Relocating Feral Mama

kittiesrus

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At the office park where I work there is a feral family - a mama and 4 kittens - living under the shed outside of our daycare. We are plotting our trapping plans - I have trapped colonies before - and I have folks who can foster and work with the kittens, who appear to be 3 months or so. So hope is there :) Of course I know these are just the cats we are seeing there are most likely more on the property (like where is the daddy cat, for example) so expecting we might get more than 5 ultimately. Here is the dilemma. Property management does not want us to release the adults back here. I get why, however I know relocation is not what you really want to do with these guys. This place is very wooded and its big - 63 acres. There is a ton of property. Thinking of taking my chances and bringing the adults back after they're fixed and rehab in my garage. Mama cat has been spotted here over 2 years now so they obviously are making it work and its not like they're hanging around where people see them on a daily basis. I don't think property management will want to bother with them on their own - so they have a better chance being here than being somewhere else in my opinion. Sneaky? Yes. Yes I am. But may be best for them. What would you guys do?
 

shadowsrescue

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Relocation can be difficult. For it to succeed a cat needs to be acclimated to the new property. This means the cat would need to be placed in a cage or other enclosure for a period of 3-4 weeks. If not, the cat will try its hardest to find its way back to the former home. It's just a cats nature.

Taking the mama back to her known area would be best, but are you sure she is truly feral and there is no chance to socialize her? Will you care for her by feeding and providing shelter? This might be hard if the property management doesn't want the cats there. If you can find foster care for the kittens, maybe the mom could go too. Try to get her adopted instead.

Thank you for caring for the mama and her kittens. Getting them all spayed/neutered is the best for all.
 
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