I give in.I am going to care for the strays so please HELLLP!

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
Alright. I give. I started with loving one cat to loving 4 cats to adding two more.
I blame myself but I started feeding my strays wet food and now they are mine. One of them is pregnant so I am going to buy an outdoor cat house.
This one:
http://www.catsplay.com/katkabinred.php3

Or this one:http://www.catsplay.com/house_pine_platform.php3

These cats are too friendly and lovable to be left to their own devices. So. I am going to make an appointment and get them to a vet and a groomer for a wash. Although I feed my indoor cats raw and expensive wet food I feel like my outdoor cats will be okay with good but not top shelf. It is only two of them. I am going to get them vaccinated, s/n, dewormed and microchipped. I will also get them checked for distemper as a friend lost a rescue to this. If they are sick then we will go from there. For now an outdoor home, with food, water and safety seems ok for now. In time I may rehome them to a woman who is devoted to cats who just lost 2 of her ferals. She is grieving right now but in time she may be open to it.

I am going to try to catch some photos today.

I still need names.
OK does my plan seem ok? Anything I should be aware of?
 

opilot

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Oct 17, 2005
Messages
832
Purraise
4
Location
I live in the No. Va area near DC.
CC12 you rock! Good plan, but skip the washing/groomer if you
plan to leave outside. A bit of Frontline or Revolution will
be better....

Get a spay/neuter for ALL the outdoor kitties - including males.
Get a rabies (required), definitely a distemper, and lastly a Feluke/FIV test.

That's all you need to do! You can have the vet give you Panacur
and put it in food for worming purposes (in case you can't get
a wormer down them - many ferals wont let you handle like that..)

Get a low cost clinic or TNR program for ferals to assist you -
costwise.

The house is BEAUTIFUL ... had I money, I'd buy one for MY ferals!
As it is, I use Indy Ferals housing / shelters. You can put heat in
side the house using a snuggle disk (online), or an electrolux
electric warming bed as used for dogs in kennels...

Hope all this helps, and best of luck. (I have 12 ferals, 3 personal cats, and 3 "fostering till tame" kitties at my house. I am FULL up!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
Thanks for the advice.
I guess I should skip the groomer but I wanted them to be clean. But they most likely will not stay that way.
I was under the weather today, my chronic health condition flared its ugly head today so I was down for the count. BUT I made it to the petstore and I got them some more flea treatment and ear mite treatment. I also got a multi vitamin mineral powder to add to their food.
Now they come to the door everyday and peek in. Especially the white kitten.

Such a sad thing to see. A little human kindness and they are loyal already.

I am open to s/n every stray or feral I come across. I have known some who carry traps in their cars and then TNR.

Bless your soul opi, 12! I wish I could start a s/n fund so that people can afford to get little houses and care for their colonies too. It would be cool if they had a traveling s/n bus that traveled towns and cities and did this.
 

whiteforest

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
Messages
1,230
Purraise
11
Location
Michigan
I agree that the grooming would probably be a waste. Not to mention that you would be lucky to find a groomer willing to work on a feral cat.
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
Congrats to you for wanting to properly take care of these kitties!

Just beware that as long as you're feeding cats outside, more may show up! And having them spayed/neutered is really the most important part of caring for them.
Apart from ensuring there are no more unwanted kittens born - it helps lower aggressiveness, gets the males to stop the spraying/territory marking, and reduces the urge to wander/roam.

As to the shelter - I don't know that it's worth the investment. We've found that unless a shelter has two openings, they probably won't get used much - if at all. And the best thing to put in a shelter is straw or hay that gets changed weekly or monthly, as necessary. Bedding is a good home for bugs as well and is just a pain if it gets sprayed.

I'd also forego the grooming. Just the Advantage or Frontline is what we'd recommend.

Don't know what your state requirements are - most just require Rabies, though some require Distemper. The problem with a distemper shot and ferals is that the first time they receive distemper it requires a three-week follow up. We always just had the rabies vaccination because we couldn't count on re-trapping the same ferals another three weeks later.

Looking forward to pictures!!!!!!!!!!


Laurie
 

kazy

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
344
Purraise
1
Location
Newcastle, WA
Welcome to the club, CC!!!


I think shelters you are thinking about buying are too expensive.
You could build shelter yourself by using 2 Rubbermaid containers.

As Laurie stated, some vaccine require booster shot.
For my case, I gave up one bedroom to my feral and kept them in there.
I would spend money for roomy cat cage than shelter at this point and keep them in there until their booster is done.

Keep us posted!!!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
I ended up ordering a shelter with two doors. That was before I read the rest of this thread. I am going to use it for food and an enticement to trap.
I just heard a cat fight outside as I type this. The pregnant girl can get quite nasty if confronted. But she is a sweetie pie to us.
Her eyes are the brightest green.
My indoor cats are going a little insane. I think I know who fathered the white kitten. There is a white Tom that comes around. He was looking in our house when Mary saw him and freaked out. She went berserk screaming and jumping at the glass. Cleo got low and hissed. Seldon puffed up and walked around posturing.
But the cats keep coming.
The white kitten is friendly and looks in too but Mary is okay with him and his Mama. Just the Tom, she wants to destroy.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
I ended up ordering a shelter with two doors. That was before I read the rest of this thread. I am going to use it for food and an enticement to trap.
I just heard a cat fight outside as I type this. The pregnant girl can get quite nasty if confronted. But she is a sweetie pie to us. She talks to me and meows. She even rolls onto her back.
Her eyes are the brightest green.
My indoor cats are going a little insane. I think I know who fathered the white kitten. There is a white Tom that comes around. He was looking in our house when Mary saw him and freaked out. She went berserk screaming and jumping at the glass. Cleo got low and hissed. Seldon puffed up and walked around posturing.
But the cats keep coming.
The white kitten is friendly and looks in too but Mary is okay with him and his Mama. Just the Tom, she wants to destroy.


I made a discovery and I have mixed feelings. Under a staircase, outside, I found a dirty cat bed, a dirty cat bowl and a dirty water bowl. I think Mama cat or the Tom used to live here. They look in several times a day. I hope this doesn't mean that they were once living here and were dumped. I cleaned under there with my daughter. We washed it out completely.

They were wily today. I was outside on my patio relaxing and like a shot Tom cat ran through the yard like lightening. They run through the slats of the wooden fences. Mama cat came by had a snack of the food. I leave dry and wet. They ate the wet which I mixed with their vitamins and essential oil. The trick is catching them. It was like they knew I wanted to catch them today so they stayed away. But they managed to get into a box of bonito flakes that had been left out the night we lost Cleo. I found out that I can get a huge bag from the Asian store for cheap and maybe I can put this out time to time for an added treat.

I put a lawn chair out and will be buying more patio furniture so that I can stay out there and get them used to seeing me.

Names for now Mama is named Lucia, the white baby Lorenzo and the Tom Giorgio. I have seen Lucia try to beat up Lorenzo or at least scare him from the food. She needs it most I would say.
Right now I am feeding, Pet Promise dry, Innova, Natural Balance and Wysong wet. I found a sale so I stocked up. In my city there is a pet store on every corner so a good sale is easy to find.

My goal is to get some photos and trap trap trap s/n s/n s/n.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
Thanks for the help everyone. It is sincerely appreciated.
 

katie=^..^=

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 16, 2004
Messages
2,637
Purraise
1
Location
Los Angeles
I love your attitude and enthusiasm. You are really helping these kitties. Finding their little hidey spot seems to indicate that someone was taking care of them before.

That's why they are so used to being in your yard.

Good luck with the s/n. It is the most important thing to do. Once they are not procreating they will become much calmer.
 

catsknowme

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
11,458
Purraise
6,679
Location
Eastern California,USA
Bless you for doing so much for those kitties!
it does sound like they were familiar with the kitty area under the stairs, poor things - maybe they were abandoned!!! I hope that you can coax Lucia inside & keep her in a room till she delivers, so it will be easier to tame the kittens, Otherwise, you'll have to take them from her at an early age and bring them inside and tame them unless you plan to just TNR the kitts and let them live feral in your yard.
I am so very happy that you are caring for those cats and now they have a bright future
Susan
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
I have not seen Lucia, Lorenzo or Girogio and I am worried to be honest. I hope that my indoor cats did not frighten them.
I sit by the glass door waiting for Giorgio to visit. He is so cute. He just peeks in and sits happily. It is like we are passing time together even though there is glass separating us. I feel sorry for him that Mary behaved like a banshee on a mission. He has not been back at the door. Cleo patrols the door and Cleo is bigger than Giorgio.
I miss them.
I ordered a feeding station thing that I can put in the cat house that has dry food in it. I figure this way I can visit them on the patio without the indoor gang getting agitated.
I am concerned that Lucia tried to give birth elsewhere. Maybe she was further along than she looked. I hope not.
Do they spy and saw the trap and carriers? I was out of town yesterday but they were well fed and the plate was empty. So I am beginning to think that they know what I am up to. I know it is a crazy thought but waiting to see them again is hard.
Little Lorenzo is a cutie pie and likes to be with Lucia. SO I think they travel as a pair.

One funny story. My neighbor said Giorgio came into his house cool as can be and took a tour and then left. He had left the door open to grill and in he sauntered. Just checking around.


I hope nothing has happened. Maybe someone trapped them and took them to a shelter. I will have to check the pages.
As I typed this I heard another cat fight. Or could it be mating? I hope not.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
Thank you for your encouragement. This board helped me to realize that I needed to get back to feeding my less fortunate kitties again.

I have not seen Lucia, Lorenzo or Girogio and I am worried to be honest. I hope that my indoor cats did not frighten them.
I sit by the glass door waiting for Giorgio to visit. He is so cute. He just peeks in and sits happily. It is like we are passing time together even though there is glass separating us. I feel sorry for him that Mary behaved like a banshee on a mission. He has not been back at the door. Cleo patrols the door and Cleo is bigger than Giorgio.
I miss them.
I ordered a feeding station thing that I can put in the cat house that has dry food in it. I figure this way I can visit them on the patio without the indoor gang getting agitated.
I am concerned that Lucia tried to give birth elsewhere. Maybe she was further along than she looked. I hope not.
Do they spy and saw the trap and carriers? I was out of town yesterday but they were well fed and the plate was empty. So I am beginning to think that they know what I am up to. I know it is a crazy thought but waiting to see them again is hard.
Little Lorenzo is a cutie pie and likes to be with Lucia. SO I think they travel as a pair.

One funny story. My neighbor said Giorgio came into his house cool as can be and took a tour and then left. He had left the door open to grill and in he sauntered. Just checking around.


I hope nothing has happened. Maybe someone trapped them and took them to a shelter. I will have to check the pages.
As I typed this I heard another cat fight. Or could it be mating? I hope not.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
Not quite sure how I ended up posting the same thing twice. Sorry.
I put some extra smelly food out to entice and I heard some wailing and a skirmish or two but it was too dark to see.
I came up with their names because my brother said I talked about them like they were in soap opera. So I decided on Italian names. I love Italy as well.
 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
Please don't use over-the-counter deworming or flea treatment on these cats. These products can be so dangerous causing problems with their health, even death. Talk to a local vet and tell him you are managing a wild colony. There is a new product out (available only from vets) that is a topical dewormer and flea treatment. It's called profender- use it on the males only- as the females are more than likely pregnant.

The fights you hear are the toms challenging for the queens and the right to mate with them. You will probably soon have injured cats showing up so spaying and neutering is essential. BUT have each cat scanned first for a chip, as you might not be dealing with ferals (doesn't really sound like it) you could have someone's lost pet. The revert to feral tendencies when they become lost or dumped. It is their survival skill.

God gave them a pretty good grooming system all their own, so no groomer in their right mind would even touch them unless they have been sedated. They don't need a groomer, they need a vet, s/n and good food.

They can vanish for days on end- the queens go to ground and nest and have their kittens. Instead of beating the bushes looking for the babies, just keep providing food and water- she will bring the kittens to you when she is ready to.

If I can help- I will- drop me a PM. I live in Oregon as well and have been working with ferals and strays for a very long time.

Also don't be surprised if they ignore the fancy shelters. They just want a place that is secure with escape hatches they can get out of when threatened. You can make these easily using cheaper products that are available at Wal Mart or Target.

Good luck-
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
Thanks for the tips.
You know until I came to TCS I had all sorts of faulty notions about strays and ferals. It is definitely something that should be investigated and researched.
They will most likely ignore the house. Oh well. I did get one with two doors but maybe during the rainy season or winter they will use it.

No sign of them.
However, someone ate the entire can of EVO I put out there. A large can and left the dry. About half of it anyway. I did put extra out in case there a few others and I do not want Lucia starving.
I have a vet on standby who is going to see me anytime I reach him. He is glad to help. I can get s/n for around 30 dollars or less which is a good deal.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
No sighting of them but more food has been eaten.
I think Mary may have scared them.
It was bad weather today so I will try to check tomorrow.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
I saw Giorgio hanging around the garage looking like the Tom he is. So I know he is around.
Tonight I will put some solid gold tuna on top and see if that doesn't help bring Lucia out.
I need to trap her and soon. But if she had the kittens I trust she will bring them under the stairs. Perhaps I should put an old clean quilt there. Mmmm.

I am getting help from the Feral Cat Coalition. What a great resource.
 

allie&iki'smom

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
May 10, 2008
Messages
5
Purraise
0
Location
Texas, our Texas, all hail the mighty State!
I use a dog house for my semi-ferals. My husband's boss showed up at our house when we'd been here less than a week. He had three kittens with him; their eyes weren't even open yet. "Your husband told me you're the Cat Whisperer," he said. "I'm transferring to Washington, DC next week, but I've been feeding their mama cat for three years, and she just had these babies about a week ago. There are two more, plus her. Here's the address where I've been living. The landlady-I forget her name-will let you into the backyard to find the mom and the other two." What could I do?! Terminal cancer, unable to walk, just getting over meningitis, I drove to the house and spent 6 hours, from 7 p.m. to about 1 a.m., in the backyard. Around 11:30, the kitty mommy appeared out of the darkness and rubbed her beautiful, slender white body against me for a moment (the Captain had fed her for three years, but she'd never touched him or let him touch her). Then she went off and I thought that was it. I was trying to figure out how to get up off the ground (silly me!), when she appeared with a grey and white female kitten. She dropped her carelessly into my lap and then went off in another direction. A minute later, I had the little girl's twin brother in my lap as well. All three were easy to take home. I picked up the kittens and put them in a padded box on the floor of my back seat. Mama was loving and responsible; she jumped in after them! I found homes for three of the kittens and the mama. (Their names were Junko-san (mama), Aslan (golden) and Amir (tortoiseshell). The two grey ones lived here for a long time, but Genghis Kahn disappeared last fall. Jadis (the ice-queen of Narnia, so named because she resisted my charms the longest) is now so comfortable with me that she will jump onto my walker and ride into the kitchen, then sit in or by the sink while I fill her water bowl. My indoor cat Allie lets me know when she's out there. They're good "through the looking glass" friends.

Sorry, I got a little nostalgic there. Just keep showing yourself a lot, sing to them (I got Jadis to come to me after 8 months of singing "Pet Jadis, no cry" to the tune of Bob Marley's classic "No woman, no cry.") Give each of them a song or a poem and recite them every time you go outdoors. Keep putting out food and, if you have a video camera, try filming at different times of day and night to see if they're coming into the yard when you're not looking.

Please don't get Lucia spayed until she's had her kittens. I'll take them off your hands in half a second if you don't want any more cats hanging around your house! It is far more important to neuter the Tom, as a female cat can only be pregnant two or three times a year, but a tomcat can impregnate a dozen or more females in one night!!!!! He may be spraying around your perimeter to keep Lucia (or Lorenzo) away. Have you seen any other females around lately?

I had a feral with FIV or feline leukemia who lived on my porch in Okinawa. I can't even tell you how many times I tried to trap him, but he was soooooo smart! I could put a can of tuna at the very back of the cage, with two little holes drilled in the sides/bottom of the can, through which I would put twisties and thus tie the can to the cage. Every morning I'd go out to see if I'd gotten him, and he'd be on the opposite side of the porch, sleeping in the sun, with the empty can next to him. He must have fathered over 120 kittens in the two years I lived in that house. All I could do was feed and water him to keep him in my sight, and I can't even guess how many of his progeny were neutered at the hand of an Okinawan man who did it in his second bedroom for $20. He also performed cat abortions, but as a woman who has been through that (I was raped when I was 15), I was never able to put a cat through it.

When I moved, my neighbor moved Mr. Bigball's house to her porch, but the people who took over my house were cat-lovers too, so he was soon back on his original slab of concrete! Have you checked with other cat people in your neighborhood to see if Lucia or Lorenzo captured someone's heart thanks to the socializing you have given them?

Not much advice, but lots of support and prayers for you and all of your cats. I know how much I worry about Jadis if she doesn't show up daily. God bless you for your selflessness and your giant heart.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

cc12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
Thank you for your lovely story.
I feel better knowing that other people have tried trapping some smart cats too.

My story has gotten better and I talked about it some in other threads.
Lucia is back and so are her kittens. Plus she is pregnant again I think. The kittens were born right before I moved in. But her belly is still full looking but maybe it is just milk. I hope so but with Giorgio hanging around I am not sure she has a chance. Plus I saw her doing that mating stance the other day.
She is friendly but I am having a hard time getting her kittens. They don't come out far. I gave her a flea treatment today. Advantage. I know it will help if any of her kittens have fleas.

You are very sweet for offering to take the kittens. I am like you and am not crazy about the abortion thing. I do know that we have a shelter here will take pregnant cats and the kittens. They are no kill and they mean no kill. No abortions either. Lucia deserves a home. I was happy to keep her outdoors but she could easily be someone's indoor and she is very young. I would not even think was a year old. Maybe 9 months.
 
Top