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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.

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...
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.

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.

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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