Feral and Stray Cat Health Comparison

I have trapped many cats since 1999 and in that time all of the feral cats were healthy, none of them tested positive for any feline disease.  In addition to being healthy they were all well groomed.

 

Rescued Stray Cat

When first started trapping feral cats for sterilization I expect them to be sickly, to have a poor coat with infestation of parasites.  The veterinarian reports that the cat has ear mites, needs to be wormed and needs a dosage of revolution to get rid of the ear mites.  Not a flea or tick is found on them and none of the feral cats tested positive for feline disease.  

In comparison the stray cat did not do so well. Out of the 128 cats that I trapped this year 10% of the stray (abandoned house cats) tested positive for cat disease including diabetes.   All of the stray cats had poor coats and many were matted.  Long haired cats needed to be shaved.

Cats that once lived with people are stray cats. These stray cats have a difficult time adapting to living outdoors. They do not know how to forage or where to go for shelter and they do not live in colonies with other cats because the feral cats do not welcome them.  Stray cats are on their own and it must be very frightening.

I pick up strays all the time that are starving, have hair missing, they may have bite wounds from fights or their hair is matted.   

So when it comes to living outdoors the feral cat will live a longer and healthier life than the stray cat.  

Photograph of Calico Cat:  This is Gracie she was a stray that my husband found on a bitter cold night.  She was skin and bones, had missing fur, was missing one tooth and her tongue was cut off at the tip.  It is doubtful she would have survived the night as she did not know where to go for shelter.

Tips for Finding Lost Cats Home

We got up early this morning to network the neighborhood when many people outdoors.  It is necessary to take as many steps as needed to locate the Maine Coon cat that I found.

By putting the word out in the neighborhood that cat was found we are hoping that somebody will come forward with information about the cat.

Along with talking to people in the community we also posted “found cat flyers”.  I also placed a free classified advertisement in the lost and found section of the newspaper.  The classified for found MaineCoon cat will run over the weekend and hopefully somebody somewhere will have information about this lost cat.

Cat Found Flyer by Susang6

Many people are not concerned with the whereabouts of their outdoor cat.  One neighbor said he does not worry about outdoor cat unless he his missing for a week. 

I know this to be tree as one summer a few years back a neighborhood cat left his home and walked three blocks before settling in my yard for the entire summer.  The cat hung out in my yard day and night.  I assumed the cat was going home at night but found out that he had chosen my yard as his summer retreat. 

Outdoor cats are funny, if left to wonder the neighborhood then will leave their home.

Hopefully I will be able to find this little Maine Coon cat’s people.

Found Lost Maine Coon Cat at My Door

This evening at dusk a stray cat found his way to my side door and mowed loudly. The cat is an adult male Maine Coon cat that is either lost or abandoned.  

The cat greeted me by rubbing on my legs so I knew he was not feral,  I immediately checked his front paws and found that he was declawed.  This was an indication that he had no business being outdoors after dark with the feral tom cats and the coyote.  

I called my neighbor and asked about the cat and learned that the cat had been going door to door seeking food and shelter for about a week.  They suspected he was abandoned but could be lost.  There was no word on a lost cat in our neighborhood. 

Main Coon Cat

The cat followed me into to shelter and there I gave him  Friskies special diet canned food and a bowl of water.  After the cat finished licking the food bowl clean he came to where I sat and jumped up on a pillow that was sitting on a chair close to me.  He then lay down and wrapped his bushy tail around him and looked like he wanted to go to sleep. 

The cat will sleep well tonight in the shelter.  Poor thing outdoors with no claws.  Unable to climb a tree, or defend himself.  

Tomorrow I will post found cat flyers in my neighborhood and will run a classified for found cat in the newspaper.  If this cat is lost I will hopefully reunite him with his people.