Feeling Overwhelmed with TNR

[klp023]

Hello everyone,

I am feeling very overwhelmed, and I am looking for some advice or encouragement, words of wisdom, anything.

I moved into a subdivision about 3.5 years ago and there were a few community cats that a couple neighbors provided food and shelter for. Well I started doing the same thing and the cats were so appreciative and I really looked forward to caring for them. Well, we have always maintained around 5-7 cats but then in 2020 we started getting a few more and I got worried. I read about TNRing and I took the class. However, with the pandemic I was unable to get them in anywhere.

Fast forward to now and we are over run. I had a few neighbors gently comment about the cats and one complain who resorted to posting for anyone to come and trap them to relocate or take for free, she just wants them gone, which was concerning to me given we have a lot of baiting in our area and also kittens running around that need their mom.

I thought we had around 10 cats and was determined to TNR them all even though it felt impossible. After going around and talking to the neighbors to let them know this was the plan I have found out there are more, plus multiple litters of kittens. I feel responsible for not getting this taken care of sooner and the guilt is really getting to me. The pandemic really took it’s toll on us since I lost my dad and sister in law and my husband was a covid nurse and was very busy. It was all I could manage to keep them fed at the time. I can manage 5-7 and maybe even 10, but where the numbers are at now is just not manageable for me on my own. I feel very anxious and I can’t sleep. I’m worried about my neighbors being upset with me and I’m worried that this is an impossible task. I once enjoyed helping these poor animals out and would get so excited to see them and now I’m just exhausted.

Most of my neighbors are elderly and can’t afford or are not physically able to help, and the others just don’t care to help leaving me and my husband. We only have one TNR place in the area and you can only take in 3 at a time 3 days a week, which will take forever. I feel like I'll have 50 more cats by then.

Any advice is really appreciated. I love the cats and have formed a bond with the main 5-7 of them, but with all the extras coming around I’m burning the candle at both ends.

 

[Alldara]

Have you reached out to other local rescues/TNRs or ones from a larger city nearby? (NOT SPCA but other cat rescues).

Let them know what happened and likely they will be able to help by perhaps taking some kittens and mums off your hands. Usually TNRs will rehome kittens after neutering and return the moms after spay to the site.

If you are overwhelmed, you certainly need extra hands and quite likely the removal of some of the cats.

 

[klp023]

I have reached out to a couple places via email and I am waiting on a response. A lot of places do not answer their phones and have limited hours. I don't really know of many rescues in my area and when I look them up they all say they are full due to kitten season and not accepting any cats at the moment.

Yes, admittedly I am overwhelmed and mainly looking for help with the kittens. If there is a rescue that can take the kittens off my hands to find a good home for them then I can manage all of the adults. We currently have 4 females and 3 have kittens and the fourth is pregnant. The remaining adult cats are males (about 5 or 6).

I really hope there is a rescue that can help!

 

[Alldara]

I have reached out to a couple places via email and I am waiting on a response. A lot of places do not answer their phones and have limited hours. I don't really know of many rescues in my area and when I look them up they all say they are full due to kitten season and not accepting any cats at the moment.

Yes, admittedly I am overwhelmed and mainly looking for help with the kittens. If there is a rescue that can take the kittens off my hands to find a good home for them then I can manage all of the adults. We currently have 4 females and 3 have kittens and the fourth is pregnant. The remaining adult cats are males (about 5 or 6).

I really hope there is a rescue that can help!

I hope so too! Don't be afraid to reach out to those a bit further away if the ones around you are full. Sometimes those up to 1-2 hours away can still help.

Worst case, message ones in the nearest big city and ask if they have a referral they can give you for help. Sometimes the larger cities have more adoption prospects and can intake faster.

 

[Margot Lane]

I read a ton about this subject all over this website, and admire anyone who does this: it’s not only good for cats but the wild bird population. The threads that seem longest and strongest are the ones that calmly persevere and take one day at a time, knowing not every day will be a success. I do think outreach is the key here, and as others have said you might have to stretch your tentacles. Have you tried Nextdoor, Facebook, posters, going to towns a far distance away, even universities specializing in veterinarian training? once you manage to nab even 1-2 helpers, it can take some of this pressure off you I think. But just know I think you’re a courageous, wonderful human & look forward to reading more about your persistent and loving bravado.

 

[fionasmom]

Feral Friends Network® Connect
Fill out this form and see if anyone can help you. Don't ask them to take the kittens or cats, just for help and references.
nextdoor.com

 

[Norachan]

Just wanted to come along and give a bit of moral support.

When I moved into my old neighbourhood there were dozens of feral cats around. It was very rural, so people had been feeding the cats and letting them sleep in barns, but no one had done anything to control the population.

I started by trapping the females. I used the bottle method to make sure I only got the girls first and did just one cat a week with the help of my vet.

Even trapping and spaying one cat means there will be around a dozen less kittens next year. You can trap and spay the pregnant female now. I know a lot of people don't like the idea of spay-abort, but it is an option if you are totally overwhelmed

It took me about two years to get the whole colony fixed, around 40 cats in all. I only managed to place three litters in new homes, but that was better than nothing.

It might be worth talking to all of your neighbours to let them know what you are going to do. Some of them might be able to find a home for just one kitten, or donate a little bit of cash towards food or vet bills.

Just make a start, don't panic about the size of the whole problem. Focus on every little victory and come here if you need any advice or even just to vent.

.

Video that shows the bottle trapping method below.

 

[kittychick]

First — thank you for caring so much about these furry beings (and not just caring - doing!).

Second - as fionasmom noted, the link she gave you is to a great part of a great group. Definitely give that a shot.

- Norachan said it very well….it IS a big project to take on, but it does help to focus on smaller, accomplishable steps, after each one moving to the next. Reaching out to neighbors who you feel may be open to helping is great . I was stunned when I started trapping a much-maligned & harassed colony at how many neighbors (once they understood what I was trying to do - and what TNR was) offered monetary help, trapping help, etc. A TNR organization (Alley Cat Allies) has multiple places on their site (alleycat.org) where they offer suggestions/flyers/etc to help people in your situation find ways to deal with/work with neighbors,etc. Their materials helped me enormously the first time I approached neighbors about our colony cats.

And know many of us here have been working with colonies, and 100% of us have at some point felt helplessly in too deep. But this group is SO good atsupporting each other at times like those. So keep reaching out—we’ll all do what we can!

 

[Meowmee]

Thank you for helping them It is understandable that you feel overwhelmed. I would go to fb etc. and find a local tnr feral stray cat group. Post what you posted here, there are rescue groups and trappers who may be able to trap some of the cats and find homes for kittens.

I see this regularly on a fb group I am on. They helped a friend of mine whose friend had a cat with kittens he was caring for outside, his neighbor was going to harm them. The tnr people trapped them all, found homes for the kittens and returned the mom. If you tell people you have kittens you will get help most likely right away, if you have an older cat who bit you, you will get pretty much no help as I did. It turned out ok because we were able to keep him and I trained him not to bite.

I was helping someone who was a caretaker of an elderly couple who had maybe 20-30 or so outdoor cats. I took 2 with some of mine to local special tnr clinics. Then the daughter did not want her helping with the cats because it took time away from her parent’s care.

The man had been trn / feeding them for years and then was unable to tnr but kept feeding so they multiplied. Eventually the caretaker texted me and said she had called the local spca who were going to come with a mobile tnr clinic and sn them all for $200. I am not sure what happened because I did not hear from her again. I had stopped walking by there as much for a while and then the next time I did I saw the house was for sale and there was no sign of the cats. I hope they did all get tnr etc.

This was pre pandemic but I would look into it again and call your local spca. One issue is that if there is a large colony in a more secluded area people dump their pet cats there. All of my cats taken in from outside have been dumped cats.

The caretaker in this situation was trying to tell me that this man had never tnr these cats and I said that is not possible because after years you would have a gazillion cats! Some people are pretty crazy.

I am very sorry for your loss of your family, we also lost my father and it was due to gross negligence.

Hang in there

 

[kittychick]

I re-read your original post again now that it's a more sane hour ....and just wanted to reiterate you're not alone. Our city has only one true spay/neuter clinic with reduced cost spay/neuters - - -free in some zip codes for cats brought in in live traps! Many spay/neuter clinics do this so it's at least worth asking. And call (or visit in person if you're able) the clinic (at non-peak hours - - definitely not a Monday morning) and see if they'll actually give you a few minutes to talk about your situation. Despite how busy and overwhelmed they are (our spay/neuter clinic also has shortened their hours so significantly, raised their rates quite a bit - giving less of a discount to incoming ferals vs indoor/socialized kitties, and gone to something very difficult for TNR folks which is the strict appointment system - also now weeks - even months - out), their reason for existing is largely to help out lower income and/or TNR folks. So helping you - even if it's just advice on other places to talk to - is something that's truly in their best interest as a business and as caring animal people (plus you'll be bugging them less in the future if you can TNR and/or adopt all). But I wouldn't wait for a call or email. I'd visit in person. I'm a big believer (esp as someone who's worked the front desk/intake at a shelter) in showing the effort. It's easier to ignore (or forget) someone's call or email. It's alot harder to ignore someone desperate who's standing in front of you (esp someone who truly cares and wants to act). Also talk to your vet (and vets of friends) - they often have knowledge of vets/shelters/clinics etc - local or a bit further away - who might be able to help or at the very least, offer suggestions.

And I agree with Norachan - - I'd make the pregnant mom a priority, since you now she'll definitely be adding to the population very shortly!

Remember - it's like that old joke "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." (not that most of us here would eat an elephant ). And definitely go to alleycat.org and to the link that fionasmom pointed out - - I think both can help you feel better about things, one bite at a time.