I was walking the dog in the back yard and saw a face I didn’t expect.

He or she must have gotten trapped in there a few days ago, maybe even a week or two. Poor thing!

I’ve put out some of our cat’s food and some water. And a litter box. (This explains the poop I found in there a few days ago. And it explains how the moving blanket I had over a pinball machine in restoring was on the floor the other day.)

We think it’s a neighborhood cat named Tubby. Her brother lives at another house, but she’s more feral.

She definitely took off and hid in the back corner when I tried to get close. Unfortunately there’s a bunch of stuff back there, and I don’t see any reason to spook her further. I don’t want to force her out into the rain. Now that I think about it, our dog was very interested in that corner a few days ago.

I’ll open the door a bit so she can get out, but with the rain, she might not be interested in leaving. And how will I know if she’s gone?

The garage is heated but I have the thermostat set to just keep it from freezing in there. Still warmer than outside though. I told my wife we may have just adopted a garage cat.

  • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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    2 hours ago

    She’s dry and has a blanket for body heat, prefers privacy, and now she has food (probably getting low on mousies after being trapped) and water and an exit if needed. You might crack that window rather than the door, put a box or board to hold it up and block extra air/rain. You’re refilling bowls and scooping the box so you’ll know if she’s gone.

    • limelight79@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 hour ago

      Yeah, I opened the garage door partway so she can get out if she wants. The plan is to close it again later, then put food out again, and see what happened to the food in the morning.

      I told my wife that if the cat is going to live in there, I want to put in a cat door for her. And get her cheaper, non prescription food (our cats, all indoor only, are all on prescription food, for various issues). I don’t want to steal my neighbor’s cat, of course, but if that’s where she chooses to shelter, I’m sure my neighbor will be happy she found a warm place indoors. Apparently the neighbor was hoping to domesticate her but wasn’t successful, so this might be a good compromise for her. I’m sure our neighbor has a shelter set up for her, and food is out for her at that house, so it’s up to the cat what she wants to do.

      I’m not looking to take on responsibility for another cat, but I won’t force her out, either.