Stray Cats and Dogs in Winter

[Debater Slayer]

With winter approaching, a stray cat has taken shelter from the cold and rainy weather in our building for the last few days. I have kinda befriended her, mainly through giving her food and water so that she doesn't have to go outdoors when the weather is at its worst (e.g., when it was heavily raining a couple of days ago). As always, a cat's stomach is the quickest way to its heart.

I think this is the best time of year for all of us to remember to help stray cats and dogs however we can! I'm often careful not to feed stray cats or dogs to the point of making them reliant on me, but I also try to help when I can now that the weather is harsher than in other seasons. Even just putting something warm for them to sleep on near our doorstep sometimes helps, as I have noticed this cat spending the night near our door for the last few days because of this.

 

[Valjean]

Is she tipped?

 

[JustGeorge]

We have cared for so many strays through winter through the years... in some cases, they have become members of our family. In other cases, the situation is temporary.

Iowa winters can be particularly nasty. I remember one year trapping a group of young ferals when temperatures were dangerously cold. One by one, they'd get into the rabbit cage we had(there was warm food), and we'd trap them and get them into our bathroom(a room with a door). Except Swatty. He was the ringleader, and too proud to be caught. He sat just inside the window of our garage, noticeably shivering in the cold and wind. He watched me like a hawk. I walked back and forth, discussing the weather with him, not looking at him(for some reason, many feral cats really like when people do that). All of the sudden, in the middle of a sentence, even, I grabbed him by the scruff and tucked him into my enormous coat, running into the house before he could get away.

He wasn't immediately domesticated after that incident(he spent much of that winter outdoors), but I love that guy. He's been one of my besties now for about 4-5 years. He's the most eccentric and vocal cat I've ever owned, and is missing the tip of his ear from being a feral that went through the trap-neuter-release program(we never predicted he'd become our pet at the time we did that).

When one of the kids left the door open a few years back, he was the only one we didn't find in the yard. He was inside, looking out the window at the others, seemingly saying "Yo! Don't be stupid! Food's in here!"

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Is she tipped?

I assume clipped ear to indicate spayed or neutered? If that's the case it's not universally practiced or known.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Is she tipped?

No. It's relatively rare where I live for stray cats to be tipped, due to the scarcity of resources for shelters and the low average income that makes it harder to afford such procedures that help stray animals.

 

[Debater Slayer]

We have cared for so many strays through winter through the years... in some cases, they have become members of our family. In other cases, the situation is temporary.

Iowa winters can be particularly nasty. I remember one year trapping a group of young ferals when temperatures were dangerously cold. One by one, they'd get into the rabbit cage we had(there was warm food), and we'd trap them and get them into our bathroom(a room with a door). Except Swatty. He was the ringleader, and too proud to be caught. He sat just inside the window of our garage, noticeably shivering in the cold and wind. He watched me like a hawk. I walked back and forth, discussing the weather with him, not looking at him(for some reason, many feral cats really like when people do that). All of the sudden, in the middle of a sentence, even, I grabbed him by the scruff and tucked him into my enormous coat, running into the house before he could get away.

He wasn't immediately domesticated after that incident(he spent much of that winter outdoors), but I love that guy. He's been one of my besties now for about 4-5 years. He's the most eccentric and vocal cat I've ever owned, and is missing the tip of his ear from being a feral that went through the trap-neuter-release program(we never predicted he'd become our pet at the time we did that).

When one of the kids left the door open a few years back, he was the only one we didn't find in the yard. He was inside, looking out the window at the others, seemingly saying "Yo! Don't be stupid! Food's in here!"

I'm so glad you have made him into a friend! A feral cat that used to come to our doorstep last year was extremely cautious of humans at first, similar to what you're describing, but after a few weeks of being fed by us, he calmed down and even purred when I got close enough and petted him. He was a very cute tabby. I haven't seen him in months; I really hope he's okay.

I wish I weren't allergic to cats. I'm sure adopting one of these strays would be such a wonderful experience.

 

[JustGeorge]

I'm so glad you have made him into a friend! A feral cat that used to come to our doorstep last year was extremely cautious of humans at first, similar to what you're describing, but after a few weeks of being fed by us, he calmed down and even purred when I got close enough and petted him. He was a very cute tabby. I haven't seen him in months; I really hope he's okay.

I wish I weren't allergic to cats. I'm sure adopting one of these strays would be such a wonderful experience.

A few weeks is pretty good to tame! I hope your buddy's doing well, too.

Swatty took a long time; maybe a year? I caught his brother, Lamar, as a very young kitten. He was the runt, and was so under sized I believe he wouldn't have survived if we hadn't caught him. He spat and hissed, and ran like a rabbit, terrified, for a few weeks, but now is the calmest, most attention seeking cat we have(and has a big round belly to make up for the weeks we could count his ribs). We got their sister, BeeGee pretty tame, too, but she didn't like the house. She would be so scared she'd mess on herself(and just lay in it). So, she slept on our front porch, went for walks with us and played in the yard with us, but we didn't force her in unless the weather was dangerous. Sadly, she was struck by a car a few years ago. There were two more in that litter; one met a similar fate at a young age, and the other we weren't able to tame, but still left food for until we moved from that area.

At the place we're at now, we seem to have cats coming and going to eat off the porch(we leave food out for ferals). Most don't stay, but we did have an old gentleman who slept and ate there until his last days. I managed to get him in for vaccines, but he didn't do well with our other cats. He was a loving fellow, though; we miss him.

 

[Aštra’el]

They must learn to adapt on their own, just like any other animal.

 

[Debater Slayer]

They must learn to adapt on their own, just like any other animal.

They didn't evolve to survive in an urban environment with heavy pollution, thousands or millions of vehicles that could run them over, and sometimes hostile contact from humans. They do adapt as much as possible, but that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't try to make things easier for them where possible.

 

[Yerda]

It might be due to living in a busy part of a city but I haven't seen a stray cat or dog in years.

 

[ChristineM]

Our village had a "chat errant" (stray cat) problem. At my prompting the mayor arranged with a local cat charity to look after the cats. Catch them, give them a health check and vaccine shots and importantly, neuter them. If they could be rehomed then rehome them if not release them back where they were caught.

The call want out for volunteers to maintain 3 feeding/warm sleeping points strategically places through the village.

I took on one point that 5 or 6 cats use regularly, all now neutered.

I have ended up adopting another 3, 2 of which now live as domestic cats in our home the other calls in for breakfast and an hour's rest on the rug before leaving for the rest of day.

Being cat friendly has earned me the name of la dame aux chats among the council members.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Our village had a "chat errant" (stray cat) problem. At my prompting the mayor arranged with a local cat charity to look after the cats. Catch them, give them a health check and vaccine shots and importantly, neuter them. If they could be rehomed then rehome them if not release them back where they were caught.

The call want out for volunteers to maintain 3 feeding/warm sleeping points strategically places through the village.

I took on one point that 5 or 6 cats use regularly, all now neutered.

I have ended up adopting another 3, 2 of which now live as domestic cats in our home the other calls in for breakfast and an hour's rest on the rug before leaving for the rest of day.

Being cat friendly has earned me the name of la dame aux chats among the council members.

 

[ChristineM]

Where did you find my pic?

 

[JustGeorge]

Where did you find my pic?

At first I thought I was looking at myself, but I realized the hair color was all off.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

They must learn to adapt on their own, just like any other animal.

A reason why I like other animals more than my own kind.