how to get rid of cat colony

[eoiehbf]

hi
I am wondering if anybody know to best way to either move or trap a cat colony
i am doing this bc there is a large group of cats(well fed by neighbors trying to help) that live in the neighborhood streets(probably not neutered fighting an making lots of noise at night etc.) and they have been killing all of the birds(and babies) that used to nest in my yard (lots of trees) i really need a way to get rid of them(i really don't want to kill them and my shelter is overfilled sometimes with 2 cats per cage).
thanks

 

[Norachan]

In order to successfully and humanely relocate a feral colony you need to find a location they can be moved to. This would ideally be on private property, away from any main roads. The cats will need shelter and whoever takes over the care of the colony will have to provide them with food and water daily.

The cats will need to be crated for at least a month before being released.

The cats should all be spayed or neutered, blood tested, vaccinated and treated for parasites before they can be released too.

Unless you know of a very kind, animal loving land owner wiling to accept responsibility for the colony this is going to be difficult to do.

Are the neighbours who feed the cats getting any of them spayed and neutered? I suggest you talk to the neighbours and help them find a TNR group or low cost clinic who can do this.

What you can do to protect the birds is trim any long grass or low hanging bushes in your yard, so the cats have no where to hide and ambush the birds from. Cut low hanging branches from the trees to make it difficult for cats to climb. Ensure that any bird feeders you have out are in the open, hung up high and aren't the kind that cats can climb onto.

More information from the Royal Society for Protection of Birds here.

Cats and Garden Birds | Get involved - The RSPB

It's also interesting to note that according to the RSPB:

Despite the large numbers of birds killed by cats in gardens, there is no clear scientific evidence that such mortality is causing bird populations to decline. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds.

Some studies have even suggested that by killing rats and mice, which prey on young birds and steal eggs, cats may be beneficial to established bird colonies.

 

[eoiehbf]

thanks

 

[Kieka]

To add onto Norachan excellent advice. If you move a colony out, it does create a vacuum and a new group of cats is likely to move in. Any time there is a suitable habitat nature will fill it with animals who can live there.

I personally think a well managed colony where the adults are spayed/neutered is better then one that is multiplying. Also, cats who are getting regular meals are less likely to hunt birds for food. Taking steps to reduce the cats ability to get to the birds is probably going to be more effective.

 

[Sa'ida Maryam]

I know how you feel. Hi , there is small colony of feral cats very close to where I live. I am (GW) getting a kitten soon. The neighbor across the street own one white feral. We were on vacation and that feral had jumped our gated front porch and delivered kittens. The neighhood soon started throwing food to the kittens who had set up residency on our front porch while we were away from home. Thankfully, a family member who check on things while we were away ,informed us of the situation.

The same neighhood ppl who threw the food, started complaining ‘bout the smell of uneaten garbage. The Cat and liter scurried back across the street before we returned to clean up the mess.
Then we completely secured our porch from any thing or anyone

The problem is the neighborhood now has a colony of ferals. Roaming our street, I am afraid to deal with them as they are big,wild and maybe full of disease. No one is going to S/N. Ppl have begun to relocate them ie. dump them on some else’s street or porch

My in door only kitten will have a front window view of the street ,trees and birds .
How can I reduce his stress when he sees one or two of the ferals lounging on top of cars across the street?


I thought about taking my kitten on walks in our pet backpack ,to see and smell out our block, and then just before he gets spayed he can go via leash and collar walking to do some of his own markings !

 

[fionasmom]

Sa'ida Maryam I would really consider keeping the kitty as indoor only. Too much going on in your neighborhood with other cats who seem aggressive, leash training may not work that well in light of all this, and if he is not fixed he definitely should not go outside just for the heck of it to do some marking.

 

[Sa'ida Maryam]

Ferals are not to be blamed for reacting to the convenience of settling and making their homes near humans that feed them. I just think ppl who feed the ferals should think about the impact it leaves on their neighbors and how it encourages breeding. The original poster ask, how to get rid /move feral colony. I would like to know how to move them,too. ??? The original post said (they really don’t want to kill the ferals and it sounds like they can’t maintain ferals as their shelter has 2 cats per cage already. Yikes, moving the young ferals to another area seems to be what ppl in my neighborhood have done. There is zero TNSR program,here. What else can be done
<fionasmom> Yeah, I had a macho mom moment ,imagining my little lion claiming territory

 

[fionasmom]

Moving a colony is a massive endeavor which requires a sanctioned place for them to go, experienced trappers, possible intermediate interventions so that the cats do not return to the original spot, etc. Norachan and Kieka have covered it entirely and none of those steps can be omitted. The only time I moved a colony was from the parking lot of my workplace, sanctioned by the employeers for the colony to be there. Dogs who were allowed to roam at night began to kill the cats, so in the end several of us "relocated" the survivors by taking a cat home...which is not the same thing as relocating a colony in the sense that it was asked.

My small colony here who live at the back of my property are all fixed and well fed with shelter if they want it. Occasionally a bird is killed, but I have also seen the cats just sit and look at birds as if there is no reason to exert the energy because their next meal is just around the corner.

It is very hard to resolve cat colony issues and if people are feeding but not neutering, those people have to mobilized to help solve the problem by at least getting the cats trapped and fixed. It is a lot of work.

 

[Willowy]

Cats go where the food is. If there's something supporting a feral colony in your neighborhood (whether it's a lot of prey, a good garbage source, or people purposely feeding them), even if the cats are killed or removed, more cats will move in. So if you don't want a lot of ferals in your neighborhood, the food source has to be removed.

So if you and your neighbors really don't want ferals around, start coordinating to clean up the food sources. But keep in mind that cats kill a lot of rodents, so you may wish them back if they do leave.