Need advice for the neighborhood

[MDavout]

This where they poop, right in the middle of this road. I placed the above box in the house with plants on the right, thank heavens my neighbor was welcoming to it.

There are at least five cats that consider this area their territory, a couple of which are between kittenhood and adulthood.

You can see also that it has been raining, it hasn't let up for the past two weeks, only a burst of dryness for an hour or two then it rains again. I hope that's one of the reasons they haven't tried the boxes yet.

 

[Kwik]

Hi there thanks for sharing, I'm interested in learning what you mean by the difference between "complete ferals" and "strays"

We have adopted some of these cats around the neighborhood before and brought them in-home before, there was never any problem for them to teach them to how to use a litter box. Just place it in a corner of the house and they take naturally to it.

Building that sandy area is out of the question for us, with the exception of the basketball court and the small playground, everything else is paved private property.

I am gonna upload some pics.

I believe there are a few articles here on TCS explaining the difference between strays,semi- ferals & ferals( F1s& F2's) perhaps someone could give you a link ( I'm not too swift with navigating on computers but I'll try-surely someone will beat me to it,lol)

F1s,ferals born of Ferals are rarely seen,they do not come out during daylight hours,remain hidden from sight and will avoid humans.... what people usually think are "ferals" are either semi feral,have reverted back to a feral state but were once someones pet- strays..... there are obvious tells if one runs into a feral by some chance or if they come for food in a colony that someone cares for..sounds like strays where you are & probably feral kittens who'd be considered "semi-ferals" as they are familiar with humans and therefore somewhat socialized.....the term " feral" is often misappropriated.....
So you say the cats have been brought in homes & take to the litter boxes " naturally"- they do this because they have been familiarized with a box sometime in the past.... a litter box is not a natural place for a cat to eliminate that has spent his entire life outdoors - you've got a great start- storage bins filled with litter and some type of overhang to prevent it from getting wet sounds like a great idea then-I wish you the very best in your endeavors

I'd also like to commend you on your efforts to try to make a place for these animals so thst the neighbors will not complain or do them harm- thank you and God Bless you....

Your little litter box enclosure looks purrefect,as long as they will go in it- "Ultra" is a wonderful cat litter attractant to sprinke ontop,it's made by DrElsy - they also have an " outdoor" cat litter as well but it's pretty expensive- the additive is cost effective and works well

 

[Kwik]

A Feral Cat Or A Stray Cat? How To Tell The Difference - TheCatSite

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Feral or stray?

I have an outside cat... I call her an outside cat, because I don't know what else to classigfy her as. She's scared of me, and my feet, and runs from me, but I can almost always catch her. And when I get to her, she is very lovable, and she loves petting, and she rubs all up against me, and...

thecatsite.com

Feral-Vs-Stray

What is a feral? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a feral is defined as “Existing in a wild or untamed state. b. Having returned to an untamed state from domestication.†What then, you may be thinking, is a stray? According to the same source, a stray is “a domestic animal...

thecatsite.com

What`s the difference?

Call me dumb...but I have to ask.I have never, until I joined TCS afew weeks ago, heard the word "feral". What does it mean? How is it different than a "stray" cat?

thecatsite.com

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/qa/feral_cat_FAQs.html#What_is_the_difference_between_a_stray_c

Feral or stray colonies - Help building winter shelters

Here's the whole (long) story : My sister became aware of two colonies found on rest stops on both sides of the highway connecting our cities. At first people thought there were just one, but when they went to trap them, they were on the "wrong" side of the road, and found a second colony. For...

thecatsite.com

Providing Shelter

Want to make a shelter for outdoor cats? Learn how to find or build a good cat house with these tips. Providing shelters keeps cats comfortable, warm, and dry.

www.alleycat.org

How to Build an Outdoor Shelter

Building an outdoor cat shelter is cheap, easy, and your feline friends will love it! See Alley Cat Allies Step-by-Step guide to build an outdoor cat shelter.

www.alleycat.org

Some info on feral vs stray
And figured I'd add some shelter ideas, because, well, why not. I hope these give you some great advice and hope that the shelter ideas help if you ever decide to make some for winter time.

 

[Kwik]

This where they poop, right in the middle of this road. I placed the above box in the house with plants on the right, thank heavens my neighbor was welcoming to it.

There are at least five cats that consider this area their territory, a couple of which are between kittenhood and adulthood.

You can see also that it has been raining, it hasn't let up for the past two weeks, only a burst of dryness for an hour or two then it rains again. I hope that's one of the reasons they haven't tried the boxes yet.

View attachment 456251

Who painted the beautiful mural?

The plants look great,your neighbors should be very happy to have you to add such curb appeal- looks lovely

 

[MDavout]

There has been a somewhat success, the box in the pic I posted above was used. I was bit embarrassed though, because it was my neighbor who cleaned it up and not me, even though i promised to clean it everyday. But when I did check it yesterday, I noticed it was shoveled.

I only confirmed this morning after chatting with her, she said she cleaned it early before the garbage truck arrived.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

There has been a somewhat success, the box in the pic I posted above was used. I was bit embarrassed though, because it was my neighbor who cleaned it up and not me, even though i promised to clean it everyday. But when I did check it yesterday, I noticed it was shoveled.

I only confirmed this morning after chatting with her, she said she cleaned it early before the garbage truck arrived.

That is great that it was used!!!
Honestly it isn't going to hurt anyone if they clean them from time to time... sorry not sorry.. lol
But seriously that is great!!! YAY for the kitties using the box whoop whoop!!

 

[MDavout]

Is it likely that there will be better and more concrete results in regards to their pooping, after the cats have been neutered?

 

[MDavout]

Okay here are more pics of another part of the neighborhood, so I can share the situation, and how difficult it is.

Here is the cat, he is an unneutered male:

Here is his poop, which he discharged just now, and as you can see, is very liquefied:

 

[MDavout]

This is the front view of the house where he pooped in the above pic.

This is the place/house he pooped yesterday, I saw him in the act too yesterday:

Here is a more broader view of the street, so you can see the distance and extent of the territory, and the relativeness of the two pics above, house 1 in the left, house 2 in the right, methinks about 10-15 meters.

 

[MDavout]

Here is where he stays mainly and the house that feeds him, its just across the street in the pics above. You can see some remaining food placed by my neighbor beside the plastic water container which is also for him.

This is one of the first spots I placed a litter box 2 weeks ago, behind those plants by the statue of the Virgin. And he hasn't used it yet to poop all that time.

 

[MDavout]

He is only one of what is now three cats in this area. And he is a bit different than other males, that he is more sedentary and less aggressive, that he hasn't moved away from this spot/area for i think at least 2-3 years already when I first saw him around. I think he was born here too around that period during the pandemic.

When I saw him poop just now, he was roaming this immediate territory of his, he peed on a tree nearby, as well (He peed downwards, not sprayed horizontally). So I'm thinking he's pooping to mark his territory. And that if he gets neutered he might just poop in just a single spot regularly.

But I am afraid to have him neutered, because as you can see he has very liquefied poop, like something is wrong with him. He is not the fattest of cats too. But he is a survivor, like I said at least 2-3 years already.

Or maybe he just wanted to pee only in pic1, but ended pooping, because of something that's wrong with him. Not sure anymore.

If I get him properly vetted, this will endanger my budget, and will be too much for a single cat. The costs for diagnosis and treatment will exponentially go up compared to straight just getting him neutered.

And as kwik said, it is really difficult to get them to poop in a single spot in a larger territory compared to an indoor household. But I don't think he's a complete feral. Just an aloof stray, he doesn't want to being touch and handled, but you can get near him, as when I took his photo. And you can see he is not really totally afraid of people especially when he is being fed, when he perks up a bit to people.

 

[MDavout]

This is really difficult. It's raining everyday. Even with a roof for some of the boxes, the top part of the sawdust litter is usually damp, I'm not sure if the cats are avoiding/noticing this. What I just do is I just stir it so at least it doesn't harden. Then hopefully when the sun shines for some parts of the day after the rain, the litter dries up itself.

So far for the past week, the boxes where only used four times.

 

[MDavout]

For some reason many of the cats also prefer to poop at the gutter at the side of the roads. Especially when there is a buildup of what I think is sand. I think this is where they have gotten used to through the years.

Just now I saw a cat pooping there, even when there was a box just beside the spot.

 

[MDavout]

One week now, since any of the boxes where used

 

[MDavout]

Guys, how long do you think this will go on or before it fully works? People will soon start asking me questions and bring new complaints.

 

[Avery]

I'm sorry the litter boxes are not working out well. I don't have any great solutions, just a few thoughts.

You said many of the cats prefer to poop in the gutter on the side of the road where there is something like sand. If this happens often, can you add a little more sand there and let that be their spot?

Maybe trapping and neutering should be the priority, then trying to find homes for the cats. Is there an animal rescue group anywhere that can help with the trapping and re-homing? Is there a local no-kill shelter that would take some and help find homes for them? Would any of the neighbors take in a cat?

I worry about the cat who has the runny poop. It would be great to get him to the vet. Of course, this costs money and it sounds like you are doing all this by yourself. Can you ask the neighbors for donations for this cat and for helping the others as well? Set up a GoFundMe page? Look for a sympathetic vet who will give a discount?

Thank you for caring for these cats!

 

[MDavout]

You said many of the cats prefer to poop in the gutter on the side of the road where there is something like sand. If this happens often, can you add a little more sand there and let that be their spot?

Yes. I think I can I try that. But adding more sand will be difficult when it rains though, it will get washed away. I think the sand buildup comes from the stagnant water that remains and dry there. The president will also probably reprimand me too, as I will exacerbate drain blockages.

But this is also just one of their preferences, I have a suspicion that many of the cats, even a single individual one, don't have a single regular spot for pooping, like it's dynamic, like this day or week, he will be pooping at this spot, then next week, a different spot. They have already marked several spots already, and will use whatever is convenient for them at the time.

Maybe trapping and neutering should be the priority, then trying to find homes for the cats. Is there an animal rescue group anywhere that can help with the trapping and re-homing? Is there a local no-kill shelter that would take some and help find homes for them? Would any of the neighbors take in a cat?

That's also one of my goals. I already bought a trap. I'm gonna deploy it this week. I have misgivings though, as I never I tried this before. What I've been doing so far is bringing in the friendlier cats. But trapping more feral ones, I have no experience yet.

One of my neighbors was helpful, she contacted PAWs - Philippine Animal Welfare Society. They even want to host an education seminar here about trapping and neutering the cats. Getting everyone to participate will difficult though. But maybe we can ask them for help in trapping. Groups like them don't take in cats though, I think they only do it in exceptional animal cruelty cases. There was another group, CARA, and I visited their office, and it was filled with cats, they themselves are struggling to find owners who will adopt them.

So for animal groups, the only help I can get probably is in regards to trapping them.

I worry about the cat who has the runny poop. It would be great to get him to the vet. Of course, this costs money and it sounds like you are doing all this by yourself. Can you ask the neighbors for donations for this cat and for helping the others as well? Set up a GoFundMe page? Look for a sympathetic vet who will give a discount?

I have sad news regarding that cat, A few days after I made that post, we found him dying in one of the houses. I'm not specifically sure of the cause or what his illness, but it's the same way with a few other cats here I've had the misfortune of seeing succumb to illness. They get lose weight and there is a black discharge from their anus. I suspect it's panleukopenia. That's why when using the cage, I always bleach them between uses with different cats.


Thanks as well guys for the input.

 

[MDavout]

An update on things since last month. It seems the issue has quiet down a bit.

I do my rounds in the morning, and I am not just scooping poop from the litter boxes, but also on the from streets, from the park, and sometimes from residents' frontways as well.

I've been focusing on having the cats neutered and spayed as well.

For the past 3 weeks, I've been feeding some of the cats too, in an attempt to get them tamed so I can catch them easily. I've succeeded with 1 cat so far in this regard.

15 of 20 adult female cats in the neighborhood have been spayed. But the NGO we've contacted who can help the catch the remaining cats hasn't responded yet.

But I'm confused with one of the unspayed ones. She looks pregnant with her belly growing already, even though she still has a couple of kittens. The kittens are just about the size of my palm - estimated to be no more than 2 months old.

 

[Kwik]

An update on things since last month. It seems the issue has quiet down a bit.

I do my rounds in the morning, and I am not just scooping poop from the litter boxes, but also on the from streets, from the park, and sometimes from residents' frontways as well.

I've been focusing on having the cats neutered and spayed as well.

For the past 3 weeks, I've been feeding some of the cats too, in an attempt to get them tamed so I can catch them easily. I've succeeded with 1 cat so far in this regard.

15 of 20 adult female cats in the neighborhood have been spayed. But the NGO we've contacted who can help the catch the remaining cats hasn't responded yet.

But I'm confused with one of the unspayed ones. She looks pregnant with her belly growing already, even though she still has a couple of kittens. The kittens are just about the size of my palm - estimated to be no more than 2 months old.

They can get pregnant as soon as 2 weeks after having a litter!! Crazy huh?