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I live in a very small town in the middle of a national forest. We just bought this house 6 months ago. There is a small female tabby that hangs around. She watches me at the grill, and I have found her sleeping by the heating ducts in my basement. I saw her with 2 kittens a few weeks ago, but I haven't seen them again. I have seen her catching rodents, which is good thing. I am having a very hard time ignoring her. I gave her a turkey neck on Thanksgiving, and some leftovers tonight. She came within a couple feet of me.
I am not a cat person. I am a dog person.(I have 4) I think cats shouldn't be outside at all, because they have short brutal lives and eat birds. It is breaking my heart to see her out there. I know she isn't the only feral cat around here, but she is the only one who comes to my porch. I don't know if our extremely overworked vet will give me a price break on some shots and spaying for her. I will find out.
So, I would like to feed her, but I don't know if it the right thing to do. I am worried that the feral cats are upsetting the food chain here in the forest, but I can't afford to take care of all of them. Our county is so rural and broke that I can't get any help from them. Any advice?
Sigh. I understand how you feel. Had the same thing here only it was to mothers and two litters of kittens and then one Mom got killed. The other Mom took over all 8 kittens. I have been feeding them all because I could not just let them starve and get sick and then make my kitties sick. I have had several people tell me they would take one or two or four and then no one comes to do so. So we are still feeding the Mom and 8 kittens and our two house kitties.
These all were/are feral but now some have become fairly tame to my husband and I. Two regularly come in the house. One stays for a long time and loves it. I think we are planning to keep him as our kitty. The little calico comes in and struts her stuff in front of the dogs. All two and a half pounds of her then wants out. She is a bold little one for sure.
I had an appointment to have the three females spayed and then the roads turned to ice and it is too dangerous to make that crack of dawn drive down the mountain 55 miles with them. So it will have to wait. Will give me more time to save up to have all of them fixed and with enough notice we can get all 9 of them done in one day. Not sure what we will do with nine recuperating kitties. EEEKKKKKK
So not much help for you on your decision. Just sharing what we are trying to do for our feral kitties. We are being mean and not allowing any more to join the herd. There have been several trying to attach to us and we run them off. I am so sorry but 11 is too many. We can afford to feed them and no more. I did get the vaccine for them at the feed store. I also bought wormer for them from the vet. This is all costing us a bundle. I just hope some day some one will come get one or two or all of them. Yah right dream on. You are lucky you only have one.
Maybe if you feed it it will not need to kill so many birds????
It is hard to say...but by your post, it sounds like your an "animal" person, not just a "dog" person. Personally, I would feed her. It would break my heart to see her suffer under circumstances, that are through no fault, her own. Good luck with what ever decision you make.
Question.. How do you know for sure it is a feral Cat? It could have just been dumped out near there and the cat found it's way to you and is scared of people. We get lots of drop offs here since we live on a dead end road, I guess they figure nice houses in this neighborhood, rich people, someone will take care of it.. not sure why so many have been dumped out here.....most of the cats we have come across almost act feral but they really are not feral cats, they are just looking for someone to love them and are scared because someone treated them badly.. we have even taken a few of them in after getting to know them.. I would definitely feed the poor kitty, maybe set out a box with an old blanket for it to stay warm..ya never know you may end up with an outside cat. Anyways That is what I would do..I'm a sucker for animals I guess... It is so sad animals end up this way. Good Luck with your decision.
A feral cat is not likely to let you gain any trust, especially one that's been wild from the get go. All you can do is try to catch it (safe cat trap) and go from there. You can look to see if there's any programs in your area that sponsor having feral cats spayed, etc. In the meantime, I would feed her...no matter whether it's feral or not, it needs nutrition. If it was a drop-off victim, then it may likely allow you to gain her trust...all of which takes time.
I have feed feral cats, and will continue doing so...it's a humane thing to do. It's not their fault that they're in the situation that they are, and if we can help them, why not.
FYI....Last year, my husband and I were feeding a colony of ferals at one of the local marinas here. It was Spring, so of course they all had litters of kittens. After weeks of feeding 2 or 3 times a week, many of them let us get closer and closer. One kitten in particular, and I really believe it was more out of starvation, let me actually begin picking her up. She now belongs to one of my girlfriends and I see "Sassy" on a regular basis. One would never know she was once feral. Unfortunately, the marina was destroyed during hurricane Ike...and I haven't seen a single cat since. I'm guessing they all died in the water surge.
She doesn't sound like she is feral. Probably she was abandoned and she is seeking out your home. It is possible that since you have only lived in the home 6 months that it was her home originally. Please feed her, and if possible, get her spayed and get her the appropriate vaccines. If the local vet cannot help you, maybe the local humane association can help with the cost. Usually they have spaying at a reduced rate and shots are also reduced. Dog lovers are easily converted to being cat lovers. And you are correct that cats belong inside.
A feral cat is not likely to let you gain any trust, especially one that's been wild from the get go.
I haven't found that to be true.
Of my 10 cats, 7 were true ferals, born in the wild from mothers who were also true ferals and members of a feral family/colony that had been in existence about 8 years and was comprised of many generations.
Their territory was the creek bed behind my house. I fed them and some of them became quite tame. True, some would never let me touch them or get too close, but some got to know me and eventually wanted to come in and become house cats.
When they came in, we got them tested, neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped. We kept them inside. When we moved, we let everybody out into the new environment (after a period of familiarization with the new house).
They have their own cat door and love to go out and play in the woods. They don't even mind the rain, which we get a lot of here. The are inside by dark and cat door is locked for the night. They would love to go out at night, but we have coyotes here so they have to stay inside.
You can't tell them from any other cats now as they are totally domesticated. Of course they have their own personalities and some are more "human oriented" than others, but none of them are afraid of people and some actually come running when a stranger comes in the house and will crawl up in their lap.
The other day the cable repair man could hardly do his work because three cats were trying to see what he was doing and getting into his tool box.
Maybe if you feed it it will not need to kill so many birds????
The best to you in whatever you decide. Chris
Thank you for your kind words. I do hope to lessen her need for birds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfeyes
Question.. How do you know for sure it is a feral Cat? ... I would definitely feed the poor kitty, maybe set out a box with an old blanket for it to stay warm..ya never know you may end up with an outside cat. Anyways That is what I would do..I'm a sucker for animals I guess... It is so sad animals end up this way. Good Luck with your decision.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbm32206
If it was a drop-off victim, then it may likely allow you to gain her trust...all of which takes time.
I have feed feral cats, and will continue doing so...it's a humane thing to do. It's not their fault that they're in the situation that they are, and if we can help them, why not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SXMGirl
It is possible that since you have only lived in the home 6 months that it was her home originally. Please feed her, and if possible, get her spayed and get her the appropriate vaccines. If the local vet cannot help you, maybe the local humane association can help with the cost. Usually they have spaying at a reduced rate and shots are also reduced. Dog lovers are easily converted to being cat lovers. And you are correct that cats belong inside.
Thanks everybody for such good advice. This cat can't be from the previous home owners. They were what we call "Summer People" around here. This was their vacation home and they were only here couple of weeks every year. I think the cat must have had home once, or I wouldn't have been able to get so close to her.
I reread my post this morning, and read your comments. It seems I was looking for validation for a decision I had already made. Thank you all for confirming my decision. I went to The Big City today and got a bag of good cat food, a kitty food bowl, and a warm snuggly cave type bed that I put by the heater ducts in my basement. I put the bowl of food out this evening when I got home, and when I looked an hour later the bowl was empty. I am naming her "Pumpkin" because she has such a round face. I am calling the vet tomorrow to see if he can help me with her.
Thank you for your kind words. I do hope to lessen her need for birds.
Thanks everybody for such good advice. This cat can't be from the previous home owners. They were what we call "Summer People" around here. This was their vacation home and they were only here couple of weeks every year. I think the cat must have had home once, or I wouldn't have been able to get so close to her.
I reread my post this morning, and read your comments. It seems I was looking for validation for a decision I had already made. Thank you all for confirming my decision. I went to The Big City today and got a bag of good cat food, a kitty food bowl, and a warm snuggly cave type bed that I put by the heater ducts in my basement. I put the bowl of food out this evening when I got home, and when I looked an hour later the bowl was empty. I am naming her "Pumpkin" because she has such a round face. I am calling the vet tomorrow to see if he can help me with her.
Awww....that's great news! Pumpkin will be eternally grateful, I'm sure!
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. Thank you all for confirming my decision. I went to The Big City today and got a bag of good cat food, a kitty food bowl, and a warm snuggly cave type bed that I put by the heater ducts in my basement. I put the bowl of food out this evening when I got home, and when I looked an hour later the bowl was empty. I am naming her "Pumpkin" because she has such a round face
. I am calling the vet tomorrow to see if he can help me with her.
