There is a feral cat living in my neighborhood and I'm wondering if I should call animal control?

Question

I have 3 cats that are all vaccinated and the cat doesn't seem to bother them too much. It has been hanging around for a year now and I leave food out for him but he won't come within 50 feet of me! I'm just concerned 'cause they're predicting horrible snowstorms and hoping he'll make it another winter. I don't want to call animal control 'cause I know he'll never be adopted out 'cause he is so wild and will be put down. And since our cats are vaccinated and de-wormed, I don't see the problem with him hanging out. I think other neighbors leave food out, too.

Oh, there are also alot of places in my neighborhood which is almost solely summer people for the cat to seek shelter like under homes being built or garages and sheds. We also have thick woods.

Answer 1

If you feed him every day, and put out water for him, he will start to hang closer to your house. If you are worried about winter, you can make a really good shelter for very little money. A lot depends on the actual situation right around your home.

I care for a colony of feral cats that live in my neighborhood. You can get an extra small insulated plastic dog house at Walmart. The are plastic, inside and out, so they are waterproof. You can put some hay or straw in there and an old polyester fiberfill comforter on top of the hay. That will give him something to help hold his body heat. Try to face the dog house in a way that shelters the opening from blowing wind and snow. If you have something like a covered patio, you could use a sheltered corner there.

I do take extra care to check it when there is snowfall or rain, just to be sure the bedding is still dry. Wet bedding is not good for the cat, so I put fresh dry bedding in and wash and dry the wet one for the next time it needs changed.

You can e-mail me and I will gladly respond about the conditions here and what I do with cardboard boxes for shelters, but it would be too long for this board.

Animal control will not come out to trap a feral cat here, but they may operate differently where you live. At any rate, they don't live long on the streets, but they don't live at all at the shelter. They are usually euthanized immediately.

If you are interested in caring for this cat, do e-mail me and I will do all I can to help you. They can be tamed, but it takes a long tie and a lot of patience. That cat poses no real danger for your cats, apart from what they are already exposed to, if they go outside.

Answer 2

I wouldn't call animal control, but where do you live? If you live in a place where there are endangered native animals around then you may possibly have to but apart from that, then no way!

Leaving food out is good :) also, if you're worried about him not making it through the winter then perhaps buy a small kennel or some sort of shelter or box and put some old blankets in it for him to sleep in when it gets really cold. Put this in a hidden place where he often goes, perhaps around the area you feed him. He's likely to have a look and go in it.

If it is at all possible I'd advise getting him desexed. If there is a way of catching him without making him loose all trust in you then please do it. This is simply to stop him going out and impregnating cats and you ending up with a litter of kittens living around your house. Also it will stop him from getting into fights with other roaming males or other males coming into his area to fight.

However it's up to your discretion whether you do this or not as in doing that you might loose his trust completely and by the sounds of it the only way you could do this would be to set a trap.

Please keep feeding him and don't call animal control unless you really feel you have to.. make somewhere warm and dry for him to sleep or hid in...Thank you for caring about animals, even though it is an unfriendly kitty, not many poeple would.

Answer 3

Please, please don't call animal control unless they have a feral cat program to sterilize and vaccinate the cat and find it a home. Otherwise he/she will spend his last week terrified, huddled in a cage, until he is destroyed.

There are some good responses on this board. You should also check out Alley Cat Allies online--they have a lot of good suggestions. It is easy to build a small shelter where the cat can stay during the winter, or you could get a dog crate or dogloo. You can also buy a portable heating pad (Snuggle Safe is one brand name)--you heat it up in the microwave and it stays warm for hours. You could put that in the crate on really cold nights.

Maybe you and your neighbors could all chip in to have the cat sterilized, vaccinated, and dewormed. You might be able to find a vet with the holiday spirit who will give you a discount, but if not, it will still be worth the money to help this cat. Then you could release the cat back in your neighborhood. You can buy a humane trap at farm stores or you might be able to borrow one from your local humane society. And once the cat is sterilized he might become more approachable.

Again, please don't send this kitty to animal control. Most shelters classify feral cats as unadoptable, which is ridiculous, and kill them at the end of their stray period. But even if he is outside, he can have a good quality of life if he is sterilized, vaccinated, and dewormed, and has a reliable source of food. His life most likely will be shorter than an indoor cat's but if he goes to animal control, his life will be terminated in a week.

Good luck!

Answer 4

I can understand the desire not to call animal control because the kitty will more than likley be eunthenaized. Feral cats are a big issue and there are a few ways to handle this:

1) Check to see if there are any groups in your community our county that helps with feral cat populations. Many will 'trap and neuter' to prevent the kitty from breeding and will try to keep it fed (not much can be done for feral cats, they are not adoptable). Try http://www.saveacat.org/ for some tips.

2) A sanctuary can sometimes help if they are not already overfilled (which is common).

3) The sad, but more likley option, is to call animal control. They may try and bait and trap the kitty and provide it shelter until the end. Life for feral cats are less than 2 years and based on your weather report...less.

4) Another option is to talk with the neighbors to see if you all want to form a mini organization to help this kitty by making a small shelter for it (collect some funds, shouldn't cost much) and also food. I would recommend bait and trap to neuter/spay it at least.

Good luck!

Answer 5

OMG....this is so sad! I am so sorry to hear that you lost your babies as well as the other pet owners losing theirs. When only one dog is after a cat, the cat will bolt into a tree or out of range of a dog. This sounds more like a 'pack' behavior where they corner the cat. Often, a single dog couldn't do this much damage. The cats were intact, I assume, so coyotes or mountain lions could be ruled-out, because they are hunters, and don't kill 'just for fun'. If it is in fact dogs, it would be my guess, that there is an 'alpha', and the others are packing w/ him/her. Those dogs need to go to their respective homes. Is it possible that it is a pack of bored 'juveniles'? You said "--Yes, this is a retaliation sort of town.--" So where does that leave you losing your cat?? I wouldn't let that stop me, because what is actually happening is WRONG! Your community needs to be made aware of the series of dead kittys lining your street and including your own 2 babies. You can contact your local newspaper, for sure. You can also make your neighbors aware.... You can call a local TV channel as well where you would only be identified as someone who lost animals, and your other neighbors will also be interviewed. What have the other effected neighbors done? Can get a little pro-active here w/ them as well. So you are afraid that if Animal Control is notified and the dogs (assuming its dogs) are picked up, the negligent owners will target you for their own neglect and failure to take responsibility? Well, you can allow it to continue, and many more kitties will be killed and their owners deeply saddened, or you can take some action. And calling Animal Control is one way to take control and there is confidentiality practiced there. (Which I will not advocate, as dogs are just following an alpha due to irresponsible owners. AC is a kill facility.) But there are other things you can do as well.... I suspect you are angry. ANYONE would be. I would try the above local references and get the word out there that this is happening and to get the attention of people that allow their dogs to roam; can form a neighborhood watch where you do patrols, and most definitely, notify the police, who will also do rounds. If they spot a pack of dogs, they will most definitely call Animal Control, (and 'juvenile hall' if its kids). Can call the local animal shelter, and they will also be a resource for you. Again, so sorry for you sadness over the loss of your pets, as well as all the others. You can be proactive without becoming a target. And maybe, just maybe, it's more than just dogs! But it's serious, for sure. And applying the "Pack Logic" here as an example, "There's strength in numbers " so hopefully you will start talking with others in your neighborhood and community. You don't have to do this alone...this is a community problem. It's not real clear to me how if it was in fact dogs, no one heard the commotion...they would have made soooo much racket, someone would surely have heard. And the lab you saw would be covered with terrible defense wounds. Good luck....... PS. A dog wouldn't be a dog, if he wasn't interested in cats, but their main interest is just chase-related because the cat runs, and faster than most dogs. It's doubtful a lab would be interested in actually killing a cat; that is, if he could catch it first.

Answer 6

Calling animal control is a death wish for cats--domestic or feral. There are many good suggestions here and the cat has been living in the wild long enough that it knows where to go to get out of bad weather but you can make a bed out of straw in a doghouse or box...lots of things can work.
The best thing you can do for that cat is to contact Alley Cat Allies for a listing of a organization that is close to you for help.
The cat needs to be spay/neutered and vaccinated which will make him/her healthier and happier. This will give the cat a better quality life and will live longer.
Thanks for being so compassionate and caring to this cat.

Answer 7

Could you possibly have a box for him on a porch out of the wind and cold. Straw is an excellent insulator from the cold so you could put that on the bottom and provide some soft bedding such as an old blanket or toweling for his comfort. That might be a safer and more protected place for him to be if he would choose it.

If he does choose it for shelter you can get some Rescue Remedy from a health foods stores and put five or six drops of it on a washcloth or something and put it in his sleeping place. That would help reduce his fears of humans and you might be able to get closer to him. You would "refresh" the cloth daily for a week or ten days to see if this would help him feel more secure at your home.

If he hangs out with you this winter you could invest around $60 in a small dogloo which is better insultated than a box would be.

Answer 8

don't call animal control on him. he;s been out here along time and they know where to go to stay warm. i have 3 feral cats that i feed and i put food and 3 blankets in a
garage that is vacant and they seem happy enough.let them live the life they know,, if they go to the pound the;ll be killed fast.so live and let live..thanks for feeding that feral it means a lot to them god-bless you

Answer 9

yes have him or her removed becuase if the cat isnt fixed he or she will breed creating a much bigger problem in the future and meaning that instead of euthanizing 1 cat they will be euthanizeing 50 cats...
if he lives his life wont be easy - he probably has earmites.. worms.. etc.. fleas.. etc
SOME shelters take feral cats and fix them up and adopt them to farm home.. but even if not - sad to say.. yes in the long run and for the love of cats in general he should be picked up and removed..

IDEALLY in the future any cat should be removed IMMEDIATELY because there may be an owner looking for it - it might not be wild at first - just very scared.. but after 1 year it will go wild..

Answer 10

oh girl, i'm so feeling what you're feeling right now...there are alot of feral cats in this neighborhood and they just keep multiplying...but since you said that it's only one, and you and others feed him/her, he/she'll be alright...it's a wild cat, and it's instincts are to protect itself...so when it snows, the cat will be fine, still waiting on your doorstep for food, lol..these animals climb under the cars to keep warm, plus all that fur...it's fine.. :) nice to see you're concerned though