Recent Content by scott77777

To answer the initial question: It's always possible to transfer diseases, and I'm in a similar situation. I use disposable bowls and always wash my hands before going between indoor and outdoor cats. In the opposite scenario, one of our indoor cats had ringworm a few years back and I didn't...

So, we have a tortie who makes the weirdest sound - when she wants attention, she'll basically create this very loud, guttural, throaty chest growl. The first time I heard it, it nearly had me out of my chair. She basically acts as though she has startled herself, does the growl, and races...

I live in a suburban area, so I usually buy at Petsmart, Petco, or one of the similar places. For the ferals, sometimes Costco will have deals on Friskies, but the chain stores will usually have cans in the low 30s cents per can. The smaller privately owned stores nearby tend to be more...

Hello, I know this is a topic that has come up before, but I'm wondering if anyone has some ideas for saving money on cat food. I currently feed (3) indoor and (3) feral cats, in addition to providing dry food to a neighbor for her colony. My wife and I are in our 30s and we're trying hard...

My own method for catching kittens is to use a typical animal (dog/cat) crate -- they kind you find at PETCO or Petsmart. I then tie a rope through the back of the crate along one of the top-most holes through to the door in the front. I then put tuna fish on newspaper inside, towards the back...

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone here has had to shave their ferals. We've got some long-haired ferals, and they're pretty good about keeping their coats clean. However, with the rain / snow / dirt, etc..., this year we've had some problems with large areas of matted hair. They're losing...

Actually, I feed the ferals both wet and dry. The ferals typically get Friskies wet food and Purina One dry, but I'll also give them whatever our finicky "indoor" cats reject - which will include organic if the indoor cats simply won't eat it. What I've found with dry food is that some cats...

Yes, actually, our cats liked the canned venison as well. One thing to note -- the DRY version of the venison actually got recalled due to a problem with the "rice protein concentrate." I was surprised to see some of the Dick Van Patten stuff get recalled. More here: Recalled Natural...

I found this, which looks helpful: http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg1.htm

Like many of you I'm sure, I've been scouring the various labels for wet cat food that: a) Has no by-products b) Has no wheat gluten c) The cats actually like (a cat test, not a label test) OR d) Has some by-products, but the main ingredient is a whole protein (fish, etc...) e) Doesn't...

Hello, No problem. Yes, I did. It wasn't animal control -- who is OK with our rescue group -- it was a neighbor who has been trapping cats, allegedly for many years. My efforts (and those of the rescue group) have been pretty well known in the neighborhood. I've always gone to get permission...

Hello, Well, I caught him this morning. Luckily, the colony cats came to eat early, so by the time I put the trap out they were pretty disinterested. He showed up about 30 minutes later. Usual drill: Tru-Catch trap lined with newspaper, tuna oil dripped on the paper and a good clump of...

Thanks, Yes, I suppose I could try an alternate trapping method .... but he runs once seen. Hard to trap a cat that comes around once every 10 hours, and often -- that's at 4am. Leaving the trap out will probably result in just catching another cat, and working full-time makes it tough to...

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or strategies for a new male that's been spraying all of the colony shelters. Of course, other than the obvious -- getting him neutered. I've had a tough time trapping him lately. I'm a commuter, and only home on the weekends, and he tends to come...

My 2c on this is that she sounds like she was either sick, fearful or depressed. I think the one true constant in kittens is that the time from 3 weeks to 10 weeks is like a century in their emotional development -- a feral kitten at 3-4 weeks can be socialized pretty easily; the same kitten...