I know feral cats don't live as long as one that's taken care of..but my husband and I have been doing TNR for over 1 year now and we're concerned (concerned isn't the word really, I mean other people sees no benefit in what we do b/c the cats don't live long) it seems as if they (the ferals) would die/dissapear 1 month or so after being returned to their colony.
The first one we TNR'd last year was doing great for 1 month then dissapeared and I asummed she went to the bridge b/c that was last summer.
We had 1 adult and 2 kittens adopted later so they don't count.
Another TNR'd cat was in the colony for about 1 month and has been missing for almost 1 month now so I'm thinking he's gone too
The oldest unaltered feral is 5 yrs old (and awfully trap smart, she walks in and out of traps, I don't know how she does it
)..and a poster child for "if it isn't broken, don't fix it"
Maybe the atrittion level is high; the colony is near the railroad tracks, by grain silos, abandoned bldgs, trucks coming and going (and once in a while the city will spray for weeds and kill kittens on the way) so I think all we can do is keep them from reproducing and transmitting disease but not expecting them to live longer than 1 or 2 yrs sad as it is.. does anybody deal with a similar situation?
The first one we TNR'd last year was doing great for 1 month then dissapeared and I asummed she went to the bridge b/c that was last summer.
We had 1 adult and 2 kittens adopted later so they don't count.
Another TNR'd cat was in the colony for about 1 month and has been missing for almost 1 month now so I'm thinking he's gone too
The oldest unaltered feral is 5 yrs old (and awfully trap smart, she walks in and out of traps, I don't know how she does it
Maybe the atrittion level is high; the colony is near the railroad tracks, by grain silos, abandoned bldgs, trucks coming and going (and once in a while the city will spray for weeds and kill kittens on the way) so I think all we can do is keep them from reproducing and transmitting disease but not expecting them to live longer than 1 or 2 yrs sad as it is.. does anybody deal with a similar situation?