Feral cats

[Patty, Linus and Co.]

I am so tired. The past few weeks Linus has been waking up in the middle of the night - loudly. Because of my neighbors, I make it a point to end the noise quickly. He usually will go off to sleep again without too much trouble. Not last night. He woke up and started screaming just after 2 am. I tried to get him back to sleep but he was up and planned to stay that way. So I resigned myself to spending a while keeping him quiet till I could lull him back to sleep (which never happened). Around three I realized what had woken him up. It would seem that every lovelorn feral cat in Austin found its way to my front door and had been serenading Linus. Not cool if you're a bird.
There's a lady in this complex who takes in pregnant strays and feeds her and her babies and each generation that follows (and follows and follows). I do understand how hard it is to turn away kittens, but she doesn't seem to understand what an ongoing crisis she is creating. I went to apt manager today and explained what was going on with the late night noise coming from my place and told her that anyone who comes to her about the crazy bird lady should redirect their complaints to the crazy cat lady.
I love cats. I really, truly do and I don't want anything bad to happen to these cats. They are friendly enough and aren't a problem except for their numbers which have been growing and soon will again. What can I do? Is there an organization that I can call that will come and humanely trap these cats and find them homes and not euthanize them?

[BirdCurious]

I love all sorts of animals too, it's awesome you want to do something to help. If the cats are truely tame, as though they've been housepets then yes, trapping and re-homing is the best bet. If they aren't tame, the something like TNR would be best, if all the cats are spayed and neutered they'll no longer reproduce, they'll no longer scream and holler and fight AND they'll protect their territory against new cats so the problem won't restart it's self and the cat lady can have the satisfaction of feeding and caring for animals that would otherwise be euthanised - feral cats and semi wild cats are almost always euthanised. Depending on where you live there may be an organisation to help.

You can google feral cat and trap-neuter-release(TNR) some websites that come to mind are:
http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/whatistnr.htm
http://www.feralcat.com

Even in our tiny town there's a single lady who's working on the many colonies, I can't even count the number of times I was walking late at night and came across whole litters of 6 week old kittens digging into trash with mom. Our rather irrisponsible neighbor tossed his pregnant cat outside when he got 3 new dogs and she had kittens in a wooded area near our house, mom got run over, I caught 2 kittens young and re-homed them, and the one remaining kitten that wasn't run over out of 8 is now healthy and beautiful and neutered thanks to me and thriving at 4 years old. He's wilder than a raccoon and can scale a 5 foot fence in one leap, but he's healthy and has a doghouse with fresh straw to stay in just outside our fence if he wants.

Good luck with the situation, it could be hard since it's a rental property.

EDIT: Austin, texas? www.austinferalcats.org (http://www.austinferalcats.org) and http://www.feralcatsocietyofaustin.org/ and http://www.spayaustin.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=75

[Anne-Samantha's Mom]

yes, I would say call the humane society....there are lots of feral cat organizations out there too..also we feed three feral cats by the local laundromat..we saw them first there as kittens two years ago with their mother and then she disappeared..we tried to catch them, we called the humane society ..we feed them every tuesday and saturday morning...they are very wild...the laundromat lady feeds them during the week..and I saw a man out back of one of the trucking companies in back of the laundromat put milk in a saucer out for them..so people are aware they are around and they are helping.

[too&me]

There are groups that will help you trap and spay/neuter feral and semi feral cats here in Texas. They will often do so and give a rabies vaccine. Do a google search for information in your area. It is good to neuter/spay and release it stops the population growth and the cats help hold the territory against new cats coming in. It eliminates the yowling courtship issues as well.

[Patty, Linus and Co.]

Thanks to you all.

Bill, I have talked to the rental office mgr here and told her I was going to look into getting something done here. The problem I've encountered is that I would have to pay for neutering/spaying. The cats are mostly friendly because a resident has put her time into them personally. Some are better candidates for TNR. I have been able to find homes for a few in the past.

[bphslp]

Ben and I were not cat people until we moved. We did not adopt ferrel cats, they adopted us. I truly think they are fascinating. This is what I know after five years. Don't trap the kittens, leave them with the mom. Feed them regularly and sit out with them while they eat. You can start treating them with cheese. They often take the cheese from your hand. If you can tame them especially the kittens, get them fixed. There are many spay and neuter clinics that neuter on certain days for one nickle and cost of a rabies shot. We fix two a month. We have trapped some, but it has been easier to tame and crate. Handle the kittens as much as you can, and it makes the fixing easier. They don't fight, spray, etc. if fixed. We release the same day as fixed. They keep our property clean of rodents. They enjoy laying around us if we sit down on the ground. We don't make any moves to touch them unless they want to be touched. One cat can have five litters a year so it is much easier to fix them in the beginning. Ferrel cats live in groups. Normally one group will not mix with the other group. In the beginning, I went to Las Vegas. Upon my return their were seventeen kittens in my carport. I made the mistake of taking them as they all had infected eyes. I called my vet and he suggested me getting chicken antibodic and sprinkle on food. All but one survived and it took me over a year to find homes. The problem is if you house them, they are afraid to go outside. Even if you called an agency, once the ferrel cats are in an area, it is hard to get rid of them. They will put them to sleep. They are a great asset once they are fixed. I went to my neighbors and we all trapped and fixed. They get a meal once a day and I get their services. I learned along time ago, if you can't fix it join them and that is what we did. Just remember, they have it rough and normally if they have a litter, it will be a miracle if they raise them. If the female's don't get spayed, they normally die. When the Tom's fought, I would break it up with yelling and waving a broom. They now know, they can eat at my house, but they cannot fight. I know you think I am crazy, but trust me it works. They are not stupid. One of the ferrel cats recently got her pelvic broken. She managed to get to my door, hit it with such a force that vibrated the house. She never bit or scratched me or the vet. She is in a back room until she is able to get around normally. If you help them, they will be kind back to you.

[Dot]

I asked Jenell to field this one because she knows what she is doing. She and her neighbor have been known to take bricks out of houses to get to the kittens.

[Patty, Linus and Co.]

I will do whatever I can do for them. Thanks.

[angelvixe]

I have a lot of some feral and strays. I befriend them then take them to get fixed. I do both male and female. I had one feral cat that took me 7 months to gain his trust. Now you can't get him to go outside so he belongs with our family. I don't have a answer for you. But at the humane soc. the mail lady takes feral cats to her farm so they won't be put down. Worth asking.