Caring For Strays When We Move

We care for two strays in my apartment complex. One usually feed them in our assigned parking space. Both are neutered and vaccinated. We usually feed them once or twice a day. In general, they are happy and healthy and they know how to hunt (A few months back the boy tabby brought me a dead mouse .

One day I accidentally left my car's window open. They promptly hopped in and slept nicely through the night. Since then we've been leaving open the windows on the front side so that they can get in and rest whenever they want. We do not use the car very often and it sits in nicely-ventilated semi-underground parking. Part of the parking overlooks a nice open space and the cats get out and roam whenever they want.

We might be moving to a newer place in a few months and I was wondering if you can give me any advice on a course of action with these babies. Should I leave them here? Should I take them with me? I already have a boy of my own so can't keep them with me indoors and from the looks of it, they aren't really indoor cats. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Since the cats depend on you for food and shelter, it would be cruel to leave them behind with someone else stepping up to care for them.

The problem becomes, when you move cats, it takes them 3-6 weeks to acclimate to a new area. During this period they need to be confined or they will only travel back to their former territory. It is their nature to do this. So you would need to keep the cats inside your apartment not allowing them outside time. If you had an outside space, you could use large cages and keep them there, but you would need to be sure they have shelter from bad weather.

I moved last year and brought 3 feral cats with me. I decided they had been living outside long enough and it was time for them to have an inside home. All 3 have adjusted well to inside living. I also already had 3 cats so now I have 6 living inside.

If you must leave them behind, please be sure that someone else will care for them.

shadowsrescue said:

Since the cats depend on you for food and shelter, it would be cruel to leave them behind with someone else stepping up to care for them.

The problem becomes, when you move cats, it takes them 3-6 weeks to acclimate to a new area. During this period they need to be confined or they will only travel back to their former territory. It is their nature to do this. So you would need to keep the cats inside your apartment not allowing them outside time. If you had an outside space, you could use large cages and keep them there, but you would need to be sure they have shelter from bad weather.

I moved last year and brought 3 feral cats with me. I decided they had been living outside long enough and it was time for them to have an inside home. All 3 have adjusted well to inside living. I also already had 3 cats so now I have 6 living inside.

If you must leave them behind, please be sure that someone else will care for them.

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Thank you for that detailed answer. There is someone who can care for them but I'm not sure if they would do that in the long term. We can't seem to find a place with lots of outside space like a closed garage etc. where we can keep them and I am not sure if keeping them indoors is possible.

Also both of them do not like to be confined. Trips to the vet are quite an ordeal. Once the male cat tried to chew his way out of the plastic carrier and he wailed and loudly meowed non-stop while at the vet. They both HATE being confined and they LOVE wandering around. They both have those feral qualities in them.

Hopefully a solution presents itself in a little while. There is still some time before the move and I was just planning ahead.

Could you build a catio outside for them?

Most cats hate to be confined and will yowl and howl, but also most calm down within a few days. There are tips and tricks that can be used to keep them inside.

Also, if cats are actually IN a trap, covering trap with a sheet or towel or blanket (depending on temperature) will help the cat calm and become silent.

Cats calm down when they can not see anything...

Hope you find a way to keep them. Good luck.

If you take them with you, keep them with you, get them used to being indoors again. At least don't leave one behind. A neighbor of mine took a stray cat she had befriended to a different city. After 2 weeks he ran away, probably back to his mate miles away.

I think it's very rare for a cat to not be able to adjust once indoors. Of course they love running around! But I am sure they also love knowing that they will have food, water, and shelter.

I think it can be tempting for people to glamorize the life of an outdoor cat. It is not easy, nor is it safe. It is most often a very hard life.

Granted, these two haven't been living that hard life for some time because of you! You even provided them a roomy and safe shelter! What a great (and kind) idea!

I found your story funny, because it reminded me of one of ours. There was this stray living in my neighborhood for a few years. He started coming around, we started feeding him, you know the drill.

But I was like "NO WAY are we taking this one in" because of how rambunctious he was all the time. I'm more into chill seniors, and he was just too feisty and energetic for me. He would get the kitty crazies often and scale our seven foot fence and run out into the field behind it like it was nothing. I felt tired watching him most of the time.

But he also did things that captured my heart. When we would walk to the mailbox, we'd call him and he'd walk us there and back. One day, I too, accidentally left my window cracked, and it ended up raining. Guess who found his way inside and set up a cozy camp in the car overnight?

When winter came and I saw how unbelievably cold and miserable he was, even while in the shelter we provided him... well, that was it. In he goes!

It was a trying two weeks. He was constantly going to the door meowing and looking up at us. It was very hard to say no.

But we made it through! And now he's indoor only, with lots of love, attention, vet care, play, and playmates. He'll never have to go without food again, he'll never have to stop and look behind him every three steps as he crosses a street, ever again.

Every single cat in our house but 2 were lived outdoors their whole lives. We currently have two ex-ferals here as well who are very happy campers who adore affection.

One of them is the most cuddly cat out of our sizeable clowder of ten. He actually hates confinement more than most felines and beats himself up bloody any time he's in a carrier. But he loves being inside with his people. The two are not mutually exclusive

Cats don't need to roam free anywhere and everywhere. They need what we all do - food, water, a place to go to the bathroom, and a place to safely lay their heads. A little love and affection helps too