Mr. Cat is doing well on my porch.

[Ocelot II]

He has a heating pad under the blanket, and his food and water dishes are also heated. There's also a little shelter for him but he seems to prefer the chair, maybe because he can more easily survey his domain. It's been very cold here, as much as -20F a few nights, but he doesn't seem particularly fazed by it. He has his warm chair, his fur, and plenty of food. I just wish I could tame him a bit so he can live inside.

[Emile]

1. That's really nice of you. He looks comfortable.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. He's lucky you are looking out for him!

He sure is a handsome fellow

[jfz9580m]

4. Mr Cat???

Humph..that is Sir Cat 'o Puss to you..thank you very much.
.

I had a book on Ukrainian folktales (of all things! My family does not have even the remotest possible connection with Ukraine.. it must have been a gift) as a kid and there was a story about a cat which used to go around scamming people by referring to itself as Sir Cat 'O Puss..it looked a bit like Mr.Cat .

[zuul]

6. He looks very content!

[Bayard]

7. Looks pretty cozy in his fuzzy red bed

Mr. Bayard is in the process of building a big new insulated, cedar cat house on the porch for all our outside cats (20+ stray refugees, all spayed/neutered and vaccinated). Many choose to be on top of the current house, instead of in it, although we've had some pretty frigid temps too lately. They're supposed to be barn cats, but very few actually go to the barn. They are porch cats!

Hope you can eventually tame Mr. Cat. Our guys all eventually came around, and now love being petted. Most have been here a long time now.

[Ocelot II]

8. Mr. Cat turned up on my porch last March.

He looked fairly young, a bit thin, and had found a comfortable place to nap on my porch chair. After I found him there several times, I decided he needed food and a little warmth, so I got a heating pad and started feeding him. So naturally he stuck around, and now he pretty much lives there. He didn't need the heating pad after about April, but he liked the comfy chair and the food. He soon got bigger and a little bolder, and when I went out to work in the garden he'd stalk me until I put out more food. He hasn't been doing that as much this winter, since I'm not outside as much, but he did get off his chair and meow at me the other day when I went out to shovel snow. So I gave him more food, of course. I want to trap him and get him neutered at some point, when it gets warmer. There is a good cat rescue organization in the area and maybe they can help. If he's tamable maybe he can be a house cat; otherwise he's welcome to keep living on my porch for as long as he wants.

[Bayard]

9. Good plan

[Random Boomer]

14. Some feral cats can be tamed

But it can be a very long process. I've been feeding a feral cat for 6 years that still won't let me touch him.

During one summer we left the back door open and managed to entice him inside a few times with food. I was quite delighted once when he sniffed his way through the entire kitchen and then peeked into the dining room, but after his curiosity was satisfied, he sauntered back out again and showed no interest in a repeat tour.

Among our other cats (we have six), several were feral kittens that we rescued and have tamed to varying degrees. My oldest wild child is a gorgeous short-haired grey cat (he looks part Russian blue), very muscular and athletic. He comes in to eat, then wants back out. When the weather is really cold or rainy he'll spend nights indoor, but it makes him cranky to be inside too long and he'll start picking fights with the other cats until we open a door for him. Despite all that, he will come up to me for cuddles and every once in awhile he'll jump into my lap for a short nap. He'll even purr when I pick him up and love on him.

[Ocelot II]

15. I'll keep working on him.

He meows at me when I bring him food, and he'll come right up to me while I'm dishing it out and he'll take bits of chicken right from my fingers (that took a few weeks). I can't pet him, though; he backs away when I try. But he doesn't seem to be afraid of me.

[Random Boomer]

16. That's really promising behavior

It can take months to tame a feral or very skittish stray, but it's so worth it.

Years ago we took in two strays, right before a 3-4ft snow fall. One of them had obviously been someone's pet and she settled right in. The other -- a scraggly street cat with one eye and one tooth -- wasn't used to humans up close. The first time we tried to pet her, she shot straight up, as much startled as scared. Like, why would we do that? But bit by bit she learned to tolerate being touched, then started to actually like it. By the end of a year, she was a lap cat.

Just this past year, we took in a back alley kitten to be spayed, who followed the same path to taming. I started petting her while she was eating and she was so starved she let me do that. When she healed from surgery, we opened to the door to the room she was in and she began to explore the house, very very slowly. She added a new room every few weeks. It took months before she reached upstairs. Fast forward a year and she races into the bedroom in the morning, jumps onto the bed and knocks my hand until I pet her.

[Chicagogrl1]

10. He looks like a king on a throne

You are a kind soul to help this fur baby.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

11. Mr.Cat is so handsome

And thanks to you for providing the food and warmth that is keeping him alive at -20°. Thanks for keeping that awesome dude around.

[Ocelot II]

12. He's beautiful. I love him, though I don't think he loves me back.

But he seems content to make his home on my porch.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

13. He wouldnt go near you

If he didnt at least like you and trust you at least a little bit. He meowed at you..a cat that does not like you wont be sitting on your porch.