Pets
Related: About this forumToday, October 16, is National Feral Cat Day
I started a local TNR org. a few years ago. To date we have trapped, fixed and released (or adopted) and care for over 300 cats.
www.tricitiesfriendsofkitties.org
nykym
(3,063 posts)are feral cats, one showed up at our back door and was sleeping in some catnip plants,
She is now a few years old and overweight. Loves to eat.
The other was adopted from a woman who rescues feral cats. He is freindly and very active still in the young cat stage.
TlalocW
(15,384 posts)Some neighbors and I would get the safe traps from animal shelters and catch feral cats (there were a lot of them in the complex) and get them fixed. One time even caught an old, grizzled, and very pissed-off opossum. I thought for a second about taking him in to get fixed, but I followed my personal rule of, "If it makes me giggle for more than 10 seconds, I shouldn't do it."
My two cats (have had them five years) were feral kittens living under my patio slab that I caught when the mom was away. There was a third kitten, but I couldn't catch it though I think it was eventually caught when it got older and was semi-tamed by several neighbors who all fed him (fat happy kitty). Mine are white and black with black masks around the eyes so one is Kemo and the other is Sabe.
TlalocW
irisblue
(32,982 posts)"I thought for a second about taking him in to get fixed, but I followed my personal rule of, "If it makes me giggle for more than 10 seconds, I shouldn't do it."
tblue37
(65,409 posts)fleur-de-lisa
(14,627 posts)They are just as pampered and well-fed as my indoor cats. And I put heated kitty tents in my garage for them as shelter during winter.
It took several years to trap, spay and neuter all of the ferals in my neighborhood, but it's been about four years since I've seen a kitten, so TNR works!
tblue37
(65,409 posts)CurtEastPoint
(18,652 posts)B Stieg
(2,410 posts)and they almost trust me enough for me to be able to grab 'em and get them neutered at the shelter!
Thanks for the tips, though, as they told me I'm not doing it wrong...yet!
Boomer
(4,168 posts)I live in an old neighborhood with feral & stray cats living in all the back alleyways. Every morning I put out dry food and water for a batch of regulars who are waiting impatiently for me. We've also cleared out one of our garage bays for use as a shelter during winter.
There's one dwarf tabby that I've been feeding for four years, ever since he was a kitten, but he still shies away or hisses if I get too close. The TNR convinced him I'm not to be trusted, but he doesn't mind eating my food.
About three weeks ago a teeny tiny little tabby kitten -- probably one of his relatives -- moved into our back yard. She was wary of people, but we gradually persuaded her to let us get closer, then she let us pet her, and finally this last weekend we got her into the house. Now she doesn't want to leave! Vet visit planned in the next few days and then we'll start trying to rehome her.