feral cat question

[buzz2400]

We have been feeding two feral cats for two winters now. They were neutered and spayed and given a rabies shot last may/june. One cat will let me pet her, the other won't let me near him. Should I catch them both and keep up the rabies and maybe even get distemper shots. I already have six cats in the house and I have been hurting a little financially but we do care about the two cats outside (they are actually the mother and father of one of the cats inside). I love cats but I am not sure how to proceed. We also have coyotes in the woods (one of my cats was killed by one) so we are worried that the cats will someday disappear. I know I am rambling but I have no one else to turn for help.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

We have been feeding two feral cats for two winters now. They were neutered and spayed and given a rabies shot last may/june. One cat will let me pet her, the other won't let me near him. Should I catch them both and keep up the rabies and maybe even get distemper shots. I already have six cats in the house and I have been hurting a little financially but we do care about the two cats outside (they are actually the mother and father of one of the cats inside). I love cats but I am not sure how to proceed. We also have coyotes in the woods (one of my cats was killed by one) so we are worried that the cats will someday disappear. I know I am rambling but I have no one else to turn for help.

We actually captured and took in 2 feral cats. After 2 years, one lets us pet him and love him. The other is still a *****. And I know the filters will delete that word but she is. We can't pet her. She will sleep on my daughter's bed but won't let my daughter pet her. She is getting better but come on already, it's been 2 years. I feed her every stinking day.
I would argue against keeping them in your home. Just my 2 cents.

 

[PatsMom]

Truly feral cats are wild creatures, not pets. So I would not try to bring them into the house. As long as they are now neutered and not capable of reproducing, they really should be allowed to live as the wild creatures that they are. I know it is hard because we look at cats and think house pet.

Are you in contact with a group that tries to control feral cat populations? I thought you might be since you were able to get the cats neutered. The group could also provide guidance on shots. I think the group I am familiar with does not try to do annual vaccinations - the cats are wild animals. Which does mean that you fear of a larger wild animal attacking them is probably justified. I know when the fisher cats spread into our area, the population of feral cats went down considerably.

 

[mamacatnv]

We actually captured and took in 2 feral cats. After 2 years, one lets us pet him and love him. The other is still a *****. And I know the filters will delete that word but she is. We can't pet her. She will sleep on my daughter's bed but won't let my daughter pet her. She is getting better but come on already, it's been 2 years. I feed her every stinking day.
I would argue against keeping them in your home. Just my 2 cents.

Same here, we have a feral female named Deck'ster who sleeps in our house, on our beds, eats the food, snuggles with our big fat lazy house kitty and won't let us touch her. Sometimes if she is cuddling with the fat one and they are both asleep on our near one of us then we can pet her.

OP - we have a local group that monitors the feral population. When we trapped Deck'ster they arranged to have her spayed and innoculated, it was my understanding it was a one time thing. They clipped the tip of one of her ears so that she can be identified if she were to return to a colony as a altered cat. We too have coyotes and she generally comes in at night but we make no attempt to try and keep her in the house unless we have a big winter storm brewing.

 

[chyam]

I have been feeding a stray cat for TWO years...he comes morning and nights, will not let me get within 5 feet of him and sometimes even hisses at me, but shows up like clockwork for food...lol. There have been coyote sightings in my neighborhood also, so if for some reason he doesn't show up for a couple of days (which is very rare) I start to feel bad.
Check with some local shelters, some of them will lend you a trap and at least see if there is a low cost vaccine place that will at least give them a 3 year rabies shot. You could also google low cost vaccinations for your area...in Tampa we have Animal Coalition of Tampa....they also do the spay/neuter thing and then clip their ear and turn them back into the neighborhood they were found.
I worry about my stray so much so that when it is really cold I will put a box out with towels or I have even tried a cover litterbox without litter thinking that he would have some place to get in from the cold.
I even tried leaving my utility shed door open so he would get in out of the rain or cold, unfortuneately he never went into any of the things that I tried to help him with. I think he is pretty wiley where as a domestic cat is probably very easy pickins for a coyote.
Good luck.

 

[mamacatnv]

double post.....weird

 

[buzz2400]

I just want to clear up something. We are not going to allow the two cats inside. They are very feral and I won't get along with the cats inside. All I want to do is provide food and an outside shelter for them but I also want to protect them from diseases. They had four kittens and three died of distemper (the other lives with us). The person who helped with the neuter/spay won't be of much help. I just wanted some feedback to see if other people who take care of ferals get vaccinations for them.

Chyam-we have a big box that we put on our back porch that has blankets in it. I don't think they actually slept in the box at night but in the morning when they were waiting for me to feed them, they would come out of the box. I also did a search today and found some easy to make shelters for ferals cats. One website was www.pacthumanesociety.org/core/WinterShelter.htm.

 

[pixiewings71]

My BFF lives in the country, people are always dropping animals on her property. She currently has 1 indoor cat, he's rarely let out, she also has an orange outside cat, he's not allowed in due to marking and when we were over this last weekend she has another cat that was dropped off...he's neutered so obviously he was someone's cat. She doesn't know about vaccines for him but she will take him in and have vaccinated and then she will see how he does as an inside/outside cat. She also has tons of feral cats on her property, she uses a humane trap and has them spayed/neutered and gets them shots and then she releases them again. After the intial innoculation she doesn't worry about having it done again.
She also has a barn and has several boxes with old towels and blankets for the more feral cats to use, she also has random boxes on her property with old blankets and towels and on her porch she has a box with blankets and towels for Pumpkin (the outside orange cat) to use. They do get used, you can tell when you go out to change them out. OP I wouldn't worry too much about getting them innoculated, I honestly think getting them fixed was the best thing you could do for them.

 

[amyren]

One of my kitties was feral. We snatched her out of our crawl space when she was about 8 weeks old. She was a demon for few months then she warmed up to us. She is seriously the sweetest, purring ball of fur ever. The thing is she ONLY likes me & DH if someone else is in the house she goes into hiding.
That said I wouldn't let an adult feral into my house, not with 2 kitties and a child. I would probably try to set up an outside shelter like you suggested. I probably would not get them vaccinated. Maybe that's cruel but I can't imagine catching and transporting ferals on a regular basis to keep them updated with their shots. To me the most important thing is to have them spayed / neutered so that they don't multiply.

 

[sbell111]

We once took in a feral cat. It took years for us to even be able to touch her, but eventually she came around.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

We once took in a feral cat. It took years for us to even be able to touch her, but eventually she came around.

She looks evil. I'm sorry but it looks like she is daring you to touch her. I've gotten that look before. Right before my hand got slashed!

 

[Muushka]

Call me crazy, won't be the first time, but for you cat lovers with ferals that don't let them pick them up, this is what I did.

My Lucy is a feral, clipped ear (to show to the feral groups that she is spayed) and everything. After about 4 months of feeding her from afar, I got close to her. And one day I just picked her up. She did freak, and I would immediately let her down. Repeat as needed until the furry love-muffin purrs. It took about 3 or so weeks of pick-up-put-down. But not showing fear helps, doing it seated and a knee or something to make them feel secure. Now she loves to be picked up and really is the most affectionate cat I have ever owned.

OP, I just give my feral rabbies shots, which are a huge deal for the vet. I don't do any of the other shots. My Lucy would have been just as happy living outside, but she seems to have adapted to indoor life when it is very cold or very hot.

I think it is great that you want to take care of these kitties.

 

[mackeysmom]

OP - I think it is great that you are willing to help these cats out.

Is it possible to trap them in a humane trap, bring them to the vet for vaccines and then release them back into your yard?

My Blackie was feral - I was able to trap him, bring him in and cage trained for almost seven months before he was able to have the run of the house and live "semi-harmoniously" with my old guy Mackey. (He was five months old when I trapped him, so I had a better chance at domesticating him than I would have if he was older.)

Here he is with his brother - sometimes when I see him it is hard to believe that he was completely untouchable for the first few months:

 

[Kat77]

www.pacthumanesociety.org/core/WinterShelter.htm.

I made the purple shelter last fall. It was easy. Our ferals refuse to sleep in it though. My husband calls our feral cats 'the welfare queens'. They will sit outside our study window and yell for food if the dish is empty .

OP- we caught and spayed a female cat and her kittens but have no plans to update the mama's vaccines. I doubt we could even trap her a second time. The kittens are all house cats now.

 

[jwfla422]

OP - I think it is great that you are willing to help these cats out.

Is it possible to trap them in a humane trap, bring them to the vet for vaccines and then release them back into your yard?

My Blackie was feral - I was able to trap him, bring him in and cage trained for almost seven months before he was able to have the run of the house and live "semi-harmoniously" with my old guy Mackey. (He was five months old when I trapped him, so I had a better chance at domesticating him than I would have if he was older.)

Here he is with his brother - sometimes when I see him it is hard to believe that he was completely untouchable for the first few months:

OMG!! I can't believe it, I've wondered for a long time whatever happened with you and Blackie!! I'm so glad to hear things worked out. Sorry to be off topic but I followed your story for months when you first took Blackie in and you were concerned how Mackey would get along with Blackie, let alone what you went through.

I'm so glad I saw your post! Since your story, we ended up taking in a stray in after he hung around outside our house for a year (we kept thinking he was a feral but still not sure he had a home or not) He got into a really bad fight and I somehow got him in a crate and took him to the vet. It took all of last year to adjust but he's one of the family. He still won't go near my dh or anyone but my dd and I (his ears shake when any humans are around but us) Loves my 2 other kitties especially my Teeko, he thinks they're brothers. But Milei just (she's such a princess, she hates him LOL!). I'm so so happy to hear Blackie adjusted!

Mine below: Milei (holding back a swat at Dewey LOL!), Dewey (the feral) and Teeko his adopted brother

 

[DMRick]

Our rescue group does not try to recapture and vaccinate. They get s/n, treated with advantage, ears cleaned and their rabies vacc, tested for FIV and Feleuk, get their ears clipped, spend a few days in recovery and then go either to a barn or back where they were trapped. But then, they aren't around our houses and it would be near impossible to keep track of who was vacc and when. Our trappers will be trapping about 20 in the next couple of weeks alone in one area. The entire area was cleaned up (43 ferals, of which only about 5 were deemed adoptable) last fall, and now only one clipped ear cat has been spotted. It just never stops.

Most truly feral cats never adapt to living in a home. An inside cat/pet that was shown the door and then lived with ferals, sometimes will work out. It's heartbreaking, but taking them in and tying up foster homes for months, sometimes a year or more, trying to tame them, just eats up the resources (and the foster homes) of the rescue groups. There are a zillion friendly, adoptable cats and kittens out there that need to be rescued, and you can turn those over quickly with adoptions.

 

[buzz2400]

Our rescue group does not try to recapture and vaccinate. They get s/n, treated with advantage, ears cleaned and their rabies vacc, tested for FIV and Feleuk, get their ears clipped, spend a few days in recovery and then go either to a barn or back where they were trapped. But then, they aren't around our houses and it would be near impossible to keep track of who was vacc and when. Our trappers will be trapping about 20 in the next couple of weeks alone in one area. The entire area was cleaned up (43 ferals, of which only about 5 were deemed adoptable) last fall, and now only one clipped ear cat has been spotted. It just never stops.

Most truly feral cats never adapt to living in a home. An inside cat/pet that was shown the door and then lived with ferals, sometimes will work out. It's heartbreaking, but taking them in and tying up foster homes for months, sometimes a year or more, trying to tame them, just eats up the resources (and the foster homes) of the rescue groups. There are a zillion friendly, adoptable cats and kittens out there that need to be rescued, and you can turn those over quickly with adoptions.

Until last april/may, I did not know how bad the feral population was. We found out because these two feral cats had a litter of four. The "cat" lady who helped us out gave us a rude awakening. She had dozens of cats in her house that she brings every saturday to a cat adoption in our area. She also told us stories how people just move away and leave their cats (some even just kick their indoor cats outside to fend for themselves). It was so heartbreaking. The one thing I didn't like about her was she said that the kittens were not worth paying a lot of money to save (they came down with distemper and three of them died). I finally decided to spend the money and save the last one. She is such a beatiful cat. I named her Princess Leia because she is such a fighter and rebellious. It was so heartbreaking to have the three kittens die one after another especially when I spent so much time trying to make them less feral. Also another one of our furbabies was only about 2 months old when we "found" her. I had lost posters all over the neighborhood trying to find one of my lost cats (we believe a coyote got him) and one halloween, a lady calls and says i have your cat. So we run over there and it is a little two month old. We named her Tabitha from Bewitched. Somebody just dropped her off at the school that was two doors away. I was later told that a lot of people dump cats off near schools. I just don't know how people could just dump their animals. Anyway, just wanted to tell the story of some of my furbabies.

 

[DMRick]

Until last april/may, I did not know how bad the feral population was. .

Per the ASCPA, you start with a male and female cat and you end up with:
First year there will be 12 kittens
Second year there will be 66 kittens
Third year:382
Fourth year: 2,201
Fifth year: 12,680
Sixth year: 73,041
Seventh year: 420, 715
Eight year: 2,423,316
Ninth year: 13,968.290
Tenth year:80,399,780

 

[Muushka]

I have been involved with a few cat adoption places (no kill types). While I can't do it anymore (allergies), I have supported them financially.

I saw an ad for a feral cat group, TNR (trap, neuter, release) is their main focus and offering low cost spay/neuter. We have decided that our contributions are better served with this organization, as they takle the overpopulation issue head-on.

Every time I send them a check, I get a beautiful thank you note. They have never sold or given my name to any other organizations.

More than likely they are the ones that spayed my feral Lucy. For that, I am grateful.

 

[DMRick]

We all try. The three days a week that our groups do s/n (which include ferals) take care of 74 cats and kittens a week...that's almost 4000 cats a year, just in this one group, with one vet. There are several other groups in our area, and a new S/N clinic is opening, that will do them all day, every day if needed. Our local shelter is going to build an addition, just to allow more space to up the amount of s/n we do. But there is always a waiting list to bring them in. We offer free and low cost ($80 is the full payment (it just went up from $70) and includes all I mentioned above). We have volunteers helping to get the cats there, trapping..the whole nine yards, and we just can't catch up.

I have been involved with a few cat adoption places (no kill types). While I can't do it anymore (allergies), I have supported them financially.

I saw an ad for a feral cat group, TNR (trap, neuter, release) is their main focus and offering low cost spay/neuter. We have decided that our contributions are better served with this organization, as they takle the overpopulation issue head-on..