Advice for pregnant strays?

luckyfuzz

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Hello. I am hoping to get some useful advice to help direct me to what is the best option for three females strays that are living on my property.  I find myself too close to the situation to make the best decision for them. First off we do care for them a lot and they trust us. No they do not let us pet them but they don't run out of extreme fear when I present their food. Quite often they stand within arms length. Recently we discovered they are pregnant. What i wonder is should I take them to a reputable shelter to get spayed and bring them back here or just bring them to the shelter to stay so they can potentially be adopted in the future? I want them to be safe and well cared for but I am concerned about their safety here. We  live near a main road  and within three years time our town has decided to redo the road in front of our home and take out a stoplight. It would be hard to see them go, we would miss them but i want to give them the best chance. Like I said any advice would be appreciated? Thank you ahead of time.
 

ondine

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If you have the room, please keep them.  With their caution around humans, they most likely would not get adopted at the shelter.  Too many people want cats who are already fully socialized.

No matter what, getting them spayed is the first order of business.  Contact the shelter or a local spay/neuter organization as soon as possible.  If you do not take care of this now, you will have more cats.  , too.

would have them flea-treated and vaccinated Without spaying, they will wander, looking for love, and probably get hit by a car.  In addition, they may bring friends and relatives to share in the food you provide.

If you have the means, try making them a catio - it is basically a large enclosure or covered patio that has wire surrounding it to keep them inside it.  It is a way to keep them safe off the road.  It can be attached to a building or free-standing.  You should provide them with shelters (a dog house is fine, filled with straw.  Face the opening toward a building, so the wind doesn't blow in).

The ideal situation would be to bring them inside after they are spayed.  It will take them time to get used to being inside but there are numerous threads here with info about how to do that.  They are used to being together and probably support one another, so keeping them together would be a good idea.

Blessings on you for helping them!
 
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luckyfuzz

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Thank you very much for your advice. You have given me more to think about and I see more options now than I did before. My husband and I have limited space with our seven cats.Number six cat (oddball orange female tabby) seemed to tip the scale to massive amounts of crazy so adding more inside would be a bad idea. But I love the catio idea! As long as I can keep them safe and spayed they have a home here. :^D
 

StefanZ

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Hello. I am hoping to get some useful advice to help direct me to what is the best option for three females strays that are living on my property.  I find myself too close to the situation to make the best decision for them. First off we do care for them a lot and they trust us. No they do not let us pet them but they don't run out of extreme fear when I present their food. Quite often they stand within arms length. Recently we discovered they are pregnant. What i wonder is should I take them to a reputable shelter to get spayed and bring them back here or just bring them to the shelter to stay so they can potentially be adopted in the future? I want them to be safe and well cared for but I am concerned about their safety here. We  live near a main road  and within three years time our town has decided to redo the road in front of our home and take out a stoplight. It would be hard to see them go, we would miss them but i want to give them the best chance. Like I said any advice would be appreciated? Thank you ahead of time.
This is dangerous with shy semiferales.  Unless they in this shelter do specialize in fostering of shy semiferales, and have foster homes lined up, they cats will probably be pts immediately after admission.   Ok, to be honest, some places may have some programme of barncats, if they do cooperate with folks owning stables and barns.  So I cant swear they will be pts, but its is very common.  In practice, sending  shy semiferales to a shelter, cats which cant be comfortably handled, is just another way to pts them.

So if you want them to live, YOU must take care of the situation.  With a little luck you may get help from the shelter; with the spaying and perhaps even other vet issues.  As the bottleneck isnt always money for them, but space and foster homes always is...

If YOU can provide them with suitable TNR place, or even home - whatever - the chance is good they will help you.  Or at least, give you advice to find a good and cheap vet.
 
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