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Cautiousmom, it sounds like you may have a feral colony nearby. There are groups who trap, neuter/spay, and then release. Perhaps a program like that would be helpful for your situation. We have TNR program here; where someone agrees to feed the animals, but the colony doesn't expand. I have noticed it does make a difference.
Just tonight I went outside after dark to water my plants on the front porch. I wasn't dressed properly but thought I would only be out there a few moments. Well I saw a cat come from my neighbors backyard and as I always do when I see a cat, I started to talk to the cat, make the kind of noises you do with cats. I was shocked to see him cross the road and walk up my drive way. My daughter came out at this point and I sent her in for some wet food. I was able to walk over and sit down by the orange kitty and put the saucer down for him. He allowed me to stroke him but growled the whole time. He polished the whole saucer off. My daughter brought over some water for him as well which he drank some of.
I feel so badly for cats like that. My boys (cats) lay around, sleep on the bed, especially when I have the hating blanket on, eat well and here is this sweet cat outside on his own.
I have been thinking of getting one of those humane traps and catching cats like this and taking them to a shelter where they can find them a home. I hate to see them on their own like this.
I have been thinking of getting one of those humane traps and catching cats like this and taking them to a shelter where they can find them a home. I hate to see them on their own like this.
I have a little story for this, well, not so little:
My husband used to take in cats/kittens many years back (they all became pets for him or his friends). Earlier this year, we saw what we thought was a kitten running loose in our neighborhood (we figured it was feral, or someone's pet that got lost/was abandoned).
So, we start feeding the cat/kitten and providing housing so we can build some trust. After a few days, I'm ready to go pick up a trap and we figured we'd trap and then take him/her to our vet and work on adopting him/her out.
Before I have a chance to pick up the trap, one of my dogs alerts that the cat is in our (fenced) backyard! My husband - without thinking - and definitely without listening (I told him to put on gloves ) - runs out to grab the cat/kitten.......freestyle and bare-handed !
Needless to say, he was bitten, badly.
We managed to wrangle the cat into one of our own carriers, set it in the garage, and race off the the urgent care clinic (husband's hands were swelling and last time this happened, he was on IVs for 2 days). Urgent Care won't touch a cat bite, they send us to the ER. ER shoots him up with tetnus and some other stuff, then he's okay to go home provided we test the cat for rabies (you have to fill out Dept of Health forms stating you'll do this).
Next, we run the cat over to our vet's office. Without making this story too much longer, it turns out that this little 3 lb cutie was no kitten, it was a full-grown (though stunted) cat who was torn open underneath (we did not see this until the vet pointed it out). I don't want to get too graphic, but the cat needed to be put out of it's misery right away, my vet did not want to wait.
So we put the cat down.
But that's not the end.......what about the rabies possibility?
Well - again, I don't want to gross everyone out - but there's only 2 ways to check for rabies: 1) observation which can take as long as 6 months and 2) a brain dissection.
Yup, my vet had to behead the cat, put the head on ice and I had to take it to the Health Dept downtown (you don't think they pick up, do you? ). I drove with a cat's head in a box on my lap.
So between my vet's bill, the Urgent Care bill, the ER bill (luckily, just co-pays), I'm out $200 and all I have to show for it is a lousy cat head.
I tell you this story to say "be careful" when messing with feral cats. It's not always so easy as just catching them and finding them a home, and as anyone who's tried to get an animal into a rescue can attest, it's not always so easy finding a rescue who will accept the animal.
I'm all for trap-neuter-release though, and that may be the best we can do for the cats in some cases. A past neighbor of mine did it and it turned out very successful, the colony naturally died down to a small number.
Yikes, nothing like driving with a cat head to make the whole feral thing hit home. Sorry for your husband's expensive learning experience.
I too once made the mistake of trying to touch a feral cat; I was a kid and really did not yet understand that this feline was wild, but I soon figured it out. Ouch!
My little Willow was quite small when we took her in; but the vet told me that she was much older than I thought she was and we had to get her spayed right away. She has since fattened up a bit.
My cat was apparently left behind when his former guardians apparently left him behind in my then-apartment complex. I became one of a few people who fed him on a regular basis. Long story short, when it started getting colder and people started complaining about his spraying, this "dog person" brought him in... with the help of a "cat person" in the building. That was ten years ago this past November.
There appears to be a small feral colony in my current complex. I've seen at least two people feed them. I feel bad for them, especially when it gets cooler but I suspect someone may have at least spayed or neutered them as I don't see any kittens around.
Anyway, that's my story... and I'm sticking to it!
Yikes, nothing like driving with a cat head to make the whole feral thing hit home. Sorry for your husband's expensive learning experience.
I too once made the mistake of trying to touch a feral cat; I was a kid and really did not yet understand that this feline was wild, but I soon figured it out. Ouch!
My little Willow was quite small when we took her in; but the vet told me that she was much older than I thought she was and we had to get her spayed right away. She has since fattened up a bit.
I called the cat rescue but they did not have any traps to loan and the cats must be dropped off to them. I think in about two weeks the large long haired gray cat will become use to me and let me touch him. He does respond to "kitty, kitty," but will get no closer than ten feet away. I must say, he has the most unusual cat face I have ever seen. I really can't even describe it. When I can get cose enough, I'll take a picture. My son calls him Wolverine, but I think he looks more like a Boris (as in Baddenoff). I put one of our old carpeted kitty castles out on our back patio for him to sleep inside because it's been cold. I really can't adopt another cat..........
The smaller one has not been around the last few days. I hope he's ok. He's going to be a hard case because he is completely wild and I certainly don't want to end up with a bloody stump for an arm and his severed head on my lap! That was quite a story!
but how do you know that the cat doesnt belong to someone in your neighborhood and is just outside because he likes it? i'd be upset if someone trapped my cat and took him to a shelter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindsey_Mcfarren
Just tonight I went outside after dark to water my plants on the front porch. I wasn't dressed properly but thought I would only be out there a few moments. Well I saw a cat come from my neighbors backyard and as I always do when I see a cat, I started to talk to the cat, make the kind of noises you do with cats. I was shocked to see him cross the road and walk up my drive way. My daughter came out at this point and I sent her in for some wet food. I was able to walk over and sit down by the orange kitty and put the saucer down for him. He allowed me to stroke him but growled the whole time. He polished the whole saucer off. My daughter brought over some water for him as well which he drank some of.
I feel so badly for cats like that. My boys (cats) lay around, sleep on the bed, especially when I have the hating blanket on, eat well and here is this sweet cat outside on his own.
I have been thinking of getting one of those humane traps and catching cats like this and taking them to a shelter where they can find them a home. I hate to see them on their own like this.
I have never "owned" a cat. There was one that adopted us in Alabama and resided on our front porch in between meal runs around the neighborhood. He stayed with us more than any other house, so I guess he was "ours". He would always respond to my daughter's call and come running from whichever house he was at to play with her.
When we were packing to move back to Texas he was all over our boxes and inspected the PODS and ensured everything was just right for our move. Then on moving day he came to say goodbye left about 3 hours before departure time. We called him and waited an additional 2 hours for him to come back from his neighborhood tour, but he never did.
I can only suppose he said his goodbyes to us and selected another porch to sleep on.
but how do you know that the cat doesnt belong to someone in your neighborhood and is just outside because he likes it? i'd be upset if someone trapped my cat and took him to a shelter.
I had thought about this but I live in a deed restricted neighborhood where its against the Homeowners Association laws to allow any pet to wander freely. I had thought if I did do something like this, I would post pictures on the mail boxes. I certainly wouldn't do it with an animal that I was not familiar with. There are cats around here that you always see, that go from house to house getting food.
The one I saw the other night, I had never seen before AND he acted like a stray cat in that while he ate, he growled menacingly the entire time. I pet him but I would never have picked him up.
The kind of traps I am thinking about, you can put up against a pet taxi and open it so you never have to touch the cat. I couldn't allow the cat around mine so it would have to go to the shelter right away.
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) - runs out to grab the cat/kitten.......freestyle and bare-handed 
!
That was ten years ago this past November. 
.
