Brubst

Hi Everyone! I am brand new to this site. I am seeking some advice from others who are caring for ferals. I live in a small town with a lot of busy roads. I started feeding a few strays....the rest is history. I now have a colony that I take care of. I am in the process of trying to get as many spayed/neutered as possible. I was able to TNR 19 last spring and so far this spring have gotten 15 done with an appointment next week for 5 more (if I can catch the stragglers). Unfortunately my passion and love for these little guys is not shared by the rest of the community I just had a visit from the police this week asking about the cats. I explained what we were doing as a solution to the growing cat population, and must say the officer was impressed that we have used our own money and resources to help these little guys. However, I am afraid the community....namely the renter across the street (who called the police) could be a problem. His issue was the cats are going to the bathroom in his daughter's sandbox. Any suggestions on how to handle this? It is a small town and we do live on top of each other, so the cats wander into other yards. I hate to think that I would have to stop helping them. The incidences of finding dead cats on the road has decreased dramatically since we've started this project, but I'm not sure how long I can continue it. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

They make sand boxes (often shaped like animals like a turtle). The lid is put on when the kids aren't in the box, so no critters can use it. Maybe you can offer to purchase one for your neighbor? That might mollify him, at least about the sand box issue.

You really can't keep the cats, from wandering but there are also products that can be sprayed to keep them away from certain areas. Fox and coyote urine come to mind. They have to be reapplied after it rains but they do keep cats away.

Thank you for helping these cats. You are doing a wonderful thing!