How can i help all the pharral cats in my neighborhood?

Question

There are hundreds! No joke, We have two outside cats but we have to contstantly feed them because the food dosnt last long. I refuse to get them put to sleep and im afraid animal shelters might do that. I also want to make sure they get GOOD long lasting homes.

Answer 1

If these are truly feral cats and not a neighbor’s wandering cat, then they have likely become a member of the “wild” community, hence the term feral. If so, some areas have formed clubs which capture these cats, make sure that they get their medical checkups, spay and neuter them, get all of their required shots, and return them to the wild. They are predators of other wild animals.

If they are not feral but are wandering cats belonging to a neighbor, capture them and take them to the humane society. If the owners pay enough finds they may begin taking better care of them.

Answer 2

Well you can put out food for them but that is about all you can do without involving a shelter of some sort. You by yourself should never try to capture a feral animal. Cats especially can carry dangerous diseases and could hurt you if not used to human interaction. Its great you want to help these animals. Find a "no kill" shelter near you and tell them about the cats. Not all shelters have a high euthanasia rate, that's just a stereotype. They can come out to your community and safely capture the animals, the get them checked by a vet, and off to good homes. Also, be careful with your two cats. Since they live outside, make sure they get regular vet checkups. And get them fixed if they aren't already! If you allow you animals to go outside like that and they aren't fixed then you are only adding to the number of animals in the feral community. So talk to a shelter near you to find out how you can work together to help these animals.

Answer 3

What a kind hearted loving person you must be to take on that responsibility.

I'm sure you already know that by feeding your cats outside, you are putting out the dinner bell for every cat within a good sized area. You might want to start feeding your cats inside and the outside population will go down tremendously once they realize the free meals are over.

You are right about the animal shelters. They cannot afford to keep animals too long so if someone doesn't adopt one, they are killed. That's why it's so important to have your pets spayed or neutered!

With feral cats, even if you could catch one you are putting yourself at risk because they will fight you and they do carry disease. If you did catch one, you would have to clean it up, gentle it, and probably take it to the vet which is quite expensive. Then you would have to find it a home. It's a wonderful thought, but not very practical.

I suggest you feed your cats inside and leave the wild cats to fend for themselves. By feeding them you are bringing more around and giving them strength to breed more of the same.

I have two cats myself that I love very much, so I wish I could think of a better way, but I don't see one.

The best to you...

Answer 4

The feral cats should be picked up and taken to a shelter. If you'll check around a bit, you may find that there's a no-kill shelter or two in your area. That way, you won't have to worry about the cats being killed. Something else that you need to think about, though, is that most of these cats are not spayed or neutered and will continue to produce lots more cats. These cats will starve and also will never have the benefit of good homes. You need to be responsible about this and look at the big picture. Good luck.

Answer 5

I would check with your shelter or pound. Ours, for instance, is no kill shelter, with the exception of unadoptable animals (the ones that won't stop biting, clawing, have a medical condition). They will also spay/nueter the cats, which is most of the problem in your neighborhood right now. There are usually other local shelters that are specialized in cats. you can ask your animal shelter about that, as well. They do the same thing in a non-profit setting.

Answer 6

Trap, spay/neuter, release, and feed. That is what we did to the cats around our apartment. We borrowed a cat trap from the local shelter and took them to our vet. He gave us a discount because they were stray cats. It just takes a day. Trap at night and take to the vet in the morning, bring home and release. The stitches are dissolvable so they will come off on their own later.

If you still want to take them to a shelter please ask what their policy for unadopted cats is. I know too many of them will put the cats to sleep in a blink.

Call around and do what you can. I can see you care about them. Thank you and good luck.

Answer 7

I feel your pain. We have loads of unwanted feral cats in my neighborhood, but Randy is right. True feral cats are just that, feral or wild. They are not house cats. They are descended from house cats, but being wild, they cannot be adopted into homes anymore than any other wild cat can be.
It's sad but, just make sure that you keep your own cats' shots up to date and spay or neuter them so you don't add to the population of unwanteds.
In the meantime, you should call your local animal control. They may have a catch, neuter, and release program. Many do.

Answer 8

Don't take them to a SPCA Call your nearest SPCA so they can safely fix them then let them go.Farrel cats have a scar on thier ears, because the SPCA fixes them then turns them loose.

Answer 9

there are some groups that gather feral cats, have them nuetered/spayed and then get them adopted...without killing them... check with your local spca....
and if there isn't one already... perhaps this is your great humanitarian effort to create.... or felitarian, rather!

Answer 10

you could buy humane traps and evry time you catch one, take it to the shelter.