Hoping I Can Get Some Help With My Cat Colony Before Its Too Late

I have a semi-feral cat colony of about 14 cats. Some are tame and some won't let me come near them. Three of them are pregnant. Two have already had kittens.

I live in Leesville, SC, a rural area where there are no TNR programs, no animal control, and no low-cost spay/neuter programs and I can't afford to pay the full price.

My landlord is putting pressure on me to control the cat population and has offered to trap them and take them to a shelter in the county he lives, but I know what will happen to them because they are not socialized. They are being as helpful as they can be because they know I didn't bring the cats here - they started when a pregnant cat had kittens in a nearby barn.

This is tearing my nerves up because there is no help available and I've watched these cats grow from kittens.

Does anyone have any advice? Thanks so much!

So you need essentially rally money for TNR, and you must pay what it costs.

OK, try to find the least costly vet whom you thing you can cooperate with.   Try to get a package deal.  One free on every 5...

Rally people.  Try talk over all friendly people you meet, especielly if you think they are friendly to animals.

Talk down church people, and remind them of this good shepherd, who although had 100 perfectly healthy sheeps in home, did made himself great troubles to find this one astray sheep, and carry it back home.

The first rescuer our history knows.

Try talk over owners of  firms and enterprises.  Somebody of them will perhaps be willing to sponsor your programme...

Info for  TNR you can surely find, at our site, at the Alley Cats site...

Good luck!

Gosh, I feel for your situation. Thank you for trying to help them. The only suggestion I can offer is to see if you can find some like-minded people to help. There is a form you can submit at Alley Cat Allies to do this. http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=1452

We do have many members who are involved with rescue and TNR programs so hopefully they can offer some more suggestions. red top rescue catwoman707

Thanks so much guys. Yes, checked with vet and no package deals - he charges $129 for spaying and $89 for neutering. I have the money for the the 2 cats that just had kittens. One had kittens in the closet so they will be tame and I can find them homes. The other had her 2 in the barn so they might not be as social.

I've put on my etsy profile where I sell that all proceeds are to go toward neutering and spaying but it is the slow season until Mothers Day And me and a co-worker are having a yard sale next weekend to raise money. (me for my cats and her to send her son to senior week)

I work for the state of SC for Medicaid - I can't believe I help people everyday get health coverage but can't afford to take care of "my family". And think of the taxes I've paid all these years.

Once I can get the cats fixed then the population will naturally decline. And hopefully in the future if I take on a new cat it will be my choice and I can treat them like they were at the spa (well, mine probably already feel that way) and pay it forward to someone that is in the situation I'm in.

Looking at it from a financial stand point, I would try to get the males fixed first.  For the cost of two females, you can get 3 males fixed.  Also check with local shelters, they might have a low cost spay/neuter program that is not advertised.  

This is a tough situation for sure.

I admire you for accepting responsibility for these cats as well, you are a very kind compassionate person for this.

Several things here.

You mention that your landlord is willing to trap and take them to the shelter where he lives? Well, there's at least a decent chance that contacting this shelter and talking to the right person, you may be able to create some sort of deal with them, since they DO have vets who they use for cats there.

For the cost to euthanize and dispose of their bodies, they can be fixed, vaccinated for less, then returned.

Or if that is no go, try to find out who the vet is they use, as it is very common that humane societies and spca's use low cost vets, which means a possible break for you there.

The driving part is what it is, since there is no help where you are.

But there must also be help outside of the county, say maybe using your landlord's address? Afterall, you are making the effort.

Also, will he pitch in some cash towards this by chance?

Cat rescue groups like mine help the public too. You might find one, though far away, who will help you out, maybe even more than you think. 

If you end up exhausting all of the above ideas and options, which seems crazy, just have to really research and do some serious digging to find help, but it's out there.

As for raising money? You would not believe what sells on ebay. Things that bring big bucks will add up very fast.

Do you have any old jewelry? Gold or not gold, it hardly matters. Vintage silver jewelry does great too. Old costume jewelry sells for lots, things you thought were unattractive, look on ebay under vintage costume jewelry. It's amazing what some sell for!

Easy to sell, easy to ship.

I've sold on ebay for many years, the majority was fine jewelry from my shop, I used to get stuff in almost daily (oh how I miss that!)

Same name as here. I've sold about 1800 items.

Just scope out your house, see what you might have to sell, then look it up on ebay to see if it's worth selling or not enough to give it up.

You can also coordinate a car wash. Must be in a busy place, lots of cars driving passed. Get a group of cute teenaged girls with their short shorts and bathing suit tops on a hot sunny day and it's unbelievable how much they can bring in! The local high school has them all the time and raises hundreds every single time.

It's hard to say which is more important, the males or females.

Males are certainly excellent to have neutered first, however, you have prego females who will only have lots more kittens you will be responsible for as well. Plus, a female going into heat will continue to attract new unneutered male cats, that's impossible to stop, so honestly, I see it as a 50/50 thing, equally important.

Use your own judgement, what you can do, etc. The number one thing is to focus on finding that hidden help, it's out there, all over, it might not be close by you, but it's there.

We helped a lady who was overwhelmed like you are now, but with about 28-30 of them on her property, I drove my car and one other car went, and a large van, we all caravanned to her place, about 2 1/2 hours away, trapped nearly all in one swoop, hauled them back and took them to a feral cat clinic nearby, paid $20.00 each, then returned them all. This lady was so grateful she donated a car to us, which was awesome. She didn't have to do that, it's what we do, rescue. I should mention a non profit too, as that is your best bet besides the spca or shelter.

Best of luck to you, I know how big this is for you to handle, too bad working for the state doesn't help to "know the right person" who will find help for you.

You would be suprised at the cat loving people everywhere, and how they are willing to donate to your cause, post on craigslist, everywhere.

I feel for you!

I found this!

Only 40 minutes away in Columbia SC is a humane society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and this is on their home page.

The Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (The Humane Society) is a 501c-3 charitable organization located in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Mission of the Humane Society is to end animal cruelty, neglect, and overpopulation by offering low cost spay and neuter surgery and investigating reports of animal cruelty.

In addition to our spay/neuter program and investigative services, we offer a program to help manage colonies of feral cats.  We promote responsible pet ownership and offer presentations regarding the humane animal care.

SEE? They offer a program to help manage feral colonies! 

I understand what you are saying the pregnant cats I have now are in the very early stages of pregnancy. I don't know how you all feel on the subject because I just joined today - but that could possibly be 10 to 15 more cats.

I disagree with @midnightkitty because ONE male can get 10 females pregnant, and the females are the ones who produce the kittens.  Get them done first.  Have you looked at low cost clinics in other cities that are not too far away?  Or would you consider hiring a mobile spay/neuter van who would actually come to your location?  I know one of the best ones in this area (Project CatSnip) is sometimes hired by groups to have private spay/neuter days and they go wherever it is.  There was also a vet who did this on his own, roaming the poorer areas in the region and doing low cost spay/neuter/rabies vaccines.  Your local vet obviously has a monopoly and while those are not outlandish prices for a vet hospital, they can't compare to the non-profits who are just trying to break even while making a difference.  Check out Wally's Friends in Chattanooga, TN and see the kind of work they do.  They actually have a BUS that picks up animals in Georgia, brings them to the clinic for neuter/spay, and then returns them to Georgia the next day.  I think they also reach into northern Alabama as well as other areas of Tennessee.  Perhaps they could help you find something like their service closer to you.  Here is a link to their page.  http://www.wallysfriends.com/

Thank you so much for all of your ideas. I will be looking over all of these posts tomorrow when I am refreshed. Hoping the yard sale will help. don't have anything to sell on ebay except what I have on etsy but have considered switching some items to ebay.

kastone said:

I understand what you are saying the pregnant cats I have now are in the very early stages of pregnancy. I don't know how you all feel on the subject because I just joined today - but that could possibly be 10 to 15 more cats.

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Have them fixed now, do not wait for the kittens to grow and be born.

I know all too well how sensitive this subject is, and was truly once very strong on anti-aborting of kittens. I would take the pregos and allow them to have and care for their kids, then weaned and fixed and adopted, as well as mom, and if feral, spayed and returned.

But over the years, and the endless exposure I have had to the endless kittens who are sent to be killed every day is too much to look the other way anymore.

Every kitten born means another will not have a home, will suffer, or be euthanized, there are just simply not enough homes for them all.

Take 10 kittens born, you find homes for 5 of them, that's 5 who will not be adopted from somewhere else. Then what about the other 5? They all need to be fixed too, and what, grow up homeless? Live outside where there are so many dangers and predators? 9 out of 10 do not make it to 6 months old on average.

Not a nice world, I know, but true.

It's more humane to get her spayed now, especially before mom is carrying fully developed kittens. Still always sad, but I understand fully, it's what's best.

midnightkitty said:

Looking at it from a financial stand point, I would try to get the males fixed first.  For the cost of two females, you can get 3 males fixed.  Also check with local shelters, they might have a low cost spay/neuter program that is not advertised.  

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For indoor cats, or if you live on a small island, this might work. But for free-roaming cats, neutering the males has no effect on population. There will always be a tomcat SOMEWHERE in the area to get the females pregant. If it's not possible to do everyone, it is necessary to do the females first. Males don't get pregnant.

The reality is that when you set a trap outside, you can't always control whether you catch a male or female cat, and sometimes you can't get close enough to know the gender, so the subject of which gender to fix first seems a moot point. Also, you don't always know when you trap a female cat whether or not she is already pregnant. I signed a consent with the vet for one of the ferals I trapped for her to be spayed even if she was pregnant, and learned afterwards that she had been pregnant, even though she was only four and a half months old. I think it was the right thing to do.  With regard to the kittens, if you can socialize them in your closet and barn and adopt them out, you don't have to worry about getting them neutered or spayed--this will be the responsibility of their new owners. Many veterinarians won't neuter/spay prior to 4-5 months anyway. I wish you the best of luck, and I feel sorry that you have the pressure of a landlord to deal with on top of everything else. Anything you do to help any of these cats is a labor of love.

@kastone  call the humane society/spca in Columbia, they seem to be the answer you are looking for. It's 40 mins from you.