In response to rush.diana from yesterday – I loved your story about the stray kitty! I had a much sadder experience with a feral cat back in 2005. This red tabby cat visited my yard only occasionally and he never let me near him. But whenever I saw him, I’d put food out for him. He’d watch me from a distance and when I backed off, he walked up and ate the food, all the while keeping way for watch to be sure I didn’t come near him. I had actually been feeding him this way for a few years, trying to earn his trust. I worried about him, but I didn’t see what else I could do to help him. I couldn’t try trapping him because I’d be gone 10 hours a day with work (including travel time to work and home again) and that would be too long for him to be stuck in a trap. So I tried to befriend him on his terms. But one day in early August 2005, he looked really, really bad. He had a huge wound on his side and he looked sick. I decided I had to catch him and get him to a vet. I grabbed a cat carrier and put a can of cat food in it and backed off, praying he would go into the cat carrier. He thought about it a long time, but he finally started going in. When he was about 75% of the way in, I took a chance and I approached and I shoved his rear end the rest of the way in. The regular vet was closed at that time, so I took him to the emergency vet (something I really couldn’t afford, but I just had to do it). I was afraid they’d have a hard time treating him – him being so afraid of people and I worried a lot about him. But he let them handle him (I was still in the waiting room while they did the initial examination). They let me know he was in bad shape, but I was willing to treat him and to try to save him. They kept him for a couple days. I checked on him every day he was there. They told me what a sweet cat he was. That made me feel better. He finally found out what it was like to be loved and cared for. But his condition was very bad. (see reply for more)
In response to rush.diana from yesterday – I loved your story about the stray kitty! I had a much sadder experience with a feral cat back in 2005. This red tabby cat visited my yard only occasionally and he never let me near him. But whenever I saw him, I’d put food out for him. He’d watch me from a distance and when I backed off, he walked up and ate the food, all the while keeping way for watch to be sure I didn’t come near him. I had actually been feeding him this way for a few years, trying to earn his trust. I worried about him, but I didn’t see what else I could do to help him. I couldn’t try trapping him because I’d be gone 10 hours a day with work (including travel time to work and home again) and that would be too long for him to be stuck in a trap. So I tried to befriend him on his terms. But one day in early August 2005, he looked really, really bad. He had a huge wound on his side and he looked sick. I decided I had to catch him and get him to a vet. I grabbed a cat carrier and put a can of cat food in it and backed off, praying he would go into the cat carrier. He thought about it a long time, but he finally started going in. When he was about 75% of the way in, I took a chance and I approached and I shoved his rear end the rest of the way in. The regular vet was closed at that time, so I took him to the emergency vet (something I really couldn’t afford, but I just had to do it). I was afraid they’d have a hard time treating him – him being so afraid of people and I worried a lot about him. But he let them handle him (I was still in the waiting room while they did the initial examination). They let me know he was in bad shape, but I was willing to treat him and to try to save him. They kept him for a couple days. I checked on him every day he was there. They told me what a sweet cat he was. That made me feel better. He finally found out what it was like to be loved and cared for. But his condition was very bad. (see reply for more)