Hi,

I captured and neutered a feral cat. If I had it to do over, I would have chased him away in the beginning because of my other two cats, but he was in such a sad state, I gave in. I was hoping the neutering would keep him from bothering my other cats - one indoor/outdoor, and one (Bob) who planted himself on my deck 3 years ago. (I was never able to locate his owner, though I tried very hard. Finally brought him in for shots and care, etc. and now consider him mine.) The feral has scratched Bob, creating a terrible abscess, and in the same week, I suspect gave my other cat some trouble. The vet bills were $700 for the 2 cats, and I can't afford to risk them being hurt again. He does seem to have worked things out with Bob to some extent now, but again -- don't want to risk it.

Sneaky Pete (the feral) is not a nasty cat, but he does boot Bob out of his house and kind of rules the roost around here, making my cats miserable. He's not touchable, but one can get within a foot of him now without him hissing and such.

I know I could capture him again easily because he has been booting Bob out of his sleeping crate when it's cold and rainy, but what to do with him? I didn't want to put him down obviously, which is why I paid to have him neutered (also got his shots). I didn't know at the time, when I took pity on him, that if you feed these guys, they are, for all intents and purposes, yours. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Like I say, he's not particularly nasty, but he needs to be with other ferals; he's too tough for my softies.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Liv