Things to Feed a Stray Cat

Stray cats showing up on doorsteps are a problem in many neighborhoods. Most stray cats look skinny and appear as if they are starving. If you have a soft spot for strays, you may want to feed them. However, if you are not a cat owner, you may not know what cats eat or what you should feed them. There are a few things that you can feed a stray cat.

  1. Stray Cats

    • Many people think that every stray cat is also a feral cat, but this is not true. Oftentimes, stray cats were once pets 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 people contact. However, feral cats are usually skittish and not used to being around people. If you do find a feral cat in your area, contact local organizations to see if they practice in Trap Neuter Return. This practice neuters feral cats and returns them back to their environment to help control feral cat population.

    Dry Cat Food

    • If you have a weakness for cats and want to feed a stray, there are inexpensive options. Dry cat food does not cost much and you can purchase it relatively inexpensively at most grocery stores. If you have a large population of outdoor cats in your neighborhood, you may 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 opossums at night. Put the food away at night so it does not attract other animals.

    Canned Cat Food

    • 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.

    Other Feeding Options

    • If you do not have any indoor cats as pets in your 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, any type of fish or chicken. You can feed them fish that does not have bones or breading. Cats will eat chicken if it does not have any spices, and you should be careful not to give them chicken with bones because it can cause choking or internal perforation. Most cats like any type of meat or cold cuts that are free of bones. Avoid giving them milk or cream because this can cause diarrhea in some cats.