up having a litter of kittens that would be even more for you to deal with. . .unfortunately most vets can't even tell without opening them up :/ so with it not being your cat it's hard for you to decide to pay the vet bills too :/ it's a tricky situation. . .

I know a lot of people will make comments about how you need to make sure she's spayed but I think the most important thing in this situation is that she is fed, warm and healthy (and you're already providing that for her) I know a lot of people on this forum would disagree but it's not actually your responsibility to make sure she is spayed because she isn't technically your cat. . .

I wonder if anyone would be able to tell us exactly where to look for the scars on her tummy between her fur because you might be able to tell that way

hopefully she will be spayed anyway because if she's showing affection towards you it's likely she was once owned by someone otherwise she would be really feral

__________________

oh and just to add you could take her to a rescue and get her scanned for a chip just in case she has a chip and does belong to someone

to be fair her owner could have died or anything

__________________

Thanks again Nicky, most appreciated.

I understand the spayed issue and, while I have no medical basis for this, I kind of assume she is. Cat gestation periods are about 60-67 days right? (good old Google) and, after 6 months of daily activity with this cat she has never shown any signs of pregnancy. And hey, she's a good looking cat, I can't imagine she'd have any trouble with the toms. This is of course a flippant comment and it is an issue worth considering but both my wife and I believe she has at one point or another been a "house cat". She understands "no" when she tries to get on the sofa, she knows her way around a house and she is friendly and affectionate rather than ferel and defensive. Again, this is all from a cat ignoramus perspective but I'm confident we're right. Or at least partly right.

So far I think the outhosue angle may be the way to go simpy beacuse it gives her the option. If she understands what it is (she seems pretty smart) and knows it's there for her if needed then she can opt for that above the bushes she's used to. Maybe we can even try a few hours in the kitchen of an evening with the back door closed just to see how she fares and then develop the idea from there. These are all good options and I'll see what happens over the coming nights/weeks.

But all ideas and suggestions greatfully received. Even things that seem really obvious to you may be a million miles away from what I think is best.

Thank you!

it certainly sounds like you might be right and that she was once a house cat. . .so most likely spayed. . .plus the fact that you say she is a good looking cat means she has probably always been well looked after and therefore it is likely that something has happened like she belonged to someone elderly who has passed on.

I think the little house option does make sense because as you said it's the least restrictive option and she would be perfectly safe but trying her indoors would still be a nice idea. ..I think either way is just as good.

and also. . .just like to say thank you for using the sentence containing "of an evening" because my boyfriend seems to think I am the only person in existence to use those words together. . . he says he has never heard it before and it doesn't make sense hahahahaha obviously it's not just me it is a sentence if other people use it hahahaha

__________________