French Ferals Update

[gailc]

I had kept him in the garage as he had fought with OX, Grizzly was OK but little Bobber he was afraid of!! I think they tolerated each other more than anything.
It was a good thing I kept him seperate as he ended up with FeLV and I had him PTS. The funny thing was he wanted to be inside the house really bad and I think if he had not been PTS he would have become a indoor only cat.

 

[jennyr]

I have taken Merlin to the vet for the second exam to check he does not have rabies, and it was OK. But as my head takes a turn for the worse with this infection, I have found myself getting more and more scared of him. He has nipped me twice, but not in anger, just to get his food or as an attention getter, and he rubs against me and purrs when I go in to see him. I am trying so hard not to communicate my fear, and to sit with him a bit, but it takes all my strength to do it. I have to go away next Friday for a week, and I am at a loss as to what to do. My cats will be boarded, but I cannot board him, and if I just let him go outside (he will have had his third and last rabies check by then) we will be back to square one when I return. No one I know wants him, knowing what happened. It is a horrible dilemma. The vet wants to put him down at the end of the surveillance but I said this morning that I have never put down a healthy cat. His attitude was that he is not healty if he can attack people, but I feel that the poor animal was happy here in his kingdom till I came, and it is me, with my cats, who have upset the balance. Any ideas?

 

[StefanZ]

A solution, bad but not worst possible, is you turn loose. He will do allright, he is used to live homeless.
And with some support from you in the winter... He will be OK.

And who knows? There is still a chance somebody will take him in. He is spayed now, therefore easier for the new owner.

This solution in any case better than putting down.

He wouldnt be any worse than if you would simply did TNR with him.

 

[jennyr]

If I turn him loose on my property, which was my original intention, which is why I had him neutered, I am afraid he will continue to attack my cats, and might attack any children who come to visit.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes. But being neutered he will not be quite as agressive as before!

His problem will be other tomcats will probably get upper hand of him. This is why some dont like TNR of feral tomcats.
BUT The practice shows they instead got friends with feral females and other semiferale castrates. And tomcats leave them alone - they arent any longer competitors...

So. If you dont dare to turn him loose in your neighboorhod, try to find a colony of semiferal cats. Preferably one where there are people helping them...

Look, I dont say it is a good solution. But I agree with you. It is a shame and sin to kill off a healthy cat who manages quite well on his own. And probably will not be any big nuisance no more, now when he is castrate.

If you dont find a good solution, then better with bad solution than death.


/Im of course talking about ex-ferals, ie cats who did and do manage well living homeless. Im NOT talking about abandoning a homecat: this is sheer infamy, a horrible thing to do./

 

[jennyr]

I have been talking with the mayor of my commune this morning about the problem and he is going to see if he knows anywhere where the poor cat can be safely released. I agree - I would NEVER do that with a domesticated cat, but this cat has been living wild all his life and it is the only life he knows, which is why he is trying to defend it. And now he is neutered, he will not contribute to the problem of feral cats.

 

[zinc]

This is terribly late I realize but reading Stefan post I wondered..
I didn't know that there was a major problem between intact toms and neutered ones..we've cared for a feral colony for several years, not all toms were neutered at the same time and while toms will be more aggressive, the "good uncles" would be submissive and stay out of their way. They live in harmony.
Sometimes there's a intact one that doesn't like neutered ones but it is the exception. Hormones play a big part but also the cat's own nature does too.
We've 2 semiferals at home and one was obviously born submissive while his sister has a distinct alpha personality. (in my siggy is Nanette, she's this semiferal grandniece [we assume] we're fostering her), of course both cats are altered. I see this pattern in other cats in the colony, even with intact toms.

On another subject, I like hearing about ferals or barn cats in other parts of the world

 

[StefanZ]

Originally Posted by zinc

This is terribly late I realize but reading Stefan post I wondered..
I didn't know that there was a major problem between intact toms and neutered ones..

No, there istnt. Precisely like you witness. The problem is lesser then many fears and feared in the beginning of TNR.

It is precisely this I use to tell. But english isnt my motherlanguage, possibly Im speaking clumsy.

A couple of years ago I did read a course on etology (ie behaviour) of cats and dogs. The british cat-course-book written in 1986(?) talked much about ferals, as it is a way to study cats natural behviour. I talked some about work with ferals too. It had much good to say about TNR as a very promising way tried in some places.
But. The scientist wrote. There are questions and unsureness. TNR is excellent for females, but we are not sure about tomcats. There is big danger the neutered males will have great difficulties....

I had of course seen later other books and articles. And even articles of the same writer written some years later. And he writes: The fears were not confirmed: practice shows the neutered males are no longer competitors for the tomcats, therefore they are usually not beaten as we feared. On the other side, they usually get good friends with the femalales in the colony, and are admitted in. Ie in practice the castrated males fare quite well, better then when they were tomcats.