how many people on this board feed strays on a regular basis

[goonie]

i posted this here because i thought more people will read this. i was curious as to how many people feed how many strays or ferals on a regular basis.
i feed 6 every night. 5 of them i'd TNR. the 6th is a wily old tom i haven't been able to trap and get fixed.
i'd take them all home but already have 9. over the last couple years i got 5 adopted out to forever homes but it's hard since i live half a mile from UCR and there's strays everywhere in this area.

 

[ldg]

I hope no one feeds them without trying to trap and TNR them.

In fact, I don't even think of it as "feeding strays." We put food out in order to be able to trap them to get them spayed or neutered.

Laurie

 

[krazy kat2]

I carry cat food with me all the time. If I see a cat that looks like it needs a meal, I feed it. Then I call the local rescue and give them the location. It is the best i can do right now.

 

[momofmany]

Originally Posted by LDG

I hope no one feeds them without trying to trap and TNR them.

In fact, I don't even think of it as "feeding strays." We put food out in order to be able to trap them to get them spayed or neutered.

Laurie

My cats were all born in the feral colony that I cared for. At it's peak it had about 17 cats (including kittens), and after a bit of concerted effort, I got the entire colony speutered.

I've since moved and moved the colony with me, so I do put food out every day. The new house doesn't have the feral cat problem as I did at the old house (people aren't dumping cats in this area), but I would feed and speuter any new cat that showed up on my property.

Don't give up on the wiley tom. I had the wiley female that only showed up after she had a litter and she always brought me the litter to care for. It took me a few years, but eventually I caught her.

 

[eilcon]

Originally Posted by LDG

I hope no one feeds them without trying to trap and TNR them.

In fact, I don't even think of it as "feeding strays." We put food out in order to be able to trap them to get them spayed or neutered.

Laurie

Can't emphasize this enough.

I abide by the "feed them, fix them" rule.

I feed two fixed cats in my own neighborhood (one feral and one who's really starting to warm up to me) and maintain a colony of 11 feral cats across town. All have been fixed. I try to trap any new additions that come along as soon as possible. The population at the colony has remained pretty stable for the past 3 years.

 

[cattyclare]

I've been feeding cats at my house for a while now...Mostly strays that warm up to me and I take in..I always do, lol. Two of them were indoor/outdoors cats...1 went missing and the other died from car trauma

My newest Ollie was a stray that warmed up to me quickly and I had him fixed...he had a little girlfriend that I eventually caught and got her fixed to and she is hiding under my bed as my newest indoor cat (if I let her out I don't think I'd see her again!)

I had one feral that I fed that would bolt if you even looked at him...haven't seen him in awhile and another tiger stripped cat that had bad eyes that I haven't seen either. with the little girl I got fixed there was a big orange male that would come around...but since I'm moving to another state I have stopped putting food out and he only ate from me a couple times and I haven't seen him around since.

I miss all the babies that I used to feed but its weird with me moving they have all dwindled down and maybe thats Gods way so I won't worry now that I'll be gone.

 

[dragulescugirl]

I will feed a cat if I see one, though I don't carry food with me.

My great-aunt's cat Jeffrey was a stray who I found and caught (caught! Ha! He was thrilled!) and is now loving living with an older woman who dotes on his every need. You can leave the door open and he scoffs at the idea of going outside!

There were about 5 feral cats in my neighborhood. I only see about 2 now, since they were kittens. I was never able to catch them though. I saw them when they were small, and maybe the mother cat took them away for awhile, but I recognize the female from her unusual coloring.

I worry because there are a lot of kids in this neighborhood and a lot of big dogs. I think the feral population may of learned that this area would not be friendly to them.

 

[bookworm]

I used to keep food out on my carport, caught and nueterd several abandoned toms that way, only to have disease or the street kill the ones I was unable to bring into my own house or rehome. Last year the grand child of some elderly neighbors snuck two litters of kittens there, I was only able to save two of them. Both are happy spayed demanding indoor kittys now, but as I cannot take in one more kitten without compromising the level of care for all I quit leaving food out. The old folks spayed their kitty's after I threatened to call Animal Control if the child abandoned any more at my doorstep.

There is a feral colony I have been feeding for three years. So far I have only been able to capture 3 kittens, but all are now spayed and indoors. I called the only TNR within a hundred miles. They came and set several traps, all of which were stolen the same day. Now the mama who I still can't get within 10 feet of has three more kittens she's weaning onto dry food. One step forward, two steps back it seems. The location of the colony, at a busy intersection of an interstate off ramp and a main road keeps the size limited, but I'd so much rather do it by spay than find their remains in the road of a morning.

 

[jimmylegs]

bookworm, that's awful they stole the traps! not to mention the other hardships, people can be downright despicable.

i care for a small colony in my backyard, only 5 fixed feral cats. i also feed a rotating cast of about 4 cats in front of my house; I have fixed all but one of these (and he's getting trapped this weekend!) and take in most of the tame ones to adopt out (we currently have 11 inside, 7 are fosters). the ferals do a good job of keeping new cats from showing up but a few always do, but they've all turned out to be tame (hence the 11 indoor cats!)

i'm torn about feeding cats without a direct intention to TNR. on the one hand, it has been heartening to see people feeding cats when they would surely die without it (as I witnessed while doing TNR in the projects of brooklyn recently) but of course if they didn't, there may not be as much of a homeless cat problem there. if we can get that 'feralstat' stuff into all canned food, then i wouldn't mind as much

 

[kscatlady]

I feed at least ten every night and morning. I'm also getting them spayed and neutered as I have the money. I have all my regular females spayed, except for two, who are very feral and hard to catch.

 

[aswient]

I feed a few ferals and a couple of strays. The ferals I had spay/neutered and the strays I know have been fixed. If I see any new ones come along I have them fixed also. Over the last 5 years I've had 2 litters in my back yard so, any new ones that I don't know are fair game for spay/neutering.

 

[opilot]

I feed 17 TNR'd (almost all of them are done!) ferals at my colony. Every night - dry n wet without fail excepting during storms in winter - then I leave
food in the shelters and stock up for them...

I also go every other night to 4 to 6 drains and outdoor locations
where I leave food for the "drain" kitties who live under/in/around
the shopping mall. I am TNRing on periodic basis. So far 9 or 10
have been done there, we try for every one we can find, who comes
to eat. Its a never ending task....

I have just been advised of a bunch more too that need doing -

I have never had traps stolen, but I am lucky I guess.

I also have 4 ferals and former ferals at home. 1 is exceptional, he has become an indoor/outdoor sweetie. Another is v. sweet to me and BF but skittish w/ all others, a 3rd is a barn cat - I hardly ever see him, tho
he comes when called and sleeps in sometimes....the 4th is a munchkin coon kitty - she was tamed extensively as a feral kitten, handed out for adoption and came back ... this messed her up and set her back to being feral!! I took her back from the rescue, kept her. She is now okay with me, but I cannot pick her up or take her to the vet or anything like that...Sigh.

I also have 2 in my basement I am FOSTERING who are FIV+, an abandoned and abused Siamese Flame Point named Harley, and a Russian Blue mix
named Snorkel... Snorkel is a divine cat, I would keep him anyday, if he
did not attack mercilessly all my cats, esp. my little feral coon kitty.

Fortunately he and Harley seem to tolerate eachother okay.

I guess I must be a Daddy Mac of Ferals, LOL...