How many cats am I feeding?

I started out by feeding a stray/feral that was trying to eat bird seed that was on the ground by a feeder. My daughter put out some cat food and I started to feed this cat twice a day. I could never approach her and she fed mainly early AM and late PM so I never saw her. Once day when I did catch a glimpse, she was pregnant. My daughter saw her a few times but the cat ran. My now problem is that feeding one stray has turned into at least four. I'll look out on the porch and there's a different cat. I think these cats have a telephone system and they have put out the word that there's free food down the street. I have no problem in buying food for them but I live in a co-op and pets are not allowed. Nor are we to feed strays. I do have two of my own, which so far no one has reported me. Anyway, none of these cats seem approachable. I've been advised to try to trap them and use TNR. Good idea, but it doesn't solve my problem of feeding all these strays and having neighbors see them and reporting me. In one way I don't want to stop supplying food for them, but now that the weather is warming up, if I would stop could these kitties take care of themselves? I wish I could take each one and make them a house cat but I can't. Any advise would be appreciated.

I know that your heart is in the right place, but --- and this is strictly my opinion --- without also arranging for these cats to be sterilized, the homeless cat problem in your area is just going to get increasingly worse.

I recognize that it sounds cruel, but by feeding them you are inviting territorial issues as more and more cats come to the food source. And you are simultaneously also providing them with more mating opportunities, which of course leads to them bringing more unwanted cats into the world.

Is there any way that you can contact a local TNR group, which might be able to help?

You might also find this recent thread, which is based on a situation similar to yours, to be helpful.

Thanks for the link. You are so right. As the weather is becoming nicer I think its time to quit feeding them. I hate to see them hungry but it appears as if maybe I'm feeding a colony of ferals. I'm going to talk to our local shelter and see if they can provide the traps to TNR them. This local shelter is very good. I'm going to feel bad for a while but I know its the best thing to do.