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Last November, we found a cat living in our yard. We felt bad for her and we started feeding her. Big mistake! She had 3 kittens (2 still living on our property) in May and recently added 2 more. They are relatively friendly, we have continued feeding them and the kids feel like they are our pets. I, on the other hand, feel like we are heading towards a big problem. I have done some research on getting them spay/neutered but I am a little overwhelmed. We would need to capture them in a trap to bring them in and even with a discount from one of the organizations, it will be costly. I also read that if we have someone come in to capture them, they will most likely put the cats down. Has anyone else dealt with this issue, and if so, can you point me in the direction of an organization that will be able to help? Thanks!
In many areas, there are projects that capture and spay/neuter the cats on your property for very small fees. If you contact your local Humane Society, they should be able to point you to those organizations. Good Luck!
If you are in one of the 5 boroughs, contact the ASPCA for info on TNR. Yes, you do have to capture them. Please, if you do this, do not capture and remove the mother cat if she is still nursing the kits, unless you also are able to capture the kittens. Within NYC, speutering is available at the ASPCA van and they will chip the animal at the same time. If they are feral, they do have to have basic shots.
Lots of help is available to you at the yahoo group "feral_cats". Contact your local Council for Animal Welfare or any volunteer at a PetSmart store for info on your local no-kill shelter. PLEASE do not use the wild-animal traps as they can severely injure/kill cats, especially kittens. There are people who rescue and tame feral cats, especially kittens. I recently rescued a 1 month old stray kitten and he is now 3.5 months and a totally tame indoor kitten. I got lots of help from the folks at the feral cat board on yahoo as well as advice from people in the pets section here.
Thank you for all your advice. I will check into your suggestions. I do realize that we created this by feeding the mother, but we don't mind caring for them, we just want to make sure they are taken care of so we don't have any more little kittens roaming around!
Thank you for all your advice. I will check into your suggestions. I do realize that we created this by feeding the mother, but we don't mind caring for them, we just want to make sure they are taken care of so we don't have any more little kittens roaming around!
I had done this before as well and don't regret it even though the feral population can get out of control. There might still be an organization called the Paw House, and of course Kent Animal Shelter can also point you in the right direction. you can also never go wrong with the ASPCA. The pawhouse also deals with petco when the strays are able to be placed.
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