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Scootz's Friends Gallery - The Outdoor Cat
Last summer a stray showed up in my back yard and I gave it some of Scootz's leftovers on occasion. The cat was in bad shape skinny, his tail seemed to have been broken in a couple of places, ribs sticking out, and he was not taking care of his fur. Anyway he stuck around, and when I saw how many birds he was killing, I took over giving him two full meals a day.
It has saved the birds, but I now have a permanent guest.
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He was semi-feral when he arrived, but I think had been owned at some time previously. It took a while to get him to let me pick him up but he only used hissing to try to get me to back off never an attempt at a bite or a scratch. Now he freely lets me pick him up - for a minute or so...
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After about four months of decent food, he filled out into a large black tomcat, a really good looking cat and his injuries have all healed. With the cold weather, I have tried to bring him inside, but he absolutely refuses. He panics as soon as I try to bring him in the door it’s as if “inside” has a bad connotation for him. So I’ve set a reasonably sheltered place up outside surrounded by bags of leaves and he seems quite snug there and unbothered by the cold, so far. |
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I’ve considered the SPCA (Humane Society), but given his history, he is probably unadoptable so it would be a matter of spending his last few days in a cage. With his strong preference for the outdoors, I think it’s better to take the risk of him freezing than to send him to almost certain death.
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I have not really named him I just call him the “outside cat.” Perhaps one day when he he trusts me enough to come through the door into the warmth, he and I can agree on a name for him.. |
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