Many Questions on Feral Caretaking

Hello,

I am brand new to this forum, and pretty new to caring for ferals. I volunteer at a local horse rescue, and they have an eight cat colony. No worries, they are all spayed or neutered, using TNR! The rescue has never really provided care on a regular basis, and some days they would be fed, and others they wouldn't. One plus is that they live in the barn where the hay and straw is stored in, so they always have shelter, and can keep warm by laying on the hay/straw bales.

My friends and I have taken it upon ourselves to make sure the cats are well taken care of.

And in order to do this, I have a few questions...The main question is in bold and underlined for clarity:

~What do you guys feed your colony? They have been getting Southern States dry cat food for a while now. They get fed this because it is very cheap [40 pounds for 20 dollars] and that is where the rescue buys horse feed, so they can just pick up a bag of cat food while they are there. I know this is probably a poor quality feed, but I cant afford much, and I figure they would rather eat something than nothing. I am saving up, and in the future hopefully will be able to afford a better quality food. Should I be feeding wet food? I just picked up a case of 9 Lives canned food varity pack. I give them a couple cans every time I am there.

~How do you keep the water from freezing in the winter? In Maryland, temps can drop pretty low, both during the day and at night. Unfortunately, the hay and straw barn has no electric, so a heated bowl is not an option. Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep the water from freezing?

~Do you guys provide any medications for your ferals? Do they get any heartworm prevention medecine, or a medecine to keep fleas and ticks away? None of them can be touched, so any medications given would have to be given in the food.

Sorry for the long post, but I want to make sure the colony is being cared for to the best of my ability

Thanks in advance for any and all help you can offer!

~mtm8878

Hi and welcome to the Forums!

I shall begin with some question, lets hope others will fill in!


Wet food is usullay good. It is easier to make decent wet food than decent dry food... So if isnt inconvenient for you - please do continue.

I dont know nothing about Southern States dry cat food as I live in Sweden (shall try to look it up). But here in sweden the very cheap cat food in big sacks, sold at the farmer- and horse places, isnt not especially good, so I understand your suspicions.
Although. IF the cats are decents mousers - they probably are - they gets enough of mices and rodents of all sorts. I presume you do have mices there? Ie if you dont use chemical anti-rodents...
So. If they are decent mousers, they do get their share of high worthy animal proteins and fats - and thus - they manage to survive this low quality cat dry food...

THIS is the secret behind why so many farm cats seems to thrive, although they get cheap food... I have myself seen this!

ps. About medications: Deworming now and then is the standard, if possible. A common trick is to use spot-on solutions. One drop on the neck (keep away from open fire!). So the cat must be close, but you dont really need to hold it. Feks Revolution which is nowadays free without vet receipt. Takes all the outer parasites, and most internal.


Tx for caring and helping these our little brethrens and sisters (and also our big brethrens the horses in need!)

Good luck!

It is this I found with googling?? Southern States Cat Food
Balanced nutrition for healthy cats of all ages. etc....

Now, it doesnt seem really bad. It is certainly better than our swedish cheapest dry cat food.
Low on the fat side of course.


But Im shocked they recommend it for kittens, with some additions, till they are weaned at 8 weeks. After it they seem to recommend "normal" portions.

I wouldnt sign under this. I dont.

I started taking care of a feral/stray cat colony in April 2010 numbering around eight to ten. I read a lot on these forums and just observed the colony for more answers (and, more questions).
I too live in Maryland, near Washington, DC, and we've had a colder than normal winter. I don't have access to electricity. I've put several litter boxes with straw in an adjacent utility shed which they sometimes sleep in. It has a working central furnace in it, so there is some heat there.
Food: Kirkland brand is a decent brand of dry cat food, according to the resident nutrition expert, Sharky. It's available at Costco and cheap. Wet food is better than dry especially in the winter where fresh, untainted, unfrozen water is scarce. I feed them Friskies in gravy, around three cans in the morning and two cans in the evening, and leave plenty of dry food. I give them fresh HOT water because by the time they drink it, it has cooled down. Good point about mice--they are the perfect food, so let the cats be your guide in so far as whether to supplement their natural diet of mice with dry/wet food. Do they seem hungry, are they losing weight?

Medication: when they were TNRd in November 2010, they were given a deworming shot. Frankly, giving them medication is not high on my priority list. However, if I were to see one of the cats injured, I would consider taking him to the vets depending upon the inury. "Buckley" had a wound around his ear but it healed by itself.
Thanks for taking care of the animals.

StefanZ- I actually do not know if they are decent mousers. We deffinately do have a fair number of rodents running around, but I have never actually paid attention to whether or not they are hunting them. However, that is a very good thought. I have never thought of it that way...

I do not know if that is what I am talking about.
Here is the link to the official page on the Southern States site: http://www.southernstates.com/catalo...food-40lb.aspx

and here is the link to a page that lists the ingredients:
http://www.southernstates.com/produc...s-catfood.aspx

Ritz- I think I may switch to the Kirkland brand. It is around the same price, and I am sure it is a better quality. When you feed Friskies, do you actually add gravy, or do you get the gravy flavor one? And what size can do you buy. May I ask where you buy it, becasue I have only been able to find the small cans.

And thanks for the info on medicating. They were given a deworming shot, so I wont worry to much about medicating unless I see a problem.

Thanks a lot guys for your help

Thank you for taking care of these kitties . I have five outdoor ferals in my care.

I built a large feeding, sleeping shelter for them with outdoor heating pad and straw.

I feed them dry food in the morning (any dry food is fine for ferals, they will appreciate anything you can afford). Again in the evening and I also give wet food then. They are always waiting for that .

I have a heated water bowl, you can get them at any pet store. Since the shelter is next to the side of my house I run an extension cord and have an outdoor outlet off of my deck where I plug in the water heater and the heating pad.

As far as medicating. Difficult to do. If you can't pet them, then you won't get the flea/worming spot-on treatments on. There are products for fleas that come in tablet form but that is fine if you are feeding only one cat and you are sure he is eating that day. Otherwise, you might be over-medicating a cat and that would not be good for the cat at all. I have some days only two of my regulars will show up and on other days I see no one. So it would be tricky to know who is getting what and a possible risk to their health...

I cannot even get close to my ferals, maybe twenty feet at this point. They watch me come out with the food. If I saw someone needed medical attention, I would have to re-trap and get them to a vet.

Good luck and other's might have ideas too

I've not found a solution to frozen water bowls when there isn't electricity. I've been using a heated water bowl for many years now. Before that, I simply brought out a jug of very warm water, dumped out the ice in the bowl and refreshed it a couple of times a day.

If you aren't using stainless steel water bowls, might want to consider those. If they get really frozen, you can turn them upside down and beat on the base of them to dislodge the ice without damaging the bowls.

I fed mine Purina Cat Chow for many years. My oldest lived to 18 on that diet, and she wasn't all that keen about mousing.

Yes, forgot to mention. If you don't have electricity. I did find that stainless steel bowls freeze the water too quickly, but they don't crack when you have to bang on them to get the ice out. I use heavy duty plastic pet bowls. Bring out very hot water in a jug. Sometimes the ice will fall out if you just bang the bowl against something. Or just pour some hot water on the ice and then wait a few seconds and bang then. . Then pour the hot water in the bowl. Please try to change water at least three times a day for them. They will get used to your schedule and come for the water right away. They are quite intelligent and will be expecting you if you stick to a schedule.

Also, feed the same dry food!! It really doesn't matter what kind, just stick one food though. . I feed purina cat chow and they do fine on that. I also get the bulk cans of friskies canned food. It is cheaper in bulk.

feralvr- Ypu are so welcome! Taking care of ferals is a fun and rewarding task. I am feeding them pretty much dry right now, with a couple cans of wet food once a week. If I can find a cheap, good"ish" quality canned food, I may feed canned more often. As far as freezing water, the barn they are in has no electric. So heated bowls is not an option And that is what I thought for medicating. I wouldn't want to risk over dosing, so I think I am not going to medicate unless I notice a problem, and in that case the cat will go to the vet.

momofmany- Well, I guess I will be in the search with you. I am currently using stainless steel bowls, and it is helping a little bit, but not much. And that is great that your oldest was 18 on that diet

Again, thanks for all your help
~mtm8878

After looking at the Southern States cat food, it doesn't look half bad. At least the first ingredient is chicken meal. . .that's way better than most of the cheaper dry foods. I feed my ferals Cat Chow, but if I had a food with that ingredient list available to me for a cheaper price, I'd probably use it. Although I did notice that Cat Chow is higher in fat (13% vs 10%). In the winter, a higher-fat food may be better.

While they like canned food, it's not strictly necessary. Since it's only occasionally fed, the quality isn't terribly important. I just buy whatever is cheapest.

I have a heated water bowl in the feeding house. I run an extension cord from the garage. Before I had the heated bowl, I just changed the water once or twice a day, using warm water so it took longer to freeze. Use a sturdy bowl---the flimsy plastic ones will crack when they freeze. So will ceramic/glass bowls.

As for medication, if they seem to have a lot of fleas, I'll crush up a Capstar and put in in a single serving of canned food, and make sure only one cat eats it. I'll do the same with dewormer occasionally. Other than that, there's not a lot you can do if you can't touch them. Fortunately, ferals are from tough stock and they're mostly a healthy bunch.

Friskies comes in several styles, for example, pate and gravy. I don't add liquid/gravy, that's how it is packaged. Petco/Petsmart runs specials frequently (as does Giant sometimes), for a 5 oz can, it runs between 34 to 48 cents a can. I did see a large can of Friskies in Petsmart (11? oz), don't remember the cost. Though I agree with Willowy--if you feed them wet food only occasionally, quality isn't so important.
Cat Chow/Puppy Chow was recommended to me by Sharky? as a decent, high calorie dry food. Outdoor, feral cats need all the calories then can get in this kind of weather.
PS: watch where you put de-icing/salt/antifreeze. Can get into the paws/mouth of cats and do serious damage.
Any thought of rehoming the cats? That's a whole new experience (and thread).

We have electricity outside so use a heated water bowl.

I don't know if there's an oven or microwave anywhere around you can use - it may even help to do it at home and bring it, but I've read the idea to heat up a big rock and put it in the water dish. This would work for people near the water dish but without electricity - don't know if it helps your situation.

Thank you for caring for them! Just have a plan in place for what you'll do if more cats show up that aren't sterilized - once food is out on a regular basis, this often happens.

Thanks a lot everyone for all the helpful advice

Willowy- Well, thats good to know that what I am feeding them isn't total junk. I may switch over to another food until the weather warms up to make sure they have enough fat to stay warm That's what I was thinking. Since the canned food isn't a staple part of their diet, it isn't that important of quality. May I ask where you buy the Capstar? And what dewormer do you use?

Ritz- I will be sure to look out for some deals. However, I don't really like shopping at Petsmart or Petco because they sell live animals. I don;t really like my monry going towards the cruel sale of animals, and I rather shop at a feed store. I will keep my eye open for deals, though! And rest assured, the rescue doesn't even use ice melt as it can cause damage to a horses hoof. So, no issue there!

LDG- That rock idea sounds good! There is a micorwave where the colony is, so I will keep that in mind. And that is how the colony is at eight, because people just drop off feral cats. But we have funds to keep caring for more cats, so we shouldn't have a problem unless the numbers get outrageous! The barn they live in is fairly large, so there is not a space issue either.

Thanks again guys for all the help, and please keep all the help coming!

I buy the Capstar on Amazon. I actually buy the larger dose and split the tablets into 4 pieces (approved by my vet) and give each cat a quarter. The dewormer is generic pyrantel pamoate suspension (not the paste, that's a different dosage) I bought out of a horse catalog (also approved by my vet). So you might have some of that around the barn. The yellow-ish white gooey stuff. Cat dosage is 1cc per up to 17 pounds of body weight (my vet just gives 1cc to any cat of any weight (except little kittens), he says that won't hurt them).

If you have a farm vet out to see the horses, ask him/her about caring for the cats. Farm vets can be very helpful in that regard.

Which one do you buy? May I please have a link? And do you have a brand name for the de-worming stuff, or will any one do?

I do not want to haarm the cats in any way! How do you make sure each cat gets the correct dosage if you can't touch them?

Thanks for all the help, Willowy!

The brand I bought is Equi-Phar ProTal. I think I got it from Heartland Vet Supply. It's generic Strongid (if you have Strongid on hand, that's fine! Just that you can buy the generic without a prescription, and brand-name Strongid does need a prescription).

Like I said in another thread, my ferals don't hang around together--there's normally only one around at a time. So I mix 1cc of the de-wormer with some canned food, and watch from a distance to make sure only one cat eats it. If you can handle the cat at all, it's not too hard to scruff him and squirt the de-wormer down his throat real fast.

Did you mean a link for the Capstar or the de-wormer? I can't link to things from my smartphone, but I'll post links when I get to a real computer. The Capstar was whichever one was cheapest with free shipping, LOL.

Your best bet with outdoor cats is use the topical worm control is to use Profender. You can get it from your vet, and honestly, you should get any flea and parasite control meds from a vet. The stuff online and over the counter in feed stores, grocery stores etc-- are generally not safe to use. They either dilute them to the point where they are worthless or make them so strong they harm or even kill cats or kittens.

Without electricity, keeping water from freezing is difficult. I used this trick with my colony in Alaska where EVERYTHING froze! I had twenty in the colony.

First I dug a few holes in the ground deep enough to sink a large water bowl (I used metal bowls not plastic) I made sure the holes were large enough to easily lift the bowls out of the ground without problems. Then I used horse manure (fresh) and filled the holes so that the pans would sit on top of the manure. Then I lowered the pans into the hole, filled them with water. I built a small overhead roof for protection so the cats could drink and not get soaked.

Worked like a charm-manure as it "cooks" generates a lot of heat. And it lasts forever so you don't have to refresh it. The smell wasn't offensive to the cats at all- most barn cats love the smell of manure and hang with the horses. You can also use chicken poop but you just need more of it. You want only manure as the cooker-straw will eventually ignite and start a fire, so just use the poop right out of the horse (so to speak)

Forgot to add that when you are doing the topical worming- feed the cats during this time with the stinkiest wet food you can find (I use Figaro Tuna) it really reeks. But it covers up the chemical smell and as the cats are bent over eating, I just drop the Profender on their neck. I use a glass syringe with the end sanded down so I don't poke someone.This way you can get accurate measures and reach the cat before they know what is happening. The plastic syringes don't work as the measures come off over time.

My vet said the generic Strongid is the same stuff he uses. . .so I guess it's not quite in the same category as the other OTC meds . Horse products are frequently higher-quality than stuff sold for cats and dogs, so maybe that's why.

Profender sounds good, I think I'll have to get some for the housecats. For ferals, it would depend how feral they are. . .my ferals won't let me within 10 feet of them so that wouldn't work for mine.

Do you really think buying Capstar from Amazon is a bad idea? It always work for me (I find dead fleas on their beds), and so far no ill effects. I'm pretty sure it's the same as what my vet sells.

If you get it from your vet, you know it is good. Kept correctly and bought from a reputable dealer. The stuff online and on grocery shelves- yes it will kill fleas but not the eggs. Most of it is counterfeit made in other countries and shipped over here to look like the real thing. Also if something bad happens and you have bought it from the vet- you are covered because he is covered for any bad stuff he might get. I know it is more expensive, but you have coverage and when it comes to my cats for me, that is priceless.

Oh, well, Capstar isn't supposed to kill flea eggs anyway, so I guess that wouldn't be a problem. I suppose you're talking about spot-ons like Frontline and Advantage.