Are you trying to find homes for the cats you feed?

Hi,
I live in a neighborhood where there are a lot of strays...I took in as many as I can (8!), then my place was too small for me & mine, and I have to move, but I didn't want to leave the 10 remaining kitties out there...I tried groups etc & couldn't get help. Then I thought of an idea, a website with live streaming video of the kitties I feed & it has worked super well! I have found suitable homes for most of the kitties..unbelievable and groups suddenly started helping! I'm now in a position where I've got at least temporary foster care for every kitty...I hope to have finished trapping them within 2 weeks, at which time there will be no more outdoor kitties to feature on the StreetCatCam! The site has attracted a wonderful following of people who have rescued street cats & I want to keep it going to assist other people with homing their street cats. So, to start with, if you are trying to home street cats and feed them in an area where you could set up a computer with webcam nearby, & want to put them on the StreetCatCam please let me know...there are still technical issues to be sorted out re remote broadcasting, but hopefully those can be sorted. Soon I'll also feature pics etc of kitties in the hood needing homes from around the world, so if you want homes for your kitties, start taking pics and/or video footage!
My site is http://www.kittiesinthehood.com
Thanks,
Naomi

You have taken in 8 of these stray cats into your own home? Now most of these stray cats would be feral, wouldn't they? How do you manage to socialize them to home life? What kind of success have you had with the ferals?

They would all be what you would call feral...i call them "street Cats" cause australians hate "feral" cats. I"ve had fantastic success with each of these kitties....I've actually taken 2 pregnant moms in, an 18 month old boy, 18 month old girl, & a 5 month old girl and I've found homes for 3 others. I only took the young boy in about 1 1/2 weeks ago and he is going soooooo well I can't believe it. Doesn't want to go out at all...looks at me with amazement when I serve him breakfast in bed....he has let me touch him (though he flinches), has only hissed a couple times and that's when i really push it with him (tried to approach from in front & scratch head), and has swatted at me twice (but caused no damage)...he's already roaming the house, though he goes back to his tent for security at times. I've had some that domesticate really quickly, like the next day quickly, and others that take some time, but improve each day. I have lots of tips re socialisation...i made a lot of mistakes at the beginning but I think I'm getting better at it! You can never get angry or upset at them, even if they hiss or spit, I speak to them like they are domestic, with a "what was that about?" sort of expression. Read their body language...its not hard to tell when its time to back off and when they tell you that, respect it by backing off and letting them know you understand...let them watch you interact with your other kitties...because mine all come from the same street it probably helps a bit....i find they are used to sharing turf so get along well, as opposed to domestic kitties that hate when new cats are introduced. My girl Precious who I rescued at almost 2 years is the smoochiest cat in the house (though putting her in a small cage still scares me to death!), and that probably happened within about 4 months. Soon I'm going to put video clips on my website of my interacting with my ex street cats, because so many people are told they never make good pets, and I haven't found one yet that hasn't made a wonderful delightful and itneresting pet....even if they hiss a bit! You should check out my website where I talk about the backgrounds of all the kitties i have in here and their personalities and how they came around on this link http://www.kittiesinthehood.com/thedaytimestars
I should add that one of the mom's was so feral I couldn't even go within a foot of her enclosure without her going crazy hissing, spitting & jumping and scaring hte life out of me...even getting her food felt like a life threatening experience, and that went on for a few months...but within 6 months I was allowed to touch her!
Naomi

And I should add its not been 8 into my home...with kittens its been 10 (incl. my recent one MacKenzie) & Tabitha who passed away from cancer...and a few others have spent a nite or 2 on their way to homes.

Thanks, that has given me hope and courage to tackle my "challange".

Naomi...what a great idea. I do hope though that you followed up to make sure that all those kitties that were placed were spayed/neutered so that they don't have any litters of their own.

Katie

Streaming video...brilliant! That's just sheer genius. Good luck!

What a great idea! I hope you find Taryn soon!

I'm making sure they go spayed/neutered, wouldn't trust anyone else to do it.
Naomi

I would also post this on this yahoo group...lots of people who do TNR and could probably use the idea to place their tame cats.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/feral_cats/

Katie