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Hello everyone. I'm here because my first attempt at doing TNR has gotten more complicated than I expected. And I haven't even gotten a trap yet!
A while ago my brother moved into a house a couple of streets over from us and he mentioned a "crazy cat lady" that had a bunch of cats. Well, of course after that I was on the look out. I found food, water, and a box set out on the porch of the house right across the street from him. So I started keeping an eye out on the house and started keeping track of the cats I saw.
One classic tabby.
One mackerel tabby.
One chubby black cat.
One orange cat that always kept his distance.
There are other cats around the neighborhood, but those are the ones I saw at that house. And it stayed that way for a while.
Then everything started happening at once. The orange cat who I had only seen from a distance allowed me to get relatively close to him and he doesn't look great. I had always gotten a certain sense from him that made him seem old. Like he had seen a lot in his time. Well, he's not in the best shape. His ears are always at a certain angle and I'm not sure if it's intentional or what, but I've never seem them at a different angle. His eyes seem small and squinty, but he seems alright otherwise. He's not thin, his coat is dull, but not messy. He's cautious, but doesn't seem outright terrified.
I also saw a cat that's mostly white with some orange splotches sitting on the porch under the bench. I had never seen this cat before.
That same day, on my way home I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was the orange cat in the backyard, but I noticed he wasn't alone back there. I noticed a pretty big looking blue tabby short hair on the stairs of the deck in the back. And a long-haired solid blue cat. And a long-hair solid blue kitten.
The kitten was what worried me. I had been hoping they were all neutered since they seemed to be getting a long very well and I hadn't noticed a bunch of kittens or anything, but then there was this little one that was probably a few months or so old.
The next day I saw a small, medium haired dilute tortoiseshell sitting by the stairs. Then there was another dilute tortie, this one bigger and short-haired, laying on the porch with the classic tabby. Seeing these cats, I decided I wanted to do something about it. I got in contact with a TNR group who said they couldn't come trap cats until May, but said if I could get traps and do the trapping then they could keep the cats for recovery and take them to the vet. The county is currently covering TNR, so it would be free. So then it was a matter of getting traps and also trying to get in contact with the person feeding these cats. I was hoping I could try to find the caretaker outside rather than knocking on the door. Or if I couldn't get in contact with them then I could ask my brother to let me put traps in his yard.
But yesterday I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. I saw two cats dart out from under the house. I barely saw the first one since I just caught to motion out of the corner of me eye, but the second I believe was the white and orange cat I had seen before. It got up on the porch and slipped into the house through a cat door that I hadn't seen. Right after that, I noticed a little face in the window and I believe it was the medium-haired dilute tortie I had seen before. So now it looks like these cats have access to the inside and I'm wondering if this is really a case of someone rescuing ferals/strays or if it's someone hoarding cats. They seem pretty well cared for, but I can't imagine how this person could possibly keep up on vet bills if they got sick and they don't seem completely tame.
Any advice, tips, experience, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
A while ago my brother moved into a house a couple of streets over from us and he mentioned a "crazy cat lady" that had a bunch of cats. Well, of course after that I was on the look out. I found food, water, and a box set out on the porch of the house right across the street from him. So I started keeping an eye out on the house and started keeping track of the cats I saw.
One classic tabby.
One mackerel tabby.
One chubby black cat.
One orange cat that always kept his distance.
There are other cats around the neighborhood, but those are the ones I saw at that house. And it stayed that way for a while.
Then everything started happening at once. The orange cat who I had only seen from a distance allowed me to get relatively close to him and he doesn't look great. I had always gotten a certain sense from him that made him seem old. Like he had seen a lot in his time. Well, he's not in the best shape. His ears are always at a certain angle and I'm not sure if it's intentional or what, but I've never seem them at a different angle. His eyes seem small and squinty, but he seems alright otherwise. He's not thin, his coat is dull, but not messy. He's cautious, but doesn't seem outright terrified.
I also saw a cat that's mostly white with some orange splotches sitting on the porch under the bench. I had never seen this cat before.
That same day, on my way home I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was the orange cat in the backyard, but I noticed he wasn't alone back there. I noticed a pretty big looking blue tabby short hair on the stairs of the deck in the back. And a long-haired solid blue cat. And a long-hair solid blue kitten.
The kitten was what worried me. I had been hoping they were all neutered since they seemed to be getting a long very well and I hadn't noticed a bunch of kittens or anything, but then there was this little one that was probably a few months or so old.
The next day I saw a small, medium haired dilute tortoiseshell sitting by the stairs. Then there was another dilute tortie, this one bigger and short-haired, laying on the porch with the classic tabby. Seeing these cats, I decided I wanted to do something about it. I got in contact with a TNR group who said they couldn't come trap cats until May, but said if I could get traps and do the trapping then they could keep the cats for recovery and take them to the vet. The county is currently covering TNR, so it would be free. So then it was a matter of getting traps and also trying to get in contact with the person feeding these cats. I was hoping I could try to find the caretaker outside rather than knocking on the door. Or if I couldn't get in contact with them then I could ask my brother to let me put traps in his yard.
But yesterday I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. I saw two cats dart out from under the house. I barely saw the first one since I just caught to motion out of the corner of me eye, but the second I believe was the white and orange cat I had seen before. It got up on the porch and slipped into the house through a cat door that I hadn't seen. Right after that, I noticed a little face in the window and I believe it was the medium-haired dilute tortie I had seen before. So now it looks like these cats have access to the inside and I'm wondering if this is really a case of someone rescuing ferals/strays or if it's someone hoarding cats. They seem pretty well cared for, but I can't imagine how this person could possibly keep up on vet bills if they got sick and they don't seem completely tame.
Any advice, tips, experience, etc. would be greatly appreciated.