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Anonymous
Anonymous
For some time I'd been feeding and befriending a stray cat. It took weeks for the cat to come to trust me, but through regular feedings, soft words, and (eventually) petting and scratching, he came to trust me, even enough that I was able to pick him up and bring him inside on multiple occasions. However, the cat plainly was never completely at ease inside, and usually indicated his desire to leave within a few minutes of coming in or being brought in. But I got in the habit of putting cat food out on the stoop for him, and he'd usually be there in the morning when I went to work.
A few weeks ago, he stopped showing up. At first, this wasn't out of the ordinary - sometimes he'd be gone for a few days, but this time, he hasn't come back. I suspect he got picked up by animal control, and sadly, has probably been destroyed. One can hope he got adopted, but the local shelter here is notorious for destroying animals, even those which are obviously just lost pets with owners that most likely will come look for them, within 2 days of pickup.
While I am saddened by this prospect, it does comfort me that perhaps I made his last few months less unpleasant by providing a steady, reliable place to eat real food as opposed to garbage or carrion. I was able to observe his improving body mass, in fact, up until his disappearance.
In the meantime, within a week or ten days, another cat has started eating the food. I have only seen this other cat once or twice, it is plainly feral and absolutely uninterested in any form of human contact. No amount of cajoling, treats or anything else entices it to stay in sight, much less approach. I've been continuing to put out cat food in the meantime, but it occurs to me - could it be this feral cat has "chased off" the previous cat (which looked much more like a lost or runaway house cat) to monopolize access to my free eats? Do I want to continue buying and putting out cat food for the new, antisocial cat, whether or not it had anything to do with the previous cat's disappearance? Am I a bad person for not wanting to feed this cat any further when my honest, truthful reason for such is that this cat doesn't want to be friendly with me? Should I keep putting out food on the off chance that the previous cat may return or reassert itself, or is that faint chance simple wishful thinking? At what point is it acceptable to stop feeding stray cats?
A few weeks ago, he stopped showing up. At first, this wasn't out of the ordinary - sometimes he'd be gone for a few days, but this time, he hasn't come back. I suspect he got picked up by animal control, and sadly, has probably been destroyed. One can hope he got adopted, but the local shelter here is notorious for destroying animals, even those which are obviously just lost pets with owners that most likely will come look for them, within 2 days of pickup.
While I am saddened by this prospect, it does comfort me that perhaps I made his last few months less unpleasant by providing a steady, reliable place to eat real food as opposed to garbage or carrion. I was able to observe his improving body mass, in fact, up until his disappearance.
In the meantime, within a week or ten days, another cat has started eating the food. I have only seen this other cat once or twice, it is plainly feral and absolutely uninterested in any form of human contact. No amount of cajoling, treats or anything else entices it to stay in sight, much less approach. I've been continuing to put out cat food in the meantime, but it occurs to me - could it be this feral cat has "chased off" the previous cat (which looked much more like a lost or runaway house cat) to monopolize access to my free eats? Do I want to continue buying and putting out cat food for the new, antisocial cat, whether or not it had anything to do with the previous cat's disappearance? Am I a bad person for not wanting to feed this cat any further when my honest, truthful reason for such is that this cat doesn't want to be friendly with me? Should I keep putting out food on the off chance that the previous cat may return or reassert itself, or is that faint chance simple wishful thinking? At what point is it acceptable to stop feeding stray cats?
