I'm moving...what about my feral cats?

Question

I have been feeding feral cats (3) a momma and 2 kittens.
They depend on me to feed them, in fact, they are waiting
for me to get home from work everyday. I cannot catch
the momma cat but the 2 kittens I can sort of touch.

So I'm moving to a new apartment in a couple of months and
I am really worried about them. Should I try to catch them and take them with me? How can I catch the momma cat? How can I get them to stay at my new apartment?

I can't leave them - they depend on me for food.

Answer 1

I would seriously consider contacting a loca shelter or rescue service that can capture them, and make sure they are healthy.

If you do not want to take that option, try to get some live traps. That way you can capture the mother cat, and the kittens without harming them. If you do catch them, get them all fixed so there are not more feral cats as a result of them not being fixed.

If you want to keep them as house cats, you may have issues, especially from the mother since she is a feral cat, the kittens may have more hope.

You have lots of options. Talk to some shelters and see what help they can offer as well in regards to help or rehoming if needed.

Answer 2

Find a no-kill shelter in your area. Ask them for help.

I see two options, and that's the first step either way.

You can keep the cats and domesticate them, or you can leave them with a shelter. If they are waiting for you every day, then you are almost certainly their main source of food -- meaning, they're your cats, in essence -- your responsibility.

You should borrow a trap from the shelter. They'll probably let you do this at no charge. These traps are a little frightening to an animal that's used to having full freedom, but they do not harm the cats at all. Once caught you can either keep the cats or give them to the shelter.

It isn't true that NO shelters will take ferals. Some will, some won't. I'm very lucky to live very close to a shelter that does. In my experience, only no-kill shelters take ferals and rehabilitate them, however. Others will kill them.

It's also not true that ferals can't be tamed. I've learned this from both personal experience and from the shelter here. Ferals take lots of time and love. They're prone to being a bit shy, even after they come around and learn to trust you. But, they can be wonderful, loving pets -- once you gain their full trust and confidence. You've made a great start on this by simply feeding them. Those kittens need to be handled as soon as possible and as often as possible -- it's so much easier to tame them while they're young.

I've tamed feral cats myself, and the shelter near me does it all the time -- they've got dozens of tame, loving, previously feral cats. They are in a secluded area that lots of people drop off unwanted animals in, and they leave food outside to draw the animals -- when they can catch them, they do, and they bring them in and rehabilitate them. Because of this method of catching the animals, they get lots of feral cats.

If you do take the cats with you, keep them inside and get them all neutered. If you really want them to be outdoor cats, then keep them inside for two weeks, then let them out but be sure they know where the food is. They'll know where "home" is that way. Good news is that most ferals seem to know what the litter box is for instinctively -- they like to bury their waste, and that's the only place indoors that they can do it! Kittens, naturally, will make some mistakes just like human toddlers do.

Good luck, and thank you for realizing that it's up to you to do something for those cats!

Answer 3

Borrow some humane traps and get the cats through a TNR program. That is Trap/Nueter/Release. The cats are fixed, vaccinated and ear tipped so anyone in the future can tell without having to catch the cat that it has been neutered. This greatly reduces it's chances of getting rounded up by Animal Control and euthanized. Please, please, get the cats fixed before you go--if you do nothing else, do that!

A shelter will not take a feral cat--they will tell you to go to Animal Control and from there they will euthanize a feral cat.

Try Alley Cat Allies on the internet--maybe they can put you in touch with someone else in your area with a colony and your cats could join an established colony.

Answer 4

This is a tough one! Either arrange with a neighbour to feed them, or try to catch them. If you manage to catch them, I think they'll adjust to the new appartment. Are you sure they only eat from you? What about other people in the neighbourhood, what about before you met them? Do a little research, I am sure you can find someone who will agree to feed them. We have 3 strays in the neighbourhood too, and they are the fattest cats around, we all feed them!
By the way, don't make them go to a shelter! It is very likely that the mom will be unhappy and scared, and she will be put to death, whereas she is living a free life she likes and you can't decide for her, unless you can ensure a good home, but not a shelter!

Answer 5

the respond is confident captivating dude by using fact the main effective constantly proceed to exist do no longer they? i've got self assurance for all feral/stray cats as at one time possibly they belonged to a guy or woman and that i additionally sense for kittens as i understand by using adventure that hungry cats will consume kittens particularly once you have a hundred's of them residing in one area, we had this concern interior the united kingdom the place I stay feral cats have been being fed by using sufferers in a wellbeing center and the place the boilers have been interior the basement cats have been breeding nonstop and the mummy cats have been often ravenous and ate their offspring. I ensured that all and sundry animal rescues have been given in contact in trapping the undesirable creatures and a few have been lower back neutered/spayed by using fact the do shop the mouse/rat inhabitants down. i could urge all people getting a cat or kitten to substantiate they'd't reproduce.

Answer 6

please please please, like the others say, try to trap all 3 and get the kittens fixed right away. it's so disturbing to know how many people who do have cats that they allow to go outside and roam around especially when they are not fixed. it's absolute ignorance.

As for the mother cat, it's still probably in her best interest to be humanely euthanized. Imagine what a terrible death she will have with no medical attention if she were to get injured, get sick, go blind, ect if she were to still be fixed but let loose to live a feral life. The kittens might have a chance of being adopted hopefully if they are lucky. Lucky i say because there are still tons of healthy kittens out in shelters that still do not get adopted and are put down.

If you can take the kittens with you i realy hope you will and i wish you the best of luck. You're a good person, i wish there could be more people like you.

Answer 7

You may be able to take the kittens with you and turn them into fairly domesticated cats later. The mother is a lost cause. She will have to be taken to a shelter. You might have to call animal control to come and catch her.
Good Luck!! I'm an animal lover too and I hate it when I have to leave strays to their own devices.

Answer 8

Call your Animal Sheliter. Maby they can give you the number of a Feral Cat person in your area. They will help you with the cats.I live in Indianapolis In. WE have a place called Indy Feral. They were very helpful to me

Answer 9

you can get a humane cat trap from the humane society or any vet should have one they are fairly easy to use and you can catch them and take them with you...thanks for feeding them i feed a feral cat as well and have fed many in the past

Answer 10

Good luck! Feral cats are wild cats. They are use to fending for themselves. You will never be true friends with a feral cat. They might let you think you are, but that is only to get the food.