Warning: very long post.
Because of increasing rent, I've been looking to buy a house. Here's the problem: I have a small colony of two males and two females who live around my apartment. I have a couple of shelters and a feeding station and they're accustomed to my putting wet food out twice a day and dry food left in the feeding station along with water dishes. They've all been TNR'd. I'm looking at a couple of houses that have a yard so it would be theoretically possible to take them but:
1. One male, Ambrose, is a territorial bully. He and the other tom, Clarence, fight periodically as it is, so I'm concerned that confining them in an enclosed yard would be tantamount to a death cage match.
2. Ambrose gets along all right when I have my indoor kittens out on their leashes, but I'm worried he'd be territorial about the back yard and I wouldn't be able to let Angus and Leo run in the back yard at all with him there. He followed me inside one day over the summer and got hissy with Angus and then hissed at me when I tried to get him to leave so, while he allows me to pet him and put flea treatment on him, I don't trust him all that far.
3. Clarence generally runs when I have the kittens out and Angus has attempted to give chase several times (oddly he doesn't chase or get aggressive toward Ambrose). So again letting Angus and Leo out into the yard might be a problem.
4. Angus and one of the two females, Betty Boop, have played together while he was out on a leash. Boop has gotten closer to me and relaxed around me since Angus has been around. She'll actually seek us out and roll over on the ground in front of Angus to entice him to play with her. It's sweet. She doesn't care much for Leo but they haven't interacted much.
5. The two females are nearly always together--Myst is Boop's mom and Boop is barely out of kittenhood herself being just about 18 months old herself. I'm pretty sure Clarence is Boop's dad because the two females are typically somewhere near Clarence and I often see him watching from a distance when Boop comes over to see Angus, so breaking the three of them up seems cruel.
There are several people around the apartments who put food out for the area cats, but for the past year these four cats have come to depend on me and I'm feeling torn about what to do with them. They're at my door like clockwork every morning and evening. I also have the two indoor kitties, Angus and Leo to consider in terms of their safety and ability to enjoy a back yard. At times I think it's doable to bring the colony with me but then, like tonight, Ambrose and Clarence get into a fight and I'm back to wondering what I should do and feeling guilty that I'm considering abandoning them even though they've only been getting food and shelter from me for just over a year now so they've been fine for several years prior.
Because of increasing rent, I've been looking to buy a house. Here's the problem: I have a small colony of two males and two females who live around my apartment. I have a couple of shelters and a feeding station and they're accustomed to my putting wet food out twice a day and dry food left in the feeding station along with water dishes. They've all been TNR'd. I'm looking at a couple of houses that have a yard so it would be theoretically possible to take them but:
1. One male, Ambrose, is a territorial bully. He and the other tom, Clarence, fight periodically as it is, so I'm concerned that confining them in an enclosed yard would be tantamount to a death cage match.
2. Ambrose gets along all right when I have my indoor kittens out on their leashes, but I'm worried he'd be territorial about the back yard and I wouldn't be able to let Angus and Leo run in the back yard at all with him there. He followed me inside one day over the summer and got hissy with Angus and then hissed at me when I tried to get him to leave so, while he allows me to pet him and put flea treatment on him, I don't trust him all that far.
3. Clarence generally runs when I have the kittens out and Angus has attempted to give chase several times (oddly he doesn't chase or get aggressive toward Ambrose). So again letting Angus and Leo out into the yard might be a problem.
4. Angus and one of the two females, Betty Boop, have played together while he was out on a leash. Boop has gotten closer to me and relaxed around me since Angus has been around. She'll actually seek us out and roll over on the ground in front of Angus to entice him to play with her. It's sweet. She doesn't care much for Leo but they haven't interacted much.
5. The two females are nearly always together--Myst is Boop's mom and Boop is barely out of kittenhood herself being just about 18 months old herself. I'm pretty sure Clarence is Boop's dad because the two females are typically somewhere near Clarence and I often see him watching from a distance when Boop comes over to see Angus, so breaking the three of them up seems cruel.
There are several people around the apartments who put food out for the area cats, but for the past year these four cats have come to depend on me and I'm feeling torn about what to do with them. They're at my door like clockwork every morning and evening. I also have the two indoor kitties, Angus and Leo to consider in terms of their safety and ability to enjoy a back yard. At times I think it's doable to bring the colony with me but then, like tonight, Ambrose and Clarence get into a fight and I'm back to wondering what I should do and feeling guilty that I'm considering abandoning them even though they've only been getting food and shelter from me for just over a year now so they've been fine for several years prior.