Advice Related To Relocation

[Notacrazycatlady]

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.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I recently moved and brought 3 feral cats with me that I had been taking care of for many years. I decided that it was time to bring them inside. I was tired of worrying about them all of the time. I also have 3 indoor only cats so my brood jumped to 6. Yet moving to a new house was the perfect time to bring them along and allow them to adjust to inside living.

If you do decide to take them along and keep them outside, there is an acclimation period of 4-6 weeks. The cats must be confined during this time period or they will only wander to find their old territory. The confinement period is to allow them time to adjust to their new territory. You could possibly build them or buy a catio for them.

The other choice is to bring them inside. If you decide to go this route we can give you some advice.

The final option is to find someone else to take over the care of the cats at their current location. I know that I could never leave mine behind. They depended on me for food and shelter and I knew no one else would care for them as I did. Yet maybe there is someone who loves them as you do and would be willing to step up and take care of them.

 

[Notacrazycatlady]

My problem is that the toms are both territorial bullies. For the most part they treat the patio as neutral, but I have to put one dish just outside the patio entrance so that one of them can eat in the feeding station while one eats outside of the Hobo Cat city limits. Bringing Ambrose inside would put Angus and Leo at the mercy of a larger, feral, territorial bully so that's not really an option even though Ambrose is friendly to me. If I bring just the two females, I think they'd get along fine, but I'm conflicted about separating them from Clarence. I know Ambrose has a couple of other apartments he goes to for treats and food, so he'll be in better shape if I leave him there but Clarence and the girls are feral--they barely tolerate me so I'd be more concerned about their welfare over Ambrose. The fact that Ambrose is the friendlier one toward people just makes it harder to walk away from him.

 

[Notacrazycatlady]

UPDATE: I am scheduled to close on a house here in a couple of weeks. Ambrose has been spending more time around another apartment--they have let him inside when it gets particularly nasty out although they're not able to keep him inside full-time. As for the other three, a new neighbor moved in three apartments down from me and he's indicated that he's willing to make sure they have access to food. I will be bringing the food for him to put out. I work just a couple miles from the complex, so I can stop by on my lunch.

So, does anyone have any advice on how to move their usual feeding location about a hundred feet to a different patio? I've got six weeks to make this as easy of a transition as possible. I'll feel bad about leaving them behind, but it's just not feasible to re-locate them with me--no place to confine them and a small yard with a yappy dog next door.