Need advice for feral family

Hi everyone! This is kind of a long post, but I'm a new cat lover and have lots of questions. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! 

My boyfriend and I began renting our house in July, and by August - September, we began feeding a female feral cat. We planned on spaying her right away, but within a few weeks we were surprised to find 3 kittens in our backyard. They looked to be about 2-3 months at the time. We did our best to get them on a feeding schedule, and were quite successful. It took time for me to find a quality and affordable organization to have them all fixed, but we finally did it! We TNR'd the mom, her 3 kittens (they are roughly 7 months old now I think), and the cat we presume to be the dad. 

My boyfriend and I have gotten quite attached to them all, but especially Patches. Patches is one of the kittens. These past few months we've grown so close to him. He lets us both pet him, and purrs constantly. He runs up to our door the second we open it, and rubs back and forth against the steps to let us know he wants affection. He even rubs up on my feet and lays on them. His favorite is when I rub my hand on the sides of his face. SO CUTE! Needless to say, we love him dearly and can't imagine parting ways with him. I know, I know, the obvious course of action would be to take him in, which we are considering. However, Patches is VERY close to his brothers, especially Alpha. The two are attached to the hip. They even walked into the same trap when we trapped them to get them neutered! As much as we love Patches, it breaks our hearts thinking about separating the two. But there's this part of me that knows this bond we have with Patches is SO rare, especially because he's the only 1 out of 5 cats total (mom, dad, and 3 kittens) that is so social with us. He will lie on his back and let me pet him for days! When we open the door, he even runs in and eats from the bowl of food before we have a chance to take it outside. He recently began exploring our room, then runs out.

As much as we'd love to take both Patches and Alpha in, it would be difficult for us to have 2 cats. Alpha doesn't let us pet him, but he will eat right next to us. Out of the 3, he's second to most social. The least social is Cookie. His mom taught him well. He darts away the second I make a movement. I can't be too close to him while he eats, or else he'll run off and he'll never get to finish his meal! 

What do you guys think? Should we take Patches in, and know he will adapt without his best buddy? Eventually, will we be able to let him out and play with them, or will he never come back and be our pet? Is it wise to try and socialize Alpha so I wouldn't have to separate the two? Then just suck it up and find a way to have both? 

I want to note that they all have a very close bond. The dad, mom, and kittens all play together and hang out all the time. 

My last concern is that our lease is up in July. We aren't sure if we will renew our lease, it depends on our landlord. If we can't renew the lease, would I just go from neighbor to neighbor and find a cat lover who would be wiling to feed the cats? If we take 1-2, then there will only be 3-4 that need to be fed. 

Thank you again in advance!!  

I admire you for stepping up and helping this family live a much better life now that they are all fixed!!

I only wish many more would do the same.

I would personally say that if you don't want the pair, then leave both outside and continue with your relationship as it is.

If you really would rather not, then take them both in. Alpha will, in time warm up.

He may be just as loving, or he may never be quite as Patches is, but there is something I want you to know.

If you could remove only the fear that feral cats have to humans (which makes them called feral) they would be the same EXACT cat as the most loving, affectionate house cat.

This is why ferals are my softest spot in rescue. I do know this as a fact. The very same needs and wants, feelings, so I especially hate to hear feral cats called wild cats. Nothing wild about them at all.

They simply didn't have any exposure to humans as a young kitten, that's all. So they're forced to live away from people. 

So while I am glad that you want to take the one kitty in, what about the others?

If you move, please relocate them with you. It's not hard to do. They just need to be contained for a month at the new place.

You can't trust that any neighbors will be as loyal as you have been, they are rarely found like that. 

This family has grown dependent on your feeding them, please don't leave them behind.

catwoman707 said:

I admire you for stepping up and helping this family live a much better life now that they are all fixed!!
I only wish many more would do the same.

I would personally say that if you don't want the pair, then leave both outside and continue with your relationship as it is.
If you really would rather not, then take them both in. Alpha will, in time warm up.
He may be just as loving, or he may never be quite as Patches is, but there is something I want you to know.

If you could remove only the fear that feral cats have to humans (which makes them called feral) they would be the same EXACT cat as the most loving, affectionate house cat.

This is why ferals are my softest spot in rescue. I do know this as a fact. The very same needs and wants, feelings, so I especially hate to hear feral cats called wild cats. Nothing wild about them at all.
They simply didn't have any exposure to humans as a young kitten, that's all. So they're forced to live away from people. 

So while I am glad that you want to take the one kitty in, what about the others?
If you move, please relocate them with you. It's not hard to do. They just need to be contained for a month at the new place.

You can't trust that any neighbors will be as loyal as you have been, they are rarely found like that. 
This family has grown dependent on your feeding them, please don't leave them behind.

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catwoman707 said:

I admire you for stepping up and helping this family live a much better life now that they are all fixed!!
I only wish many more would do the same.

I would personally say that if you don't want the pair, then leave both outside and continue with your relationship as it is.
If you really would rather not, then take them both in. Alpha will, in time warm up.
He may be just as loving, or he may never be quite as Patches is, but there is something I want you to know.

If you could remove only the fear that feral cats have to humans (which makes them called feral) they would be the same EXACT cat as the most loving, affectionate house cat.

This is why ferals are my softest spot in rescue. I do know this as a fact. The very same needs and wants, feelings, so I especially hate to hear feral cats called wild cats. Nothing wild about them at all.
They simply didn't have any exposure to humans as a young kitten, that's all. So they're forced to live away from people. 

So while I am glad that you want to take the one kitty in, what about the others?
If you move, please relocate them with you. It's not hard to do. They just need to be contained for a month at the new place.

You can't trust that any neighbors will be as loyal as you have been, they are rarely found like that. 
This family has grown dependent on your feeding them, please don't leave them behind.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your response! We will be relocating them when we move. I just love Patches so much I'd love to have him indoors, but I will be selfless and let him be where he's most comfortable -outside!

Do you have any advice and tips for relocating cats?

If you move, I too advise that you relocate all of them with you if possible. You can't rely on neighbors to take on that kind of responsibility.

My personal opinion is that you bring Patches and Alpha inside and see if they can adjust to being indoor only cats. It might be less stressful for you in the long run to only have to care for 3 cats outside instead of 5, especially in bad weather when you're worrying about their safety. Two cats indoors is not much more work or expense than one, and cats are much happier when they have a cat buddy. Alpha will likely warm up to you in time. Even if he doesn't become a lap cat, you can still enjoy him for his other good qualities.

If you can't take in both cats, I think you should still take in Patches. He'll miss his buddies but would soon adjust to his new human family. He will live a longer, safer life inside with you. If it didn't work out, you could let him be an indoor/outdoor cat.

I find it a hundred times easier to care for a cat inside rather than outside. I'm constantly worrying about my outdoor feral--about him getting sick or injured, hurt or killed by someone who hates cats, hit by a car, getting into cat fights, getting frostbite in the cold--and I've experienced some of these things with him and it's been awful. I also have a feral cat who's lived indoors with me for 2 years and doesn't like being touched and panics if I have to pick her up and is not a lap cat. I took her in after I trapped and spayed her because she walks with a limp. An xray revealed that someone had shot her in the leg with a gun when she was a kitten. The bullet is still lodged in her hip. I am very happy that she lives inside with me because I know no one will ever hurt her again. I love her very much. Some feral cats like my outdoor feral can't ever adjust to living inside. However, others, like your Patches would adjust & and I think that's the very best option.

These cats are very lucky to have found you. I wish the best for all of them.

I have relocated countless cats, do you have any specific questions?

catwoman707 said:

I have relocated countless cats, do you have any specific questions?

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Do I trap them individually and let them stay in our backyard for a month? What are the steps to successfully relocating them? Thank you.

You would start trapping them one at a time, doing your best to keep the trap hidden as much as possible to avoid the others witnessing the trapping.

They can then be put in a large cage, or a couple cages, garage, anything that is escape-proof. If this is impossible depending on the new place, you can also contain them to one room indoors, maybe a laundry room, etc.

THEY MUST NOT BE ABLE TO GET OUT THOUGH. Acclimation is critical, otherwise they will be little lost souls, having no idea where they are or supposed to be.

Creating the space is the most important, then trapping.

If the last couple seem impossible to trap you can ask a local rescue group to use their drop trap. This is sort of like taking a cardboard box, turning it upside down, propping one side up with a stick, string attached to it, go away and when the cat goes under it to eat, pull string, box drops on them.

But definitely not a box! Just an example of the idea of a drop trap. They are wonderful!

1 month later they can be released.