# semi-feral cat missing



## Chris2552 (Feb 27, 2015)

Hello. I am looking for some help with feral cats. I have been feeding them for years... I have learned a lot on my own just dealing with these cats. However, a issue has came up that's seriously saddened me. I have a hard time sleeping at night because I honestly feel terrible.

A female feral cat had a litter of 4 kittens 7 months ago. Her name is white paws. She allows me to pet her, but not pick up. She runs at sight of anyone but me she is very friendly with me. I feed her, give her water, attention. Well, she brought he kittens onto my porch so I began helping her care for her kittens. White paws was actually born on my property and I cared for her since she was young as much as I can... but anyways, the 4 kitten she had I wormed them, got their shots, and cleaned them of fleas. One kitten tho was VERY sick and almost died. I had to take him to the vet and after I bought him in side. I heated towels for him, bought tiny pet carrier to keep him in. I carried him around like a baby nursing him back to health for almost 3 weeks as well putting him with white paws so he could nurse then bringing him back inside. Once he was healthy, I put him back outside with his sisters and mother. He has grown into a wonderful cat, super friendly, a very fluffy and pretty cat, and healthy. He lives on my porch, I built him a cat house as well.

Well problem is he has went missing. He has been missing now for almost 2 weeks... I have noticed another boy cat very large has been lurking my property and I fear he has killed Tiger or ran him off. I am very sad would don't even know how to begin to find him if he is even still alive.


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## Chris2552 (Feb 27, 2015)

I would like to add I am very stressed out over this and not sure what I should do... if there is anything? I fear at this point Tiger may be dead, and I feel I had failed him as a cat owner/keeper. But I didn't know the other tom was lurking around, he is really good at keeping his distance and hiding from sight, this tom.


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

I can tell how stressed and worried you are. I totally get it. I have a feral I've been caring feeding and caring for for over three years now, almost four. 

My first thought would not be that he has been killed though. If you put him back outside and he was not neutered, he is going to roam. When I was a kid I had a big beautiful black tom cat, and my mom never had him fixed. He would disappear for days, and a few times for weeks, and I'd be sure he was gone, and then he would re appear. It's possible he could be hanging out in someone else's house? Another cat person maybe who saw him out in the cold and took him in. You have to keep some hope that this is a possibility, and this happens more than you think. 

Yes, it is also possible that something happened to him. And you will go crazy trying to think about what, but it's sadly just something we have no control of when we take care of ferals, or we have cats that can go outside. It could very well be that this new tom that has been lurking is keeping him away, that is very possible. The few times that my feral girl did not come home, there was always another cat around that was hassling her. I think about bringing her in all the time, but I have 4 inside cats, and I'm not sure of the health of my feral. Also, one of my boy cats is a bully and she is very timid, and he would mess with her. She does sleep in the garage during the winters, and I live in FL, so it's not too bad for her in this climate. 

Don't give up hope. I don't know what else to tell you. It's the sad, sad part of loving these cats that live free and wild. My girl didn't come home for two days once, after I de-wormed her once, with medication from the vet, not over the counter stuff, and it made her so sick, I thought she had gone off and died, I really did. I cried for the two days she was gone and searched everywhere for her. She finally came back the third day but it was over a week before she had her full appetite back. So I know how you feel. There is not much I can say to help you feel better, just know that there are many of us here who have been down that road, and it is really hard. Hang in there.


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## deanna79 (Aug 13, 2014)

It's sad and I know how worried you are. I'm caring for 9 feral cats and when one didn't come home for dinner, I get really worried. I had one that would leave for several weeks and come back too and that's before he was fixed. If your feral boy wasn't fix, it's likely he's roaming around finding a mate, let's hope that is the case. I'm assuming he is older and not a kitten, so I don't think the other tom cat would kill him. Normally they would fight but not fight to kill. I just hope he didn't get hit by a car, but as a caretaker, we do what we could do and just hope for the best.


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## Chris2552 (Feb 27, 2015)

He is 7-8 months old. He is a young adult and he just came into the prospect of possibly looking for a mate. I don't think he has been hit by a car but its possible. My house is on a hill surrounded by woods in the back. The road is probably 2 football fields away.

I had this very samething happen 2 years ago with another feral stray I fed. He was very friendly/pretty cat. I think someone took him inside, he had a natural bob tail, and a fine silver coat with blue eyes and super white whiskers... pretty cat. He was my pal for about a year then he just vanished. He never returned but I like to think someone took him in and kept him.

I have 3 cats inside so I can't take on anymore and all 3 of my inside cats where born right on my property. I am finally down to a few strays I feed a day, thank god. I love cats but cats multiply so quickly and I get attached to them.

Anyways I hope he comes back someday... I also hope he did find himself a pretty young mate and they're happy together! LOL. Hopefully he is warm and fed well. Either way I miss him, he is just a old cat but I liked him a lot.


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## Chris2552 (Feb 27, 2015)

Oh, there was a bunch males lurking about a year ago. The tom that is still here the one I am having issues with did fight these toms to the death. He killed a tom under my porch! He did it without me knowing, I didn't know until found him. I felt bad for the one he killed he was friendly and scared to death. I had to talk him out of a tree to come eat he would sit a top a big 40foot oak all day and all night hiding. 

I forgotten all about this until just now. 

He fought another tom for a week! Fights would break out at 2am and I would have to go outside to break it up. They always ended their fights in top of the tree as well. He scared this tom so bad he jumped out of the top of a oak and hurt his leg pretty badly. The current tom also killed him after about 2 weeks of fighting.

This is why I suspect the worse for my cat. But the tom in question is the father of Tiger... I doubt that means anything to cats.

I have had many feral and strays come and go! Even some Lynx, wild cats, very big. I had one lurking my property for about a month but haven't seen him in a LONG time. He was twice the size of the feral I feed, he was coming and going under my porch. My guess? He was here for the females that were in heat or the food.

I am hopefully going to see this tom I am having problems with gone. I am going to talk to the people who claim to be its owners tomorrow and if they won't take action then I guess I will have to trap it and turn it into the human society or animal shelter/animal control. I just can't have a cat going around killing my cats or anybodies cats for that matter, or running them away from their homes.


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## deanna79 (Aug 13, 2014)

Can you try to trap that tom and have him fixed. It may stop all his fighting. You can rent the traps free at the humane society.


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## Chris2552 (Feb 27, 2015)

Thanks for all the replies. It is nice talking to people who understand cats and love them like I do.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Yikes. It sounds like that tom cat is really causing trouble. His owners haven't fixed him?? That's sort of unacceptable...no wonder he's so aggressive towards other male cats. 

Are there female kitties in the area that you're aware of? 

I hope your little Tiger comes back. But if he doesn't, there isn't much you could have done beyond what you were already doing, unless you'd decided to make him an indoor-only kitty, and it doesn't seem like that would have worked. 

Fingers crossed that he'll show up - maybe once you can get this pain in the butt cat out of your hair!


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