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- Oct 28, 2012
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Hello everyone! I am new here, and found the site not long ago. I have been trying to find help for my situation, and was hoping somebody here could help me.
A few months ago, my family moved into the house in which we are now living. There are several stray/feral cats that live in this area. There is one adult cat that I assume is the mother cat. Then there are four young adult-age cats (not full grown, but not kitten) that I believe to be litter mates. Then, there is another adult cat that I don't believe is related to the others. The only one whose gender I am sure of is the mother cat, because it did have two young kittens as well. One of them died, and one of my neighbors across the street took in the other one after finding the dead kitten. I talked to the lady across the street about the cats (the lady who took in the kitten). She had lived on the street her whole life and she told me that the house next door to mine used to be owned by an elderly lady with a lot of cats. When she died, her family just let the cats loose, which is how the feral cat population began (she said that happened when she was 12, and she is in her mid 20s now). She also said that the feral cat population used to be a lot worse. I'm not sure what happened to all the other cats if it had been that long. I see stray cats on other areas of the street, but then never see them go to other sections of the street. Anyway, the neighbors seemed to be okay with the cats being there, yet nobody wanted to do anything about them.
Anyway, I started feeding the cats about two months ago. The adult cats occasionally come around, but usually it is just the four young cats that come. At first they were really jumpy and acted nervous, but at the same time they acted like they were comfortable around humans. It wasn't long until I could feed them out of my hand (wearing gloves) and most of them would eat from me. There are two cats that are quite friendly, and two cats that are more skittish. One of them acts kind of aggressive and is bigger than the others, so I think it may be a male. The two friendly cats will frequently come up close to me. Sometimes when I open my door to go outside, they will walk inside the house. They will sometimes let me pet them when they are eating, but when they're not eating they won't. I really like the cats, but especially these two. (My picture is actually of one of the cats. Does anyone know what breed it is?)
A few weeks ago, I contacted a local TNR program about getting the cats spayed/neutered. I am supposed to get two done in November and the rest done in December. I wasn't sure how long it would take for them to heal after their surgery, but I have a large walk-in closet that I was considering using for a "cat room" for them to stay while they heal. Then, I started looking at websites such as http://www.theluckyfew.org/site/feral_cats.html and thought that maybe I could try to socialize the two friendly ones.
So, I was wondering if this was a good idea. Does anyone have any advice? Is it a good idea to split up the group of cats by taking in two of them? How should I set up the room, and will the cats tear anything up? Will they be mad at me for catching/neutering them? We have a dog in the house; how hard would it be to get them used to each other? Should I still let them go outside? Also, I am looking to leave for college next August, so I didn't know if I should try to domesticate them if I will be leaving soon. I do greatly appreciate any help one could give me!
EDIT: By the way, I wanted to add that I have very little experience with cats. My family owned a cat when I was younger, but that was the only exposure to cats I've had. We've always had dogs. So, I don't know a lot about cat care. But, I absolutely love cats.
A few months ago, my family moved into the house in which we are now living. There are several stray/feral cats that live in this area. There is one adult cat that I assume is the mother cat. Then there are four young adult-age cats (not full grown, but not kitten) that I believe to be litter mates. Then, there is another adult cat that I don't believe is related to the others. The only one whose gender I am sure of is the mother cat, because it did have two young kittens as well. One of them died, and one of my neighbors across the street took in the other one after finding the dead kitten. I talked to the lady across the street about the cats (the lady who took in the kitten). She had lived on the street her whole life and she told me that the house next door to mine used to be owned by an elderly lady with a lot of cats. When she died, her family just let the cats loose, which is how the feral cat population began (she said that happened when she was 12, and she is in her mid 20s now). She also said that the feral cat population used to be a lot worse. I'm not sure what happened to all the other cats if it had been that long. I see stray cats on other areas of the street, but then never see them go to other sections of the street. Anyway, the neighbors seemed to be okay with the cats being there, yet nobody wanted to do anything about them.
Anyway, I started feeding the cats about two months ago. The adult cats occasionally come around, but usually it is just the four young cats that come. At first they were really jumpy and acted nervous, but at the same time they acted like they were comfortable around humans. It wasn't long until I could feed them out of my hand (wearing gloves) and most of them would eat from me. There are two cats that are quite friendly, and two cats that are more skittish. One of them acts kind of aggressive and is bigger than the others, so I think it may be a male. The two friendly cats will frequently come up close to me. Sometimes when I open my door to go outside, they will walk inside the house. They will sometimes let me pet them when they are eating, but when they're not eating they won't. I really like the cats, but especially these two. (My picture is actually of one of the cats. Does anyone know what breed it is?)
A few weeks ago, I contacted a local TNR program about getting the cats spayed/neutered. I am supposed to get two done in November and the rest done in December. I wasn't sure how long it would take for them to heal after their surgery, but I have a large walk-in closet that I was considering using for a "cat room" for them to stay while they heal. Then, I started looking at websites such as http://www.theluckyfew.org/site/feral_cats.html and thought that maybe I could try to socialize the two friendly ones.
So, I was wondering if this was a good idea. Does anyone have any advice? Is it a good idea to split up the group of cats by taking in two of them? How should I set up the room, and will the cats tear anything up? Will they be mad at me for catching/neutering them? We have a dog in the house; how hard would it be to get them used to each other? Should I still let them go outside? Also, I am looking to leave for college next August, so I didn't know if I should try to domesticate them if I will be leaving soon. I do greatly appreciate any help one could give me!
EDIT: By the way, I wanted to add that I have very little experience with cats. My family owned a cat when I was younger, but that was the only exposure to cats I've had. We've always had dogs. So, I don't know a lot about cat care. But, I absolutely love cats.
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