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Composition of a feral/stray cat colony

post #1 of 6
10/9/11 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
I take care of a stray/feral/dumped cat colony. In one year, I've TNRd around 15 cats, including two I trapped Friday.
Of the cats I've trapped, at most THREE (3) are female, all the others are male. Any idea why there are so many males in the colony? Which begs the question, where are the females? Not that I'm complaining; at least I don't have to feed her offspring.
I did trap one female; I suspected she was female because her belly was big one day and small the next. And, um, the ONE kitten that showed up three months later was another clue. The kitten is male.
Due to the massive amounts of evictions and foreclosures in my area, the population is not declining; four new cats have come around in the past month. Depressing.
Thanks.
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post #2 of 6
10/9/11 at 4:37pm
It was the same way with us when we were first TNRing here. We TNRd about 40 cats in just this area - and one was female. There were two female kitten babies we fostered and adopted out, but it was a puzzle.

We moved out of the RV, into a house, and then didn't TNR in one area. We moved back into the RV in 2008. Last winter/this spring, we TNRd... 11 cats? Six, if I remember correctly, were female. Can you IMAGINE what this summer would have looked like if we hadn't gotten to them all?
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post #3 of 6
10/9/11 at 5:14pm
Most of my ferals are males, too. I have a few theories:

1.) Since toms are nearly impossible to live with, but females are usually bearable even if unspayed, more people who are unwilling to spay/neuter dump their grown-up boy kittens and keep their grown-up female kittens.

2.) Constantly being in heat/pregnant/birthing/nursing takes a toll on the females, and they die young . I know this is true but I also think that a tom's lifestyle is pretty rough, too, so I'm not sure if this really makes a big difference in gender ratios. But I'm sure it plays a role.

3.) Females tend to become more tame when in heat/pregnant. Maybe a lot of them find homes this way, while the toms just get more and more wild the older they get.

However, most of my indoor cats are female. All of my mom's indoor cats are female. I know way more indoor female cats than indoor male cats. Not sure what that means but there you have it!
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post #4 of 6
10/9/11 at 7:42pm
I have had a mix of both male and female ferals. Last winter I trapped five females. Two were adult females and three five month old female kittens. As Laurie said, I can only imagine how many cats and kittens would have been running around here if I didn't successfully trap all of them. right now I have two female and one male TNRd ferals. There is one Tom cat that I rarely see pass through my yard. Have yet to trap him as I hardly ever see him. He just seems to pass through and moves on.
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post #5 of 6
10/10/11 at 6:07am
Thread Starter 
Willowy, what you say makes sense. Females in heat are even more cuddly, lovey-dovey. Male cats are just nasty and smelly.
I friend and I are fostering four cats there were in the colony that I take care of (long story....). One cat when into heat before we could get her spayed. She cycled in/out of heat fairly rapidly and in the process lost a fair amount of weight and developed a skin condition. Being in heat and pregnant does take a toll on the cats. And I am glad I don't have to deal with their offspring.
(PS: of the four cats, two are now ready to be adopted into Forever Homes. Any one interested )?
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post #6 of 6
10/11/11 at 8:00am
I think some of us rescuer's , have a few of these "friendlies" that need homes. Post some pictures if you can ....Just want to pass along vibes that you can find these kitties good homes very soon
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