I'm sorry this is so long, but I'm hoping that the more information I provide, the more some of you may be able to help with advice.
I've had a neutered male feral in my basement for about a month now. Let's just call him Mr. Cat. He's part of a colony that lives near my farm about an hour away.
When we bought the farm, we had two neutered males. Since then, a pregnant female found shelter in our barn with our males and gave birth twice -- once to a litter of four and a second time to a singleton. The kittens were socialized, spayed/neutered, and rehomed except the three males that we kept on our farm. Mama was spayed and continues to live with us. She's social enough with my husband that she follows him around and allows him to pet her.
Since our males were neutered before we moved to the farm, we know they're not the fathers of her kittens. We suspect that Mr. Cat is the father to at least one kitten, if not all. Mr. Cat and mama were spotted together many times over the past year and we believe they were from the same colony.
Anyway, before I trapped and neutered him, Mr. Cat started to take up residence in our barn. Mama and the single kitten didn't seem to mind, but apparently he didn't get along with the other four males, three of whom have had to visit the vet for a tail bite and big-time scratches. When I took Mr. Cat to get neutered, he had a scratch behind his ear. To get to the point, we think our inexperienced young adult cat and 7 month old kittens got their butts whooped by Mr. Cat. It would be typical for these three to get too curious and too close, ignoring warning signs.
After the second fight, our cats were on high-alert (seriously, it looked like a western where men with rifles are posted in strategic positions) so we trapped Mr. Cat, who needed to be neutered anyway, and I brought him to our house that's away from the farm. As far as a feral goes, he seems content but will not venture out of the room I made for him in our basement. He has access to our large family room where he can perch and look outside, but I've seen no signs that he's been out of that room. I even have an infrared camera so I can see him. I don't have a ton of time to socialize him in a manner where I can sit with him for an hour at a time throughout the day, and I have a Yorkie on my main and upper floor that he'd totally shred, so having him up here is out of the question.
To add a little more fuel to the fire, other ferals are starting to make their way to our farm. One is an orange female that needs to be trapped immediately as we think she is in heat. There are also two others, a gray and white and a solid gray. All of these ferals look to be about 1 1/2 - 2 years old. This group seems to be moving back and forth between our neighbor's farm across the road and our farm, which to them is probably the Ritz. Our barn loft is warm and we have nice heated cat houses, along with plenty of food. Our cats are also the friendly-type and seem to think that all cats want to be their friends. They've never needed to defend their territory for food and shelter.
Our farmer friend across the road does provide decent food and shelter for these wanderers. We also do not have time right now to build other feral shelters or to chase them from our barn, which needs to remain open at night for our cows that are calving. Plus, I have work and other obligations that keep me away from the farm for days at a time. It's easier at this point to let them come and go while we bed our boys in our heated shop at night. Feral mama and her last single kitten prefer to stay in the barn with the gray and white feral.
Here are my questions:
Our two boys on the left, female feral on the right.
Mr. Cat
Mr. Cat napping today. The door is open to the family room with a large lookout window and wide sill.
Charlie and Lucky - heated winter shelter
in the barn loft
Charlie and Shadow - Summer on the farm
I've had a neutered male feral in my basement for about a month now. Let's just call him Mr. Cat. He's part of a colony that lives near my farm about an hour away.
When we bought the farm, we had two neutered males. Since then, a pregnant female found shelter in our barn with our males and gave birth twice -- once to a litter of four and a second time to a singleton. The kittens were socialized, spayed/neutered, and rehomed except the three males that we kept on our farm. Mama was spayed and continues to live with us. She's social enough with my husband that she follows him around and allows him to pet her.
Since our males were neutered before we moved to the farm, we know they're not the fathers of her kittens. We suspect that Mr. Cat is the father to at least one kitten, if not all. Mr. Cat and mama were spotted together many times over the past year and we believe they were from the same colony.
Anyway, before I trapped and neutered him, Mr. Cat started to take up residence in our barn. Mama and the single kitten didn't seem to mind, but apparently he didn't get along with the other four males, three of whom have had to visit the vet for a tail bite and big-time scratches. When I took Mr. Cat to get neutered, he had a scratch behind his ear. To get to the point, we think our inexperienced young adult cat and 7 month old kittens got their butts whooped by Mr. Cat. It would be typical for these three to get too curious and too close, ignoring warning signs.
After the second fight, our cats were on high-alert (seriously, it looked like a western where men with rifles are posted in strategic positions) so we trapped Mr. Cat, who needed to be neutered anyway, and I brought him to our house that's away from the farm. As far as a feral goes, he seems content but will not venture out of the room I made for him in our basement. He has access to our large family room where he can perch and look outside, but I've seen no signs that he's been out of that room. I even have an infrared camera so I can see him. I don't have a ton of time to socialize him in a manner where I can sit with him for an hour at a time throughout the day, and I have a Yorkie on my main and upper floor that he'd totally shred, so having him up here is out of the question.
To add a little more fuel to the fire, other ferals are starting to make their way to our farm. One is an orange female that needs to be trapped immediately as we think she is in heat. There are also two others, a gray and white and a solid gray. All of these ferals look to be about 1 1/2 - 2 years old. This group seems to be moving back and forth between our neighbor's farm across the road and our farm, which to them is probably the Ritz. Our barn loft is warm and we have nice heated cat houses, along with plenty of food. Our cats are also the friendly-type and seem to think that all cats want to be their friends. They've never needed to defend their territory for food and shelter.
Our farmer friend across the road does provide decent food and shelter for these wanderers. We also do not have time right now to build other feral shelters or to chase them from our barn, which needs to remain open at night for our cows that are calving. Plus, I have work and other obligations that keep me away from the farm for days at a time. It's easier at this point to let them come and go while we bed our boys in our heated shop at night. Feral mama and her last single kitten prefer to stay in the barn with the gray and white feral.
Here are my questions:
- Do I return Mr. Cat to my farm in the hopes that he will again find companionship with mama cat? Is he lonely in our basement?
- Will Mr. Cat get along better with our other males now that he's neutered or is it likely that they'll continue to be at odds?
- Would Mr. Cat's return discourage the new wandering ferals from moving in?
- Should Mr. Cat continue to stay in my basement while I just do my best to TNR the newcomers?
Our two boys on the left, female feral on the right.
Mr. Cat
Mr. Cat napping today. The door is open to the family room with a large lookout window and wide sill.
Charlie and Lucky - heated winter shelter
in the barn loft
Charlie and Shadow - Summer on the farm