Missing Cat!

by Valerie Spinning
(Yellow Springs, OH)

Late Spring an adult male cat decided to hangout on the dock at my business. (I feed strays.) He was not neutered, so we caught and had him fixed and then released him. In side my business, I house three cats, two females and a one year old male. Well the stray male wants to dominate the other three. Saturday the two males got into a spat. The young (Silvester) took off and we haven't seen him since. So my question is will a male cat leave his home because of another male cat? I have a hard time believing that he would let someone pick him up and take him home.
Thank you,

This is a prime example of the nature of cats. The older/stronger cat will run off another cat, especially a male, to protect what he perceives as his territory. We see conflicts like this often especially when we bring in an adult male. Fortunately, we have enough "territory" so they can stake out claim to their own area and only fuss with one another occassionally (usually at meal times!). The young cat may still come back since he knows there is food there but he may have found another stray friendly home to hang out at. You can try putting out flyers and see if anyone responds. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait and wonder and hope he is happy wherever he is!

Donna - House Full Cats Mom