I've been taking care of a cat colony since April 2010. There are around eight regulars, including three kittens. The adults were at one time someone's pet. The three kittens were born to a stray cat (who has since disappeared) and I am the only contact they've had with humans. I can pet most of the cats when they are eating, and they don't run from me quite as quickly. One of the kittens likes to crawl on my coat--with me wearing it. Another kitten is probably too feral to be rehomed. Seven of the eight cats have been S/N and given shots; we weren't able to trap the eighth cat (male).
A friend of mine has converted a spare room in her house into a 'cattery', and has offered to take up to five cats from the colony to resocialize and adopt them out. She has lots of experience fostering feral and stray cats; indeed, that's how I was introduced to cats and Ritz in particular a year ago.
My question is: anything I should be aware of when resocializng / rehoming that many cats at once? I hope to trap together the cats who like each other (I can tell by their body language) and release the one or two who I don't believe can be resocialized. I am aware of and anticipate the 'vacuum' effect (one cat leaves, another one takes its place). And I know that rehoming feral cats is controversial; but based on the behavior of these cats, they are stray--formerly owned felines--cats.
Thanks for any advice.
A friend of mine has converted a spare room in her house into a 'cattery', and has offered to take up to five cats from the colony to resocialize and adopt them out. She has lots of experience fostering feral and stray cats; indeed, that's how I was introduced to cats and Ritz in particular a year ago.
My question is: anything I should be aware of when resocializng / rehoming that many cats at once? I hope to trap together the cats who like each other (I can tell by their body language) and release the one or two who I don't believe can be resocialized. I am aware of and anticipate the 'vacuum' effect (one cat leaves, another one takes its place). And I know that rehoming feral cats is controversial; but based on the behavior of these cats, they are stray--formerly owned felines--cats.
Thanks for any advice.








As to five at once... nothing immediately pops to my mind. If she has cats at home, once the strays in "the cattery" are somewhat comfortable in their new environment and there's confidence they're healthy, if she's willing to invest in a screen door for that room, temporarily replacing the solid door, that might help speed up the process. Strays/ferals seeing people interact with their own (already socialized) kitties can really help the process.