Introduction

Greetings!

I have four cats of my own, three boys and calico girl who has stealthily crept into my lap as I'm typing this message. Two are littermates, and the others are cousins, all from a TNR colony on a family farm. I've had cats for most of my life other than a period when I lived in a small apartment in graduate school.

I became a TNR colony caretaker somewhat by accident about five years ago. A friendly mother cat approached me when I was down at the farm and led me back to her four undernourished kittens in an old barn. The next day, I arrived with a carrier and took them home. I gradually learned that they were just the tip of the iceberg, and I've been on a long, steep learning curve since then figuring out how to deal with the various challenges. I'm still learning, which is part of why I'm here.

I'm particularly interested in learning more about strategies to get adoptable adult cats adopted.

Welcome to The Cat Site David.



Thanks for all you are doing to help those colony cats, it sounds like they really need your help. We've got a forum for questions about feral cats, maybe you can get some good advice here.

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/9/caring-for-strays-and-ferals

I'd love to see some pictures of your cats too.

Welcome to the site

We would love to see some pics of your fur family we love pic on here

Welcome to TCS, David! I agree, photos are needed! 

David68, The only first moves I know for adopting out socialized adult kitties is asking local TV stations and newspapers to highlight them in their Community sections and by asking your local shelters to emphasis the advantages of an adult cat--still playful but uses the scratch post instead of the furniture, doesn't climb curtains, litter-boxed trained, thankful for a family, etc. Take the kitties on visits to assisted living and nursing homes. I realize you aren't talking about senior cats but sometimes the human family gets the picture and asks about the cats. We adopted an adult cat several months after we had to put down our senior cat and we loved that she fit into our family without all the kitten "issues."  Please let us know how you're mission is going.

This is the easiest way to get all four of my cats in one photo: Liza, Tux, Leo, and Oscar. Liza and Leo are litter mates even though they look almost nothing alike, and they are Oscar's great aunt and uncle even though they're two years younger. Tux is a cousin of some degree and the youngest. All are descended (reportedly) from a single tortie matriarch. Below is lunch at the TNR colony, and most are part of the same large extended family.

Hi and Welcome. You made me laugh... I have 3 girls, one is a calico. Two girls are litter sisters and then we have Walter, my youngest.

I hope you find the answers you look for here.

David68 said:

Greetings!

I have four cats of my own, three boys and calico girl who has stealthily crept into my lap as I'm typing this message. Two are littermates, and the others are cousins.

Click to expand...

Welcome!!! I have luck finding adoptable strays homes working with a TNR group and the Humane Society.  I donate to both groups and they always help when a friendly stray shows up.  I pay for testing and neutering. I just had a little black 6 month old that we found under my car go home to a nice young couple.  We have many small veterinary offices and locally owned pet food stores that do adoptions.  I have 3 ferals that were not socialized enough to find homes for, but anyone that wanders in that can be homed we find one.. Volunteering on a TNR day is a great way to make connections with vets that work with ferals and a large social network of people that can help.  A few connections turns in to dozens once you are introduced.

Hi KittyMomma, Good advice about networking. I've tried to do adoption advertising on my own via Facebook and Craigslist. I've had some luck on Craigslist, but none on Facebook. The clinic that's done all the spay/neuter surgeries is part of a no-kill shelter, but they've kind of made it clear to me that they try to prioritize emergency situations, so since the cats in my colony are not under any immediate threat (other than cars and predators), they would prefer not to take these cats into their program. I have started making connections with a local rescue group that's based on a fostering model instead of a brick and mortar facility, so what they do is more in line with what I'm doing. I know the head of the cat program at the local SPCA, and they are now ONLY doing intakes from the county shelter, which is a high-kill facility, totally underfunded and overwhelmed. I'm sure that this was one reason that TNR was legalized in this county.

I've tried local vets, and though they take my information, I've never gotten any referrals from them.

Hi Stazie,

Thanks for your suggestions as well. It always seems like a hard sell to get people to realize the advantages of adopting an adult cat. The adoptions I've done have all worked out pretty well because I was able to match an adult cat with a known personality to a situation. Socialization is vital, but I don't think it can completely overwrite a cat's basic temperament, which is something you can't always read until they're ~a year old or so.

Welcome, David! What beautiful kitties you have! Bless you for the good work you do. 

I agree about adopting an adult cat. It's been ages since anyone in my household has had a kitten. We keep on getting cast-offs and strays. (Wouldn't have it any other way!   )

We all understand your group photo! Your kitties are so beautiful and obviously well cared for, as are the kitties at the luncheon. The tortie reminds me of my own girl.

Welcome!  Man, you've got your hands full, but it's wonderful that you've taken on such a wonderful cause.  Cute kitties.