Feral Cat adventures...

[andrewkw]

In September 2016 we moved into our new house in the country. Living my whole life in the suburbs I think I saw one stray cat ever. I have 2 house cats and other than the deck they've never been outside. Given all the busy streets most people kept their cats inside plus I was never a cat person before my wife so I just never noticed..

In October of 2016 we caught 6 kittens. I just happened to see a few of them outside. I think we caught 4 initially and then 1 and 1 later on. Happy to say they all found homes. The first 4 were very young. One of the other 2 was very hard to catch, I had to crawl under the deck which barely had enough clearance for me to grab him as he cried in the middle of the night.

In 2017 we caught 4 older kittens. These guys took a long time to find homes as they were more wild. We kept them for about 6 weeks in our bathroom and made some progress but when we hit a road block we reluctantly took them to the humane society. Happy to say after some time all 4 did find homes.

This year we've only seen 3 kittens. We wanted to catch them earlier to make it easier to tame them. We are very likely to keep one even though in the past I've always been against adding a 3rd cat. The cats are actually belong to my wife and I've always said 2 is enough but seeing all these kittens I've since changed my mind. My main concern is them getting sick and expensive vet care. Our homemade box trap caught 2 of 3 this morning. They are now scared to death in the bathroom but given they are younger then the last batch (They are 2 months old) we should have an easier time with these guys.

So the mom of the last 2 litters and possibly the first one frequents our house several times a day. There was a time where she would run when we looked at her out the window. Now she waits as early as 6am for handouts. In the harsh Northern Ontario winters she comes in for an hour or so a day to warm up and eat / drink. She even slept over once. There was a barn fire and she came over very scared. I used to think we could domesticate her but shes still too wild. Maybe if shes still around when we move we'll try and take her with us since she now relies on us so much. We really gotta get her spayed.

This has really gotten out of control, but the last thing I want to see is a dead cat on the road or in the yard or frozen. I really don't know how these adults make it through the winter. Having cats inside who are fat and lazy and seeing starving cats outside is pretty heartbreaking. That being said this has really gotten out of hand for us, and if we didn't have so much free time / were bored all the time we probably would not be this emotionally invested.

 

[revhtree]

Awe man they are so lucky to have you living there and taking care of them. I can't imagine having to deal with that though!

 

[Billdogg]

Good luck with them! Getting Momma spayed is really your best bet to keep more kittens from appearing, but even that is about like putting your finger in the leaky dam to stop the floodwaters

 

[andrewkw]

It is really stressful dealing with them. I was never a cat person before all this. When it's happening literately right outside your window it's very hard to look the other way. Especially with house cats who get proper nutrition, visits to the vet when needed and everything else that comes with being a responsible pet owner. One of our 2 pet cats was found outside real young abandoned.

The one kitten that escaped the trap was back around with the mom today so we will try again tomorrow to catch the last kitten. The mom I'm not sure what we are going to do. Worst case we can capture her in winter when she starts coming inside again. What I've typed is just scratching the surface of the story though. There are also a lot of skunks which the cats sometimes fight with. The mom (Sweetie Sr.) has been sprayed many times and shes finally back to smelling okay. I've wiped her down a bit with gloves on and baking soda / hydrogen peroxide / dish soap and that got some of it off but she won't exactly hold still. Besides the skunks there are plenty of birds of prey that could grab a kitten including bald eagles, turkey vultures and more. While I've never seen one real close there are also bears, and coyotes, foxes and more.

The mom we named Sweetie, the dad we named Salem. He is an old black cat who I suspect was wronged by humans a long time ago. Unlike Sweetie he doesn't come inside we don't pet him ect. He is very cautious. For a while I thought he had an owner since he generally looks less thin than her, but he injured his leg last winter and no one claimed him. Fortunately for him he's made a full recovery but he could never be domesticated either. They may act like wild animals and in a lot of ways they are, but they don't belong out here period. Especially with the extreme cold winters and with many species of at risk birds migrating through here. I'd much rather buy some extra cat food then see the various species of bird we get disappear.

The last batch of older kittens that we kept for about 6 weeks one looked exactly like the mom so we named her Sweetie jr. One of the new kittens again looks like her so he is Sweetie #3 - who if he wants will become our third cat if after QT (even cats need it) and some de-worming medicine will be introduced to our adult cats. Fortunately out here there does not seem to be a problem with cat diseases since they interact with only a few others. They don't even get fleas. Where I live it's between farms so most other farms are 100+ acres where as my property is only about 1.


The first kittens


gaining the trust of last years kittens + Sweetie Sr. - these ones we waited too long to bring in. Of course we were able to just grab them and bring them inside but the acclimation time was much longer.


Look at that face - Sweetie Sr. in the winter she actually is very sweet rubbing up against us, letting us per her ect. She may have had an owner at some point.


Sweetie and Salem waiting to share a meal with our actual cats Romeo and Juliet watching them.

That's it for now. If we catch the 3rd kitten I'll post a picture of him too.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

We had a feral cat problem, the moms were tame buy not human activity for the young, all the cats had to fend for themselves, they were not fed or it was eaten by their dog who knows, but they all came over to our house, we are Mecca for feral cats.

Like you said either people turn a blind eye to the problem or do you something about it, we had countless cats neutered and we got it paid for by cat loving charities.

Scoop the kittens and soon as possible, tame them and give them away at Target or similar, the most successful tip is to be there about a hour before it gets dark, that is the time everyone is winding down and then can concentrate on taking in a new family member, never works good at the middle of the day they are way to busy to stop.

Thanks for doing what you are doing,

 

[Ron Reefman]

In our area we can catch any outdoor cat (cruel in the first place) and take it to the county animal control. They spayed or neuter the cat and return it to the area it was captured. We had a huge problem back in 2008-2010 when houses in our area were being foreclosed left and right (10 out of 22 just on our street). Now we have very little issue with feral cats. Our cat gets out in the screen lanai or screened front porch, but never out beyond that.

20131120_154827 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

 

[andrewkw]

I live between farms in a rural area so there are a lot of barn cats and random barn cat babies ect. From what I understand (I know nothing about rural living) there is an old wives tale about fixed cats not wanting to hunt mice. If we didn't catch this batch they might have a chance at horrible lives outside but if there are babies later in the year they have no chance at all. It gets really cold here -30c and very few days above freezing in the winter. I am surprised any of the cats survive this, but there are also a lot of abandoned and semi abandoned barns. Retired farmers who either just have cows, or just have their property hayed.

The first kittens we took to the vet actually said she wished the Mennonites just killed the kittens or something like that. Apparently a lot are drowned or something along those lines. The humane society about an hour from me is pretty good and there is another group that takes in cats gives them all the shots ect and adopts them out at a reasonable fee. Unfortunately they too have a lot of animals. The 2 guys we caught yesterday are doing well already using a litter box and eating. They are of course a little thin but nothing too drastic that high nutrition food won't fix.

I am going to see if we can get the spaying of them at least at a discount but in all likelihood we have to pay out of pocket.

 

[alton]

It takes a real special cat to make it in my area, most last about 6 months before they become a Coyote meal. I had a nice black one move in this spring lasted for several months keeping the rat population down, but I am afraid it came across the the ultimate predator the coyote.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

My friend who lived off a dirt road had a coyote smart cat, he would sleep on the seat on the quad, the coyote could smell him but they never looked up in the seat area, they had shredded cover over the quad so blocking some of the view.

 

[andrewkw]

I asked all of one person if they knew anyone looking for a cat and found someone who just lost their cat of 15 years to take one of the kittens. You could tell the guy needed a cat.

As for the other kitten. Sweetie #3 is adapting well to captive life and enjoying the reef :



The third kitten is still outside unfortunately. Will resume trying to catch him next week.

 

[Greybeard]

I'm way out in the woods. We used to get feral cats and stray dogs, but a few years ago, all of a sudden, we quit seeing them. Coyotes all went away, too... about the same time. Never really understood why.

Oh, and Rambo says Hi

 

[KJ]

It is really stressful dealing with them. I was never a cat person before all this. When it's happening literately right outside your window it's very hard to look the other way. Especially with house cats who get proper nutrition, visits to the vet when needed and everything else that comes with being a responsible pet owner. One of our 2 pet cats was found outside real young abandoned.

The one kitten that escaped the trap was back around with the mom today so we will try again tomorrow to catch the last kitten. The mom I'm not sure what we are going to do. Worst case we can capture her in winter when she starts coming inside again. What I've typed is just scratching the surface of the story though. There are also a lot of skunks which the cats sometimes fight with. The mom (Sweetie Sr.) has been sprayed many times and shes finally back to smelling okay. I've wiped her down a bit with gloves on and baking soda / hydrogen peroxide / dish soap and that got some of it off but she won't exactly hold still. Besides the skunks there are plenty of birds of prey that could grab a kitten including bald eagles, turkey vultures and more. While I've never seen one real close there are also bears, and coyotes, foxes and more.

The mom we named Sweetie, the dad we named Salem. He is an old black cat who I suspect was wronged by humans a long time ago. Unlike Sweetie he doesn't come inside we don't pet him ect. He is very cautious. For a while I thought he had an owner since he generally looks less thin than her, but he injured his leg last winter and no one claimed him. Fortunately for him he's made a full recovery but he could never be domesticated either. They may act like wild animals and in a lot of ways they are, but they don't belong out here period. Especially with the extreme cold winters and with many species of at risk birds migrating through here. I'd much rather buy some extra cat food then see the various species of bird we get disappear.

The last batch of older kittens that we kept for about 6 weeks one looked exactly like the mom so we named her Sweetie jr. One of the new kittens again looks like her so he is Sweetie #3 - who if he wants will become our third cat if after QT (even cats need it) and some de-worming medicine will be introduced to our adult cats. Fortunately out here there does not seem to be a problem with cat diseases since they interact with only a few others. They don't even get fleas. Where I live it's between farms so most other farms are 100+ acres where as my property is only about 1.


The first kittens


gaining the trust of last years kittens + Sweetie Sr. - these ones we waited too long to bring in. Of course we were able to just grab them and bring them inside but the acclimation time was much longer.


Look at that face - Sweetie Sr. in the winter she actually is very sweet rubbing up against us, letting us per her ect. She may have had an owner at some point.


Sweetie and Salem waiting to share a meal with our actual cats Romeo and Juliet watching them.

That's it for now. If we catch the 3rd kitten I'll post a picture of him too.

Great job my friend

 

[Sorcha2]

Honestly this is a big part of country living. A lot of people mistakenly view the country as a great place to release unwanted pets. They never think about what is actually going to happen to those animals that are reliant on humans. You are lucky it is just cats. Where I grew up we had a big problem with packs of dumped dogs that would interbreed with cayotes. That's a dangerous cross because they aren't afraid of humans and that makes them far more aggressive. Most of the time when places are having issues with cayotes its actually a cayote/dog cross.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Lol, proper care of animals is expensive.
Most people who never had a pet don't have a clue when they first start out.

Our neighbors let us keep their outdoor cat when they moved. They are very nice people who didn't want to uproot the cat and they were moving to an area where it probably would have been hit by a car in the first month.

They are young and not very flush with cash. But they had a big heart for a sweet stray several years ago.

Long story short, $400 later, cat is up to date on shots, exam, flea and tick meds for 6 months and good for a while.
I hope....

 

[Genomecop]

Catch and neuter is important. Friends of mine have built 'dog houses' for the strays (he builds furniture). They are waterproof and he puts hay, blankets ect in for warmth.

 

[Erica-Renee]

WOW.. It used to be like this here, The Humane Society - Animal control came out set traps and Captured the Adult Females in the neighborhood. Sent letters to all home owners in the area to NOT Let there cats out unless they have been fixed , Its a local ordinance . They fixed the Female cats,snip there ears so its easily to see they were fixed and Re Release them . If you find any young Kittens they will also do the same, I think fix and release of healthy Animals is the best way to solve this. It humanly but slowly lowers the population but still allows the Animals to have a good life ..

We have been adopted by a Fixed Female and she will not let me pat her . We no longer have any mice getting in the house.

The number of kittens we see have dropped to only one once in a while and no more unhealthy starving cats.

I Wish more metro areas ,even rural would adopt this solution.. Not sure how things are in Canada but i bet you could get it started easier..

Good Luck

 

[andrewkw]

Kitten #13 (I think) has been caught. We are just going to bring him straight to the humane society.

As for Sweetie Sr. we have been quoted $275 to have her spayed. Problem is that probably doesn't include ultrasound and I would guess she is pregnant again. We'll deal with her after. One of our own cats had an accident and knocked out a tooth so he has an expensive dental bill and our own cats do come first.

 

[andrewkw]

Update on my feral friends. I actually saw one of the last kittens we adopted at petsmart and he seemed to be doing well. The one we kept(Sweetie #3) is doing well. Taking him for his second round of shots tomorrow and he will be neutered in a couple more months.




As for the Mom - Sweetie Sr. has been our prisoner for the past week. We caught her in a live trap as despite the fact it's technically still summer the nights are getting cold and we do not want to be catching kittens in 6-8 weeks. Today she went into labor! She's been in our bathroom for a week and has finally had them! 4 babies born today. One looks just like her (Sweetie #4). I've never seen newborn kittens I can't believe how small they are.



She's safe and has food and water. We will mostly leave her alone for a couple of weeks and hopefully get to socialize the babies a bit. They will remain together for 8 weeks and then we will either bring them to the humane society or adopt them out ourselves. If we do manage to find homes for some like we have in the past we will ask for small donations to help cover getting Sweetie Sr. spayed. Once shes spayed we will attempt to return her to the wild. If she wants to stay here we will probably find her another home since 3 cats is already a lot. I don't really think she will adapt to captive life but who knows it will be 3 months + of her inside since we obviously won't take her to get spayed until the kittens are old enough to be separated from her. Time will tell. Still can't believe she had her babies in my house! There are 8 cats inside today! The father is also still around outside....

 

[Greybeard]

I've got a friend, lives in rural Illinois, not too long a drive from southern Chicago burbs. He's licensed by the state to trap and relocate problem animals... skunk, possum, and groundhog, mostly. Anyway, he spins a good yarn after a few drinks...

He's started 'relocating' problem animals he traps in the country to various alleys in the suburbs around Chicago. Figures people there are 'relocating' their cats and dogs to his place in the country, he's just returning the favor

Don't know if it was true, but it sure was funny listening to him spin it

 

[Erica-Renee]

Our neighborhood had a bad Cat over population issue . a Non profit came out and set traps , Catching the Adult females and Fixing and releasing them back. One of the Fixed Females have Adopted us last year . She went from very Afraid and timid to stalking us when we are outside for attention. She sleeps under the floor of the back of the house on top hvac vents its always nice temp there ..

Cats are Awesome, Amazing and More fun then people...