Feral cat colony males are hiding?

pencandle

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 3, 2016
Messages
1
Purraise
1
Last, July 2016, I trapped 7 of 8 feral cats known to stay in a vacant lot in a small city. They were all spayed neutered, vaccinated and returned by early August. They included 4 kittens, 3 females and one male, but they are all close to adult size now. There was one black male who wasn't part of the clan. He kept a distance and only appeared occasionally until recently. I would see the others almost every day, especially the kittens. I have set up several shelters for the winter. Recently, the black male seems to have taken residence in one shelter and now the 2 orange males have dissappeared. One of the orange males was the largest kitten, the other orange one might have been his father. The father has been absent 2 weeks or more from today 11/3/2016, the younger orange male has been absent a week. Not as much food is getting eaten, which tells me the orange cats may not be showing up at all. I worry about them getting enough food and shelter for the winter. An animal communicator tells me the 2 orange males may be keeping a distance because of the black male taking residence where the shelters are. She said they may be going to the shelter and food site in shifts, but I never see the orange cats at all anymore. I miss the 2 orange males, as I bring food to this colony everyday and All 3 males were neutered in July 2016 as well as 4 out of 5 females. I seldom see the one black female that was not trapped, but do want to get her spayed as well. I am looking for suggestions on how to lure the 2 orange males to the food shelter site without having to move the larger black male. I once saw the black male and younger orange male touch noses, so I thought they were getting along with each other.
 

shadowsrescue

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Messages
7,026
Purraise
5,099
Location
Ohio
Unfortunately there is no specific way to lure the orange cats back.  They will come back if/when they feel safe and if/when they truly need food.  They may have moved on and found another feeding spot. 

Have you thought of setting up a trail camera.  It would take pictures of the feeding area whenever it was triggered by motion.  You can find them on Amazon.  Hunters use them to search out areas for deer. You strap them to a tree or post.  Insert batteries and an micro SD card.  You then set the camera.  The next day you can they take the micro SD card out and view it on your home computer or other source. 

Have you tried calling for them?  Are they socialized to you at all?  If so you could try to lure them with play or pets.  The black male is most certainly frightening them.  Is the black male neutered?  If not, it might help to get him neutered.  His hormones will shut down and he will begin to give off a more gentle energy once the hormones are gone.

Thank you for caring for these sweet ones.  You are doing the best you can.  I hope the two males do return to you soon.
 
Top