Choosing A Location For Feral Feeding Station?

[smosmosmo]

I live on the ground floor in a fourplex, and my resident cat lives mostly in my bedroom or spends time in a connected foyer area. Both my bedroom and the foyer are accessible by gated doors, and these doors are left open with the gates closed 6 months out of the year. They lead outside to an outdoor porch, which then leads to an outdoor garden in front.

I'd like to start feeding the neighborhood ferals soon, but can't figure out an optimal place for doing this. I definitely don't want to feed them at the front of the house, because then they'll start regularly congregating there for food. My cat doesn't have the option of escaping to the back of the house when they hang around, nor does have 24/7 access to the foyer, so I don't want to start attracting strange cats to her territory.

I've thought of feeding them at the back of the house, but was told by a Catsite poster that cats don't poop where they eat - it seems like the logical place for them to poop if they ate at the back of the house would be the front, where there's plenty of dirt to use. I definitely don't want this happening as I'm trying to minimize any contact with them and my resident cat.

The sides of the house are bordered by driveways, which are used by the fourplexes to each side of us - my neighbors will not want me placing cat food there, especially as it's likely to get driven over (the driveways are very narrow).

What would be a good place to leave food given these constraints?

 

[shadowsrescue]

Thank you for wanting to help the feral cats. First and foremost if you are going to feed the cats you need to be sure they are spayed and neutered. If you feed, they will breed. You will then have so many cats on your hands. If the cats are already spayed and neutered, do you know if they have a regular caretaker? If so, you do not want to take them away from their normal feeding area.

Feeding feral cats takes dedication. It needs to be on a schedule and if you are away, you need to find someone to feed them for you. They soon learn to depend on you. Along with feeding them, you need to provide shelter so they can have a safe place to get out of the elements. This may involve investing in buying and/or building shelters. Expenses can add up quickly.

If one of the cats gets sick, you will need to be able to provide vet care.

When looking for a place for the feeding station, I would do it in the back area. They may poop in a garden area, but I am sure you can find a place. If they are really hungry, most any place will work. Just be sure that you do not leave food out at night. It will attract other critters and that will cause another problem. Also be warned that you might start with one or two and soon end up with many more. Cats are able to smell when other cats have had a good meal and will often follow the cats to find the food.

I hope you can find a way to help that also involves being sure they cats are spayed/neutered.

 

[smosmosmo]

Do you think it's better for me to hold off on feeding them if I have financial constraints? Most of my extra money right now is going toward my resident cat's health issues. I could probably get the ferals TNRed as my city has some great TNR organizations, but I can't afford to take them to the vet as necessary. My neighbors would also not appreciate me building cat shelters, and probably not like that I'm attracting more ferals into the neighborhood - many of them have outdoor cats, some of whom are left outside at night.

I had thought I could feed the ferals on the sly at night, but after reading your post it sounds like it might be better to just stick to TNR.

 

[shadowsrescue]

If you are not consistently able to feed the cats due to financial constraints then it would be cruel to start feeding them and then have to stop. Are you certain they are feral cats and not neighbors owned cats? Feral cats are usually only seen at dawn and dusk. They also do not seek out human contact.

TNR would be a really good thing if you can find some help. Most organizations will want to know that you can help provide food and shelter after the TNR. You could contact the organizations and ask for their advice.

Do keep trying to help. I can tell that you really care about these cats.

 

[smosmosmo]

shadowsrescue The ones that used to come around a few months ago were definitely feral - I only caught glimpses of them through the window at night and they would do those mating yowls and occasionally spray near my front door. I think they may have moved on though because it's been really quiet here at night. I'd prefer not to attract new ferals to the area if I can't care for them consistently, so I think I'm going to opt not to start feeding them for now.

Lately the cats I've been seeing are mostly neighbors' indoor/outdoor cats (who are friendly and like to be pet), and a couple other young cats - they don't want to be touched but will approach people for food. I think they may belong to an older man around here who always leaves his cats outside. If nothing else I think it'd be great to get these guys TNR'ed because their owner doesn't seem too invested in their care.

 

[kittychick]

First of all - I too want to say how wonderful it is you're concerned about all of the kitties' health and well-being. If only more people were as caring and concerned - we'd have alot fewer out there to worry about (feral OR relatively uncared-for "owned" cats)! So a big yeah that you're even trying to figure out what you might be able to do, and researching the best way to do it.

I wish I could say "absolutely go forth and feed!" but shadowsrescue brings up such a good point that too few people take into consideration - each step you could take down this road of caring for these kitties is a financial addition to the budget. Alot of us on this forum definitely know this personally! We personally TNR'd a neighborhood colony, and while the small part of the colony (down to 4 now) that basically now considers our yard/garage home, each of those 4 does now represent what we believe is a lifetime commitment. We do our spaying/neutering through a local low-cost clinic that focusses on TNR - and while that can be as low as $0 (in our area some zip codes are actually free to spay/neuter at the clinic) as an example, in our area it's normally closer to $35 for a basic feral spay/neuter plus a few minimal additions (rabies shot, etc). Most clinics will loan you a trap for a fully refundable deposit upon return of the trap.

Then, obviously, each step further adds to the cost. As shadowsrescue said - once you start feeding, it's not good to suddenly stop. So while a feeding station - and do-it-yourself winter shelters - can be done very cheaply, since you already have a kitty, you know that feeding even one kitty is a financial commitment. And if you multiply it out (which again - we know too well as self-employed people!) with multiple outside ferals/strays/owned you want to help - - -it can really add up! And pet food costs in our area I know just took a big hike a few weeks ago - up at least 10¢ a can for even the cheapest foods - so you can imagine how quickly that adds up. I will say that ferals (and the others) are aided too by having a clean, fresh water resource - - so you might at least set up a place where they can get that (every bit helps!).

That said - - if you can at least spay/neuter those that you're able to -- that alone is a fantastic step! (And I'm certainly not saying "don't feed or offer water or shelter" bc I'd do it for every kitty I see if I could!!!) If even that feels like a too much of a financial issue - talk to clinics in your area and see if you have any options for reducing costs. Also - if you do have cat-friendly neighbors (or kind friends!) - consider talking to them, explaining TNR and what you're trying to do - and see if they'll help "pony up some dough" if you do the actual "ground work." We had several neighbors chip in - which helps alot! An organization that's dedicated to TNR and has multiple materials you can get - even some to take to friends/neighbors to help explain what you're doing. Check out their TNR resources page at Advocacy Toolkit

Lastly - even if you decide the TNR route is all that you can undertake at the moment - every kitty you fix helps reduce the number of kittens born that then have what can be the very short, difficult life of a feral kitty. Even if all you can do is fix ONE kitty - - - it's an enormous difference in the long run!