Cat hoarding relative

Originally Posted by Enuja

I think that it might be most realistic to come up with a one meal a day system: people do it for feral cats, there would be dry food out at all times, and one wet food meal a day might be more sustainable, more do-able, and actually better at getting a census of cats every day. What do you all think of that?

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It sounds good, either first thing in the morning or just about dark is when the ferals eat most often, I doubt domestics would find it hard to adjust to the same schedule. I feed my colony about three mornings a week now, and there is another cat lady who comes by a few nights a week. Other than parasites they're a pretty healthy looking bunch, sleek coats and no more ribs visible from a distance.

Originally Posted by Enuja

Bookworm, taking care of 14 indoor cats is probably at least twice the amount of work as taking care of 40 outdoor cats. With the indoor cats, not only do you have to feed them, you also have to clean litter boxes and police where they go (get off my kitchen counter, you). Also, they apparently only beg for attention when someone settles down, and C only settles down inside, in front of the TV.

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I have the litter boxes down to a science, one that has a sifter and I just do an assembly line sifting from it. All but two are lined up in the same room, so scooping them all is only about 10 minutes twice a day. I've given up on the counters, I just clean them before getting food out. While I never fed them table scraps it's still neccisary to keep a water pistol by my plate. Attention, yeah even the one I couldn't touch for 18 months now demands her share. I come in after work and they are all wrapped around my legs for a while. It's crazy. The cat hair is the worst. I sweep my carpet before vacuuming, four need hairball gel once or twice a week, and I have to hang my dark clothes inside out. It's a madhouse.

My farm kitties get fed dry food 1x a day, free fed (more than enough for everyone). If someone doesn't show up for food during the day (I pick up food at night to avoid unwanted visitors), I offer a 2nd supervised meal later in the evening. They get wet food 1x a day (2 if needed, I bump up feedings in the winter months). I tend to over-feed the farm kitties, as I'd rather they all have too much to eat than too little, and so far no one has had a weight problem (except Squishy, but he's another story).

Depending on location, I have a heated water bowl purchase for $15 for winter.

Wow, I've only just read through all this for the first time, it's really quite amazing. Your husband is a wonderful man to be doing all this, I imagine how hard it must be for him and you to see.

Just wanted to say you're doing a great job!

Sending tonnes and tonnes of prayers and vibes your way. That is some task ahead for you

Thanks for all of the good wishes. Things are going very well: 21 of the adults on the property are have been spayed or neutered and tested negative for FeLV and FIV (2 of which were older males, already neutered: C did try to get the animals fixed, she just failed). There are 11 more adults on the property identified, and probably a few more than we haven't numbered yet. Many of the animals are fairly healthy, although there is a horrendous hookworm infestation in the yard and in the cats (being treated).

Some of the information I have above contradicts information on this Alley Cats Allies page. They say that it's okay to have cats waiting to eat, that the more dominant cats will leave enough food. This seems untrue to me, especially as S says that many of the cats were skinny because the big cats monopolized the dry food in the Jeep.

Does anyone have good cat behavioral sources which would clarify this issue?

Wow, I just have to say I think what you and hubby are doing is AMAZING. You have done SUCH a great job pulling people/resources together, and THANK YOU.

As to the cat behavioral issue... I can only speak from experience. We never had a large colony, but we did have one VERY aggressive feral for a while that TOTALLY disrupted feeding. The other cats were NOT able to eat, and we did have to feed him first, away from the rest.

I would definitely play it safe and not think it's OK to leave cats waiting, unless you are POSITIVE there is more than enough food. Because these cats are not true ferals in the sense that they'll come at feeding time and that's it, it may be that they'd wait. We only put food out at dusk and at dawn for about 2 hours each because of other animals - and with the aggressive male around, many did not get the chance to eat.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laurie

I feed from multiple plates in multiple places, as I know I have a few pushy/piggy eaters who wouldn't let others in to eat. With a colony that large, I'd wonder if there wouldn't be a dominant kitty who would eat most of the food or not let others eat.

wow my mom works for hospice and she had a patient similar to this thread. they were all drop offs. and they bred and bred. my one cat that i got from out there is an inbred but she is healthy except for the scabs. but the guy feeds them human food. like left over scraps and stuff. i dont about now whats its like. last i went out there with my mom was back in 05. glad S is trying to help the colony out. majority of the ppl would have left it alone. good luck.

I think it is wonderful what you and your husband are doing for those cats. A lot of people would have become overwhelmed with the situation and given up. You two have very big hearts and you should be proud of yourselves. Those cats would not have had a chance without you. I noticed in your husbands article that she has a lot of horses also, and that someone had to provide hay for them as well. Will she and is she capable of caring for them? I know this is a cat forum, but I am a horse lover as well and am concerned about them. If she is capable of caring for them then that's great....If not there are rescue organizations for horses as well or if there are any that are trained to ride, maybe some could be sold for the overall upkeep of the property. Just a suggestion. Hugs to you and your hubby for the great job you are doing!

A vet who has been out to the property (and offered to geld the two stallions for free) said "the horses look good", a former friend of C (not a friend anymore because of the way C treats animals) said that the horses look good, expect for the hooves of one stallion, from standing in too much manure, and two cat rescuers who dropped off cat traps said the horses look good. So the consensus seems to be that the horses, overall, look good. C has agreed to sell 5 horses to people she knows, but no more, and has not agreed to have the stallions gelded. C told her about a new neighbor who stopped by and asked to buy a horse and a goat, and C said "Absolutely not: he's a Mexican, he'll just sell the horse for meat." In addition to the absurdity that she's already planning on selling the goats for meat (that's why she has goats, people do move out to the country so their kids can have a horse, and the racism of that statement is just flooring. She doesn't make sense. In order to get the horses rescued, we've either got to get a court to sign over her ownership in the horses, or she's got to agree to do it. At the moment, she won't agree to do it, and C's brother wants to keep an eye on the property himself instead of getting authorities involved.

Suffice it to say that, if C's brother cannot keep an eye on C to the extent that C will take proper care of herself and the animals, S is going to do everything in his power to get C legally prevented from owning animals (and in a nursing home, if at all possible) and the animals rescued. However, it doesn't make sense to fight C's brother about this at the moment: if the brother has the drive and time to make everything there work, then more power to him. If he fails, he'll be a valuable ally in the necessary legal processes. C actually knows a huge amount of information about horses and did an excellent job of training them and taking care of them at one point in her life.

The thing that's killing me right now is how to prevent C from getting any new cats onto her property. S has one more week and 6 more cats to catch and fix. In the month he's been there, he saw one kitten and one adult cat die, two cats disappeared and are presumed dead, and one male that he got neutered died. There was a horrendous birth rate and turn-over on that property. Hopefully, what with the massive spay/neuter and the food provision, this is going to stop. S is going to pay to have his brother deliver wet and dry cat food to the property, but the huge disadvantage of this is that C will have "free food" and will continue to "rescue" cats. We've got to get them fixed, but, better yet, we've simply got to keep her from accepting any more. And, since she will be living alone and will have a car, we simply don't know how to do so. S is doing his best to tell everyone who loves cats in the area that C is a cat hoarder and cannot be allowed to get any new cats, but that doesn't stop her from seeing and abducting an abandoned cat when she drives to Wal-Mart.

The good news, though: everybody has so far tested FeLV/FIV negative, and the cats that haven't disappeared are looking better and better.

well I am glad that she has at least agreed to cut the herd down some...to bad she won't get the stallions gelded. That looks like a lot of horses for that small area to me. As far as keeping her from getting more...IDK how you are gonna do that. Maybe she will realize how much better it is for everyone, her included, now that the animals are down to a manageable amount. The only other thing I can suggest is to tell her that the free food will only be given to her as long as she doesn't take on any more cats. If she does start getting more cats, I don't see how you would have a choice about getting the authorities involved. No matter what though, you and your husband have done the right thing.

Much has already been said for your and DH's efforts.....I am quite speechless for your kindness and compasion. Thank you, THANK YOU for all you have done for this beautiful animals

You know, I am the kind of person who would just call the authorities, and not rescue the animals, because it's too much work and it's too likely to be for naught (have to call the authorities anyway eventually, and might lead to more animals surviving longer to suffer more). All I'm doing is research, getting advice from you all and I gave S some of my money (we're married but we have separate finances). Your praise should be going to my spouse: he's the one willing to do that much work to save them.

We are planning on threatening to, and then removing S's financial support for the catfood if she picks up any more cats from off property.

Originally Posted by Enuja

All I'm doing is research, getting advice from you all and I gave S some of my money (we're married but we have separate finances). Your praise should be going to my spouse: he's the one willing to do that much work to save them.

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Well personaly, I think that research and donating money and providing moral support are important too. I doubt he would have been able to accomplish as much without you. The time he's spent trapping and transporting cats to the vet would have been spent on research. He may have done the sweaty, get bitten by fleas and skeeters field work, but you have played an important part too. You're both heros in my mind.

Very bad news - a cat tested positive for both FeLV/FIV. Male, neutered, extremely friendly, black and white tuxedo cat who is currently very healthy. S took him to the vet, and he'd already been fixed. Apparently he was a dropoff. Anybody know of a home for a single double positive cat?

He can't stay on the property because C isn't capable of keeping cats safe and isolated inside, but S's ex-wife has agreed to take him! Yeah! She doesn't have a cat, and she wants an indoor only cat. Only downside (and it's a big one): she wants him to be front declawed. S is willing to have it done, because he thinks that removing digits is better than euthanizing the animal, and since S is leaving the property on Sunday morning, and tomorrow is the vet's last day before she takes a one week holiday if we couldn't find another foster in the next 24 hours, we'd have to euthanize him.

He's still available for a forever home, if anyone wants him! S lost his flash drive, and so can't get any pictures off of the property until he buys another one.

(also posted in my FeLV/FIV thread in the Nutrition forum)

Emotional roller-coaster and excellent news! Apparently, the above test was a dud: a second in-office combo ELISA test was a double negative. Because S walked farther afield while looking for an owner of the wrongly-tested positive cat than he had in the past, he essentially found a satellite colony: a neighbor (not immediate, but close, in cluster of a few homes with much smaller lots) who throws out uneaten meat at a few cats. And the cats are, apparently "clearly related" to the cats on C's property, so S is getting them fixed. Today. The day he has to return the traps. At two vet's offices, because the vet he's been using recently doesn't have time to do a large number of surgeries on her last day in the office for a week. Oh, and his rental car needs work, so he's trying to exchange it. Man, this stuff is complicated.

There are only two cats (one on each property) who have not been caught. S will pay for them to be neutered or spayed whenever C can get them into a carrier. C has fixed cats before, so it's actually somewhat realistic to expect her to get two cats fixed since she doesn't have to pay for it, and S will be very insistent.

Ya'll have got to be drained after all this, how many did he manage to catch and fix in all?

8 kittens that the vet is adopting out (and so is going to charge an adoption fee on and isn't charging us).
32 adult cats (and older kittens) from the property
5 adult cats from the neighbor's satellite colony.

So, that's 45 animals fixed.

There are two as-yet-unfixed cats that S will pay for but C will have to take to a vet, one cat who died after neutering, and 2 other cats who died and at least two more who disappeared, which means that there were at least 52 cats in the area, 46 of which were on the property when S showed up.

Holy crap, that's a lot of cats.

Presumably rodents have been hunted into local extinction.

45 cats fixed....amazing what ppl can get done ....wonderful