Update from Belgium

I borrowed a camera last weekend to let you see our ferals now when they are 11 month. Agnes, Moa and our domestic cats Izzy and Zasha are older of course. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/paulvans...60762400494565

Unfortunately quite bad quality on the photos.

I know some of you gonna be very upset but we have made the choise to open the cat garden and let them all have access to the outside now. Moa was so depressed by the captivity and I didn't have the hart to let her out on her own with no access to the inside again. It went well so far. They all come in for food, sleeping and social contact.

Moa is happy again and she still come in for food and to sleep in our bed when we are not around.
Agnes come in several times a day and even walks close to me to say hello even if on a slight distance.
Tosca is not a feral anymore. She loves to be touched and Paul can lift her up.
Silas strikes to my legs every time I prepare food for them but I cannot touch him.
Gypsy can still not be touched but she sleep with us in the bed and loves to lay on Pauls feet. She comes when we call her for candy.
Wesely and Ice are a little upset that I am working again and they are like plasters on me when I am home and very vocal.
Izzy and Zasha is guarding the ferals as property and keep other cats out of the garden. They come and get us if something is out of their hands.
They have a big fairly protected area to roam and all our neighbours are okay with it.
The brothers of Agnes who used to live with our only crazy neighbour has moved to onother neighbour and are now safe and dewormed. Within a couple weeks they will also be neutered. We will share the cost for that and I doubt the crazy neighbour will notice since she is barely home and when she is she is stoned.
She hasn't noticed that her cats has moved.
And yes a few birds will pay with their life for the freedom of our cats but so far the only one who catch something is Ice. he carries them inside, we take the from him and reward him with candy and place them in a rescue nest where the bird-parents can reach them. So far it works. One little blackbird we had to drive to a bird rescue since the parents didn't take him back and he is doing fine there.

Originally Posted by Malena

And yes a few birds will pay with their life for the freedom of our cats but so far the only one who catch something is Ice. he carries them inside, we take the from him and reward him with candy and place them in a rescue nest where the bird-parents can reach them. So far it works. One little blackbird we had to drive to a bird rescue since the parents didn't take him back and he is doing fine there.

Click to expand...

Oh, really? So it is possible to save their lives? The parent birds DO take them back? (I suppose we are talking about birds who did begin to fly?)

Please tell more about it... This is surely a common problem for many catowners.

It was a tip from our neighbours and the bird rescue. When they learn how to fly they are an easy catch for predators but most of the time tame cats doesn't kill them. I have always taken the pray from my cats and rewarded them with candy. That way thet bring it to me. Birds are pretty protected by their feathers so they are often unharmed, just chocked.
The best is to keep track of where the nests are and place the bird back in an excisting nest but if you can't find it you can place it in a home made nest and the little one will call his parents for food. They will most likely feed it if the nest is available and fairly protected.
It works with really small birds that falls out of the nest as well but then you need to find the original nest since they need heat from their siblings. They are also more likely to get harmed in the mouth of a cat.

I also keep a little birdcage at home for grown birds and mice to recover in before I let them out.

Through the years I have saved a large amount of birds, mice, lizzards, snakes and bats that have been catched by my cats. I have more survivers than lost ones.

Bats are the most difficult. Especially babies. They are so fragile and their wings are easily harmed. If a baby loses his mother it is almost impossible to save them. You can feed them with KMR but they need a heating lamp and food every second hour 24/7 in the beginning.

Here in Belgium we have special bird-rescues which is wonderful. In Sweden I have raised bird-babies on my own when the parents didn't take care of them again. It is not that difficult but it takes time and effort and they become tame wich is not so good when you have several cats.

Malena- so good to hear from you! Has it been a year already? My goodness, how time flies!

I am in LOVE with Ice! I've never been such a big fan of orange tabbies - but there is something about that face that I just want to nuzzle! I'm so sorry he misses you so much - but what a love!

I'm glad the kitties are out and about - so long as it means they're not depressed. Our kitties all came inside at a young enough age that they don't know what they're missing.

The only one that I think would truly thrive on being allowed outside is Tuxedo, and he's got an autoimmune disease, and we just won't risk it. We just have to give him lots of extra play time to absorb all that energy!

And how wonderful of you to rescue the animals your kitties bring home! It's people like you that give roaming cats a good name.

Hope the neutering goes well and smoothly. I think it's great that everyone's getting together to take care of your crazy neighbor's cats! Hopefully they won't get hurt or get anyone pregnant in the meantime.

Laurie

Thank you Laurie,
You would love Ice even more if you met him. He has a very special personality. I wasn't found of red cats before either but these two have stolen my heart. Wesely is the brain and Ice is the muscles and they really cooperate to have what they want.
Ice can be very ruff to the other cats but he has learned to ask for what he wants instead of stealing it. To avoid that he takes all the candy when we have candy-time in the evening (small pieces of red meat) I have thaugt him to sit on command and wait for his piece. In the beginning he ripped it from my hand with claws and teeth but now he shows some patience.
The best example I have on how tough he is was when I came home from work finding a ten-twelv kilo male had walked in through the cat-door to pay a visit. This big male was sitting in a corner of our living, shaking in fear with two red kittens in aggresive pose in front of him. They could have been three month old at the time. Ice was holding the front line and the stranger was not alowed to move. He was so grateful for my apperance that I could lift him up and carry him outside. He never came back.

What characters! Guess you won't have to worry about unwanted kitties wandering into your home after this!

Again - I hope all is going well with the neighbor's cats too.

Laurie