Advice Needed on Feral Colony

[CarmiesMom]

though i am griveing the loss of my Houdini today life goes on, and the cops and city have no idea i just lost one of my indoor babies.

I for the last 4-5 years have been feeding and doing what i can for a feral colony that lives in my garage, we have no TNR options and i'm on a limited Income, SO they are not fixed a i can NOT afford $65 each for the boys and $90 for the girls each the colony has fuctuated over the years sometiems more sometimes less than what we have now i try each time to find homes for the kittens and most times i am sucessfull, nit always and i get them what medical care i can for example the motehr of my indoor cats durring her first litter she needed a c-section so she came inside (as im not paying nerly $300 and turning her back out to get run over and before she recovered enough fr me to consider a spay as the vet said it would risk her milk at the time of c-section she got preggers again.)

however the city is now on my case their has been an ordianance for years against feeding strays well im not going to let anything starve and as i have indoor kitties i started giving the first cat part of their food along with scraps cant get near or touch her she'll hiss if your too close and you cant trap her either been their tried that. anyway the colony currenly has 7 adults that are feral to semi feral to almost friendly they get along well with my dog one of them nearly too well LOL their are also 6 kittens 3 old enough to be rehomed.

My issue is their's a bridge a block and a half away its been colsed the last year for replacement of the hundred yer old wooden structure with modern concrete, now the city has been looking close at the properties near by and are going to start fining those who feed what they consider Stray cats as the city oridinance dosent recognize feral's and i will be charged $75 per cat over 4 pets and thats what i have indoors plus they all must be vaccinated and registered with the city so they can fine you if you have more than 4 pets. i Cant afford that and with the bridge reopening well its going to be dangerous here in the next two weeks as the bridge will reopen 4th of july weekend. my nebighors have also been having a cow about them getting in their trash which they dont as they do not get in my own trash.

I need to relocate the colony who are used to being fed once a day with a half of cup of food each in the summer time and a whole cup each in the winter. I have tried the shelter and animal control but the shelter is full of cats and when that happens Ac will take them to a vet where they will have 24 hours to find a home before being euthanized. this dosent work for me so i used ALlie cat alies site to reach out to otehr rescues as im in a rural area i did a hundred mi radious but o far they have said they cant help for various reasons and all the faarmers I've asked eitehr have mroe than enough or do not want cats i jsut dont know what to do.

I need to rehome the colony but I just dont know how. any help or advice would be appriceated Thanks.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

So sorry for what you are going through. One of the first organizations I would recommend is Alley Cat Allies, but since you reached out to them and they can't seem to help you because of your location. You must keep looking. Talk to whoever is responsible for issuing these fines and tell them you are looking for help and could they please give you a little more time and not hit you with these fines yet. You may have to go public and present your case (to garder some sympathy and understanding) and maybe you can find someone who can help you out.

But first, in regards to having the kitties tnred maybe you can look into crowd sourcing. On this site it is done in the SOS forum and you are only allowed to put up a thread there every 6 months asking for money. Outside the site, you can try Go Fund Me and You Caring. If you are able to gather the necessary funds for tnring the cats, than maybe your town will ease up a bit and see you are trying. Things will only get worse if those kitties remain intact and continue to repopulate. Also, try to see if you can rehome any friendly cat or kitten.

You are really in-between a rock and a hard place. I hope others come and offer there advice here. So sorry, you are going through this. I do have my own struggles with the cats I feed and people are not happy thst I feed. But in my case, where I live it is not illegal to feed and all the cats I fed are tnred. So, I am grateful for that.

I am so sorry you are going through this. Hang in there.

 

[fionasmom]

I am sorry that you are in this situation. Whenallhellbreakslose has offered some very good ideas such as using Go Fund Me among others. Did you use the Alley Cat Allies Feral Friend's Network (which it sounds as if you did) as opposed to reaching out to them as an organization in general? Do you have the Nextdoor app? nextdoor.com It will connect you with your general area, although you can widen that area so that a large number of people see your posts. There might be someone out there who could help you or at least get the three kittens into a home or foster situation. Around here, it always gets responses, even if it is just that someone knows someone who can help.

I agree that the cats need to be fixed if you can in any way get that done as you will have a huge population which will definitely cause an even bigger problem than you have now.

Relocation: A Last Resort
I don't know if you saw this article on the ACA website.

It is very tricky to actually relocate feral cats. There are steps that have to be followed or they will just run away from the new location and be off on their own again.

What to Do if Neighbors Complain
Article on community relations

You need others to help you with this as it is a massive operation to move a cat colony which is why I think that you need to get onto social media and see what can be found. As much as you have cared for these cats, you cannot relocate 13 ferals by yourself. Try calling all rescues, even those not in your area. Ask for connections to people who might be able to help. It might not even be a bad idea to call the bigger metro areas in MO like St. Louis and Kansas City as they may have more connections.

 

[CarmiesMom]

I am sorry that you are in this situation. Whenallhellbreakslose has offered some very good ideas such as using Go Fund Me among others. Did you use the Alley Cat Allies Feral Friend's Network (which it sounds as if you did) as opposed to reaching out to them as an organization in general? Do you have the Nextdoor app? nextdoor.com It will connect you with your general area, although you can widen that area so that a large number of people see your posts. There might be someone out there who could help you or at least get the three kittens into a home or foster situation. Around here, it always gets responses, even if it is just that someone knows someone who can help.

I agree that the cats need to be fixed if you can in any way get that done as you will have a huge population which will definitely cause an even bigger problem than you have now.

Relocation: A Last Resort
I don't know if you saw this article on the ACA website.

It is very tricky to actually relocate feral cats. There are steps that have to be followed or they will just run away from the new location and be off on their own again.

What to Do if Neighbors Complain
Article on community relations

You need others to help you with this as it is a massive operation to move a cat colony which is why I think that you need to get onto social media and see what can be found. As much as you have cared for these cats, you cannot relocate 13 ferals by yourself. Try calling all rescues, even those not in your area. Ask for connections to people who might be able to help. It might not even be a bad idea to call the bigger metro areas in MO like St. Louis and Kansas City as they may have more connections.

I've read the ACA articles and this is a last resort as i cant afford more fines we already have a $200 fine because my 92 year old grandfathers hobby is fixing old bikes and the ciy said he had too many to fix- i have sent Emails to St. louis, KC, kansas, iowa 6 emails for those in a 100mi radious of ACA Feral friends and so far 3 have said sorry we cant help im still waiting on the thers its been a week now and i've talked to some kids in the nbighorhood who want two of the kittens trying to get them to take all 3 as far as fixubg them i cant do it the city and my nebighors are against me that wont help right now.

 

[Jcatbird]

jefferd18 I know you are very busy but maybe you could help here? Info?

It was illegal here to TNR when I first needed to help the ferals. I started by getting involved with the local shelter director. That may be too time consuming for your immediate needs but that is something you need to do in the future so try making contact.
Do you know about the National Spay Alliance? They may be able to help with finding spays. Best friends.org?
Have you done a Google search with your town, county and state names along with the word feral , strays, community cats or fosters? Use all combinations of these words to look for and ask for help. You will have to push! Contact each group or person you find repeatedly. Every group gets lots of appeals for help but it’s the persistent please that get the help. Rescues are all very busy, especially this time of year. I know because I ran into the same wall you have met. Networking is the best source of help. Make a list and text, email or better yet, call and tell them that the cats are high risk. Time is of the essence. The better you lay out the plea, the more people will feel your desperation to help these cats. Have you tried St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach? 314-669-5228? It is linked to Bestfriends. I know they had some budget cuts but maybe they are still active.
What about Tenth Life? 314-808-2454?
Numbers may have changed but try! Look up the names for more links to them. If they say no room, if anyone says they cannot help, don’t accept that as a final answer. Sometimes a spot opens up. Sometimes they just begin to realize you are a serious rescuer and you don’t mind doing the work, you just need help. I had over a hundred and was at my wits end. Many of us have faced similar situations. Hang on and keep trying. Don’t give up. Please keep us updated. Facebook is another resource. There are rescue groups there that may be able to help. Put the information and the need out on line in any place you can find an outlet. Instagram, Twitter or anywhere you may be able to find resources, assistance to spay and neuter or whatever anyone can offer. Bravo to you for caring about these cats! You are doing the right thing, now you just need to stop the breeding. The rest can be addressed as you go. If you can spay, the males can’t produce. One cat at a time. St. Louis Vet Center, 314- 773-6400
Carol House Quick Fox Pet Clinic 314-771-7387
I found those numbers but I don’t know if they will be useful. However, every time you talk to anyone, if they can’t help, ask them if they know anyone who can. I was often reverted to others in my search and eventually, all the kitties here did get shots, spayed and neutered. Most got socialized for adoption too. Ferals are not always a lost cause for adoption. I hope something from us will help.

 

[CarmiesMom]

Thanks however The thing is there are now 9 kittens and all but i believe 3 of the adults can be made into adoptable babies especially the matriarch Rosie i know the eldest cant i've been trying to get Keebler to trust me nearly 7 years now with little progress she hisses at me if im late with food which i have to bring out in secret hidden or disguised as somthing else as my Nebighors can sign a sworn statement and have me sent to court for feeding them and the fine is $100 PER CAT plus court costs and i don't have that kind of money. i jeep trying only to be met by repeated no's and i'm sorries . TNR has been brought up and denied by the city council more than once. These 8 adults and 8 kittens need to be relocated ASAP. I can no longer feed them as per this notice. Trenton Police Department: Feeding stray cats in Trenton is against city ordinance i'm at my wits end grasping at straws. and do not tell me to contact my local shelter/Animal control, the Article Lied on that front, they will not pick up stray/feral cats as the shelter is over full and the vet who takes in those they don't have room for is also full. No farmers have been willing to take on barn cats. and i will say it again THEIR IS NO TNR , NO OPTIONS FOR TNR THE CITY WANTS THEM GONE.

 

[fionasmom]

What is the city's next step? No TNR and no feeding so are they hoping for attrition or are they going to trap and eliminate cats?

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

The language of the ordinance might provide room for interpretation: “no person shall feed or harbor stray or feral cats where such feeding and harborage causes a nuisance to residents, increased risk of diseases or injury to the cats, or uncontrolled breeding of the cats.” It seems your terrible neighbors are making your ferals meet the first condition ("nuisance to residents"), but if that wasn't the case and you showed you were making an effort to get them vaccinated and fixed perhaps you wouldn't actually be violating the ordinance. The only effective and humane way to reduce feral/stray populations is through fixing and releasing; if people don't feed them they will still hunt and continue breeding, it'll just be entirely uncontrolled instead of partially controlled and quickly turn into an entirely-feral community. Unless the city is planning on mass euthanasia, which is unbelievably cruel and would deservedly draw a lot of negative PR, the "fine everyone caught giving food to strays" approach is utterly useless for fixing the problem. They probably don't even want to fix it, apparently they can rake in money that way. If only the funds earmarked for policing this (or policing anything......) could be channeled into setting up a TNR program...

 

[CarmiesMom]

The language of the ordinance might provide room for interpretation: “no person shall feed or harbor stray or feral cats where such feeding and harborage causes a nuisance to residents, increased risk of diseases or injury to the cats, or uncontrolled breeding of the cats.” It seems your terrible neighbors are making your ferals meet the first condition ("nuisance to residents"), but if that wasn't the case and you showed you were making an effort to get them vaccinated and fixed perhaps you wouldn't actually be violating the ordinance. The only effective and humane way to reduce feral/stray populations is through fixing and releasing; if people don't feed them they will still hunt and continue breeding, it'll just be entirely uncontrolled instead of partially controlled and quickly turn into an entirely-feral community. Unless the city is planning on mass euthanasia, which is unbelievably cruel and would deservedly draw a lot of negative PR, the "fine everyone caught giving food to strays" approach is utterly useless for fixing the problem. They probably don't even want to fix it, apparently they can rake in money that way. If only the funds earmarked for policing this (or policing anything......) could be channeled into setting up a TNR program...

You pretty much hit the nail on the head with them wanting money. they just spent 2 mill on a new bridge, 2 mill on a performing arts center for the MS & HS & are starting a 5 mill upgrade of the water/swear plant to bring it up to code as it hasnt been updated sence the early 80's oh and another mill and a half went to the airport tax revenues are down as all the shoping we have is Dollar General, Dollar Tree, orschleans, thrift shops, and hyvee, the city dosen't want the cats here we've tried setting up a TNR before but the city and the shelter are both against it. they arent wanting to trap them at all i called AC to see if they would at least take the kittens but the anwser was no. from what i can tell they want money. will call again tomorrow as one of the kittens has yucky eyes stuck shut and red looking but is to feral to approach.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

Did you check out the organizations Jcatbird mentioned in her post. Have you tried getting the word out on FB? You said you looked into to farms taking the cats in, but have you tried Warehouses, Box stores, and anywhere they may need the cats whether it is 25, 50, 100 miles away. Their are work programs where in my neck of the woods these sort of places take in ferals to help with pest control. Keep thinking outside of the box. Stay positive. Also, keep asking for help with tnr from organizations in your state. Crowd source to cover the fees. The numbers can go up so quickly. It really can't be put off.

Sorry that your town is profiting off of fining people such as yourself for feeding cats. It is cruel to starve the cats and it is cruel to put people in such stressful position where they are getting socked with fines for doing the right thing. Get your story out there on social media and elsewhere. I pray you find the right people and they can help you out.

 

[CarmiesMom]

Good News i just have to figgure out a way to get all nearly 20 cats to Miriam Kansas 2-21/2 hrs away
as i don't drive in cities and honesty not sure my car would make the trip

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

Great!!! I hope you find someone who can offer to drive you who has a large vehicle. Maybe the people who are taking the cats can come and pick them up.

Anyway, you found a solution. I hope everything goes well for the cats. This is great news. Best of luck!

 

[fionasmom]

Good idea. See if you can make some arrangement with the rescuers to get transportation set up.

 

[CarmiesMom]

update they wont have room till the first of August so i hae a bit of time to arrange things right now waiting a call back from my local shelter to see of they could hold them in their holding area untill they can be transported as a few 3 or so of the kittens are getting gunky eyes.

 

[fionasmom]

Certainly hoping that this all works out for you. Given that you are trying to comply with all new laws, it seems that they should work with you on this, as you might suggest to them.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

I wish you all the best. May this be the right place for the kitties and may they find there furever homes soon.

 

[CarmiesMom]

Update again back to square one i cant afford this option their are 16 cats and kittens and they want to charge $35 a cat i cant afford that anymore than i can afford a $100 a cat fine.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

As mentioned before, keep getting the word out on social media. Hopefully someone who works in animal rescue can help you. Stay away from any shelter that practices euthanization. Do practice due diligence in finding the right place for these kitties. There are alot of sick people out there who think nothing of hurting animals.

I was searching for homes for some kittens some years back who were rescued off the streets and some shady people came forth and wanted them. I had to shut it down because they wanted the kittens for free and were heavily guilt tripping me for asking for a rehoming fee. Mark my words-- Check everything out thoroughly. I know you are in a very tough position, but don't let your guard down.

 

[CarmiesMom]

As mentioned before, keep getting the word out on social media. Hopefully someone who works in animal rescue can help you. Stay away from any shelter that practices euthanization. Do practice due diligence in finding the right place for these kitties. There are alot of sick people out there who think nothing of hurting animals.

I was searching for homes for some kittens some years back who were rescued off the streets and some shady people came forth and wanted them. I had to shut it down because they wanted the kittens for free and were heavily guilt tripping me for asking for a rehoming fee. Mark my words-- Check everything out thoroughly. I know you are in a very tough position, but don't let your guard down.

It was the Geeat Plains SPCA so i wasnt worried about it but i cant afford $560 thats more than my tax return ive been waiting 4 months on, and i cant even go fund me enouh to raise $200 to help pay my grampas ticket for having a hobby of fixing up old junk bikes into good working order again which was deemed a public nusience.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

Keep reaching out. See who are the animal rescue workers in your state or in a nearby state who will help you place the kittens and friendly cats in homes or at least somewhere temporary. Tell them the situation is dire and you are going to get hit with heavy fines and that it could get very bad. The more you make your story visible on Social Media, hopeful the right people who can help you will reach out to you. I had to do this to have kittens adopted out some years back. Just be careful. I wish you the best of luck.