I have a thread going on in cat SOS, about an area that I am focusing on in my town and planning to TNR. I've never done a big area TNR, or anywhere away from my house- i've trapped a few of the ferals around my house just by setting the trap up outside of the door, then moving it inside until I took the kitty in to be fixed.
This to me is new though. This area is across town, there are vultures and snakes as well as other wild life i'm sure. People come and feed all of the kitties, but allow them to reproduce over and over (i've rescued 7 kittens ranging from 4 weeks to 20 weeks in the past week since I discovered the place). I want to trap them all, take them to HH which is the only feral cat clinic in the area- spay/neuter and rabies vaccine for $35.
The main question I had is what time of day should I place the trap? I obviously don't want to place it at night and then have a cat get trapped right away and stuck in the open all night. You have to drop off ferals in between 7.30 and 9. AM and it takes me thirty minutes to drive there, so I suppose I could wake up really early (like 5am?) and set the trap then, then go by a few hours later? But is that enough time for it to sit? Also, when they're recovering- how long do you suggest keeping a feral inside? Should I try to transfer it to a carrier while it's still somewhat loopy or should I leave it in the feral cat cage until i'm ready to release it?
ALSO. There are three adult females out there, two which are possibly pregnant... or nursing? (ones tummy hangs really low but doesn't come out at the sides much). I would like to take those 3 to an actual vet to get checked out and see if they ARE nursing (I don't want to keep a momma away from newborns all night and kill them) or if they are pregnant, how far along they are (i'm okay with doing emergency spays up until a certain point... once I can feel the babies moving around I just honestly don't think I could go through with it and then would foster the mama and babies until they were old enough to be adopted). How much does a check-up like this normally cost? (I know it ranges).
Thanks for taking your time reading this all! Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
This to me is new though. This area is across town, there are vultures and snakes as well as other wild life i'm sure. People come and feed all of the kitties, but allow them to reproduce over and over (i've rescued 7 kittens ranging from 4 weeks to 20 weeks in the past week since I discovered the place). I want to trap them all, take them to HH which is the only feral cat clinic in the area- spay/neuter and rabies vaccine for $35.
The main question I had is what time of day should I place the trap? I obviously don't want to place it at night and then have a cat get trapped right away and stuck in the open all night. You have to drop off ferals in between 7.30 and 9. AM and it takes me thirty minutes to drive there, so I suppose I could wake up really early (like 5am?) and set the trap then, then go by a few hours later? But is that enough time for it to sit? Also, when they're recovering- how long do you suggest keeping a feral inside? Should I try to transfer it to a carrier while it's still somewhat loopy or should I leave it in the feral cat cage until i'm ready to release it?
ALSO. There are three adult females out there, two which are possibly pregnant... or nursing? (ones tummy hangs really low but doesn't come out at the sides much). I would like to take those 3 to an actual vet to get checked out and see if they ARE nursing (I don't want to keep a momma away from newborns all night and kill them) or if they are pregnant, how far along they are (i'm okay with doing emergency spays up until a certain point... once I can feel the babies moving around I just honestly don't think I could go through with it and then would foster the mama and babies until they were old enough to be adopted). How much does a check-up like this normally cost? (I know it ranges).
Thanks for taking your time reading this all! Any feedback is greatly appreciated.