I live in a city in central IL, and have been feeding two stray (feral?) cats this winter - one big orange male that I think I've been seeing around the neighborhood for a few years (unless this is the son of the one I saw a few years ago), and one black female I've seen occasionally for the past year. I hadn't seen either of them regularly until this winter, but when they started showing up more often, I also put out a box with a blanket, on a wooden pallet - nothing much, but some sort of shelter from the cold. The black cat has been using it fairly regularly. I can't get close to either of them, so not sure if they're shy strays or ferals. They seem to co-exist with no issues...they'll take turns eating at the bowl I put out. They're not always together, though.
I've caught and adopted two strays in the past - a large male who lost an eye to FIV, and a young orange female - but neither of them were as shy as these two are, so I've never needed a trap before. I've been putting off making a decision about what to do with them, if anything, but my hand is going to be forced soon, for two reasons:
1. I'm not as worried about the orange male cat, but I think the black female needs to be caught and spayed. I saw her writhing around the orange male last spring, so she was apparently in heat. I'm assuming no one else has caught and spayed her in that time. I saw her twice with a gray younger cat following her this past summer - I'm assuming he was her kitten, though he looked at least 7 months old at the time - but haven't seen that gray cat this winter.
2. The black female recently showed up with a small ragged patch of fur missing on one hindquarter, and a larger ragged patch (about the size of my hand) missing on her other side. Not sure if that's from a fight, or fleas (I'd think it would be too cold for those), or something else. I don't think it's ringworm, though it's hard to tell for sure without looking at it from close-up. While it is going to be warmer for the next few days, I'm concerned about how she'll deal with the cold nights with that missing fur.
I'm trying to figure out what to do about them. I could buy a trap (the recommended ones seem to be $100+) and try to catch them (or at least the black one)...but that wouldn't happen for at least another week, and then what? What if she's already pregnant? And how easy is it to tame a feral cat (if she's feral)? I'm not sure where I'd do it, because we have two small children now, along with three existing cats, so we no longer have rooms where we could easily leave her in private. The easier option would be to have the animal welfare people put out a trap and catch her, but they've told me they euthanize ferals, and even if she's not feral, I suspect they would euthanize her in her current state with the missing fur.
I know this post is sort of rambling...but any thoughts/suggestions? At this point, I'm planning to call my vet tomorrow to see if he has any advice, but not sure what I'll do after that.
I've caught and adopted two strays in the past - a large male who lost an eye to FIV, and a young orange female - but neither of them were as shy as these two are, so I've never needed a trap before. I've been putting off making a decision about what to do with them, if anything, but my hand is going to be forced soon, for two reasons:
1. I'm not as worried about the orange male cat, but I think the black female needs to be caught and spayed. I saw her writhing around the orange male last spring, so she was apparently in heat. I'm assuming no one else has caught and spayed her in that time. I saw her twice with a gray younger cat following her this past summer - I'm assuming he was her kitten, though he looked at least 7 months old at the time - but haven't seen that gray cat this winter.
2. The black female recently showed up with a small ragged patch of fur missing on one hindquarter, and a larger ragged patch (about the size of my hand) missing on her other side. Not sure if that's from a fight, or fleas (I'd think it would be too cold for those), or something else. I don't think it's ringworm, though it's hard to tell for sure without looking at it from close-up. While it is going to be warmer for the next few days, I'm concerned about how she'll deal with the cold nights with that missing fur.
I'm trying to figure out what to do about them. I could buy a trap (the recommended ones seem to be $100+) and try to catch them (or at least the black one)...but that wouldn't happen for at least another week, and then what? What if she's already pregnant? And how easy is it to tame a feral cat (if she's feral)? I'm not sure where I'd do it, because we have two small children now, along with three existing cats, so we no longer have rooms where we could easily leave her in private. The easier option would be to have the animal welfare people put out a trap and catch her, but they've told me they euthanize ferals, and even if she's not feral, I suspect they would euthanize her in her current state with the missing fur.
I know this post is sort of rambling...but any thoughts/suggestions? At this point, I'm planning to call my vet tomorrow to see if he has any advice, but not sure what I'll do after that.