Heresssss Momma and I Need Advice???

She is one "wild" cat. I need help here from all you experts. My dilemma is what to do with mom cat. If I release her back here at work, they will trap and kill her! I hear relocating isn't such a good thing, so I don't know what to do! Any advice here?

Relocating isn't the best thing...but if returning a feral back to where you found it would mean certain death...then I think relocation is a viable option. Do you know anyone who has a barn and could use a barn cat?? Also...I think Alley Cat Allies has some good information regarding relocating feral cats.

Good Luck,

Katie

Yes! I printed the relocation pointers from Alley Cat Allies. We have a wonderful park where we take care of our colony and was thinking of relocating her there. That way we'll be there to feed and care for her. I'm just afraid she won't stay there! *SIGH* This is all so confusing. We've never had to deal with a mom that needed relocating. We've always trapped at our park and returned them to their location.

The one time I tried to re-locate a feral from his home to my colony, it failed miserably. After I finally let him out of his kennel (which I had in the back yard for him) he ran off and never returned.

Although it would be best to return her to her home, since that is certain death any relocation would be better, even if she didn't stay put.

Darn...I wish I could be of more help.

Originally Posted by lotsocats

The one time I tried to re-locate a feral from his home to my colony, it failed miserably. After I finally let him out of his kennel (which I had in the back yard for him) he ran off and never returned.

Although it would be best to return her to her home, since that is certain death any relocation would be better, even if she didn't stay put.

Darn...I wish I could be of more help.

Click to expand...

*SIGH* This is all so hard! I've NEVER had to relocate before. I've always just TNR'd so this is very confusing on what to do!

If you do it correctly, relocating can work. You need to find a safe place to release. Keep the cat confined in a cage in the area for at least 24 hours. Before you let her loose, place out several large bowls of tempting meaty canned food. Release at dusk, release in an enclosed area, like a shed or barn where she cannot escape otherwise she will take off. Keep her enclosed at least 48 hours making sure to feed and water her. Again before you release her to the outside, set out the tempting food for her this time outside, release again at dusk.

I agree with Hissy. I have only had to relocate one male cat who even after getting nuetured just hated th erest of the colony. we did things the way Hissy has suggested and things went okay (he went to my sisters farm and she still has him 2 yrs later). Any thing is better than certain death, even if it is just to give her a chance, she may suprise u and turn out to like it there!! Sendign good thoughts, and good luck....

We have failed miserably at TNR, since most of the cats we trap we end up taming and adopting out to special homes, or keeping personally.

The ones who are of the "tiger" variety and too wild to tame, we find GOOD barn homes. By this I mean barns that have secure and warm shelter, with people who will feed and care for them properly AND who will keep them locked in until they come to see the barn as home and won't run away.

You can advertise in the paper, put up posters, or just drive around to all the farms in your area.

patc...I wouldn't call that "failing at TNR"...if you can tame these cats and get them into homes or find them a good barn to spend their rest of their lives in..that is succeeding at what TNR is trying to accomplish..reducing the number of feral cats by humane means.

Katie

Ooops - I realize the way I worded that sounded weird! I mean we trap ferals with every intention of s/n and releasing them. It's easy to be dispassionate and logical about cats in the abstract, but when we see their little faces we just can't bear to let them loose again! Then we are left desperately scrambling to try and find a place for them somewhere and somehow while they sit at the vet with the meter running.

It's hard enough to find homes for tame and sweet cats, as we all know, without trying to pull rabbits out of hats, so to speak.

Try to find a good barn home for her. I'm about to relocate some ferals to my house (from a colony that was being trapped and killed) and I'm getting advice from many who have done it before (this is my first time). They suggest keeping them in a large cage in the barn for 2 weeks and feed them good food the entire time. The folks giving me this advice have successfully located using this method nearly 100% of the time. The times they fail are when the cats were relocated from an area that was too close geographically to the old.

Good luck!

Unfortunately we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have a barn area where we could relocate. We do have the park where we have maintained our colony for over 5 years now, but this is a public park and would be next to impossible to keep her confined for 2 weeks. My heart wants her in the park where we can provide and take care of her, but I really need to think with my head and what would be the best for her. Hopefully all will work out! Thanks for everyoneâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s input!!

What a tough decision! I think if it were me, I'd try to find a barn for her. Don't know how far you are from farm country. Obviously the best place for her is the park, but unfortunately she doesn't know that.

No matter what you decide to do, I send only best wishes.