[jespasinthru]

What would you do about a stray cat problem? I own two pets. A big, fat black street cat named Gremlin, and a large German Shepherd/wolf mutt named Wolfie Dog. The cat is much older than the dog. Wolfie loves Gremlin, and Gremlin tolerates him and treats him with utter contempt. In my neighborhood, about half of the people have cats and/or dogs. And most of the felines are uncastrated street cats. People let them into the houses at night or when it's raining, and then kick them out in the morning when they go to work or school. The cats are fine with that, because they were all raised as street cats. Now here's the problem: a new cat recently showed up in the neighborhood. He's a stray, a vagabond. An orange striped cat, about three years old, and he's in bad shape. He's very small and bony, and he's got mange. When I first saw him I felt so sorry for him that I gave him some of Gremlin's cat food. And Gremlin got so mad about it that he beat the little cat up and chased him away. But I still sneak him food when Gremlin's not around. But I am afraid that he might spread his disease to all of the pampered street cats around here. I can't take him to the local animal shelter, because they wouldn't accept him in his condition. And if I call Animal Services to come and pick him up, then they'll just kill him. Yesterday I was sitting on my front porch with my husband after we go off from work, sharing a half-pint of Hennessy, discussing the day's events, and just waiting for the sunset so that we could admire the pretty colors. And then here comes that ugly little cat, begging for food. I asked my husband what we should do about him. And he said, "You could stuff him into the cat carrier, take him to the vet, and see if they can clean him up. But that'll cost about two hundred bucks. And just look at him. It ain't just the mange. He's probably got fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites, maybe even Toxoplasmosis. You could spend all that money on him just so the vet will tell you that he needs to be put down." I don't know what to do. Would you spend money to have him cleaned up, or would you call Animal Services to kill him for free?

[freedumb2003]

To begin with, I would teach it how to use paragraphs...

[camle]

in for a penny, in for a pound they say, if you don’t want to take care of him don’t feed him..he’ll go elsewhere eventually

[VRWCarea51]

Any Korean Take out joints in the area. I am sure they would take it.

Seriously, round these parts If the are sickly or mean I shoot them. And for the bunny hungers reading, it’s legal here.

[JRandomFreeper]

If you love your cat, keep it inside. I have two that are inside catz and not exposed to ferals.

Ferals in this neighborhood go away. I'm on a first-name basis with animal control.

/johnny

[spacejunkie2001]

Either spend the money to help him (don’t do the vaccines); just have him checked for worms, feline aids, etc. Shouldn’t cost too much (best option).....

OR

Bing TNR which stands for trap neuter release, as there are groups all around that will trap stray cats, fix/check them, then bring them back.

[DannyTN]

Dog

[katnip]

If he’s unaltered, in his condition he won’t last long. The other male cats or bigger critters will get him.

If it were me and I could get him into a carrier I would take him to the vet. Have him tested for the bad diseases first to determine if he should be put down.

Fleas, ticks, worms etc can be taken care of cheaply. The mange is contagious so be sure to wash your hands after touching him. Mange is easy to treat and not very expensive to treat either.

I recently took in a stray kitten with ringworm. It’s been 8 weeks of keeping him separated from my other cats to be sure it’s gone. Baths twice a week, cream twice a day, but it just never seems to go away completely.

The little guy needs help. Good luck.

[Excellence]

I can't take him to the local animal shelter, because they wouldn't accept him in his condition.

They would take him but destroy him. If you can't take care of him, that might be the most merciful option.

[donna]

Pay the money and follow the vets advice. Your conscience will be clear because it’s the best you can do.

(If he gets neutered, he will calm down - so check around, my county government offers discount coupons for neutering strays.)

[Utilizer]

If you have the capability, is it not therefore your responsibility to care for those who come into your life needing assistance?

Better it be when you can provide what help you can in the time in which you can provide it, than be forced to stand helplessly by and unable to help at all.

[Vigilanteman]

A family friend of ours (divorced, female, grandmother) had a modest place in the country where people learned to dump stray cats. The fact that she fed and cared for them only exaggerated the problem.

When the count reached 26 cats, she clearly saw that this could end only one of two ways:

1. She could choose which cats gave her pleasure and hone the number down to a modest amount.
   
2. She could let the situation continue unabated and end up with a house covered in cat feces, dead cats and a news story ending with her commitment to an asylum.

In the end, she chose four cats which she felt the most worth saving, gave away the cats she could, hauled those to the pound which she couldn't, and tracked down and dispatched with a .22 rifle four of them who wouldn't stop coming around but couldn't be captured for a trip to the pound.

It broke her heart, but she was that determined to avoid the fate behind door #2. Four cats got a loving home and owner plus those she was able to give away plus probably at least some of those whom she transported to the pound.

The remainder, at least, got a far more merciful exit than your typical abandoned cat.

[PAR35]

Three options

1 stop feeding and let nature take its course
2 trap and call animal servives
3 trap, get out your checkbook, take it to the vet and get it fixed, basic shots, and needed treatment. (They can also check and see if it is chipped. Then release it with feedings as you feel moved.

I’d opt for 3. I would not allow a sick feral around my domestic.

[dware]

Bing TNR which stands for trap neuter release, as there are groups all around that will trap stray cats, fix/check them, then bring them back.

Good advice there. I have a similar problem. We have 4 strays that frequent our place, due to the fact I got a soft spot for the fuzzballs and feed them regularly. I cut a deal with a local vet, letting them know they were stray, and they are willing to do the neutering at very low cost, sometimes free, and will also give the strays some shots really cheap, etc. just to make sure they are walking around healthy and unable to procreate. Might be worth looking into. There are also some programs in some areas that assist with these types of things. I know there are free neutering programs available in some locales.

[bigredkitty1]

Spend the money to see if he can recover and become a healthy new member of the family. If not yours, then maybe someone else’s. It may cause a financial strain, but you will sleep well at night knowing you did the right thing by this little one. Best of luck.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Take him to the vet, find out if he can be treated.

[factoryrat]

We don't have much of a stray cat problem around here. Apparently, the coyotes have acquired a taste for cats. Unfortunately, we do have a coyote problem. That is best solved with the judicious use of assorted rifles and shovels.

[rfreedom4u]

There were a lot of feral cats in the neighborhood when I lived in Hawaii. We were told that if they got rid of the cats we’d be complaining about rats and mice. But at least they trap, spay/neuter and release them.

[tx_eggman]

Give him away

[ozarkgirl]

If you tell the vet it's a stray - they will most likely give you a break on the price AND not do all the tests and things they would normally do for your own cat.

At least my vet did, one time he actually called me at work and said he'd just realized who I was and said he'd give me a $75 “scholarship” he called it because I brought a stray pregnant kitten in and after the babies were born, I had it fixed.

Good luck, you have a good heart and you're doing the right thing.

PS - Do not feed a cat outside. My son started to call me “the cat lady” but that's another story. I would only feed your cat inside. The rest can beg at someone else’s house. See what feeding a cat got you into??

[TexasRepublic]

Tough call. I know you’d like to do the right thing. If $200 or a thousand wouldn’t be missed, call a vet. Most of us can’t afford to salvage every stray that comes around and would have to call animal control. Poor kitty. Life is unfair and tough sometimes, just ask the guy that got his head cut off by ISIS.