What to Feed A Stray Cat

First off, many people think that every stray cat is also a feral cat, but this is not true. Many stray cats are simply cats that had been lost or abandoned. Feral cats were born to other abandoned cats or feral cats that have not been spayed or neutered. Stray cats are often friendly and used to being around people, whereas feral cats are usually skittish and not used to human contact. If you do find a feral cat in your area, contact a local organization to see if they will neuter a feral cat. Sometimes, veterinary practices will do so and then return them back to their environment to help control the overpopulation of feral cats. FEEDING A STRAY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE If you have a weakness for cats and want to feed a stray, there are inexpensive options. You can purchase dry cat food at your local grocery store which should not cost very much. If you have a large population of outdoor cats in your neighborhood, you might want to use dry cat food to feed a stray cat since this will not be as likely to attract other cats. However, if you place the dry cat food in a bowl on the porch, it may attract other critters such as raccoons and possums at night. Simply put the food away at night so it does not attract other animals. Skittish or shy stray cats may only come out at night to eat. If this is the case and you do not have many neighborhood cats in your area, you may want to put out canned cat food on your porch at night. Strong flavors such as tuna appeal to most cats. Canned or soft cat food is not as likely to attract other animals as much as hard cat food does. Although canned cat food does not cost much per can, there is not much in one container and it can get costly over time. This is something you should consider if budget is an issue. YOU CAN USE FOOD FROM HOME TO FEED THEM If you do not have any indoor cats at home, you probably do not have any cat food on hand and may not want to purchase any. There are other food options for feeding a stray cat. Most cats like tuna or any type of fish. You can feed them pieces of bread that you have at home, chicken, that does not have any bones or spices. Most cats like any type of meat or cold cuts that are free of bones. You should avoid giving them milk or cream because this can cause poor digestion in some cats.