What do stray cats eat

Unfortunately, while stray cats are common, there are also many feral cats about too, so it helps to know the difference. A stray cat will have been used to having its needs met by a human.

Feral cats must learn to fend for themselves and are usually quite lean looking with a rough fur coat. If a cat has been recently lost or abandoned, it should still have a relatively healthy appearance.

You should also bear in mind that if a cat is hanging about your home, it may still have an owner out there looking for it. Some cats have not actually been abandoned; they may just have wandered too far from home and are unable to find their way back. However, even cats that do not have collars may belong to someone else. It is therefore recommended that you take the cat to the nearest vet if you have some way of transporting it there so it can be checked for a microchip.

If it is ascertained that the cat does not have a microchip, you may want to post a picture of it on social media to see if anyone has lost their pet. If you are unable to find the owner, you have the option of keeping the cat. You may find that you quickly develop an attachment to this furry visitor and if so, you could consider adopting it. If you do this, you should find out all you can about how to care for a cat if you have no experience of doing so, obviously.

This will mean making sure you are providing an adequate diet and that you are taking it for regular veterinary checks. If you are unable to keep the cat, could contact your nearest cat rescue center to see if they can take it in. The problem that many people find however is that most animal shelters are unable to keep up with demand on their services. They are regularly left with animals that have been dumped by owners that bought them and then decided they were unable to keep them.

Shelters will be reluctant to take an animal if there is any other option, so you may want to see if you can find someone to take the cat before you contact the shelter. Sadly, some people will dump pregnant cats and will drive the animal far from their home and abandon it on the roadside.

These cats must then deal with the fact that not only have they been abandoned but also that they are due to give birth to a litter of kittens. Occasionally, people will come across stray kittens who appear to be without their mother.

If you hear kittens crying near to your home and you go to investigate, you may find them alone. This could be because the mother is hiding from you or because she has gone to find food. If you do find a litter of stray kittens without a mother, it is best to just wait for an hour or two to see if mom returns. If you try to handle the kittens, the mother may be reluctant to return to them. If after a few hours, there is still no sign of the mother, you can intervene. What you should realize though is that stray kittens will need a significant level of care.

So when we go back to our original question of what do stray cats eat besides cat food, the answer is different when it comes to kittens. A good way to do this is to avail of the trap-neuter-rescue or TNR programs of local animal rescue groups in your area. This way, the local stray cat population will be manageable. You should also keep the stray cats in your yard if you intend to feed them regularly. Make sure that you do not leave uneaten food out. Also, since stray cats have been uncared for by pet owners, they may tend to be infested with parasites and may even have rabies.

You may seek the help of your local pet shelter or rescue group to have them vaccinated, dewormed, and treated for fleas. Stray cats hunt for local wildlife consisting mostly of rodents and small mammals like mice, rabbits, and squirrels. They also eat lizards, birds, and fish. If you are feeding stray cats, these are human foods that you can feed them if you do not have any canned cat food available:.

Eggs are good sources of Vitamin B and protein and safe to feed for cats. It may also help reduce the risk of foodborne diseases and should be cooked first before feeding to cats. Cats mainly eat meat since they are obligate carnivores, thus, chicken is a good choice for them.

Unlike dogs, cats are not able to digest high-fiber foods that is why they should be served preferably with cooked meat and poultry. Turkey is a good source of protein and this lean meat is a good cat snack or treat for cats. Oatmeal is another human food that is suitable for cats.

It is a good source of energy and Vitamin B and safe for cats. I have not brought her to the vet because my mother will not let, but I hope I can as soon as I can. She is an angel. She has no collar though. I already have a kitten and a cat named ginger and milkshake and they are really sweet and playful,but I also see two stray black kitten and they are milkshake sister and brother,but they are really frightened and when I tried to comfort them,they just try to escape from my hands.

Milkshake is a kitten that is white with lightish gray ear and paw and she also have light blue eye. Ginger is a calico cat and she is really sweet! I brought kittens in and they sent them back out I ended up with one of them. You can start by starting for your cats to start being nice and letting them greet the stray.

Put them in cages I think, and let them look at each other to get to know the other. And blink your eyes 3 times slowly to greet a stray. If it goes, it does not have interest in you.

But if it stays, it likes you. Do a google search for a cat rescue in your area and they can put you in touch with someone who can humanely trap the cat for you and then hopefully the rescue will take the cat in and get it all the vet care, etc that it needs…. Cuz I heard really loud noises after the person left. And even adopt it, but of corse my parents will never allow me to. My cats are 16 years and quite healthy. Is it ok to give them a little milk watered down?

They stand watching me have breakfast every morning and just waiting for their saucer of milk. This is quite a new habit of theirs for the past 6 months. Your comments would be appreciated. Most cats are lactose intolerant so they would get bad stomach aches and diarrhea like us humans. I found a stray kitten probably 1 week old and i want to keep it.

I have read on most forums that kittens need special kitten food to help them grow well. The problem is that here in Kenya those products are very very expensive and I have that kind of money to buy the expensive kitten food. How can I take care of it without having to spend so much???

I need it to live,. A kitten appeared at my patio about a week ago. It is very skittish and runs off if I try to approach it. I have been feeding it kibble and tuna along with fresh water. It only comes around in the early evening and hides out most of the day. Now I have observed fully grown cats coming around and bullying the kitten. Any advice will be helpful. I started feeding a stray cat a few weeks ago I have 2 questions.

I put water out. What else could it be? Is she just being friendly? There are a lot of strays in our neighborhood. Also, how many times a day do they need to eat? I have a stray that has had a litter of three living under my front porch. One of the litter is gone now. No way of knowing what happened to it. Recently my neighbor saw the 2 kittens eating the food I put out as well.

I suppose the kittens are about 2 months old just a guess. I like them although they are all afraid of me. The mom sometimes shows up on my front porch so I feed her there sometimes as well. If I made a little house for them in the back would they use it? I could even heat it when winter comes. Should I do this. I really like having them around and would like the kittens as well as the mom to stick around.

My experience with dumped, stray, or feral cats is we bought our house in the country and it came with a shadow cat. A shadow cat is one that watches what you are doing from yards or more away from you. About three months later someone dumped a gray tiger stripe female on us. She was aloof at first but after a few months of feeding her she warmed up to us.

The shadow cat would wait for us to go inside before he would come eat. Then he was gone. After about six months he would sit at the far corner of the front yard and wait. A few months later he would sit at the bottom of the steps to the porch. Then he would sit on the porch. He disappeared for a week or two and when he came back he started waiting about two feet from the feeding bowl. Then one day he was eating while I filled the bowl.

As he ate I stroked his back and that was it.