About 2 months ago a stray cat came to the back of my house.She looked like she was hungry so I gave her some cat food. After several days of the continued visit, I learned that she was not alone.She has 4 smaller cats following her. I have been feeding the group of 5 cats for about 2 months and I’m concerned that I might not be handling the situation correctly.The mother cat looks like she is pregnant again and the other 4 cats are growing up fast and become pregnant like their mother. What should I do?I keep reading about Trap Neuter and Return, but it seems like a difficult task when they wont let me touch them. Also the thought of them going to shelter and being euthanized for being "too feral" or unadobtable scares me . I currently have two cats of my own, and really can’t have anymore indoor cats. I have no problem continuing to feed them, but i want to be reassured that im not making things worse for them. Please Advise what I should do.
2007-03-08 06:34:03 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
There are several different schools of thought on this.
One is that you somehow trap the cats and bring them to a no-kill shelter. This way the cats will have a chance at being able to adjust to a home. The shelter will work with making them family ready.
The other option (the least popular to people who can't get past emotion) is to trap the cats and bring them to a kill shelter and have them euthanized. The logic behind this is that it's better for them to be killed humanely than to be captured for animal tests, tortured by a cruel human, to be maimed and left to suffer, to be tortured and killed by a predator, or to die from a terrible disease/starvation/dehydration.
The final option is what you've been reading about. Contact a rescue group that assists with this type of "Catch, fix, and relsease" program. Often, they will provide traps that can be baited with tuna or other food. They will often provide the altering for free or for a low cost, and may also vaccinate them as well.
I'm glad that you are concerned about these cats and that you care about your cats enough to keep them inside. I hope that you are able to find a solution. : )
2007-03-08 06:47:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Thank you for feeding them - life is hard enough for strays without starving to death. You definitely do need to trap them - you have the potential in your back yard right now for 7,000 more unwanted kittens/cats in as little as 10 years! When it comes to euthanasia - would you rather put down five cats or 7,000? It's such a hard thing anyway you look at it. Your humane society should have a low cost spay/neuter program for about 30.00 - and only do so if you are willing to continue to feed them. Your bright spot in all of this is IF you are able to catch this mother before she delivers AGAIN - you have the chance to trap and tame her next litter and work on adopting those babies out -- or putting them in rescue. It's kitten season though and most rescues are hard pressed for resources. Bribery ALWAYS works -- say if you were to be able to make a 200.00 donation towards their care (neuter/spay/shots/feluke testing) some groups will consider that a win/win -- donation and rescue. Last spring we got a call to remove feral babies from a yard - and whoa were they little scratchers and biters, covered with hundreds of fleas as well. It took TWO DAYS away from their mom, bathing in DAWN to slide/comb out the fleas, for them to turn into little purr bots - they were about 4 weeks old. If taken to the shelter they'd have been killed - they were too nasty for anyone to want - plus no one there would have had time to sit and gentle them down. They turned out to be very sweet loving kittens. So, my guess here is to 1: go ahead and try trapping. The cages are humane and you won't get more than one at a time -- work with the trapped cat - see if you can gentle it down once it's been away from the 'herd' (this may take a week since you have inside cats you do NOT want to expose to the strays -- keep this cat kenneled (LARGE plastic dog crates work very well - have enough room for litter pans/bedding and food/water) and see what happens. IF it gentles up - get it spayed/neutered - try for rescue. IF these are TRULY wild cats and you can not see the light at the end of the tunnel after trapping them (traps are are at feed stores (maybe petsmart - check online) fairly cheap) you can spay/neuter release and continue to support them via feeding - or turn them over to the local shelter. It all depends on what you have the stomach for and how much energy/resources you want to put into it. Covered a lot of ground here - hope it's not confusing -- and best of all GOOD LUCK!!!
2007-03-09 01:47:09 · answer #2 · answered by mabroox 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Please, everyone- spay / neuter your pets. PLEASE.
If you could possibly trap them and have them fixed that would be ideal.
You are probably the only kindness these furries know. You're doing well by feeding them.
We found a stray living in our shed 2 summers ago- poor dear was near dead. We later discovered her 4 babies-
She would not let us near her until we found her babies and brought them in the cool garage and began caring for them.
We tried to adopt them out, but with no luck. Lots of kitties needing homes. We did not plan on keeping them. We had 2 cats, 2 dogs and my pot belly pig...
They are now total delights in our life. They are wacky, happy and content. We had them all fixed to avoid more accidents.
They all live comfortably together.
It's a LOT of cats, but you know, after spending time with them, I'd be hard pressed to give even one of them up.
We have a huge yard outside of town. Only 1 grumpy, cat hating neighbor... which is OK, cuz I don't like his blasting music.
Kindness is never wrong. Do try to have them fixed once she has her babies... and rabies shots. Call around. You may find a compassionate vet- get their ideas.
Good luck. Be blessed. Love you.
2007-03-08 06:51:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I too feed a stray hungry cat that ended up bringing 3 kitties to eat after a little while. It took some time but the mother would let me pet her and when they kittens got bigger I put a carrier out there and let them eat in there. Finally they would go in it and eat with me standing there and I finally got them all in it and took it to my vet and had them all fixed . That has been about 2 years ago and they have made really nice outdoor cats that I can pet and they come every night to eat and one of the kitties comes in the back porch to sleep and so does the mother when it is cold. I feel like I made a difference as they would of all just kept breeding and multiplying. Two of them are pure black and are just beautiful.
2007-03-08 06:48:42 · answer #4 · answered by laniejo52 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is a great thing that you are feeding them! You are definitely not making things worse. First ask around and see if someone lost their cats! If that doesn't work you can find a friend or someone you trust to take them (or multiple people) or you can bring them to a no-kill shelter. Continue feeding them so they can have a source of food.
2007-03-08 06:49:39 · answer #5 · answered by Aly 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cat rescues usually do the trap and return. The rescue I volunteer for traps them, gets them neutered and places them with a feral colony caretaker. If they are pregnant, they will socialize the kittens and adopt them out. Feral cats are ery wild and will always be wild..once they are past 4 months old, there is very little chance they can be socialized .
2007-03-08 06:40:15 · answer #6 · answered by KathyS 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's a good thing that you have been feeding the cats, but you should probably bring them to a shelter. Maybe try seeing if someone you know wants a cat. If the cats are to agressive, even though it seems awful, you might need to put them down.
2007-03-08 06:38:53 · answer #7 · answered by Kaos 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in case you positioned them exterior, you're condemning them to an early death. the time-honored lifespan of an exterior cat is 3 to 7 years, vs. 15 years for an indoor cat. in the event that they're 8 weeks previous, they're in basic terms NOW the right age to locate properties. positioned an advert on Kijiji, incorporate various wonderful photos. ensure the photos are not blurry and darkish, those are valueless. sell the kits for $10 each and each (so as that they gained't finally end up snake food) and incorporate a unfastened bag of kitten food (or in the event that they're on tinned, a minimum of $5 nicely worth of tins). touch the Humane Society or interior sight cat rescues to verify in case you may get a low priced neuter for them formerly you enable them to circulate. Being neutered might cause them to much less annoying to place.
2016-09-30 09:46:40 · answer #8 · answered by barksdale 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you really want to make it all good get mom and kittens fixed. Then you will not be feeding tons and a growing problem. Or call a local rescue and ask for help doing a catch and remove or TNR (trap-neuter-release). Good luck! PS: if they catch and remove new cats will eventually take their place. Its usually best to do a tnr.
2007-03-08 06:40:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with homesfor Try and find a rescue for stray cats in your area to help with the spaying cost. Usually they have funds to pay for that and maybe they can help you adopt them out.
2007-03-08 10:57:31 · answer #10 · answered by katie d 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋