About 18 months ago I noticed a thin, stray, Grey cat, eating the food my fussy cats wouldn’t eat & which I put in the garden for the crows, magpies & pigeons.
He was very thin, so every time I saw him I put out extra food. He called every day so I named him Mr Grey and over time he came closer to the house & waited till I brought out his dinner.
Two weeks ago I noticed he was limping on his front leg, but he wouldn’t let me get close enough to pick him up. I spoke to my local animal rescue, but they are extending their premises so they gave me the number of a man who works for the RSPCA. He came on Wednesday, trapped Mr Grey & took him to a vet near his home. I asked what it would cost & he said just give a donation to the RSPCA.
I spoke to ths man today and he told me that Mr Grey may have been hit by a car & chipped his leg bone, as the vet could feel a thickening of the bone & thought it was healing ok ( they would have put him to sleep if it had been a bad break ). He also said that he settled well in the kennels at his house & It may be possible for him to make my house his home when the testosterone has reduced in a few weeks time.
Anyway he is bringing the cat back to my home, as arranged, in the hope that he will choose to live here.
Mr Grey has been neutered, treated for fleas & worms, had a little cut put on his ear so The RSPCA know that he has been neutered. They have also micro-chipped him & asked if I would like my name & address to be used as the cats home address. I said yes, as they expect that when the testosterone is reduced in a few weeks he may decide to live here.
I don’t think he has ever had a home but he seems to relate to me and the chicken dinners I give him, so please wish me luck in managing to win over a cat , after feeding him for 18 months!
Thanks Tiffany! He arrives here tomorrow lunchtime & then I have to wait to see if he returns. I am cooking him a roast chicken thigh to give him reason to come back!
It’s funny how stray dogs and cats know where to take up when they need a home. I guess it was about 24 or 25 years ago, we had a puppy to take up here. We kept him fed and thought he would eventually go home, but he never went anywhere. So we decided to take him in. We took him to the vet and had him checked out and had shots and vaccines given to him had him neutered. We have a fenced-in backyard so we had a place to keep him. He was very friendly and loving and had the silliest personality. Whenever we had visitors, they liked him because he was always so mellow. We had him a long time but finally had to have him put down because of old age and other issues he had. Pets do leave a void when they’re gone. Twink55, I’m sure your new cat will do well with you.
Thank you Buzzzer. I already have 3 cats, but this one needed some care and you can’t help wanting to keep them when they have shown they trust you. He will never want for food & shelter here, but as he doesn’t seem to have ever had a home, it will be up to him whether he wants his independence or comfort… I am just hoping he chooses the latter!
Aww that’s lovely Twinks…I know this sounds daft but the two cats I have now Sox and George seem to know I gave them a home when they were about to be made homeless. They are the most loving considerate cats I have ever owned… I’ve always had rescue cats but these two are really special little pals and I feel privileged to have them in my life.
Good luck to you and Mr Grey I really hope he settles with you and makes friends with your other cats.
No JBR, I think this is something they do to homeless cats to let other rescue groups know that they have already been neutered… as you can’t tell by just looking at the cat & they don’t want them to keep being caught when they are already neutered.
In the case of Mr Grey, we can’t be sure he will accept being homed by me, so they have done his ear to make sure others don’t trap him!
Thank you all for your encouraging posts, but I will find it hard to relax till he starts coming back to my garden for dinner each day. I have to put his food a bit closer to my back door each day & check he eats it & I am hoping that by the autumn he will come through my cat flap ( which I will leave propped open) to get the food that I leave in the back hall.
He has been into the house once, but ran off when he saw me in the house… so it may not be an easy job, but I won’t give up easily as I want him to have warm shelter in the winter months!
Kit, one of the other cats, has already made friends with him, so they should get on fine now he is neutered.
Rudi, the one with asthma hasn’t wanted to go out, and it will be a long time before they meet, as Mr Grey will need access to outside… so he will live in the back hall and my study.
Tammy, the young female, will be the only one to dislike him, but even she has decided that going out is just a morning duty so she can chew some grass to prevent fur balls. She then returns to the lounge for a sleep!
Mr Grey’s biggest problem will be learning to trust me when we are indoors together… but he seems fine when we are outside.
It will be hard work for a few months, but I think he is worth the effort!
). He also said that he settled well in the kennels at his house & It may be possible for him to make my house his home when the testosterone has reduced in a few weeks time.
I hope My Grey stays with you …