I had better not show this site to my wife, or I will soon be without any wife at all. I can only imagine how occupied she would be trying to create a website about the feral cats of our yard. We have probably 10 or so cats that eat at our house. We have given them names. They reproduce. I would like nothing more than to figure out a way to put some sterilizing agent into the food we give them.
I have one cat who is allowed outside during the day because she can't get along with the inside cats. She gets fed on the porch and sometimes she eats all or most of her kibble but most of the time she doesn't, and other neighborhood cats or possums or raccoons come to finish it off, and to drink the water I leave out. A couple of months after I posted this I bought a cheap trail cam that gets night pictures and now I go out every day to pull it and look at pictures of all the critters who have been on the porch to eat or drink or just investigate. I have thought about putting each days (edited) results on a Tumblr or something but just haven't.
Can you guys try TNR with your ferals or does your area not have anything to help out? I have an old friend in a more rural area who does that now, and while there are no or few kittens any more there are still occasional new cats showing up as they stray or are dumped out there.
Years ago there was one cat that would come around the back door at my office. We got our hands on a trap (free) and caught a male cat we didn't even know was around there. We let that cat go and re-set the trap. This time, we got the right cat. We took her to the vet and got her neutered (free). We kept the cat in the kitchen of my office for a day or two while she healed, and then let her go. We never saw her again. The vet who neutered her said she would have to charge us for more than one. Also, it was a bit sad to not have that cat come back.
At our house there are just so many of them. We have the cost issue (we can probably get one done for free) and the issue of not catching the particular cats we are trying to catch. Clearly, we could do it if we put forth a bit more time and money. I guess we we are sort of lazy? We have found homes for close to ten kittens over the past few years.
Are there any organizations in your area that do TNR programs? Anything like Alley Cat Advocates?
I am not aware of any organizations that do that where I live. We have talked to and worked with an organization that found foster homes for kittens. That wound up requiring a great deal of care for the kittens until they were old enough to go. We found it was easier to try to find someone we knew to take one. But the problem is the adults, as you clearly recognize, and not the kittens. You can't find people to take in feral adult cats.
Can you guys try TNR with your ferals or does your area not have anything to help out? I have an old friend in a more rural area who does that now, and while there are no or few kittens any more there are still occasional new cats showing up as they stray or are dumped out there.
At our house there are just so many of them. We have the cost issue (we can probably get one done for free) and the issue of not catching the particular cats we are trying to catch. Clearly, we could do it if we put forth a bit more time and money. I guess we we are sort of lazy? We have found homes for close to ten kittens over the past few years.