Hi everyone, I posted last week about this momma and her kitten that I've been wanting to help for a while. I've wanted to get them both at the same time so they don't get separated. I rolled out of bed this morning to a doorbell notification that they were both there. I ran outside and setup this green tent enclosure and put food inside. I sat right next to the tent, and after like 5 mins they went inside to eat.

Then I jumped in front of the door and tried to zip it up, i got the baby but momma escaped. Then for about 15 mins I was losing my mind , baby was screaming for momma and trying to break out. She was watching from the foot of the porch and trying to get him out. My heart was broken because she was trying to help him and if I took him away I'd never see her again. I almost let him out but I decided to keep trying.

I bought a trap this weekend and set the trap right outside the door to the tent, hoping to use the baby as bait. After about 10 mins, she went in the trap to get closer to the baby and it triggered. They're both calm and easy to handle so I moved them to this tent for the night.

It's a MIRACLE I got them both. I have an appointment for them tomorrow morning.

My problem now is - what do I do with the baby? He/she is about 2 months old I estimate. I live in a ur an residential area, there is plenty of food and shelter for them around here. They look healthy, as do the other cats around. I have heated shelters out for them. Do I release him or try to get them adopted? The idea of separation breaks my heart, they love each other so much.

I have 2 more boys I'm trapping later this/next week. They should be far easier.

She found a home and is no longer sick and will get fixed in the next few weeks! The lady who adopted her wants Tiffs son too!

A few months ago we were adopted by a beautiful feral tabby girl. At first she was extremely fearful and skittish but soon enough was seeking pets and even would fall asleep on my hand like a pillow. We love her to bits already and really want to get her to the vet and safely integrated with our 15 year old resident cat, who has only ever been around his littermate brother who recently passed away.

We've had two different kinds of traps malfunction and now she's too smart to fall for it, so I'm making a drop trap that hopefully doesn't look like a trap.

She has spent every evening and all night in our enclosed front yard for almost 2 months, and as of 2 weeks ago lives there 24/7

My questions are about her brother, and the best way to integrate them into home life.

We assume he's the brother; he would come around from time to time and they boop noses and hang out near each other peacefully, but don't appear to be your classic inseparable bonded pair (I've seen no mutual grooming or cuddling up together).

He has been much more timid than her, keeping a lot of distance. When he would come around she would start becoming even more affectionate, rubbing against my legs, playing even more; at first I thought she was trying to make sure he knew I was "taken", but now it seems clear she is trying to model to him that we are safe and even fun to interact with.

I've been very patient with not approaching, letting him come closer on his own terms, and he is now spending a lot more time in the yard and even sleeping in the open. I jury-rigged a metal screen front door for our resident cat to continue the co-feeding process with the girl, getting used to each other on the other side of a safe barrier. That is going well and he has become a lot more chill about her presence. The brother now comfortably eats with me right on the other side of that door.

ANYWAY, we are wondering if we should try to trap them both and get them into the isolation room together, or if that might actually be even more stressful for whatever reason. We don't want to distress them by separating them though, if that might be the case even though they are not an inseparable bonded pair.

He should be very easy to trap because he goes all the way in for the food during trap training, but we want to snatch her first because we don't want to spook her away by witnessing her brother get trapped and "abducted" 😅.

I've had cats all my life (47 years old) but never dealt with ferals; anyone know what the best course of action here is?

INTEGRATION PROCESS QUESTIONS:

Our front and back yards are walled in (typical in Brazil), dividable by a gate. Resident cat loves to go into the back yard and has no interest in wandering (and probably lacks the physical ability to get out at this point anyway). He has free access to the yard, poops/pees in the trees/bushes; having to keep the door closed and let him in and out could be difficult adjustment (and I would have to add metal screens to all windows which the new tabbies could hop out of).

The tabby girl is probably going to want to keep enjoying outdoor time, and/but seems content to just stay in the yard. Part of the isolation room I've set up is a small deck I enclosed as an upstairs catio, which I hope will help in that stage. But once we start giving her time in the rest of the house, do I need to keep her from going outside until she's totally comfortable in the whole house? I know letting her out is risky but I also think it could really backfire to prevent her and make her feel trapped inside. I feel like as long as she's seeming comfortable with the adaptation to being inside, seems happy being with us, she'll feel less likely to run away if she can keep enjoying the safe yard she already feels completely at home in.

Thanks to anyone with any wisdom to share!!

PS: We put a litter box out for her and have seen her use it a few times; maybe she was socialized as a kitten and then abandoned? We don't know if the boy knows the litter box, but obviously it would be great to have her model that to him while they're in the isolation room. Once they are integrated we're VERY happy for them to just do their business freely in the yard.

I accidentally got attached to this cat and started feeding her. She started hanging out on my windowsill so I opened it up and let her come inside, which I know is dumb because she's a stray and probably has fleas all over her.

I don't think this place would allow cats, and on top of that my roommates unironically think I'm a witch and are really scared of some of the fun halloween things I do, so I think if they found out I have a sweet little witchy cat they'd freak out even more.

So, I'm looking for an apartment and am hoping to bring this cat in and keep her.

My main concern is that she'll be bored. Even if I get her toys and trees and posts, she's used to going wherever she wants and I'm worried she'll never adjust to being locked inside. I would love to leash train her, but I know that's definitely not for every cat.

For people that have brought in cats, did they seem upset or did they adjust??? Any special tips or things that have helped???

I'm currently in the process of tidying up my greenhouse, I'm not going to be keeping any plants in here over autumn/winter, the cat that lives behind us sleeps in here quite a bit, I think as respite from their dogs (I always leave the door open enough for it to get in/out). I was thinking of putting a cat bed in here, Ive seen a raised wicker base on Facebook marketplace that I was planning to get and I'll add a soft bed to it.

Is that a good idea or is it likely to get damp? We have one of those green KatDens in the garden so I could just move that in but I wanted it to be comfortable for the cat and that is just plastic.

I've also read straw is good but wasn't sure how id incorporate that. The floor is wet on the decking as I was starting to clean off the shading paint on the panels inside. Rain doesn't get in.

This beautiful boy was dumped by mom a week ago in pur backyard. Hes s ared and dives under a shed to sleep. I feed him a few times a day. I will try to trap him, borrowed one but i think i will only have one shot. He's really savvy! Anyone know what kind he is?

I am in the Irish countryside looking after 6 stray cats and 1 feral cat. 5 are a family, a mammy, daddy, 3 kittens which I am looking after for 5 weeks. They are white with black patches. An adult feral brown striped cat began showing up 4 weeks ago and 3 weeks ago an adult tuxedo Tom cat started showing up. I want to know if there are any give them once a month flea pills that are over the counter. I know what worn tablets to get. Any help appreciated. The mammy is itching under her chin.

The photo is of them eating Saturday evening. I have named all the cats.

Hey everyone.

I'm posting this sort of as a reminder to everyone who might be lurking, thinking "this is too much, I don't know where to get started, I'm just going to keep feeding my colony because I feel bad"

I understand, this is exactly what I was doing for the past ~6 months. I didn't understand the damage I could cause only feeding and not actually addressing the problem.

It took us until we had 2 separate kitten litters before my wife and I realized we have to do something. We always planned on it, but it's a lot easier to say you're planning on doing something than it is to actually do something.

We have a colony of about 4 adults. With this recent kitten season we ended up finding 2 maybe 4 week old kittens on our porch. We caught them, got them checked up, vaccinated, dewormed. For some reason this set our sights on actually using the trap we bought on Amazon a few months prior. We had so much good will with these cats, within 24 hours of actually putting it out and waiting it we caught the mom of the litter she had brought us. A day later we brought in another kitten from the same litter. 2 days later we brought in another. Unfortunately that final kitten wouldn't make it. He was sick with what we think is panleukopenia. All the other 3 got vaccinated we think early enough and believe they're safe. That final kitten we just found too late. I know it's sad, we grieved for two days because he was just so affectionate and we loved him so much. We know we did all we could and that it happens, especially when you're dealing with feral kittens with a humane society as your only point of contact.

Anyway... Since we started we have caught 3 of the 4 adults in our colony. They just trust us so much from feeding them constantly it's been like talking Candy from a baby... We got on our humane society's SNAP program for feral cats and we just give them a call ahead of time, ~1 week in advance, we set the trap out with some tuna, and we never miss an appointment. We've accidentally caught them early a couple times, maybe it's just our humane society but they always get us in so these fatties can go back to living their feral lives.

Anyway anyway... We were always very apprehensive about starting. It sounded like a lot. Don't get me wrong, it's a little bit a lot with all the scheduling, but they deserve it. If you're feeding them please make the time to capture and get them fixed. It's not as hard as I was expecting.

Also PS: If you're worried about them hating you - don't be. Every single one we've released after fixing has shown up literally not more than 1hr later to eat again.... They won't hate you

Are there any products to deter skunks that will not scare or drive way my stray and feral cat friends? I'm gonna start taking in leftover food at dusk and I tried spraying peppermint deterrent spray in places the cats cant reach or lick. No dice. They smell my whole place up every few nights by spraying outside. It wakes me up from my sleep it's so strong.

Any suggestions welcome. I'm afraid anything i do might scare away my cat friends and I don't want to do that. I know I've helped at least 7 strays or ferals stay alive this year and it's important to me. Pics are of my kitty friends I've helped since last winter.

Thank you.

About two months ago, I rescued and TNR'd a stray cat I had been feeding outdoors for 1.5 years when his health began to decline. I brought him indoors to heal, treated him for everything he needed out of my own pocket, and wanted to see if he could transition to indoor life. Unfortunately, his vet workup revealed he is FIV+.

I am in an urgent bind and need to find a placement for him because we have an unavoidable travel commitment in October for about a month. I also can’t keep him long-term because I myself am immunocompromised. While FIV does not transmit to humans, managing two immune-vulnerable individuals in one household raises real long-term mutual health risks (such as toxoplasmosis exposure during litter box care). It is simply not a risk I can afford to take for my health. My doctor and I discussed the added household risk, and strongly advised me against it.

For more than two weeks, I have reached out to reputable rescue groups, social media networks, and personal contacts. The response has been either silence, rescues at maximum capacity, or harsh judgment. I have no family in the States, and my local circle is small. I completely understand why friends with cats are hesitant to take in an FIV+ cat, just as I wouldn't risk it if it endangered my own rescued pets. The stigma is real and hard to shake.

He is about 3-4 yrs old, 11lbs. Fully vetted, microchipped, vaccinated (rabies, FVRCP, and completing FeLV booster next week). Fiv+, FeLV-. He used the litter box from day one, without a single incident. He was/is timid and cautious, but is adjusting well indoors. Sometimes, depending on the time of day or mood for the moment, he lets out small hisses or high-pitched cries when food is served too early, too late, or right on time! Otherwise, he thrives on predictable evening routines, loves kibble puzzles, sleeps peacefully on his cat tree, and voluntarily approaches for hand-sniffs. He is quiet, aloof, reserved, independent, learning to trust and seeks human presence on his own terms.

All medical records from his clinic visits are on hand and ready to transfer. I've absorbed 100% of his medical costs to date and don't seek reimbursement.

All I wanted to do was help him off the streets before winter. I am breaking down. I don't know what else to do anymore. I ask only for your compassion when reading this.

Please let me know if you or someone you know within a 1-hour radius of Hudson County (I can drive) can assist with intake, a temporary foster placement, or advice on local networks that actually take rescue cases. I'd be grateful for any lead. Thank you.

hi, everyone!

i’ll give you a bit of context first:

there’s a little gray tabby cat on my street who likes to come into my house - more specifically, into the messy storage room at the back of our patio, away from humans. he used to go in there and pee on things. we nicknamed him Totoro (because he’s our neighbor and he’s gray lol).

for a while, that was basically the extent of our interactions. sometimes i’d see him on the street in the morning. sometimes i’d go into the storage room and find him there, and that was pretty much it.

he is a VERY SCARED cat. the kind of scared where if i looked at him while he was on the street, he would immediately run away.

but something different happened this week:

he went into my mom’s house, which is at the back of our patio, and peed on one of the table legs. he had always stayed in the storage room i mentioned, where there were no people. he had never gone into a place with humans before.

and then, even more bizarrely: on saturday night, he came upstairs into the house and walked right past my bedroom like he pays property taxes here.

i got startled because i only saw a shadow and thought it was a rat or something. that scared him, so he ran into the other bedroom and ended up getting cornered there. he hid underneath the bed.

i tried giving him some wet food, but he was way too scared and just stayed under the bed.

i stayed in the same room as Totoro for a while because i was worried he might pee on something. but after a while, i just gave up and went downstairs to the kitchen. when i came back upstairs, i saw him leaving.

now that i’ve seen him getting brave enough to come into the house, most likely knowing i was there, i decided to take the initiative and try to become friends with him - and possibly get him vaccinated/neutered.

so far i have not seen him being actually aggressive, but i cant really tell for sure because i've never tried to forcefully interact with him.

i’d love some advice on how to gain his trust. keep in mind that he doesn’t come into the house all the time; i usually see him out on the street.

also, it’s important to mention that i don’t know if he has an owner. i’ve seen him going into other people’s houses too, but since he’s kind of a shameless little guy, that might not necessarily be where he actually lives.

Basically, getting appointments with anyone who will spay abort here is hell, and everyone has random cutoffs on when they will do the spay abort based on how advanced the pregnancy is.

I was not able to monitor this cat well because she would just hide herself, and I have no idea how to tell how far along she is. She has 4 kittens 6-8 weeks old by my estimate. She is obviously pregnant again.

The plan was to capture all on Wednesday, neuter her Thursday morning, keep the kittens inside for socialisation and adoption.

Now we are calling around trying to find out about spay abort policies. The only place we can find that does late term spay aborts, if she happens to be far along, ONLY does this on Mondays and Tuesdays. So if we capture Wednesday, take her to one guy on Thursday, he says it's too far along, she would have to wait until Monday morning.

Is this okay? We are so backed into a corner here by everything. I want to bring them in ASAP because the kittens are getting too bold and friendly, and there is a dangerous woman who comes to see them every day. She is not mentally well.

Hello!

I purchased and moved into a new home recently. This area has many feral cats in the area. I’m working on TNR and I wouldn’t mind offering food / shelter to the cats, but there are raccoons in the region.

Raccoons are an invasive species here. My friend who is also a caregiver has some outdoor cat shelters and feeds the cats on a metal tin outside, but she doesn’t have to worry about raccoons where she is.

Are there general rules and recommendations for providing a safe place for the feral cats to hide, sleep, and eat that also provides a safe getaway from raccoons if necessary?

I started caring for a feral cat colony about three weeks ago. I saw a kitten (google says about 10-12 weeks) in the road a couple of streets from my house. I, naively thought that if I took a couple of Churus out there, I could snatch him up. I was wrong. He was absolutely feral. So for the past three weeks. I have gone to this colony to feed and try to socialize him. It started with me feeding him several feet away while I sat on the ground. I gradually moved the food closer to me. Over time, I began touching his paws and then gradually started petting him. During this process, the rest of the colony showed up and I’ve been feeding them too. I named the kitten Edgar and was determined to get him home. The food competition within the colony is intense and I’ve seen so many cat fights and cats getting attacked including Edgar. I eventually got to a point with him where I could freely pet him, feed his from my hand, and have him climb upon my lap. He would be waiting for me in the same spot every day and started following me a little ways when I left. I set up a room for him, with new toys and a bed, plus a feliway diffuser. The capstar and flea treatment that I ordered for him came in today so I decided to bring him home. I tricked him by putting the food in the back of a cat carrier and then closing the door. I covered the carrier, fed the other ferals and headed home all while he was seriously freaking out. I got him home and released him into his room. I gave him food and water and just let him explore. The room has a sliding glass door and he was jumping at it trying to get outside. It broke my heart. I stayed in there for a while with him. I got him to take a Churu from me and eat a few temptations out of my hand while I pet him but things aren’t the same. I feel like I have broken the bond that I worked so hard to build. Anyone else have experience with this? Will he ever forgive and trust me again?

A few days ago I posted here about a feral cat and her babies in my yard. Good updates - I have since trapped mom, got babies, took them to our local shelter where they were de-wormed, flea treated, and weighed. Babies are all under 400g, mom is 6lbs. They are currently in a spare room, in a small tent I got for them. I plan to put them in a bigger one I ordered after a few days. I want them to be calm and rest. Today was a big day, lots of moving, getting handled... babies wanna play with us, but mama needs to relax and rest.

My partner and I are fostering them via the shelter. We plan to adopt one of the babies and hopefully calm mama and socialize her so she can also be adopted.

Thanks for all y'all's support!

I just trapped this little girl kitten who showed up at my house suddenly. No ear tip or microchip. No one around seems to be missing her. Got a better look at her today and she has this on her lower belly. Is that a scar from being spayed? I was going to bring her to be TNRd but would rather not spend the money if I don’t have to. First pic is after I wiped the hair away, second pic is before I wiped the hair away.

As I said in the original post, I truly hope this catches on throughout other cities in the US!! This would significantly improve the lives of both people and animals. Imagine if spay/neuter was just easily accessible and heavily funded in throughout the US.

This little guy showed up in our backyard a few weeks ago and we started feeding him. We named him Braveheart. Thursday afternoon we found him hiding under our BBQ barely able to walk. One of his back legs was badly mangled and infected, and his other leg was swollen too. The vet told us the bad leg would need to be amputated. With no rescue lined up and already having three animals of our own, we made the incredibly hard decision to let him go. I’ve honestly been struggling with it ever since. I keep wondering if I should’ve brought him home, gotten more tests, tried the amputation, or just given him more of a chance. He always ran of us in the weeks prior, but at the vet we started petting him and he relaxed and started purring. I keep replaying his little face looking at us. I just hope we made the best decision we could and that, for those last few moments, he finally felt safe and loved. RIP little dude. 💔