I need help with a feral cat colony living under my house

I would like to say that I know nothing about feral cat colonies and I am looking for any and all information to help me make the best decision for everyone involved.

I need some help.
For the past month, I have been feeding a feral colony of cats that are living underneath my house (I recently moved into it) and it has made my life a living hell with my dog. Anytime I let her outside or I take her for a walk, she does whatever she can to try to get to them and kill them. 
Saturday, I went to the Austin Humane Society and they gave me 2 traps to trap, speuter, and release. Their clinics are on Wed and Thursday. This morning I trapped 2 of the older kittens and took them in to get fixed. YAY! Although, there are still at least 4 more that need to go. 
After trapping the two, the third older kitten just sat outside where I trapped the other two and looked so sad and confused! :-( The adults were more apprehensi[color= rgb(51, 51, 51)]ve and I didn't see them at all. The only time I really see them is when they're hungry and waiting for food.
ANYWAY, my problem is that I am supposed to release these cats where I trapped them. They told me that I need to keep the colony together as they are all bonded. My problem is that I can't keep feeding them and taking care of them near my house, not only is my dog acting like a lunatic all.the time, but my boyfriend is not very happy at all, especially last night when Mama cat was SCREAMING all night long because she is in heat. He didn't sleep at all and he skipped swim practice before of it. :-(
Would it be cruel to release them at a park that is .75 miles away from my house? There is a neighborhood and a school surrounding the park, and it seems to be the norm here for people to feed feral cats. Or should I just release them near my house and have it possibly cause issues with my dog and my relationship.
Originally, I planned on just taking them to the park and releasing them all there, so hopefully they would eventually all get back together, but I am not sure how long it will take me to get all of them. Not to mention, the remaining kitten looked oh so sad, scared and confused when I took its friends away. 
I have no idea what to do and I have to show up at the HS tonight by 6:30, so a decision needs to be made by then. 
Any and all advice is welcomed. 
Thanks.[/color]

I'm so sorry you're having such problems, but thank you for helping them. :heart2: :rub:

Unfortunately for you, cats are territorial. It doesn't matter how far you release them from your home, they will try to find their way back there. When relocating feral cats, it has to be in a planned program, in a place where they will be cared for. They need to be housed in large crates - large enough to keep them contained for about 3 weeks, and they need to be fed on a regular schedule. This is the only way there's any hope they don't bolt.

Having them all sterilized will stop all of their negative behavior - any fighting, screaming, spraying, etc. are ALL because of being intact. So once sterilized, once their hormones cycle out, that behavior all stops, so that, at least, should help with BF. :cross:

I'm so very sorry about the kitties living there driving your dog nuts. I don't have a dog, so have no suggestions on what to do about that. I only know that when it comes to introducing cats and dogs, it's all about training and controlling the dog.

Perhaps the Humane Society is familiar with other colony caretakers - someone may be willing to work with you to help relocate the kitties once they're sterilized? Or going forward, as they're sterilized? :dk:

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Thanks for your response. 

I guess I will release them near my place and I will try to feed them farther away. Will I eventually be able to stop feeding them? 

Unfortunately, training the dog will not work. I have spent the last 10 years to stop her from it, but she has an extremely high prey drive. She instinctually wants all cats dead (except for mine, which I had before I had her). I even tried fostering cats for a while and I had to go back to fostering dogs.   

Oh, and the poor babies keep knocking over my bird bath to get water, so I am now supplying a water dish. 

If you cant do everything at once, beging with one step at a time.  Spaying is really the most important, and that which is most hurry with.   So excellent you are on good way now!

And as LDG mentions, once spayed, they will be less "troublesome".

Im sure you can with time move them on to somewhere else, if necessary. 

Either you find a place near you, but not immediately at your house - so you just begin to give them food and water there.

Or if you find for them a place more far away, where you are sure they will get care. By you or someone either.  The scenario will probably be you will give them less food, the only food they will have is in the traps...

Something like that.

The dog? Try perhaps to exercise him a lot, so he will not have an excess of energy to spend on them...

Another try may be if you can show the dog they are on your protections, thus really with the pack.

How to do it, Im not sure, but you are the dog person, no?   

Tx for caring!

Good luck!

ps.  Moving just the kittens at first, isnt anyway any good idea, even if you find them a decent place.

Being kittens and used for moms protection - and your food, they will be practically defenceless!

So you cant move THEM as the first!

You could possibly move the parents first, as the kittens would do OK at your place which they know, and your protection.

So, unless you have foster homes for the kittens waiting, you CANT move them now!

But if you HAD foster homes waitning for them, yes, this here now would be a good occasion.  

Otherwise, let them just go back, and solve the long term  problem later, in its own time.

Good luck!

Welcome to the forums. I second what LDG and Stefan said. I would not relocate/release them at that park or anywhere else other then your back yard. They know that territory and will have the best chances of survival IF you have to stop feeding them. Your dog can be trained!!!!! I have two Jack Russells who were the same way with the cats. I even had a rescue Pit Bull whom I trained to ignore the cats. Although, I did resort to a shock collar/barking collar. I only had to shock the Pit Bull once. After that, I only pressed the warning beep button IF the dog ignored me. You could also use a long line that the dog will drag and give a very sharp and firm correction when the dog ignores your command. Then lots of praise and treats when the dog comes to you and sits quietly. Training your dog will only be of a benefit to you and your boyfriend on so many other levels as well.

My ferals also would live under my deck, but the dogs couldn't reach them there. Again, training them not to be stupid over the cats was my first priority after TNRing the ferals. You must be the leader of your dog, not the other way around, ever. Soon the dog will also pick up on the fact that you care for these cats and they are somehow part of the pack.

If possible, set up a feeding/watering station outside of the dogs reach. I lived behind woods so it worked out perfectly for me. If you find that it is not going to work for you, then I would suggest calling any and all feral cat organizations in your area to get some help with these cats before you stop feeding them. OR check with neighbors. You say many feed feral cats? Then someone might take over feeding very near your home and they will find their way to that person if you stop feeding. I would also urge that all of the feral cats be trapped for TNR and that will take some work and organization with the other feeders in your area. Best of luck with these cats and thank you for caring for them. There is such a need.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I will release them where I trapped them as I don't want to harm them in any way... I will  just have to deal with the BF and the dog later.

Oh, and one more question. Since I have trapped two (they're being fixed and vaccinated today) how do I set up the trap to get the others and not the two I already trapped? The ones that were trapped today are the older curious kittens. The other kitten is not as curious and the adults only come around when they're starving.

Thanks for all your help!

They'll ear tip the kitties being sterilized today. It looks like this


You'll easily be able to tell if you've trapped an already sterilized kitty, all you have to do is release them. It's not very likely. Once they've been trapped, they usually aren't back in the trap inside of a couple days (or weeks, or months). To trap the others, you may have to get creative with the trap. I don't know where you live. I'm in NW NJ, and it would be much to cold to wash the trap (well, we only have the choice of washing it outside). But washing the trap can be important - getting the smell of fear off of it. I place a piece of cardboard on the bottom - one that's small enough so they still have to step on the trip plate to reach the bowl. I also usually set up a bait trail to the trap, and a little bite of food on the piece of cardboard, to help... lead and ease them into the trap.

You can cover the trap on the two sides and top with a light blanket. Or if it's not a frozen wasteland, you can use sticks and leaves on the top. You don't have cats, but if you pick up a little catnip, you can sprinkle a little under the bowl.

The bait used can also help. Something stinky like sardines. Or if you eat KFC, some KFC meat is almost never fail. :lol3:

I am assuming that the base of your house is fairly open- could you put up some lattice work or something at the base of your house to prevent the dog from getting to the cats?  If you have a fenced in backyard then you could even just do the part that opens up to the yard or something like that.  Just cut a small hole big enough for the cats to get through.  This way your dog can bark at them all he wants without being able to harm them.  Eventually he will learn that no good comes from antagonizing the beings under the house. 

What is stopping you from continuing to feed them- is it for financial reasons, or do you not have the time/desire/whatever to care for them?  If it's money, you could look into having a rescue organization or people donate supplies to sustain them.  If it's time or something, could you find a neighbor or friend who is willing to toss food at them a few times per week, or just when you are unavailable? 
 

as LDG pointed out, usually they won't go back into the trap for some time so that probably isn't a huge worry.

here is a thread where that issue was discussed - http://www.thecatsite.com/t/252884/trapping-one-cat-and-not-another-cat

good luck!

I am a trapper.

Adults will usually avoid a trap after being caught in one.

Kittens (silly creatures) I have caught the day after releasing them. Just let them back out. I haven't yet had a kitten fall for the trap three times.

Relocating will not likely help the dog or BF situation.
1-Different cats will move in once u relocate the current residents.

2-Cats wont potty next to their food - moving the food away from house may cause them to eat further away, but potty closer.

3-All the reasons listed in previous posts have merit.

The dog - will likely get used to the critters, especially after they stop producing reproductive and territory scents and sounds. (Doesn't matter how well trained a dog or human is, annoyed or horny feral cats will drive them nuts)

The BF
Once neutered and vaccinated (feral cats, not the BF) the cats will calm down, fatten up, and you won't likely see them too much otherwise (unless you go out of your way to interact with them - then they may start coming to you or waiting for u etc)

That said - what you're doing is wonderful and best of luck trapping!!

- Chriss

Congratulations on trapping two!!!!!!! Great, great news. I have had some different experiences than some other trappers. I don't seem to have an issue of retrapping a cat that has already once been trapped. Hunger always wins over one way or another. Also, I have never had to clean my trap after using it on another cat. I am just lazy that way, but the cats don't seem to avoid my traps even though a cat was just trapped, say the night before. Sending you loads of vibes that you can trap as many cats as you can to get them all done. I have two traps that I set up outside in different locations. It is hard to do, but you should only feed in those traps for the day or two you are trapping. Maybe just pick two days out of the week to trap and just feed the other five days on a regular schedule. You can also tie the trap door up on those days to get the cats used to going in and out to eat. This has always worked very well for me that way on the day I want to trap a cat, I reset the trap to trigger. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

LDG said:

_Chumley rescue ear tip.jpg

• ldg
• Jan 24, 2013

Click to expand...

LOVE LOVE OUR CHUNKY MONKEY CHUMLEY!!!!!!!!!!! :rub: :heart3: :rub:

Is that super-star ear tip model cat Chumley?   He looks quite squeezable!

Good luck to you Helpwithferals! 

I love how the ear-tip looks!!! So fashionable!!