The initial advice i got from the rescue that I foster kittens for said to leave my TNR'd backyard cat when I move. I trapped and neutered him as a kitten and he has been coming by for food fairly regularly for the past 7 years. He cannot be approached and we have never touched him. We moved a little more than a mile away and when I go by the old house (it has not sold yet), I can see he has been there (there is a corner of my yard that he uses for his litter box). I have not been feeding him but I do think about him often. Should I try to move him to my new yard? The yard is fenced but it is a little more rural than our old neighborhood. Or is he really better left in his neighborhood? He definitely can find other sources of food as we have gone on vacations in the past for a few weeks at a time and he is fine when we return, not looking underfed or dehydrated. But I do miss my backyard kitty... Thanks for your thoughts and advice.
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TNR's feral, move him to our new yard or no....
- Thread starter Doschats
- Start Date
It is possible to relocate a feral cat, but it takes a bit of patience. As your new home is only a mile away if you trap him and then let him out he'll just head straight back to his old territory.
You need to keep him contained for at least a month. This means either keeping him in a large dog crate or making your new backyard into an enclosure for him.
I've moved house with 23 semi feral cats before, so it can be done, but you have to make sure he can't get out of your yard until he's fully used to his new home. If it was me I'd definitely move him to my new place. He'll remember you and you'll feel better knowing where he is.
Here's an article that might help.
How To Keep Your Cat Safe Outdoors – TheCatSite Articles
You need to keep him contained for at least a month. This means either keeping him in a large dog crate or making your new backyard into an enclosure for him.
I've moved house with 23 semi feral cats before, so it can be done, but you have to make sure he can't get out of your yard until he's fully used to his new home. If it was me I'd definitely move him to my new place. He'll remember you and you'll feel better knowing where he is.
Here's an article that might help.
How To Keep Your Cat Safe Outdoors – TheCatSite Articles
If you left him at your old house what would happen to him when the house is sold? New owners might not like cat using backyard as litter box. May not be cat lovers at all. If you’ve been caring for him for 7 years I would really worry about him. I think you should bring him to your new house. Remember, cats do jump and can jump high. Just a fenced in yard won’t keep him from jumping over it.
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I will be honest with you, if it was me I would take him with me. I feed cats that were left behind after one feeder moved away (these cats were suppose to be under another neighbor's care, but overtime they all came to me). This puts me under financial strain and I am always getting in trouble for cat feeding.
I wish the feeder who moved took some of the friendly kitties off the street, instead she left them in the care of the other feeder who I had a fallen out over because of her lies and headgames and the fact these cats were dumped on me. 
Don't get me wrong they are some lovely kitties out there and I do care for them, but it is just too much for me, especially that it is wintertime and I have to put out extra feedings.
Unless you have an agreement with a trustworthy and responsible neighbor who has a good track record with taking care of animals, you don't want to leave your kitty in a precarious situation. What is going to happen when your house is sold? I can tell you that the kitties of the former feeder were still hanging on the front porch of the house, like the former tenants never left. I mention this to the other feeder and she said they will eventually stop. It has been well over a year since the tenants have moved and the kitties STILL go up on the porch at times. Lucky for them, that the new residents are cat friendly so they are not going crazy over it, but what if they weren't? What if the the new owners of your house did not want your feral around? What if they trapped him and took him to the pound? If not them, than maybe another neighbor? Also, where does your kitty go to sleep at night and who is feeding him? Where can you put a winter shelter, once your house is sold? These are things you need to consider.
In the TNR world, they say relocation should be done as a last resort (cats in danger or their is some legal mandate for them to be removed). As someone who is handling a colony of cats that were left behind, I strongly believe if you worry over how this cat would fare out, especially in winter--than take him with you. The protocol for relocation is to put the cat in an outdoor crate for 3 weeks to get use to his environment, but you may have to leave this cat indoors (In a heated garage or some room that is safe). The cat must get use to the new environment, and when the time is right you can release him. These relocations don't always work out and the cat may get lost or run into trouble. So you should take your time when doing this.
I wish you luck with this. Relocation is stressful on us, and especially stressful on cats. They don't deal with change well as they are creatures of habit. I hope everything works out.
I wish the feeder who moved took some of the friendly kitties off the street, instead she left them in the care of the other feeder who I had a fallen out over because of her lies and headgames and the fact these cats were dumped on me. Don't get me wrong they are some lovely kitties out there and I do care for them, but it is just too much for me, especially that it is wintertime and I have to put out extra feedings.Unless you have an agreement with a trustworthy and responsible neighbor who has a good track record with taking care of animals, you don't want to leave your kitty in a precarious situation. What is going to happen when your house is sold? I can tell you that the kitties of the former feeder were still hanging on the front porch of the house, like the former tenants never left. I mention this to the other feeder and she said they will eventually stop. It has been well over a year since the tenants have moved and the kitties STILL go up on the porch at times. Lucky for them, that the new residents are cat friendly so they are not going crazy over it, but what if they weren't? What if the the new owners of your house did not want your feral around? What if they trapped him and took him to the pound? If not them, than maybe another neighbor? Also, where does your kitty go to sleep at night and who is feeding him? Where can you put a winter shelter, once your house is sold? These are things you need to consider.
In the TNR world, they say relocation should be done as a last resort (cats in danger or their is some legal mandate for them to be removed). As someone who is handling a colony of cats that were left behind, I strongly believe if you worry over how this cat would fare out, especially in winter--than take him with you. The protocol for relocation is to put the cat in an outdoor crate for 3 weeks to get use to his environment, but you may have to leave this cat indoors (In a heated garage or some room that is safe). The cat must get use to the new environment, and when the time is right you can release him. These relocations don't always work out and the cat may get lost or run into trouble. So you should take your time when doing this.
I wish you luck with this. Relocation is stressful on us, and especially stressful on cats. They don't deal with change well as they are creatures of habit. I hope everything works out.
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Thank you all for your thoughts. I think I will give it a try. My new area has more coyotes than my old house (we are closer to open hillside). Backyard cat is pretty good at fending for himself....he would disappear for 2-4 weeks and I am sure a coyote got him or someone else trapped him (although he is ear tipped). But then he returns. He is a survivor. I live in Los Angeles so the winters are pretty mild. Of his litter that I caught and had fixed, he was the most allusive and was caught older than his litter mates who found homes after being fostered by me.
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Here is an article, that will give you tips on this situation.
I would consider having this cat sleep in the garage/shed or if you can't do that-- then make a elevated sturdy shelter. There are plenty of ideas and pics on the internet.
I wish you all the best. Thank you for helping this kitty.
www.niteguard.com
I would consider having this cat sleep in the garage/shed or if you can't do that-- then make a elevated sturdy shelter. There are plenty of ideas and pics on the internet.
I wish you all the best. Thank you for helping this kitty.
Protect Cats from Coyote | Nite Guard
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