Had the cops called on me

[dahlia]

Hello,
I just needed to vent a bit. There is a short term rental property where I have been feeding and trapping cats for around two years. Normally, people don't stay in it long enough that I have to worry about being caught (I feed and set the trap out for awhile at around 5 am). However, some people have been living in it for around 9 months now and they are early risers who go outside to smoke. It turns out they are also anti-cat. The lady yelled at me this morning and said she was calling the cops. I waited for a bit and then went and explained to them that I was attempting to trap and deal with the cat problem in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to trap for over a month because of over crowding at the shelter,. The cops came and we talked through it (fortunately I knew one of the cops) and it was all good. However, they want me to change where I am feeding and there aren't a ton of good options. The guy in the house was all telling me how I should try to net them or tranquilize them (what with a dart gun?). I just nodded and smiled. I am just praying they move out within the next few months. I will try to move feeding locations for a bit but that won't work long term and I worry about getting the cats used to a new location.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Just a thought - may or may not be possible. If these folks are people you can at least talk to, could you tell them that you are going to try to move the feeding location, but for it to be successful you need to do it gradually - so it may take some time. Just like members on this site talk about slowly moving food bowls or litter boxes - would it possible for you to move their feeding station maybe like a foot at a time over several weeks?

 

[dahlia]

Thank you for the thought. The people don't seem super cooperative and I would like to avoid interacting with them as much as possible. I wish they didn't get up so dang early and I would just start moving it slowly and they wouldn't even notice. As it is, I am sure they will be watching when I come in the mornings. There are some places on the adjoining property that is also a vacation rental so I will move it over there and hope the owner of the property doesn't notice and that the people move out of the other one in the next few months.

 

[fionasmom]

Apparently TNR is allowed per your local shelter, so you are not doing anything illegal. If they don't like cats, they definitely won't like the kitten apocalypse if you stop what you are doing. My guess is that these people don't understand how cat reproduction works given that they think you could be in the bushes with a tranquilizer gun National Geographic style. I understand your hesitancy to talk to them, but it might be worth a try to get them to use their couple of brain cells to understand what you are doing.

I am in a similar situation now with a TNRed cat who is a long term resident of an apartment complex in the area...so far, so good but I do have a plan as to where to relocate her food if necessary. I sympathize with you.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

So sorry you went through this, I been through drama last month with another cat feeder where she threaten to sick her lawyer on me and she turned people from a local tnr group against me. They didn't listen to any legit concern I had about the cats on our block and took the other feeder's side who is a hoarder imo. It is always so frustrating when we get attack when we are trying our best to help the community cats.

It is a shame that you don't know the owner of the property and that person is okay with what you are doing, it would have helped you a lot. You said these people are short term renters -maybe they will move in a short while or maybe not. You need to educate them on tnr. Post tnr flyers in that area. Talk to others in the area about it and how it is a community service and it really benefits the community. Get the word out. These renters might be very ignorant and maybe they would ease up when they get all the facts about tnr or they maybe remain completely close-minded. You can't win everyone over unfortunately. I would maybe try to get the word out to the property owner if you heard that person is reasonable. I am sure he doesn't want a growing colony of cats around his property and would be happy to get the situation stabilized.

I hope everything works out instead of be further complicated because of what happened today. Maybe you can get some advise or help from the Ally Cat Allies(if you live in the U.S). They have helped many community cats and caretakers in bad situations.

Best of luck.

 

[Silver Crazy]

Maybe you could say I will move them but when the house size rats come back would you like me to bring them back??
Maybe they wont want you to move them at all after that.
(Just a bit of reverse psychology )

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Jcatbird]

I’m so sorry. It’s always tough when others make caring for cats harder. Avoiding them may be what you need to do but also, being a new friend can work sometimes. Letting them know that you are sorry for anything that bothers them and that you would like to get off to a better start with them? Worth trying. Do they come out with coffee as they smoke? You could ask what coffee they like or maybe just stand out with a cup of coffee at your house at the same time and nod “ good morning?” That might open a different topic. People used to do things like a “Welcome Wagon.” Neighbors went to welcome newcomers with a pie or coffee cake and maybe a few little treats from local businesses. That isn’t done much these days but it’s a nice way to start off with new people and get a feel for what they like and don’t like. If you notice anything about them, like maybe they enjoy houseplants, you might be able to use that as a bridge to a better relationship. That would then leave a better way to discuss cats. If they truly don’t like cats, as my neighbors did, you can definitely go the route of, the rats intruding. Lol They could be told that you are sorry they don’t want the free pest control since it is so beneficial around there. Around here, once I removed the cats, my neighbor wanted them back because of the snakes increasing. When a snake was perched over her back door, she asked if I could return some of the ferals. Lol By then, they had all been socialized and most adopted out soooo... she has snakes. We are now on very good terms though since I go over and remove the snakes to a safe place. Hang in there and just keep trying. Things have a way of turning around eventually.

 

[Furballsmom]

We are now on very good terms though since I go over and remove the snakes to a safe place.

Sometimes a job is never done LOL, and bless you for it