Stray/Feral cat keeps coming to my backyard. What to do?

[MadOnion]

If you start feeding feral cats and they aren't fixed, be prepared to keep feeding more and more feral cats. My downstairs neighbor did this, then moved out, and the result was a bunch of feral cats that grew up depending on human feeding then it suddenly went away. Not pretty. There are a lot fewer of them around now, but they are still there. I have a policy of not feeding them at all.

Trap, neuter and release is the best way to handle it if you can. Leave them to survive on their own so they learn how to hunt and take care of themselves. Having animal control take them will just result in them being put down. There are too many tame cats and kittens in shelters that can't find homes.

 

[Redfern]

I've never heard of a night deposit at a shelter.

Well, it's not built like a bank deposit "chute"; open a slot and drop a kitten or puppy down a shaft that feeds into a bin. No, it's simply a rack of kennel cages positioned under a sheltered "nook" outside the building. There's an unlocked bin with a sign stating it contains pet kibble. One just opens one of the cages; unlatch it, place the animal inside and close the door (making sure it latches). I didn't see any bowls (that nook was in deep shadow), so the best I could do was to place a handful of kibble onto the floor of the cage. Thanfully the temperature was moderate that night so there was little fear the kitten would suffer from extreme cold.

I'm guessing that spot was prepared because the shelter got a lot of animals during the night, either trapped in boxes or leashes tied to trees. At least this way, "dsicarded" pets are somewhat protected from the elements.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Gary7]

Back when I was around 9 years old, I was in a little league baseball team. One day during the late summer, we had a game that ended a little early. My mother was in the bleachers and when I came up to her there was a kitten beside her. She told me that apparently a mother cat and her kittens had gone by and this one got lost. I picked the kitten up and cradled it, as it purred like a motorboat. "Can we keep her?" Well, we already had a cat and so my mother was a bit leery. But I pleaded and eventually she caved. "Lucy" became the most affectionate cat we'd ever had, despite always getting a hostile cold shoulder from "Charlie", the incumbent male. Actually, Charlie became a nasty cat after that. He was always a bit of a tomcat, but he started showing some unpleasant habits like growling at the door to go out. He eventually ran away, we surmise, because he began to take multi-day vacations here and there for a few weeks and then one day never came back.

 

[gturner]

I made some progress winning over the feral cat by my pond. He aproached within four feet of me tonight, and stayed within ten feet the whole time I was sitting there, possibly realizing that no other animals will bother him while a big, non-threatening human is that close.

And now my other adoptee is meowing at me...

 

[Dream]

I saw a dead kitten that had been run over tonight on my street. It was lying there with lots of blood in its mouth. The mama stray cat was waiting by my front door as always as I approached my house. I don't think she knew what had happened.

 

[Kestra]

Thanks for updating this thread to tell us something horrible. Really, thanks for sharing. We certainly couldn't have done without that.

 

[Dream]

I've decided to give up on Operation Kidnap the Kitten. They still seem way too young, since they are still constantly drinking milk from the mother. I want a cat badly, but don't want any of them to die. If I do adopt, I hope to get a cat that isn't so young, maybe one year old will stop being so dependant? The group has been reduced from five to two kittens. I don't know what happened to some of them outside that one that died sadly. Some might have been in other accidents or maybe someone nice decided to take them in?

The mother doesn't fear me at all. Whenever she sees me, she rushes over to where I am. I get the feeling that she is a stray. My neighbor leaves food for them, plate of water and some crumbs or something. There is also a huge black male cat that always hangs out on the lawn. The mama cat once pounced on him for getting to close to her kittens.

Do male cats kill male kittens to get rid of competition? I heard that happens in the wild, but not sure if it is just an urban legend or not. Not sure what that is all about.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Are you letting her in?

 

[Dream]

Are you letting her in?

Not the mother, since I'm worried she might scratch me, but I've let in the kittens a few times to feed them bread. They ate beside where I was standing then dashed off. The kittens don't run the moment they see me, but they don't like whenever I get too close.

I want to save them from future dangers like the hit and run, but I have no clue how to take care of a kitten. That is the only reason why I haven't grabbed one yet. I'm just hoping the remaining to make it two adulthood.

 

[Dream]

I bought a very cheap $1 laser pointer a few days ago, since I heard kittens can't help but follow the red dots. It really works. They chase after it like crazy the moment they see the light. I probably could lure one of them into my home with a laser pointer and shut the door.

Of course, the question becomes what do I do next?

 

[Scout101]

Why aren't you calling animal control again, so they at least get picked up and put into a safe environment. Cant speak to whether the shelters in your area are kill shelters or not, but gotta be better than the depressing story you're telling us now.

If you don't want to take them in, get them somewhere safe, and maybe someone else will take them.

Screwing with them on the street while you watch them die one at a time isn't such a great option, and isn't doing much for my opinion of you, personally...

 

[kythe]

I agree with the others who have said trap-neuter-release. It's not responsible to feed an animal unless you are prepared to pay its medical bills too. By getting the cats neutered/spayed, you are ensuring they won't keep reproducing unwanted, unhealthy kittens. It's also considered the most cost-effective way to deal with feral cat populations.

http://www.catrescueinc.org/info/display?PageID=2902

In my area animal control doesn't deal with cats, but there is a low cost clinic where you can neuter/spay for around $25-35 each. This is a far healthier option than just feeding them until they are healthy enough to reproduce again.

Feeding them bread won't get them to that point though. It's my understanding that cats need about 80% meat and 20%vegetable sources, but their bodies can't digest bread at all. You might as well get them real cat food if you are going to feed them at all.

 

[Rhaven]

Why aren't you calling animal control again, so they at least get picked up and put into a safe environment. Cant speak to whether the shelters in your area are kill shelters or not, but gotta be better than the depressing story you're telling us now.

If you don't want to take them in, get them somewhere safe, and maybe someone else will take them.

Screwing with them on the street while you watch them die one at a time isn't such a great option, and isn't doing much for my opinion of you, personally...

Yes. Call animal control or adopt the whole lot of them. Stop watching them die one by one. That's just cruel.

 

[doubleohfive]

Why aren't you calling animal control again, so they at least get picked up and put into a safe environment. Cant speak to whether the shelters in your area are kill shelters or not, but gotta be better than the depressing story you're telling us now.

If you don't want to take them in, get them somewhere safe, and maybe someone else will take them.

Screwing with them on the street while you watch them die one at a time isn't such a great option, and isn't doing much for my opinion of you, personally...

Yes. Call animal control or adopt the whole lot of them. Stop watching them die one by one. That's just cruel.

I have to agree with Scout101. Stop prolonging this situation and do something right for once.

 

[RoJoHen]

Can I also ask why you're feeding them bread of all things? These aren't ducks. Cats are carnivores.

 

[Methos]

i was querying the bread...

Bread isn't overly bad for cats, it's not poisonous or anything, but it is a processed carbohydrate, so it will just turn into fat in the cat... not really a good treat for them regularly...

If you want to be nice to the cat / kittehs, leave out some ham / chicken strips... they'll love it... and depending on how young the kittens are, if you have any old towels or rags, they'd love them... if they are out alone in the wild, then offering some warmth and comfort will be appreciated by them, so leave some old rags or clothes out in the garden in a pile, and they'll take to it for a bed quite happily lol

M

 

[Davros]

pictures are needed

 

[Colonel Green]

My family had a similar problem when I was a kid. We had some really irresponsible neighbours who didn't have their cats fixed and moved away leaving a semi-feral mother and 6 kittens living in their crawlspace. They soon migrated to our house and set up shop under our deck.

We fed them for a week or so to get them accustomed to it, then used food to lure them into a very basic trap we'd put together, basically an orange crate with a hinged door and a string to close it. It only took a weekend to catch them all. We kept one of the kittens and gave all but one of the rest away to friends. We took the mother and the remaining kitten to the SPCA. The kitten was larger than the rest and quite aggressive, probably from a a different litter. The mother had to be put down as she was unadoptable (the shelter is no-kill for adoptable animals), but the older kitten mellowed out after a few weeks on the inside and was apparently adopted.

We called the one we kept Sneaky, as he was the hardest to catch .

*edit* I should add, we did contact the SPCA and Animal Control to see if they would come and remove them. Both told us that they didn't have the resources to trap stray cats, but would be happy to add our names to their waitlist to borrow a trap.

 

[gturner]

I bought a very cheap $1 laser pointer a few days ago, since I heard kittens can't help but follow the red dots. It really works. They chase after it like crazy the moment they see the light. I probably could lure one of them into my home with a laser pointer and shut the door.

Of course, the question becomes what do I do next?

Pet stores sale kitty milk in cans and cartons, along with kitten food. Taking care of them isn't so much a problem as not scaring the others away. The big issues come later when you can't get them off your keyboard.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Why are you so worried the mother cat will scratch you if she is not afraid of you and is friendly?

One mother cat and two kittens.. just bring them in, buy them some cat food and a litter box and see how they settle. Cats are VERY easy to take care of. Also as to the drinking from their mother, they can be removed from her at 10-12 week easily but if left with her will happily keep drinking. You don't need to wait a year, a year old cat is an adult and if unspeyed will have had its own kittens.