I started feding 1 cat, and now im feeding 4! I need someones help!

They never said to stop feeding alltogether, just not to feed all 4 cats. They dont mind just the one I have been feeding for 6 months, but like you said I cant just feed one and expect the kittens not to show up and eat the food. Anyway for christmas my grandpa built me a cat shelter for the cats to sleep in, it's huge! Tonight Starlight and the 2 kittens went into the shelter for a few minutes and then left, I did not see the orange cat at all, mabye yesterdays appearance was just a one time deal. I did however see it at the 19 year olds house, sitting on the front step with a few other of his cats. Starlight and her kittens no longer go to his house anymore like they used to.

Originally Posted by keith p

Then theres the problem nobody will help me get them to the clinic. Also the TNR will only take them in if they are fixed and have all there vaccinations, besides that theres no other group.

.

Click to expand...

Here is perhaps part of key to your difficulties: You did ask for help as we advice you to do but you get none help from anybody save grandpa.
I suspect you come with wrong questions to wrong persons... And as nobody is perfect, they said no we cant instead of listening to you and redirecting.

Here you are mistaking TNR for shelter or adopions group...

So do make a now round of phone calls, but with right questions to right group!

And to your other question in other letter: yes, it will be probably easier to find them homes - or place in shelter - if they are fixed and vaccinated.
- Adopted of course easier if they are tame... (tame but little shy probably OK).

so. Whatewer you do, as the others say: try to get them fixed and vaccinated - either if you want to adopt them yourself, find some other adopt them, get them place in a shelter / adoption group - or let them live as homeless semiferals.

Good luck!

Ok thanks. My Grandpa agrees I need to find them homes, so mabye finding a place to get them fixed will be easier with his help. Off course it's the driving that will present the problem, even if I find a place that does free fixing. My grandpa is in poor health but he still may help. My parents work during the hours the vets are open, so they cant help unless they are on vacation. But mabye i'll figure something out. If I have any good news i'll post it here.

Keith -

First, I must say I understand your predicement...I believe others on this board do too and are truly trying to advise and guide you to do the right thing for these cats & kittens.

Second, I was and in a way, still am in a similar situation. I started feeding a mother cat and her two kittens a few years ago. How cute and fun it all was. The months went by and the kittens became adults. More kittens...more food...more mouths to feed. Not so fun & cute anymore.

I started reading about TNR and became educated on the do's, dont's, how's and why's. I also started volunteering with my local Humane Society to help them of course...but also to receive some help in return.

In the heart of last spring/summer "kitten season", I ended-up with 15 kittens in a 3-week period of time. Most were healthy...some were not. Some I kept, some were adopted out and some I was unable to catch. A lot of time, effort, prayers and tears went into those months of raising newborns.

I finally, said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!! There are enough kittens in this world... too many are being born into the harsh world of "feral" colonys, too many are waiting to be adopted in shelters and too many are just simply not making-it and dying!!

I applied for funding through SPAY USA...borrowed a trap...asked for some guidance and my first female was trapped, spayed and released. She is healthy, well-fed, sheltered as best as I can possibly shelter her and NO MORE KITTENS FOR HER!! I still have two more females out there that I must trap and two kittens out there (was never able to catch them) that also must be trapped.

It is not easy. You need time and yes...the funds. There are agencies out there that will assist. If you continue feeding just one cat who is not spayed and/or neutered...trust me...you will end-up with a colony in a very short period of time.

Yes...you are definitely helping these felines by feeding & sheltering them....they will not starve and are protected from the elements...BUT...the best thing you can do for them is to spay/neuter and release.

Originally Posted by keith p

Life is so unfair why couldnt I be rich.....

Click to expand...

Keith, you are absolutely right in feeling so frustrated! And many others trying to help homeless pets feel the same way. It sounds like the rescue groups in your area are feeling just as overwhelmed.
But the fact is, there are animal lovers in your area that need to do more - even to help you just transport them to get neutered. Please call the groups again, maybe go to www.alleycatallies.org and see if there's a group that you haven't called yet.
Do your folks have a regular vet that can offer any suggestions? Maybe they know of a person who could help contribute for pet food, someone who would sponsor a cat, although they might not have the room or time to adopt another pet.
Please don't be discouraged - you are so unselfish to devote not only your allowance, but your time for these cats - someday, you will be able to help cats even more! Your time is coming - I just know it!
Hang in there! Susan

Our regular vet just reccomended our animal shelter, but they put cats down most of the time if they are black or if they are males that spray. Just knowing they were strays would probably give them little chance. If I got one fixed and signed it over as i'm the owner, it would have a good chance, but then I would be lying and I dont think I should do that. If my mom still worked in the animal shelter she could have asked for all 3 of them to be put up for adoption, since we adopted one of our cats from there, and they usually return the favor if you need help. She also worked with a lady who took strays in and found them homes, but she only helped if you worked at the animal shelter, and my mom no longer works there. It's too bad she had to leave a month before the strays showed up. I also gave my moms boss 4 hand raised bullfrogs for his pond, so my family helped out that animal shelter alot! My regular vet goes for $90 spay/neutering, so thats out of the question...

I'm back to where I started. The SPCA ONLY spay/neuters in the spring, by then it's too late. Plus it wasnt even free it's 10-15 dollars each, there website says they do it for free! When you need them there never there for you. Some of the other listings they gave are more expensive and too much money. I dont know what to do now?

Are you able to talk to the 19 year old at all? I seem to recall that he is a loner-type. The reason that I ask is that maybe someone from the SPCA would go talk to him about getting his cats neutered. As I said earlier, other animal lovers in your area have just as much moral obligation to become as involved as you are.
The others are right about how the problem can get out of hand and it may be that you will have to send some of the cats to animal control. Yes, they will be PTS, but it will be done in a humane manner which is better than dying a slow, suffering death from the complications of living feral.
The other alternative would be to stop feeding them, which IMO, is WRONG! They would just go starve, and there is a good chance that they won't find somewhere else to feed, otherwise they wouldn't be at your house. They would instead perish during the bitter winter weather or be killed by roaming dogs.
On a brighter note, hurray for your grandpa for making the cat shelter! That shows that you have a wonderful loving family and also that the cause of the cats is so important to you that your entire family is aware of it!
Do you think that your grandpa might be willing to make a few calls to the SPCA & TNR groups for you? Sometimes one person might get told "no", but if another person calls, then the answer may change to "yes".
Please keep us updated! Susan

That's sad if they wont listen to me because im not an adult. Anyway I have 2 places left to find info from. They probably wont be free, but they are close and they seem cheap enough to afford. I just need to see if they help all year round. Talking to the 19 year old probably wont help much. If I had money to help him get them fixed or for food I would help, but i'm having money issues myself. All I asked him was if I can find the mother and her kittens a home, and he said go right ahead she's a really nice cat, but he never knew she had kittens! My whole family is warming up to them and if I didnt have 2 cats already we would have adopted one two to be a part of our family. But any more cats would be stressfull for our 2 cats, and financially it just wouldnt work. I hope things work because i'm trying my best here, and I want to succeed at something, especially since im helping others, and not being selfish and out for myself.

Keith...is the mother cat (the adult) truly feral? Can you touch her? Also, what is the approximate age of the kittens? Are they approachable?

The mom is not feral at all, the 19 year old used to pet her all the time. Here is a picture of them, mabye you can tell by the photo.

Originally Posted by keith p

I'm back to where I started.

The SPCA ONLY spay/neuters in the spring, by then it's too late.

Plus it wasnt even free it's 10-15 dollars each, there website says they do it for free! When you need them there never there for you.

Some of the other listings they gave are more expensive and too much money. I dont know what to do now?

Click to expand...

Did you try contacting this list:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/stny.html

Even if they are not necessarily close..ask if they know of any low cost (and state the amount you can afford) clinics that will perform spaying/neutering right now. What about contacting the ASPCA?

Katie

Keith, do you know yet the sex of the other cats? How many females are we talking about?

I know the mom is female, I have no idea about the kittens. TNR1 I tried that list already, im getting some help finding more places thanks anyway.

Keith do you have a paypal account?

Yeah but isnt that getting a little personal now...

Sorry Keith I did not mean to offend you. I was going to say that if you can find a low cost clinic for the mum cat to be spayed I would make a donation to you.

Apologies

Oh I understand what you mean, sorry. Yeah i'm geting help looking for one, I dont know how long it will take though.

Keith if you want any financial help getting the mum spayed please let me know (you can always PM me). I can pay you direct into your paypal account.

If you manage to find a low cost clinic I will try and cover the full cost of the spay if this will help you out.