Re: Taking Care of Strays

Hello fellow stray cat caretaker,

We moved into a neighborhood with allot of stray cats, being animal lovers we feed them along with our dogs and cats. We now have 7 kittens in the house. Momma decided to drop them off with us. They were at most 2 weeks old, so we began the bottle formula feeding frinzy! Not really we have really enjoyed watching them grow and thrive.

Our wish is to trap the moms and spay them so the population doesn't continue but it's so expensive. We are watching for reduced spay neuter clinics in our area, they fill up very fast. We also have 4 beautiful yellow tabbies that were born under our house and came to live on the porch after they were able to get around well. Mom takes very good care of them and we supplement their feedings, they are 7 weeks. We are trying to find homes for them and the response has been slow. But we keep praying. Good luck.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

We adopted a stray cat who had 2 litters under our house. She left 3 of the second litter for us to care for. Only 1 made it and he is now part o the family. We finally caught her and had her spayed. Another stray cat left her litter under our house for us to tend to. 2 of them survived and are our little mischief makers. They are inseparable and do almost everything together. When one yells the other comes running. It is really wonderful to watch. Most of our cat family came from strays and they have all adapted very well. We have had several feral cats neutered with the help of our local humanitarian society. They were wonderful. Through our experience with the local strays we discovered quite a few agencies that were willing to help with the cost of neutering. Maybe you can find some in your area. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Re: Taking Care of Strays

It is a heartbreaking & dificult problem. Right now I am feeding 2 strays when they come to our dumpster. I live in a condo & the condo association does not look kindly on my help for the cats. Alot of the people feel they will spread diseases & because of their attitudes, I have to be sneaky about feeding them. I don't like it one bit but so far that's the best I can do. I am fairly new to this neighborhood & have no close friends or allies. I worry about them.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

I sure hope they were no-kill shelters that the strays were taken to. If not, It might have been better to treat them as a feral colony and let them live their lives.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

dear meowser04,

find out if there are no-kill shelters in the area -- hopefully, they will have room. It would be great if you could take them in -- I know many people who have a multitude of cats in one home. Take both cats in -- they're already together and know each other -- you need not worry whether they get along or not. Take them to the Vet for shots and neutering and/or spaying. The cost will be a one-time occurrence so in the event you're worrying about money, whatever the vet charges will be well worth it in the future. Trust me, I did it and am happy for it today -- I took in 6 cats -- mom and five babies -- everyone has settled in and all is well.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

Kittens of strays quickly become feral if not handled at a young age. Get to them ASAP that way they have a greater chance of being adopted. If they are taken to the shelter and are not socialized they may be the first to get euthanized. Also don't take them to the shelter until they are 2lbs. Kittens under 2lbs are sometimes euthanized because they can not be altered or the staff do not have the time or resources to care for the little ones.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

I volunteer for a cat rescue. We actually provide low cost spay/neutering to the public. There is another rescue that provides free spay/neutering for low income people. And our county will spay a female for $25 and neuter males for $15 each.

You should call your local shelters, find out about the low cost programs and get on the waiting lists. Cats can get pregnant while they are still nursing. They frequently DO get pregnant during that time. There's no time to spare.

I agree with the other comments that the sooner the kittens are handled, the more socialable and adoptable they will be.

if the mother is feral (does not allow humans to touch her) then she will be killed by a shelter. (Sorry, I don't consider it euthanasia when shelters kill healthy animals) But you can have her spayed and keep her as an outside cat, if you want to save her life. Since you said someone dropped her off, she may be socialized to humans already.

I'm so glad you are trying to help these cats. The world needs more people like you.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

Hello All!

I'm not sure what area of the country you're in but you might try this web site http://76.12.58.134/ns/index.cfm?fa=c.home which is for "The Neuter Scooter". Also, if you do a search for SNAP (Spay Neuter Assistance Programs) you might be able to turn up something in your area. Every little bit helps that's for sure! One other thing you might look into is if there's a trap, neuter, return (TNR) program offered by any of the vets in your local area. Generally they'll charge less if they know you're serious in trying to help curb the over population of cats in your area. Once you make a couple of contacts I'll bet you'll be amazed at what you'll find available. At least I hope so! Keep up the great efforts and good luck!

DawgDew

Remember, adoption IS the best option! www.FWACC.org

Re: Taking Care of Strays

I too take of outdoor cats. I live in a association and we are limited to the number of cats we can have . I have worked with an organization that helps me humanely trap them and get them spayed and neutered and their shots. I have purchased an out door shelter the same color as my townhome and put in a secluded spot so these cats can eat, sleep(if they want) and drink in peace. No one says anything because there is so many violations against the covenants in our association that they don't want to challenge me. We have been able to adopt out a few but the next year here comes so more. People drop them off or they come from people moving out and leaving them. The problem IRRESPONSIBLE PET OWENERS!

Re: Taking Care of Strays

You can usually find some sort of animal welfare clinic that spays for less money. I live in West Palm Beach and I have trapped 3 of the feral cats and had them fixed them and then re-released them. I would never dare think of taking them to the animal shelter as they will not be adopted out and end up being killed. They are better off being able to live outside. I feed them and they live in the neighborhood and for the most part stay in my front yard.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

If any of you hasn't been on ALLEY CAT ALLIES website, please do. They have lots of information about caring for feral cats. National Feral Cat day is coming up in October. They also currently have a campaign going on to challenge the kill rates of feral cats in most shelters. They could use the support. I agree to avoid shelters at all cost unless they are no kill shelters. Since I moved to the country 4 years ago, 11 stray cats have found their way to my home. I'm sure some of them were dumped off there. I found homes for 5 that were little kittens. The other 6 are my house pals now along with 2 other cats I already had. I live in an association too where they have a 3 pet limit. People there that know me know that I take good care of them and have no problem with my breaking the rules. I've payed for spays/nueters for them all at regular vet prices as well as provided whatever medical attention they've needed including live saving at emergency vet prices for 2 of the cats. I'd go deep into my plastic for any one of them. If I had a big private country lot, I'd probably have every stray cat in the county on it. I don't have the space to keep cats outside where I am. I also think my neighbors who don't mind my having so many cats indoors just might have a problem if the cats were outside pestering the bird nests in their yards or getting into their trash, etc. I don't feel so alone in my compassion reading about all the love you've all bestowed on the cats that have crossed your paths. Thanks for making the cat world a better place!

Re: Taking Care of Strays

i am so jazzed that people are taking care of the felines...they are just so misunderstood..i have 50 plus..built a building for them, heated, airconditioned, and all out of my own pocket..got them spayed/neutered with one of my vets. I stated to my vet," i have quantity, you do quality, how about a deal...she made a deal with me...all but four were feral. I domesticated them, my heart is on my sleeve...so the more you can get the better...I believe that if vet clinics would open up and help out the feline population without playing havoc on our checkbooks....would make for more people rescueing..I will tell you, just to have one feline spayed/neutered now a days is well over 200 dollars which is down right wrong...the vets want this and that and before you know it..chaching.....a couple of rescue stories to share....i adopted one as it was coming in to the vet for rescue, because someone tried burning the entire litter..and they said... how about taking him to your cattery? i sat in my truck..thinking and thinking..and he came home with me and runs the cattery...hahahah another, someone dumped this skeletonized tiny, all four paws declawed cat on my farm, she was in the tack room of the barn and i was like who are you?...she was so hungry and skinny her gait was off...i fed her and took her to vet, he said she was approx....15 years old..that was three years ago...she has given me much joy..she lives in the house with my 16 doggies...and loves me unconditionally...she is now starting to show signs of reaching for the rainbow bridge, which brings me to tears...sooooooo I thank each and every one of you who rescue and care for the misunderstood..they appreciate everything you do for them...our rewards are GREAT....

Re: Taking Care of Strays

We have 12 cats in our house.
Most of them came from shelters and off the streets.
A little black kitten showed up in our front yard 3 years ago. It was a hot August day. She was skinny and dehydrated,so we took her in fed and watered her and had her spayed. Today she is a beautiful,long haired ,coal black cat and very sassy. LOL
Our latest cat jumped into my daughter's car,as she was leaving an auction. She put him out and back he came.
At this point she was lost,so home he came. He had infected ears and was covered with fleas.
He wnt to the vet,before he came home. Had his ears treated and was bathed for the fleas. Several days lated,he was "fixed". He is a long haired,orange and white,part Maine Coon and he is beautiful.
Yes,it costs a lot to feed them and yes,the vet bills are a bit much,but the joys they bring us are unlimited.
We also feed a 5 cat feral colony.

God Bless all of you who care for God's critters.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

Alert, Alert! I just found a website called fundable.com that allows you to list projects you are wanting to raise money for! A number of projects are for help with rescue animals - hope this helps as a way to find assistance!

Re: Taking Care of Strays

I too have a big heart when it comes to stray cats. The neighbors that lived next door to us moved away and left 25 cats/kittens behind, so I started to feed them, but it got to be very expensive to feed all these cats. I went to the town mayor and asked for help, so he got a local vet to let us borrow 2 have a heart traps and caught a lot of them and took them to farms that wanted them and adopted out the kittens. Well, of the cats we still have, 3 of them were not fixed and had 2 litters of kittens this summer. I only saw 3 kittens of the 2 cats and now with the 2nd litter of the one. I had 5 kittens that were 6 weeks old that I brought into the house and found homes for 3 of them. I also had to take them all to the vet for respirtory infections and fleas. they were on meds and let me tell you that wasnt fun giving kittens meds! I put it in the gravy of wet food and they licked the plate clean! Our local shelters are full and over crowded so i cant take them there. I know what you are going thru and hope you have luck finding homes for the kittens.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

I have 13 outside cats and it all began with one little calico kitty who came in my yard and wanted to eat the birds at my bird feeders. I tried shooing her away for several days. But one really hot day she came up close to me when I was excercising my black thumb in the yard, and she was panting and really looked thin. I told my husband about her and we decided to feed her with the hope that she might stick around long enough to help with the mice population we had in our barn. I fed her and, later in the day when I went to check on her, I discovered that she had brought her 4 tiny kittens up in the yard. They were so cute. While the momma cat was totally wild and couldn't be touched, I did start touching the baby kittens almost immediately and tamed them quickly. I was under the mistaken notion that the female kittens wouldn't get pregnant any time soon and that I had some time to spare with them. Instead, I concentarted on trapping the momma so I could have her spayed. Trapping her wasn't easy and before long I realized that she was pregnant again. I also noticed that a couple of the little girl kittens were constantly going off with their momma and I should have known that I was in trouble with all this. Well, I ended up with 27 cats in various stages of age. It seemed like every cat who could have kittens DID have kittens. It was so overwhelming! I was very fortunate to have a daughter-in-law who worked with the Humane Society in my area and she was able to find great homes for many of the kittens. Through her I also borrowed 3 traps and spent the next several months trapping the cats that were feral and having them spayed or neutered whenever I was lucky enough to get them. Being able to find good homes through the Humane Society soon dried up and I was left with 13 kitties. I've had dogs and cats all my adult life and have always held firm to the notion that all my pets would always be indoors and never subjected to any of the bad things that can happen to outside animals. I must admit I was kind of a prude about this. I already had 4 cats and 4 dogs in the house. Well, I was suddenly faced with the decision to either euthanize these kitties that I was left with or have them live outside and do everything necessary to help insure that they had as good a life as possible. I couldn't kill them. Instead, I tamed them and named them. I'm glad I did. I love them just as much as my 4 inside cats. I think they have a good life...I hope they do. I'm lucky because I have 5 acres of property for them to goof off on. They don't go far and they all know their own name. Costs me a fortune to feed the demons. But what the heck. Just some quick info about ferals: Alley Cat Allies has invaluable info about ferals and I think the TNR programs can be a life saver for these cats. I also have a Vet who has given me some very deep discounts when it comes to my outside kitties. I'm pretty lucky. I'm also glad to see that there are other people out there who are willing to go the extra mile for feral kitties.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

Just a update on my question from above. I did tame the mother cat down. She was a very lovable cat once tamed. The problem was she fought with my two cats when they went outside. She tore up my male cat pretty bad. There was no way my two cats & the stray would get along. This went on for 2 weeks. It wasn't fare for my cats to get beat up everytime they went outside or have to live in the house all the time. I called the animal shelter & they were still full. But get this....I offered $100 & they took the mother cat & 3 kittens right in. They went to a foster home. Now there are 3 more strays hanging around. So here I go again. This is a on going problem. It makes me so mad that pet owners can do this to their animals.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

My boyfriends parents live in a trailer court and there are plenty of stray cats and there is alot if fighting over the same females who get pregnate over and over. Noone in the trailer court does anything. So my point is recently the cats been having babies and once the male kittens even get close but not close to manhood the other stray cats will kill the males kittens once they become a little bit older because they fear more competion for the females there. The stray cats killed a male kitten and finallly someone took in the kitten. Which according to his parents the kittten did not look good. I was so upset and disgusted of the enviroment of the competion of females, it is just like in the wild with the bigger cats. I wish the world could figure out how to make a cheap way to spay and nueter theses cats and dogs or we will never get this under control. The state needs to come in and make spay and nueturing free or the world will be over populated and we will never be able to control the animal population or animal abuse. Laura

Re: Taking Care of Strays

i found 3 cats in a box in the middle of the street 12 years ago i am totally allergic but i brought them in my apartment and weaned them (they were just born when i found them) i was running back & forth all day from my job.before i knew it all the cats in the neighborhood were coming to my apartment. ( i also have 2 dogs in my apt., anyway i was catching every male or female cat and spending tons of money to get them spayed & neutered. i set up igloos on my deck, and blankets (which i wash every other day) i now have 9 and they all get along beautiful, but i also lost a few during the years during the cold weather which breaks my heart, but 2 of my cats just turrned 13 ( 2 of the 3 i started with. they live on my deck and only leave to poop, which my neighbors aren't thrilled with. anyway i do the best i can even though my heart breaks when i lose 1.

Re: Taking Care of Strays

Now in my experience from volunteering at our local Humane Society, and this may be just the case at our Humane Society dogs are adopted very quickly, in fact our shelter has been gathering dogs from others shelters to help more dogs find homes. It is sadly not the same for cats, on that I only know what I've read and that is that about 30% of cats are adopted. Since yours are full and cannot take in any more cats in sounds as if the situation there is similiar. If you could consider or mange what cupiekatie does that would be grand, I also feed strays and many end up housing in my garage over the winter months. Also, and this is very important, my Humane Society sets up "pet fairs" where you can get free vacinations for your animals and also free spaying and neutering. I wish you the best of luck. Best of luck to all who love our furry creatures(and the not furry reptiles etc also)

Re: Taking Care of Strays

i live in the city and this cat adopt me. she is a stray, she has a little of little ones. they are living under my front porch. i would love to take them in but i live in a rental and they don't allow cats. i'm not sure what to do. i have been leaving water and some food for them. we also have a animal shelter but it is full . if anyone has any ideas please let me know. thanks cathy