"Gandalf" wrote
I guess I need advice on what to do. I want to take Misu to the vet,
but am concerned that if I put him through a traumatic experience,
that he will never trust me again. It took a few days of feeding and
patience to win his trust in the first place.

Take him. He will trust you again, if he is an intelligent cat. They know
when you are helping them, even if it is unpleasant.

Your photos are beautiful. Keep your cats outside if you can bear to expose
them to anything that might come along. I don't mind a good gamble, but not
with lives I love. YMMV.



Also, I've always been a stern believer in keeping cats indoors.
However, here we have a cat used to being outside, yet is incredibly
friendly. I know within a month I'm going to be incredibly emotionally
attached, and I'm going to be terrified of losing him to a car. Lynxie
hates all other cats, so I can't really let him inside, and if I do
let him in, he's going to want to go back out eventually I'm sure.

So what's the best way to deal with this? Should I just have him
fixed, collared, vaccinated, and let him be an outdoor cat? I'm
worried he may collect parasites and bring them in to infect Lynxie,
if I let him inside. It seems heartbreaking to force such a sweetie to
stay outside, alone most of the time, and only see him for a
relatively short period of time each day. He seems happy outside,
but.. I guess we tend to anthropomorphize, right?

Any advice is welcome. We are all cat lovers, here, so I'm sure you
understand how I feel. I want Misu to have a happy life.

-Zorin the Lynx

I can't add much to Matthew's excellent advice, except to suggest the
possibility of providing him with a shelter on your patio, such as a
small dog house, whether home made, or purchased.

If you get cold weather, you could provide an electric heating pad, set
to it's lowest setting, with several layers of old blanket or towels
over it.

My bet would be he would move in, and stay pretty close to his new home.

At least, that is what I would hope for.

Thank you for looking after the outdoor kitties, and especially Misu,
who must have been a dumped pet. You REALLY don't want to hear what I
have to say about people who dump pet cats and dogs

And I do remember reading posts about Lynxie, years ago

Best of luck, with Misu.