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I don't feed ferals. Where I live it is also overrun with ferals, but maybe the good thing is that your neighborhhod is free of rats, mice and other vermin. After all, if there had been more cats in Europe, maybe there would not have been the Black Plague.
Their colony size will "normalize" if you don't feed them. If they are too numerous for your taste and no one is feeding them, then think of the rodent population you would be contending with without the cats.
Cats are smart and have great memory. If you must, squirt them with a supersoaker with 5% ammonia solution in water. That will keep them off the porch. The rats you would have do not have a good memory and will get into your house no matter what you do if the cats don't control them, so be careful what you wish for.
Its planning and work but shelters and sometimes other organizations, even out of town state organizations have programs to help with spay neuter. Sometimes its once a month free clinic you have to sign up for in advance. Sometimes its a chit at a vets. Call around and keep calling. Its a long term solution but the best one.
You just have to get started and keep going. Once you shut off the kitten flow the colony will start to shrink. If there are really that many (50-70 sounds like a lot) you might, when you trap the older really ratty looking Tom's in particular, have them tested for feline leuk and FIV and any that test positive put down. A sad shame but older Toms will often keep fighting and just spreading the disease. And if you trap and neuter they will be harder to trap when the disease starts to make them suffer.
Just do it man. There isn't another solution.
in terms fo planting and detering them form your yard, unfortunatly there arnt many plants that will deter cats unless you want to surround your peorperty with the likes of densly planted barberry (or anything dense and heavily thorned)
however, if your willing to be a little drastic.
find a local hunt club, store ect...
and pick up a couple of bottls of coyote urine...pure. put a drop or 2 at about cat nose height on a few trees and shrubs around your property line, a few drops around the property line on the ground and a few drops on trees and shrubs at what would be about cyote spray height (about 24" above ground level) repeat once a week or so, it doesnt take much as cats have a strong sense of smell, but if they think theres a pack of coyotes marking your yard as their territory they will typically choose a better litterbox location. (cyotes will and do eat cats and are one fo the few predators that will)
another good plan is a couple strands of electric fence...you want a strand at nose height, and then 6-12" above eachother (3-4 strands) they will eventually learn they can jump over it, so its best to get a portable one and change the height of the strands frequently, most cats will get zapped once or twice and decide other homes have much easier acess lol.
also, make sure to keep grass seed, bird food ect locked up in plastic barrels/trashcans ect...
mice and rats are attracted to them and of course, cats are attracted to mice and rats...you want to remove the appeal from your yard.
motion activated sprinkler and spray systems are also great deterants.
unfortunatly neutering the toms wont do any good, the best bet would be to trap and spay any females. the females make the core of the colony and once its "at capacity" the females will not welcome anymore cats into the group (capacity is based soley on food availabiltiy) the toms will move from colony to colony, so by spaying the females it helps keep the colony at a consitent (and eventually shrinking) size.
The cats seem to have a home .. at the junkyard the old guy there does feed them and provide shelter but thats all and yes they do keep the rat and mice population down but my big dog is a cat hater so its just a matter of time befor they cost me a vet bill for my dog and the dispolal of dead bodies in the yard .. I am trying to avoid that ..
setting up sprinklers on the fence line is the next step but thats not do-able in the front .. Thanks for the idea of Yote pee willing to mark the yard with that .. as well ..
one positive thing that you can do, in your yard, is place cat traps, (you get these at the shelter) and take them to the shelter to be fixed. Trap, Neuter, Release. Will reduce marking, eventually the cat colony will dwindle down by attrition.
do a search for your area if not start here call and start asking questions.
Stray Feral Cat Rescue Associates Of Minnesota
1046 Carmel Court
Saint Paul, MN 55126-5879 map
Website:Information not found
Phone: (651) 766-6754
Locally in Texas we have SNAP which is a low cost care center that will spay/neuter ferals for just 10 bucks a cat.
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