Am I Doing The Right Thing?

[dani16]

Hello, this is my first post and I'm so happy to have found this friendly & helpful community. I have a question regarding adopting strays.

The last four cats I have adopted, I found in my yard. I've never trapped any of these cats. If they've been hanging around for a few days, I usually just try kneeling down with a little food and calling them. Then I take them to the vet and have them scanned for a chip, and if there is none (so far there haven't been) & I don't see any lost pet ads in Craigslist etc, I keep the cat as an indoor pet. I've given two away to my adult kids who also keep them as indoor cats. All the cats I have found have been neutered, and the latest one was even declawed. Some were clearly lost and malnourished, some seem like they might be someone's pet.

A word about where I live- we have a 2 acre lot right on the edge of town, half of my backyard is wild land and we are backed right up to more of the same. We have mountain lions, bobcats and coyotes. Last month, we heard a cat be killed right on our back deck- it was 2 am and by the time we got there, the birdbath was knocked over and there was no trace of anything except wet drag marks over to the nearest spruce tree. I'm pretty sure I know which cat it was- he'd resisted my attempts to nab him, but would come up to deck and mark our grill cover. The Fish, Wildlife & Parks people told us to get rid of the birdbath, as it draws in more than just birds.

So I don't feed strays. I feel I'd be luring them to their deaths. I have heard that my neighbor up the street practices TNR & feeds them, but I wonder if that's ethical here? It may be that I have adopted some of her cats, but I think they're better off with me. Should I be making more of an attempt to find owners? I guess I just think this is a part of the world where cats just don't belong outdoors at all. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Without a chip, and with no notifications on lost pet websites I'm not sure what else you can do to try and track down owners.

It sounds to me as though you're getting, and saving, lost and dumped strays and the other person is working with ferals. Strays and the outdoors are not a good mix. Thank you for what you do

 

[dani16]

Oh thanks, you're absolutely right. My neighbor and I do seem to be doing two different things, don't we? Thanks for making that distinction more clear to me. Not all cats can be pets, can they? I'm trying to save the ones that are, she's trying to help the ones that most likely never will be.

 

[dani16]

I should add that I literally know nothing about TNR protocol, beside what the acronym stands for. I'm just a soft-hearted pet lover.

 

[Jcatbird]

I understand what you mean. I live in a place where outdoor cats rarely survive very long. TNR is great. You might want to tell that neighbor who feeds about the fencing that is made to angle inwards at the top to keep kitties inside and safer. Also give them lots of sturdy hiding places and many shelters to retreat into that no large animal can penetrate. Concrete cylinders anchored into the ground might be a start, cat doors into a shed if possible. Maybe you could help. I brought in all the colony here over time. I also looked for owners. I found only a few owners out of 100 plus cats. I returned them in good health and only after confirming ownership and enlightenening the owners that there is a leash law for pet cats here. One owner did not heed my warning and it ended with a Bobcat. The law required I return that cat. The other returns went very happily. I put signs up near where I found kitties that simply read,” found cat.” I left it for callers to describe the cat. I used the local vets for info and put up flyers there as well as at the local post office. All the cats I brought in got spayed/neutered and most socialized and adopted out. The unadopted are safely indoors.
There are feral colonies in some areas that do well with assistance. The life of an outdoor kitties is shorter. There are just so many risks out there. The problem is that there are not enough responsible owners. Not enough to adopt, not enough safe shelters with resources to keep the kitties alive and healthy and not enough owners to give proper care to the cats they have, so tending to feral colonies can become the only solution. That’s why having a human step in to help makes all the difference. Medical, Spay, Neuter, shots, food and safe places to shelter give them a much better quality of life. They can be with family and won’t be put down in a shelter.
A DECLAWED kitty? That cat needs an indoor home more than most. Many are working to make declawing illegal. It should be! It sounds like a lot of those cats are dumped pets, lost pets, abandoned or semi feral. Sometimes owners die too. It is so sad. Please help the kitties in any way possible. Rescues, providing safe shelters, assisting the neighbor to make that place safer and definitely TNR. The TNR can be trap, Neuter and rescue, release or re home.
So very glad you joined the site. It’s a great place to find support, information and to tell your story. Thank you for caring about those kitties and please update us. I am sure others will be responding to you as well. Your story helps to educate others. Please continue.

 

[Jcatbird]

Let me clarify one little thing. Ferals can be socialized to be human companions. Not all will become lap cats but I’ve got older ferals that did become lap cats. It depends on the cat. You described how you approach the kitties and I do much the same with ferals. You can either work to gain trust and slowly build a relationship or there are many methods of trapping. There are lost of threads here by people who are doing as you are. We all begin with helping one kitty and learn as we go. Many here will be around to assist you anytime you need information. If you want to learn more there are lots of articles here on about TNR and trapping too. Furballsmom You can probably put your hands on a TNR article more quickly than I can.

 

[Furballsmom]

A Feral Cat Or A Stray Cat? How To Tell The Difference

There are embedded links to several other articles in this one, but let me post one in particular here;

Everything You Need To Know About Tnr (trap-neuter-release)

 

[dani16]

Wow! Thanks for all of the wonderful information. I never really thought that hard about the differences between feral and stray cats, just "Cats who seem like vulnerable pets and more wily cats".

I try to get to know our neighborhood kitties, when a new one shows up that is clearly out of its element, those are the ones I try to adopt. Sometimes they adopt me. And sometimes I'm not quick enough, (as per the sad story, above). I do worry I'm taking someone's pet, but if I don't it's going to end up on a bigger cat's dinner menu. The one I adopted today (the declawed one) is so sweet, I'm surprised he survived the weekend, we went out of town and were so relieved when we came home and found he was still hanging around yesterday. Now he's sleeping on the couch like he owns the place- well, I guess he does now!

 

[Furballsmom]

Now he's sleeping on the couch like he owns the place

.

 

[catsknowme]

Welcome to TCS!! Thank you for helping those kitties!!

Does your neighbor have various shelters for her cats? I, too, live in a rural area and have lost the occasional feral except for when a mountain lion killed 11 of my colony in April, 2017 - I had to stare down that cat for 4 nights in a row! After the massacre, I made a lot more (albeit unsightly) shelters and escape routes and so far no one else has been taken.

 

[dani16]

I don't really know what she is doing (or if, in fact, she really is doing it), I only heard that a neighbor on the street does TNR.