What to Do When Stray Cat Looks Sick

Two days ago when I went out into the woods to feed the feral cats I noticed a stray cat off to the side, sitting alone on a rock. Since I did not recognize the cat as being one of the colony cats I took the cat's photograph. The photo indicated that the cat is sick or something is wrong.  Whenever a cat looks sick we then will put out the traps.  The cat may need veterinarian care. The photograph indicates that there is something wrong with the stray cat, it looks sick so the cat becomes a priority.

Know that this cat could be from the neighborhood, and it may have crossed the line with a tomcat or other cat. Since the cat looks ill we decided to not wait to find out if the cat went home, back to the neighborhood. My husband and I decided that it was best to trap the cat and bring to our shed shelter where there are cat cages, heat an air conditioner.  Once trapped we will be able to put out flyers in the neighborhood to find its people. 


When handling new cats that show up in our woods we do the following;  

1. Make up a chart with the cat's photograph and start a feeding schedule. 
2. Watch the cat for a few days to determine if it is going back to the neighborhood which would indicate that it belongs to someone. 
3. Determine if the cat is domesticated, comes to us, rubs on us and is friendly then we will take the cat indoors and start the search for its family. Because it could be lost and the woods is not a safe place for a domesticated cat.