I wish it a forever home to love it. If those neighbors are rotten enough to leave if behind and not likeable, I imagine kitty has been through the wringer. Hope they find a warm hearth and bowls of milk. Doesn't really solve it. Trap it and take to the Humane Association?

Feed him. He's not a stray, he was left behind. Feeding him will give you a few days to figure it out. If you know he'll be put down at the shelter, is that the best thing for him?

"If we set up a trap to catch it and bring it in to the animal shelter, it will probably be put down."

That sounds like cruelty, but in actuality it would be better than the poor cat being left to scrounge for food and water and probably dying a slow, agonizing death of starvation. Or maybe from injuries sustained in a fight with another animal, or even being hit by a car.

Is there a 'no-kill' shelter in your area that could possibly relocate the cat to a farm, or someplace where it could be turned loose and have a reasonably safe life with little human contact?

Rusty

I'd call the Animal Control office in your area and ask for their guidance. Or, their help.

Is there an animal control unit in your municipality? If not, I hope you will follow through with your trap and remove. (You don't want this cat loose, perhaps to bite a curious child.)

There are organized groups in my city that have a TRN - trap-neuter-return system for feral cats. They also feed them. You want to be very careful trying to interact with a feral cat, though. Cat scratch disease can be dangerous.

Maybe you could leave food out at a certain time of the day for the cat and then bring the bowl in after an hour.

I don't know that one can really judge this neighbor without more facts. Leaving a pet is a terrible thing to do. Usually. But if the neighbor has been feeding it all these years against regulations and if he/she, like you, was never able to get close to the cat, but feared like you that it might be put down if captured, then there is sort of a gray area here.

Rusty has a point that maybe a quick euthanization by animal control officials might be better than the dangers of the wild, but perhaps the neighbor could not bring himself/herself to do that.

Lucille, with all due respect, I completely disagree with your gray area scenario. When you take on the duties of feeding a cat "all these years", you also take on the responsibilities of its well-being.

That is true, but if the only choice is euthanasia if the neighbor could not get close enough to capture the cat himself/herself, (the story lacks facts about any attempts to personally capture)) I can see how some would have trouble with that decision.

I agreed with Rusty, but others may feel differently.

Difficult situation, this is how we acquired our newest addition. Poor cat was left behind by people who moved. She appears to have an old hip injury and several of her teeth are broken off, perhaps from being kicked or hit. But unlike "your" cat, she is very friendly to us though not fond of our other cats (yet). Whatever you decide, good luck and hoping for a good outcome for the kitty.

So if I find a feral cat wondering around my house and I feed it for the next however long a month, two tears whatever...that makes this cat my responsability to care for it as in vet care ect???

The kitty may have many reasons for being a bit unfriendly or trying to bite when petted (e.g. petted on a painful area, scared, etc.). If she rubs on your husband's legs, this is a positive sign. If you can, I'd recommend trapping the kitty and taking her to a veterinarian for examination and some testing. Depending in the results and the advice of the veterinarian, either adopt the kitty or take her to the shelter. Sometimes, it takes kitties a while to warm up to people and it doesn't sound like this kitty has ever had a loving family. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt so far as her ability to warm up to you. I've seen some kitties that you'd never think would ever be friendly turn into wonderful, very affectionate, pets.

I think the whole situation is difficult to judge because we do not have the facts. It is possible that capture was attempted but the cat evaded being caught. Is there a local no kill shelter that could help?

In most areas there are rescue groups that will come trap feral and semi wild cats. They will neuter them clip the ear and return to the area or put them in a no kill rescue facility. That's where I would be looking. Call local vets offices and inquire about these options. Google for one in your area. Google for rescue services in your area. The animal control and their animal shelter are not the only options available. There are no kill shelters.

If you have a nextdoor forum for your neighborhood that is your best place to start. Here on mine we are helping find homes for lost pets daily and for those who have no home get in shelters.

Check out nextdoor!

https://www.google.com/search?q=nextdoor&oq=nextdoor+&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60j0j69i60j0j5.3176j0j4&client=ms-android-att-us&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

They got the cat over 15 years ago and have been feeding it and hopefully taking it to the vet for shots. They would leave one of their patio's French door open all day and the cat and their small fluffy white dog would come and go. They had a food and water dish there by the door. It was funny to see the cat and the dog sitting side by side at the door waiting for food every day.

Because we are in an unincorporated area, Animal Control won't do anything. We would have to rent the trap and catch the cat and take it in ourselves. I thìnk it is coming over here looking for food. It has come over to our property to wander around since they got it. We have 2.5 acres and most people have that or 5 acres. It wanders all over the neighborhood. Maybe one of the other neighbors will take care of it. I will have to ask around.

Mamapinky, can you answer this? You feed a cat for two years and the cat gets sick. Are you going to take it to the vet?

Trust me, you would. We had kittens born on our property. Our intentions were to spay and feed only. We felt that was the most we could.offer them. Then they worm their way into your life, little buggars. Then one gets an ear infection. One starts limping. Yep, we had no choice. Humanity takes over.

caflower, how awful they would abandon a cat of that age! Poor thing!

Sure, this could have happened, that could have happened, let's not judge too harshly?? Uh, no!

Unfortunately, humanity doesn't always take over. It should, but it doesn't.

Yes, if you find a stray cat and start feeding it, it becomes your cat and it's your responsibility to care for it, including providing it with veterinary care when it's ill or injured.

I own a live trap big enough to trap cats. I purchased it when I thought a neighbor had done the same thing, several days later....they came back for the cat. :0) Otherwise I'd have an extra mouth to feed.

Thank goodness they came back, nicole! Although I'm sure the cat would have been well cared for. :)

So, it's not a feral cat. It's a cat that's afraid of strangers. How awful of them to move away and leave him there after 15 years! Is someone else moving into their house? Perhaps they said they'd take on the care of the cat... one could hope. He has just about zero chance of being adopted at that age.

I agree. A feral cat may be difficult to capture but this was a family pet. I'm not in favor of cats outside, anyway. My kitty is an indoor only cat.

I worked in a group home for disabled adults located in a neighborhood. The family behind the home left 4 cats! My boss first set up little-heated igloos for them. Slowly the cats started coming inside until they all became office cats! One though was adopted by one of the staff's moms.

If you put food outside for this cat, who will report you? And, I go with the idea that it was a cat left behind not a stray.

https://www.thedodo.com/cops-build-cat-condo-2261545983.html

Maybe something like this.

Your county should have some kind of animal control office, if you are interested in contacting them.

Personally, I would just feed it and put out water. (I promise I won't report you. It's not like you are feeding raccoons or a coyote.)

This is the thing. I live surrounded by woodlands theres tons of feral cats roaming around. Animal control won't help me as they say they can't help them all...anyway I can't vet dozens of cats. Heck this next few weeks because of hubs illness and being out of work I don't know how I'm gonna feed my kids let alone vet feral cats. I'm not heartless or uncaring, I care...I had hoped the food I was putting out helped in some very small way. And no the vets won't help I've called many of them a few months ago when a little kitty was at my door very sick and crying. I couldn't get help and I never seen the cat up to it crying at my door. My kids made the decision to cancel the cable tv for a month along with internet and we got the cat to my vet, treated with antibotics for uti and kept it in the garage 10 days. I care but my hands are just so tied. Its been a rough year and a half. But I just can't save the kitties.

I have such great respect for all of you and how you step up to the plate for the poor furry babies, but I just don't have the money to help them. Remember when I first started posting at the kt and I said I'm honest and clean and poor...I wasnt lying...

Moonie....I don't know what I'd do...don't they say when a door closes God cracks a window.

DH doesn't want to leave out food because it will bring every wild animal that is around. We are way out in the country with hundreds of natural woods close by. We had a tough time chasing away and discouraging raccoons and skunks in the past. I will leave out water. I saw the old neighbor talking to another neighbor up the street a couple of weeks ago. Maybe he asked them to take the cat since their last one died recently. I haven't been able to get a hold of her to ask. I hope so.

Mamapinky, I started to revise my statement earlier but never got around to it. There are a lot of people that can't afford vet bills and I believe if you do the best you can, no one could ask any more than that.

Fortunately I have like-minded neighbors and we were able to solve our feral cat population by divvying them up and spay/neuter.

Btw, mamapinky, I hope easier times are ahead of you!

Can you just leave food for half an hour or so, near the door of the cat's "home"? He's probably too told to hunt and it is hard to think of him slowly starving to death. Thank you for putting out water.

Moonie, Thank you girl.

Oh I hate to think of a senior kitty abandoned and no one willing to feed or help her. :(

Has the kitty been spayed/neutered? Is one of the ears tipped?

This is an excellent group, they may be able to help you find local resources.

https://www.alleycat.org/our-work/feral-friends-network/feral-friends-network-connect/

My neighbors abandoned a cat several years ago and I did the wrong thing. I was pretty ignorant about what to do anyway, but I regret what happened. The cat found enough to eat. Turns out she had never been spayed. She had kittens under the house of other neighbors who were out of town for months and I was looking after their house.

One day I fetched the kittens and put them in a kitten box the Humane Society provided. When I took them in they asked me questions about the kittens. One of the questions was whether any of the kittens had bitten or scratched. And, yes, two of them had, which I told them honestly. They told me they would have to put down two of the kittens.

I was so regretful. I could have caught them in a way where it was impossible for them to bite or scratch had I known my honest answer would lead to that. But to back it up even further, I regret that I did not catch the original abandoned cat right away when I realized it had been left behind.

Hope you can figure what to do to minimize any suffering, present or future.

Some thing about no kill shelters that people don't know is there is no quality to life there. From 16 to 19 I worked in one and believed unwanted animals should not have been put to sleep. Today I feel much different. No kill shelters are very over crowed, one I worked at sometimes had 4 adult cats sharing a cage. The cats never left the cages some for years. Most where never adopted, 90% of people want a kitten not a adult cat. Feline upper respiratory was always present it went from cat to cat. At least half would die of it. Now I believe in a quick painless end rather then years of torture. No kill shelters ARE NOT what people want to believe they are. Most are like story you hear of animal hoarding .

Once I watched a documentary about no-kill shelters and now I believe that an animal that is not adoptable should be allowed to have a peaceful death rather than a life in confined, overcrowded conditions. It was very eye-opening.

I keep checking this to see if the OP will tell us what has become of the cat.

I don't know what happened to it. We haven't seen it around since I posted, so maybe someone took it in. I like to think positive rather than negative thoughts.