I need help !!

I need help, advice please.

I have posted earlier regarding 2 feral ladies that I am the caretaker for. They are named Emma and Lucy.

Emma and Lucy currently reside on the front porch of a very elderly woman's home and if/when she dies...what will happen to them? I have inquired around and they have been "welcomed" to a barn/feral colony in VA.

I need help!! Emma and Lucy are left ear tipped. I assume they have had some kind of vaccination.

They are kind of friendly with me...they know I supply the food and water.

How do I trap them? I live in Queens, NY. Does anyone know of any help/organization that can help me trap them? I have never done this before and I hesitate to do this without help. I don't want any accidents with myself or the cats. I had emailed some places around NYC but got no responses.

Can anyone help me with these girls? I need advice/references on who to talk to.

Usually the ear tipping means they have been spayed or neutored

i know they have been spayed...i just am not sure they have been vaccinated. usually; they do get a vaccination when they are spayed/neutered.

http://www.nycferalcat.org/index.htm

I doubt they have been vaccinated. Most organizations cannot afford it, and it is very difficult to follow up with the necessary boster for the cats.

They probably have been tested for FiV only if they have syptoms then some organizations will not release a FIV feral back into its habitat.

Most apparant healthy ferals get TNR only. (trapped, neutered and released)

Contact them and see what they have to say about their services.

What is the goal of trapping them?

Relocate them to VA?
or to acclimate them into your house so that they are now your cats?

If you want to relocate them, you need to
1) do it yourself with a humane trap. we can provide a link if you need to buy one.
2) contact http://www.nycferalcat.org/index.htm to arrange them to trap the cats. from there, i do not know what they will offer to relocate a cat to VA.

If you want to make these 2 cats yours:
1) your half way there, they know where the food is. spend time with them. let them get accustomed to you and your smells. do not rush them as they will be skittish.
2) when they are accepting of you and tolerates your affections on them
take them to the vet pronto. prior to exposing them to any cats you may already have.

Originally Posted by Middletown

http://www.nycferalcat.org/index.htm

I doubt they have been vaccinated. Most organizations cannot afford it, and it is very difficult to follow up with the necessary boster for the cats.

Click to expand...

Actually, this is not accurate. Rabies vaccinations are required by law so the cats have virtually certainly been vaccinated for rabies. Most clinics also give FVRCP vaccines since they are cheap ($3 or less) and can be lifesaving. An eartip indicates that the cat is both sterilized and vaccinated - this is very important! The boosters have most likely not been kept up but the cats almost certainly still have good immunity.

yes sorry should have been specific in the vaccinations mentioned.
here is direct from NYC ferals

"c) FIV/FeLV testing
FIV/FeLV testing is not recommended except when test results would be useful in diagnosing the condition of a symptomatic cat, or when a cat is being considered for adoption.

(d) Vaccinations
It is strongly recommended that rabies vaccinations be administered. It is also recommended that other vaccinations, including FVRCP, not be administered because of cost, inability to followup with necessary boosters, and stress on the immune system from multiple vaccinations being administered at the time of neutering. "

Do you want to trap them so you can socialize or "tame" them? I am not all that convinced one can "tame" a feral cat but I do believe they can be socialized and kittens - if you get them at an earl enough age (3 weeks or so) are certainly likely easily integrated into domesticity.

There are some sites - maybe an article on this site (am new myself to the site so I do not know for certain if there is one) - about socializing ferals. Often if a feral cat has been injured, the cat may have to come inside whether they wish to or not. (and usually, they want to stay out tho once inside, they like the food, warmth, etc tho they may never be lap cats. It all depends whether they are true ferals, lost cats who have become "feral" -and how many generations since their "family" so to speak has been feral. ie - the daughter of a feral mother who was herself born to a feral mom is going to be more feral than one who is just newly feral. Am I making sense, lol?

I really want to learn more about this myself since I began fostering kittens for the local society I belong to. But since I have become the bottle baby "expert" (which means we are small and a little desperate, lol), I have concentrated on acquiring resources - offline and online - to help with that work. My dad was/is a vet so I have a background in working in a vet clinic and hope to eventually become one myself but with small children, all I can is take courses for now. I was accepted at vet school last year but deferred due to a pregnancy (I was overcoming an illness and it was all bad timing - I would go into it but it's all very personal and I am new to the net. My husband has fits that I even post info and refuses to allow me to post the children's pictures even though I think they are adorable (they all are arn't they, lol?) so we have compromised on a family site that is accessible to family members - given that he is in the IT biz, that's his balliwack. He is, I will say, even willing to move to where the vet school is - and can work from there - and take a sabattical (unless he is lucky and gets a job at the same school, we should be so fortunate!!!).

Anyway - I wish you luck if you want to socialize them. I am sure there are others here who can advise you - we always had a few ferals growing up (given my dad's work) - cats that were sick and if we could not find a good home for them, we or one of my dad's staff ended up with another cat in the household, haha

It is not recommended to relocate ferals from their home territory unless they are in extreme danger. I would think it would be better to see if someone else can look after these 2 cats since you are already providing food and water.

Katie

thanks to all of you for your responses.

the girls HAVE to be relocated. there is no other option. the woman who owns the house where emma and lucy live is VERY elderly; she is not taking care of these 2 girls at all. i'm doing it. i feed them a decent diet and keep the porch clean and provide for their needs. also; i have 6 cats already and cannot take anymore.

the issue is what will happen to the girls when she dies? this woman is VERY elderly; and she's not healthy either. she never comes out of the house; her mail piles up for a week before it's taken. she has a nephew who looks in on her but he's not taking care of the cats. he knows me and we have exchanged phone numbers. when she dies what will happen to the house? no new owner/tenant is going to allow these ferals to remain on the property. i have permission to remove the cats from the property.

i have inquired around and the girls have been given permission to be relocated to a feral colony in VA. i am going to use the references listed here to call and ask for help to trap them. i have called a friend of mine who will help me transport them to VA. i will have to rent a van as i am going to take their kitty condo, their food bowls, blankets, kitty cusions, food....everything will be taken off the porch as to prevent any other cats from taking up residence.

i cannot keep caring for the cats...it's a lot for me to do. i have sacrificed greatly to make sure emma and lucy are cared for. they look for me now and come out when they see me walk by. i work full time, take care of 6 of my own cats.....i took on the responsibility because this woman abandoned them and they were left to starve. i'm going to do the best i can for these cats. this woman started the colony on her porch..at one time there were at least 10 cats living there. now it's only 2...emma and lucy. i can only hope they adjust to where they are going and can live the rest of their lives in a better place...the porch is not the best.

i was concerned that when this woman dies that someone will just calll animal control and have them take them...they would most likely be euthanized due to being feral. i don't want that for them. emma and lucy are decent kitties, they are in good shape, they are semi friendly to me and i want what's best for them.

wish me luck !! i think i have a good plan for them and i just have to make some phone calls and hopefully it will all come together !!

thanks !!!

i had emailed the NYCFCC a couple of months ago...they never responded.

Emma and Lucy are so fortunate to have you! Good luck with helping them find a new home. Please keep us posted.

this is the latest on emma and lucy.

i contacted a friend of mine who has agreed to help me transport emma and lucy to their new home. i didn't want to travel alone.

i will be renting a van to do the transport. i will cover the bottom of the van with plastic; just in case of an accident.

i have been in touch with people who might be able to help me trap them. that's the hard part now; finding people who can help me trap them.

the girls will be tranported inside the traps for their safety. i think it's too risky to try and transfer them into a carrier. and; they will both have to be trapped within a reasonable amount of time prior to transport.

so; i need some "vibes" from everyone for these girls...and i need help to trap them.

It gladdens my heart to hear that someone would
care so much. God speed to you and the best for the kitties.
St. Francis would be proud!

Good luck and good vibes to you and Lucy and Emma. They are very lucky to have you.