How do I attract a stray cat?

[greebo2001]

We have been feeding a stray cat for approximately seven months. We had him castrated after searching unsuccessfully for a possible owner. This led to us keeping him indoors for two days. From a frightened feral cat who watched from a distance as we put his food down, he now lets us stroke him, kiss him, carry him and he even chases pieces of string at times.There were no problems in his using the litter tray during his convallescense implying that he must have been house trained at a certain time.

My question is how to attract him into the house as a member of the family. We have two other cats who seem to accept him as just another interest. He eats next to them and then leaves. We think he lives in a piece of lattice fence covered by a hedge and we so much want to attract him into the warm indoors. How do we do it? Please could someone advise us. I would be incredibly thankful.

[bushbaby_de]

I expect he's going home! We thought we were giving a stray cat a home when he spent seemingly months in our house. We put an ad in the paper just to make sure and it turned out he lived a few streets over and had been regularly visiting them too!

[misjef]

When you had him castrated did you get the vets to check him over for a microchip?
I don't think you can do much else to attract him into your home, you ll just have to let him do whatever he feels comfortable with.
Like the other poster has added it could well be that he does indeed have a home - we had an elderly cat who due to her age was become very thin and you could see her bones so a lot of the neighbours assumed she was a stray and therefore fed her - and being a cat she loved getting the extra attention and food!
It might be that you just have to except that he may never become a part of your family completely as he may have other houses that feed him.

[thomasjori53]

There are stray cat rescue kits you can purchase online which are ideal for short term care of a cat. They make several different cages such as rescue traps, cage dividers (allows the cage to be used as a feeding and watering area) and burlap cover traps which help camouflage the trap and soothe the the cat once it is trapped. You can use sardines, canned tuna, chicken, fish and meats as bait inside the trap to lure it inside the trap. You may want to consult with your state, county and municipal laws related to cats vary. Consult with local humane league, animal shelter, or local or state Game Commission to determine the correct method of relocating a captured stray cat. Before trapping, call your local humane league, SPCA or similar organization to discuss their suggested method of rescuing stray cats and all of the options available to you. It is best to follow the guidelines they endorse when transporting the caged cat to their organization. The majority of these organizations can be found in the telephone directory. Please be certain of the course of action you would like to pursue before rescuing a stray cat. When you choose to rescue stray cats, it is important that you contact your local humane league, animal shelter or other similar organizations to learn the local regulations and policies pertaining to your community before trapping.

Source(s)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cats
http://www.havahart.c...ive-animal-traps/1099

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXjVpoiMLmo&feature=player_embedded

[thomasjori53]

There are stray cat rescue kits you can purchase online which are ideal for short term care of a cat. They make several different cages such as rescue traps, cage dividers (allows the cage to be used as a feeding and watering area) and burlap cover traps which help camouflage the trap and soothe the the cat once it is trapped. You can use sardines, canned tuna, chicken, fish and meats as bait inside the trap to lure it inside the trap. You may want to consult with your state, county and municipal laws related to cats vary. Consult with local humane league, animal shelter, or local or state Game Commission to determine the correct method of relocating a captured stray cat. Before trapping, call your local humane league, SPCA or similar organization to discuss their suggested method of rescuing stray cats and all of the options available to you. It is best to follow the guidelines they endorse when transporting the caged cat to their organization. The majority of these organizations can be found in the telephone directory. Please be certain of the course of action you would like to pursue before rescuing a stray cat. When you choose to rescue stray cats, it is important that you contact your local humane league, animal shelter or other similar organizations to learn the local regulations and policies pertaining to your community before trapping.

Source(s)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cats
http://www.havahart.c...ive-animal-traps/1099