Worried someone is trying to poison 3 of my ferals...

I do not feed many locations, only 4 spots in my neighborhood. One spot is really secluded and consists of about 20 neutered/spayed ferals. 

But my smallest spot, and technically most visible, as I don't know where else to locate it it, unless I walk into the yard of the vacant lot/trailer and put the food underneath it. But I debating on doing that bright and early tomorrow morning right when it starts getting day light.

I have NEVER had anyone help me with feeding around here. I am in the process of getting the rest TNR'd this winter... (about 10 left in whole trailer park) because we will be moving into a house soon, FINALLY...and I will still be coming to feed them, but I won't be here to save any feral kittens that surface. I will have a peace of mind knowing they are all fixed!

Anyways, I go to feed at the most visible  and smallest spot, and there is an old cleaned out paint tray with a little bit of dry food in there. I was SHOCKED to say the least. Was someone trying to help me? I got a bit happy....but the more and more I think about it, the weirder it was. I've been feeding for almost a year with no help. Why didn't they put it in the bowl I always feed them in? I wish I would have inspected it more, but when neighbors are out and about, I feed quickly and move on. I did remember focusing on it a little bit, and I did not see anything OBVIOUS other than about 20 pieces of dry cat food, and that was it...nothing suspicious mixed in that was visible and the food was not wet.

Their really thick and heavy metal water bowl was knocked over too....? This all just makes me feel sick to my stomach.

Where I feed is quite camoflaged, aside from those who have seen me feed there, which are literally only two people and I'm not quite sure they mind? Now there is one guy, the one who cuts the grass around here and all, who got mad at my grandma about two years ago for feeding them, but it blew over quickly.

Should I let everyone who sees me from now on know that I am trapping and fixing the rest of the cats around here, hoping it will give them some relief, if it is a problem with them? and should I move the food location under the vacant trailer tomorrow morning while no one is up so that all signs of feeding appear completely gone?

I just really do not want to cause any problems and the LAST thing I want is one of them poisoned. I am investing so much love and money into these babies. I do not want anyone to harm them.

Okay guys, I did not sleep at ALL last night. I kept waiting for daybreak so I could go throw everything away from over there. It is the best time for no one to be out and see me changing everything over. Luckily, there was some of the food left that someone left, and when I inspected it after I got home, I did not see, feel, or smell anything out of the ordinary! I even crushed pieces and smelled, etc...and all is turning out okay it seems. I would assume if someone was going to poison, it would have been mixed all throughout the food, so I would have seen it in the area where it was left over. Thank God I put some food over the top of it, so that it was on the bottom, so I was able to really inspect the food that was different from mine. SO, perhaps someone was just helping me, but in the end, that just creates more attention to those babies and messes their feeding time up and confuses them...the best thing for the cats was for it to all be taken up and appear GONE.

That being said, this trailer is VERY vacant...a sweet elderly lady lived there and used to feed cats there, but she passed...bushes all grown up around the porch and over the porch where you can't even see it, so I walked through there and set their feeding station up right by the porch in the really heavy bushy area! Two of them were right with me while I was doing it, so they are aware of the new spot already. It's about 10 feet away from where they were, a little more give or take, but definitely not visible by anyone unless you know it is there. 

I do believe I am going to move their feeding time to early morning right at daybreak. This is the safest time for that area that I feed, as it is the most trafficked area, especially evening hours. Mornings usually dead around here.

I know once winter comes, the greenery will die off and it may not be as hidden, but by that point, I can move it UNDER the porch where it will still be hidden and only a couple of more feet away. It was just way too bushy for me to keep risking climbing all through it! lol

Pray those babies are okay! I have been feeding them for a while now and they are 3 of the ones I am getting fixed in the coming weeks as well!   

For peace of mind you could set up a trail camera to see if anyone else is coming to the site.  You can find them on Amazon for around $50-75.  Some hunting sporting goods stores also sell them.

I hope that someone is just trying to be helpful and went about it in a different way.  Keep a close eye on things. 

Thank you! I cannot afford a trail cam, as I am trying so hard to get the rest of them fixed, and if I paid for a trail cam, that would be enough money to get two of them fixed at the vet who works with me. 

But I moved their food to that secluded area I was talking about, and have been watching them. It is near the steps of the trailer and really hidden deep in the brush. They all appear to still be doing wonderful today. They were waiting by the trailer for me to go through the bushes to put their food down, and they have been eating really good to.

I am thinking it must have been some kids in the area or something. I am just glad they are still okay and I have such a peace of mind that they are hidden now and no one else has put any other food around that I can see.

The guy who is always out on his porch when I feed them, was outside today, and I spoke with him. I asked him if he was okay with me feeding cats close to his home and he told me quickly he did not mind at all, and I thanked him and told him I am in the process of getting everyone spayed and neutered so they couldn't have any more babies. I have a peace of mind there as well, as he is the only one who has witnessed me feeding them regularly.