An upset in the feral universe.

bridgetkc

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Hello. New to this group. Have assisted a feral colony for about 3 years. Very seat of the pants. In KC we do have a feral TNR program. Cats did well in the cattery the past 2 winters. This spring the vacant house nextdoor was repaired and sold. Good to have it occupied. Bad because the raccoons and possums are homeless. I think they are trying to muscle the cats (12) out of the warm and dry cattery. The cats look stressed. They are not eating as much. I feed in the morning and later in the day. No food is left out.
The cats are all UTD on shots so not worried about rabies. I can handle them long enough to put the monthly flea and tick drops.
Now what? The cats do work as a team.
 

shadowsrescue

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The opossums never bother my ferals, but the raccoons can be a menace.  I had one more into the heated shelter I have for my boys last winter.  Once they find a food/shelter space it is hard to get them out.  Since the weather is warm, the raccoons should not be in too great of need of shelter, yet they are always looking for food.  Have they found any of the food or been into the food?  Usually once they find there is no food, they will leave on their own.  I have found no way to get rid of them except to be sure they never get into the food.  In the summer that often means food gets picked up earlier.  I use wireless surveillance cameras to keep an eye on things.  Many people use trail cameras to see what is happening.

I am sorry I don't have a way to get them to leave.  I am sure you could trap them and try to relocate, but many areas do not allow that to happen.  My cats don't like the raccoons, but they have learned to coexist.
 
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bridgetkc

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Thank you for the insight. I will check with neighbors to see if they are leaving food out for their pets. I think that I am the only one assisting a feral colony but you never know.
 
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