Leaving job in a week...cannot leave ferals :(

Hi friends,

I have been feeding at least 1, maybe upwards of 3 feral cats on an almost daily basis since I ran across Mango (feral tuxedo mom) and baby Snowman (now living in my home) almost 2 years ago.  I have gotten 2 tuxedos fixed, presumably Snowman's parents (Mango and Mudpie), and returned them to their "natural" habitat.  Their habitat is a county office complex with a fair amount of traffic, not too much, woods (which is where I feed them), buildings, and fields.  I have accepted a new job and will be leaving my current job next Friday.  That being said, I am concerned about leaving Mango and Mudpie and the potential other black cat I have seen on occasion.  Mudpie has gotten to the point where he greets me each morning as put his breakfast down.  He is always about 2 feet away and if I try and walk towards him, he goes in the other direction.  I will not be able to come back and put food out on a regular basis.  So, do I let him go back to fending for himself or do I bring him home?  My only concern with bringing him home is that I do not have any woodland close to my house.  I live in a rural area, but aside from the barn, he would have no where to go unless he went across the wide open field and then into the woods.  My parents have dogs that are not cat-friendly and so that would not be a good idea.  There is also no one at work that would be willing to continue putting out food.  Any advice or insight would be helpful.      

CC

I really don't know what to tell you, but if I was in that situation, I'd find a way to bring him home and somehow keep him there.  I'd feel guilt leaving him behind, especially if no one else is willing to put food out. 

I don't have any experience with relocating ferals, so hopefully someone else will chime in...

Good luck and God bless you for caring

Do you have a TNR group in your area?  Maybe you can contact them and have them come feed the cats?  This is a long shot but you can also put out an ad in the local Craigslist for some cat lover in the area to continue feeding. 

Is it impossible for you to trap the cat and bring it indoors?  It would be a long process though, and you would need to have a lot of patience.  Were the kitties starving before you started feeding them?  Not sure how successful they would be at going back to fending for themselves.  Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.  

Well, I trapped one of the cats that I have been feeding for 2 years and released it at the barn behind my house today.  He took off under the barn, across the field, turned and went across the road (not too highly traveled), went up behind a house, and then across a smaller field and at last check had stopped in a small grove of trees.  He knows woods and they aren't readily available around my house.  I can still walk over to where he stopped and put food out, but I mistakenly believed he would just stay under the barn for now because that is where I left the wet food. 

I now feel like a terrible, horrible person for relocating him.  He's confused as heck and I don't even know if he will circle back around to where I let him go or if he will keep on going.  I didn't want to push him further away, so I didn't move the food to small grove of trees.  I will do it this evening, after I get home from work.  Does anyone think he will come back or stay close by or will he keep going?  Anything I can do to encourage him to come back aside from using food?

My husband also told me to try my best to trap his mate and bring her to our house.  He said they need each other to survive.  I don't even know if she is still around, but does that sound like a good idea? 

If you try to relocate a cat they need time to acclimate to their new surroundings.  Their natural instinct will be to find their way back to their previous territory.  When relocating a cat it is best to keep them caged or inside for 3 weeks before releasing them to their new surroundings.  If you do bring the other one, you will need to keep her enclosed for awhile. 

Here is another thread on relocating a feral

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/291804/cat-ethics-whether-or-not-to-relocate-a-fixed-feral

I greatly appreciate your advice and I hope and pray I have not doomed the other one.  If the female is still around and I do manage to trap her, I will confine her.  Is there any chance the one I foolishly turned out this morning will remain within the remote vicinity of the house?  If I can bring her home this afternoon, would he be able to smell her?

Keep leaving out food and checking to see if you spot her.  I don't know how you would catch her again and confine her.  If you do find her in the area, you might want to get a drop trap and see if you can trap her that way.  How far away is her previous home?  Her instinct will be to make her way back there.  Check that location as well.

Here is an article with some tips on relocating a cat

http://indyferal.org/index.php?page=relocation

When the vet's assistant brought cats to her farm she used a rabbit hutch to confine them for a few weeks. I thought that was a great idea as they can see their surroundings and get used to the new smells. It's large enough for a litter box and a small hutch, yet open. If they are really skittish you could cover half of it to give them security. I'll pray that your boy does hang around, he might if he hears you and you give him  food. All the luck!

The previous home is a 45 minute drive for me.

Any updates @Catladycooper ?  I am hoping the best and sending good vibes your way.

Well, he has been seen but it's about 5 miles or so up the road.  My husband said he appeared to be heading back in our direction.  So, he made it through the very cold night.  He has also passed by houses, so I hope and pray he has found food. 

Thanks for the update.  I hope he makes it back to you safely.  Be sure to leave some dry food out during the day.  You could get a trail camera and set it up to see if he comes at night or during the day when you aren't around.  They take great night pictures.  Keep us posted.