Domestic cat (Felis catus)

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Felis catus - Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory


I have a male black cat named Max. At my previous house I heard a kitten meowing under my house in October 2012, and a few days later the kitten came out from under the house and walked directly to me. It started to rain the same day, and I brought him into the house.

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I fed him kitten formula using a syringe or something like one, but by October 22 he was able to lap the formula from a bowl.

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We moved to my new house in May 2013. He was afraid of the new space, especially the first day when I dropped him off before getting more things to move. When I came back that day, I found him hiding behind my bathroom's toilet, not even coming out when he saw me.

I used to let him out into the back yard sometimes. He kills carolina anoles (aka green anoles) and some insects--crane flies for example--more than anything else. He often begs to go out, but I don't let him out because he will kill animals and might get hurt himself in a cat fight or an encounter with a dog. He sometimes gets out by mistake. Here he is rummaging around the back yard on August 20, 2016.

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I have seen many other cats in the yard. Like other urban mammals, cats go from yard to yard on wooden fences and roofs. Sometimes I see one hunting in the back yard, and Max is very watchful of the cats he sees through the window. The neighbors across the street have a male cat, who considers my yard his territory. Max has confronted this cat a least once, and both made aggressive postures and sounds.