Taming feral cats

[indysteel]

We got a live trap at our local tractor/farm supply store. We put a small bit of canned food at the end of it and then sprinkle of a few cat treats near the opening of the trap. So far, it's worked for three cats. We trapped our last one today--a male. I was really holding my breath, as it was raining and I needed to leave at 6:45 to make it to the dropoff location on time. Well, he showed up at 6:40. My husband coaxed him into the trap and away we went. We cover the traps with a blanket or sheet once they're trapped, and that calms them down at least to the point of not thrashing around.

I considered not fixing my male ferals, but for a couple different reasons, I think it's a good idea. For one, that means there's one less male cat that can impregnate any stray unspayed female they encounter. For another, it generally makes them less aggressive, which helps lessen the chance they'll get in a fight with another cat--a cat that may be infected with a variety of things.

I'd add that one of the other women there has multiple litters of kittens that were born to stray moms this summer before she'd had a chance to get them. Bless her heart for getting all of them spayed and neutered. It's costing her a pretty penny.

Good luck, Jess. You're doing a good thing.

[Irulan]

I considered not fixing my male ferals,

Other than cost, why wouldn't you fix a feral cat, male or female?

[indysteel]

Other than cost, why wouldn't you fix a feral cat, male or female?

Well, I didn't consider it for very long--like for about five seconds. Cost, hassle, stress on the animal, their unpredictable behavior (my adult male comes and goes for weeks at a time). I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm sure there are feral tenders out there that just make it a priority to spay their females. From a cat population standpoint, that's not a horrible approach. It's not the best approach IMO (and sometimes not legally compliant), but it's better than not doing anything I suppose.

[Biciclista]

I grew up with un-neutered cats, leaving them entire seriously shortens their lives. They are so driven by sex and territory that they don't take enough time to hunt and eat. But Indy, I hear what you're saying, if you're having to pay for it!
The cat ladies around here take anything that will crawl into a trap.

[indysteel]

I grew up with un-neutered cats, leaving them entire seriously shortens their lives. They are so driven by sex and territory that they don't take enough time to hunt and eat. But Indy, I hear what you're saying, if you're having to pay for it!
The cat ladies around here take anything that will crawl into a trap.

I want to make it clear that I didn't seriously consider not fixing him. It was really just a passing thought. My adult male disappeared for three weeks the very day that I took the other two to the vet. He showed up again last week. Part of me was relieved that he was alive; another part of me was sort of frustrated. I had gotten into a routine with the adult female and her kitten, and I could predict when they would come around for food. Now the male tends to eat all the food, so it's making our breakfast and dinner routines more time consuming and costly. They at least all get along. In fact, I think the female acts more comfortable around us when the male is present. I'm sure I'll get used to taking care of three of them, but I'm not going to lie. In my limited experience, I have to say that it takes a fair bit of work to care for ferals. Some days I'd really rather not deal with it, as much as I have grown to care for them.

That said, I know I've done the right thing by him and other cats in getting him neutered.

[Biciclista]

wow, they sound like a little family, that's actually kind of neat.
I understood what you were saying, a few seconds isn't such a long time.

[indysteel]

wow, they sound like a little family, that's actually kind of neat.
I understood what you were saying, a few seconds isn't such a long time.

Yep; a slightly crazy family, but family all the same. The Mom and her kitten (Taco and Callie) have taken to climbing onto our neighbors' roofs for their afternoon naps. So far, they seem to be getting up and down just fine, but it makes me nervous. We really lucked out in that our neighbors are all animal people who don't seem the least bit bothered by the cats. One of them is going to feed them while we're out of town.

We're now trying to decide what kind of shelter to use this winter. There's a local carpenter who builds them for a reasonable fee. We might do that or rig our own.

[jessmarimba]

I had a new cat show up this morning. I don't think she's feral, she just sees my yard as a safe haven.

She's a Siamese, too chubby to have been outside for long, obviously not hungry as she wouldn't eat the food I had out, and petrified of the real ferals. But I couldn't coax her into the house before I had to leave for work. (She probably would've come through the window if my screens slid up and down, but they pop out and that scared her too much).

I hope she's there when I get home. If she wasn't just dumped it would be nice to see her back with her owners.

[indysteel]

I had a new cat show up this morning. I don't think she's feral, she just sees my yard as a safe haven.

She's a Siamese, too chubby to have been outside for long, obviously not hungry as she wouldn't eat the food I had out, and petrified of the real ferals. But I couldn't coax her into the house before I had to leave for work. (She probably would've come through the window if my screens slid up and down, but they pop out and that scared her too much).

I hope she's there when I get home. If she wasn't just dumped it would be nice to see her back with her owners.

I hope she wasn't dumped and that you can find her owners. You might take her to your vet to see if she's chipped.

Sorry for the threadjack by the way as to my own ferals. I guess we got a lot of feral kitties her on TE!

[badger]

you might want to contact the local shelters to see if there are any spay/neuter programs for feral cats? We have the staff of spca volunteering one day a year to spay and neuter trapped feral cats. Last year it was canceled due to low number of cats (though I don't quite believe that).

I would try what others suggested, in trapping and getting them fixed yourself. You can always borrow traps from veterinarians or shelters.

In Japan, hardly anyone ever spays/neuters their cats, so they are totally overrun with cats. My mother's trapped a lot of the cats in her neighbourhood and had them fixed and then released again (all out of her own pocket).