Need advice from experience cat colony caregivers

I moved to this house almost 2 years ago, when I moved in there were a few feral cats running around that an old man fed sometimes.  Then a local elderly lady died leaving behind an unknown amount of cats, I don't know if they were her pets or just strays that she also fed.  I began seeing skinny cats running around my neighborhood and felt like I had to put food and water out for them.  Then the not so wonderful people who lived behind me moved and left behind 5 adult HOUSE cats (one who was pregnant) in the dead of winter.  So of course I fed them, and turned my empty shed into a shelter for them.  I also went to city hall for some help, but we live in a small town of less than 300 people, no animal control, no local shelters....nothing.  The reply I got from city hall was the people who dumped their cats had done this atleast 3 times in different homes here in town, at one time leaving behind 19!!!  and that there was nothing the city could do because it would cost them money!  Well of course last spring they started multiplying.  I managed to get one adult spayed ($85), found homes for 2 kittens, found a shelter to take 5 kittens ($30) and I am currently feeding anywhere from 8-12 cats every day.  A couple are friendly, some are touchable but not holdable, some trust enough to rub my legs but don't want to be touched and some you can't get any closer than 3 feet from them.

Besides trying to get them spayed/neutered before more multiplying my worries are this.  I live smack dab in town, I always feed them in the back of my house which is a very large area with no roads, however all of the sudden some of them have started hanging out around front which is by a road and people fly down it.  Also another issue I have is neighbors!  One who lives across the street is a city councilwoman who clearly doesn't like cats and has complained and complained that the cats are pooping in her yard.  We've had several confrontations with her she even called they mayor who said he was gonna start live trapping them and taking them to a "friends farm" but that was 2 months ago and I haven't heard anymore from him.  This hateful lady has bird feeders hanging in trees right by the road (across from my house) only about 4 feet off the ground OF COURSE CATS ARE GONNA GO OVER THERE there's birds everywhere! 

Also the new people who have moved in behind me are the overbearing, no respect, no boundaries type who think its ok to just go in someones yard and do whatever they want!  And they won't leave the cats alone.  There are 2 baby calicos that I mess with all the time to keep them friendly....so they don't run from the neighbors, and I catch them adults and kids messing with them.  The idiot woman has dropped one of the kittens twice!!  I am about to go purchase no trespassing signs, but I am still worried because they told us they keep chasing some feral kittens a block over because they want calicos so I am afraid they will steal them before I can find them a home and these are not good pet owners.  I let the ones who want to come into my air conditioned garage during the day because it has been so insanely hot so I know they are safe from them while I am at work, but I can't watch them 24 hrs a day.

As you can probably guess I'm a little overwhelmed, I am trying to do the best I can but seem to run into many obstacles. 

Anyone have any advice on 1) getting the cats to stay in the backyard away from the road  2) getting crazy neighbors to not steal or harm them  3) TNR help when I am a single woman & times are tight & I live in the middle of nowhere where there aren't any helpful programs and  3) finding (good) homes (I am picky about who they go to) for the 2 kittens when kittens are everywhere right now

ANY advice would be appreciated

What a difficult situation to be it! Thank you for your compassion towards all these poor kitties. I wonder if there are some farther afield organizations that can help you in any way. Not sure where in Missouri you're located, but here are a few links that you could try contacting:

http://www.snap-cats.org/

http://www.metroanimal.org/index.shtml

http://www.castawaycritters.org/info/display?PageID=158

http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=984

Yes, I agree. TNR and contact with some TN- rescue group nearby. 

You can perhaps find some allies in your little town??

Talk again with the mayor. He seems to have some sympathy.

One of our forumites has now a tread, a somewhat similiar situation (lesser cats, but also a very small town) where the village office do help her with all the trappings and paying the spayings.  She didnt even had to beg very much for it. Just a couple of polite talks...

So it can be done with any luck.

Try to talk politely with this city counselor. Advice her to have her birds feedrs higher up. Help her to set them higher up...  and explain when them cats are well and truly TNR:ed, they will be less of a nuisance...

Yeah, some trespassing signs may be a good idea. Bough or made. You can perhaps invent some good reason why not to? Some security reason for the trespassers...  Someone who must have peace?? dunno, just trying to think it out...

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!!!

Thank you for caring. You have the beginnings of a really BIG problem. I would suggest you find out about any cat rescues in your area..perhaps there are some TNR people around. Those cats need to be trapped and neutered. Some maybe nice and could be rehomed. The ferals need to be put back but neutered. Good luck

I really cant add to what already's been said,  I'm taking care of 7 ferals and I'm finally getting help from my village to TNR so I'm very lucky. I pray someone out your way will step up & help you. God Bless you for loving these cats

Christine

No help to be found in my little area, but I do appreciate the advice & FeralFaith thank you & keep the prayers coming it's never too late.  I do have a few more questions if anyone can help.  First I am hopefully next week going to begin TNR, but I am concerned about the females because my personal cats I know after spay I give antibiotics, don't let them jump, or get wet etc. not possible with a feral so that worries me, also there is one Mama who has 2 kittens that are eating dry food but she still lets them nurse too should I wait on her or go ahead?  Also I know if at all possible you should not relocate a feral cat, what is your opinions on finding farm / barn homes for the ones who are not totally feral but not house cats either?   These are the ones who like to hang out in my garage & I can pet them, but usually on their terms, if they want to be petted or not.  Thanks for listening guys, I just want to do the best I can by these guys so any advice is helpful.  And if you guys know of any good homes in Missouri that would like 2 beautiful calico kittens that'd be great too

First, we keep the ferals we TNR overnight in our bathtub (in the live trap).  We feed them and give them water, and make sure they eat, drink and poop - and that the anesthesia has worn off.  When we release them, they usually hide for a day or two, then start coming back out during feeding time when we are around.  We have let two go in the evening instead of keeping them overnight.  One was a mama cat who had 8 week old, or so, kittens.  Like the other ferals, she stayed hidden for a couple of days before she came out to eat.  One was a male who just wasn't going to give us any peace until we let him go.  We saw him after a couple of days, but never again.

Second, I am all for barn cats.  We send some of our ferals to a friend who has a farm, and they do well.  There are also organizations that work solely with barn cats.  Here's one I found through Google.  http://www.missouribarncat.org/   I don't know what part of Missouri you are in, but it might be worth it to contact them - even if you aren't in their area - to see if they know of any organizations near you.  Or maybe you can start a barn cat organiztion in your area and they can provide you with some guidance?  Here's another barn cat organizaion (in Texas) that explains what it does and a little about how it does it.  http://www.barncats.org/   You might contact them for guidance as well.  If you're worried about cost, you might consider charging for sterilization and food (and maybe a little extra to cover the cost of the cages as they get acclimated to their new home).

Third, I don't know of anyone in Missouri who needs or wants a cat/kitten, but I'm sending prayers and vibes your way.

Hello

As far as keeping them in the yard. They do make fences that can keep a cat from going elsewhere. They also have outside cages that are like little homes for cats but those are for cats that come in and out of your house. As far as the neighbors, I don't think you could do much but to either tell them not to take them or call the cops. I can't think of anything else to say. I hope you figure this out.

These are fences for cats. You can put these in the yard so the cats can not get to the birds.

http://www.purrfectfence.com/
 

This is if you want the cats to be able to come into your home.

http://habitathaven.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1