Help ferals find my new home?

[mxw1214]

Hi! I've posted about my ferals in the past and gotten great advice from everyone. My feral mom and her two kittens who are now 2 years old (all successful TNRs) still come by daily to eat, and as it's getting colder they've been using the kitty tubes I have set up for warmth. I love seeing them every day.

I am renting my current residence, and the cats spend their days in the woods behind my backyard where they visit me. The house on the other side of the woods went up for sale and I'm buying it so I can continue caring for the cats indefinitely. It's about 400 feet through the woods. I'm attaching a satellite photo of the two properties - red circle is where I live now and yellow is where I am moving. I don't believe either of my new neighbors have dogs but I think they may have children that play in the yards.

I'm looking for advice on how best to transition them or thoughts on whether my ferals will find my new location. I can pretty much just move my feeding station, and use the exact same food so I am hoping the smells will attract them, but also worried they won't trust going to a new spot or get scared away by the kids etc. Any suggestions are much appreciated!

 

[Jcatbird]

I think that leading them to the new spot should begin before you have left the current spot. Gradually moving the feeding area may be easier than one longer move. If you will be moving quickly then the sooner you begin the better. Since you will own the house, any chance of trapping them and letting them reside inside? Even a garage retreat could be better than the woods. Especially since you worry about neighborhood noises , animals and children. Roads are a big hazard too. Will the woods belong to you too? Fencing later is another option. For now just start the transition gradually. If they will follow you with the food, spend some time with them as they eat a bit further away. You can leave scent markers too. Things like an article of clothing you have worn. I would be a little careful about attracting local dogs , raccoons, etc. with food. Feed and remove the food and dishes after they eat. Congratulations on the new place and much gratitude sent for continuing the care of these precious lives! Please keep us updated as you proceed.

 

[fionasmom]

I have had to move feral cats including my avatar who was born under a house on my street along with the rest of her litter. She has since become an indoor only pet. I completely agree that beginning now, and gradually moving the food, is the best approach and that is how I have relocated any cat who needed to be brought onto my property to be fed or housed. Since they spend time in the woods, it should not be too hard to get them to understand that they need to go to the other side where your new house will be and that is where the food will be. I do agree that if they can be provided with some kind of shelter at the new property that it would be a very good enhancement for them. I have had some of the most resistant ferals decide that they really did
want to sleep on that nice bed that I put out for them and that also seemed to attach them to my property.

 

[mxw1214]

I think that leading them to the new spot should begin before you have left the current spot. Gradually moving the feeding area may be easier than one longer move. If you will be moving quickly then the sooner you begin the better. Since you will own the house, any chance of trapping them and letting them reside inside? Even a garage retreat could be better than the woods. Especially since you worry about neighborhood noises , animals and children. Roads are a big hazard too. Will the woods belong to you too? Fencing later is another option. For now just start the transition gradually. If they will follow you with the food, spend some time with them as they eat a bit further away. You can leave scent markers too. Things like an article of clothing you have worn. I would be a little careful about attracting local dogs , raccoons, etc. with food. Feed and remove the food and dishes after they eat. Congratulations on the new place and much gratitude sent for continuing the care of these precious lives! Please keep us updated as you proceed.

thanks! I will start early as you both suggested. I will have time. I would love to move them all inside but I already moved two of the litter inside with my senior cat who really doesn't appreciate the new housemates (even after 1.5 years, she still hisses and fights with them). Maybe after she passes I might try to bring the other two kittens in, but the mom is totally feral and usually stays at least 2-3 feet away from me. I think she would really struggle being moved inside. But maybe we can revisit that in the future my new backyard will have a covered patio, and the outdoor cats have their kitty tubes with heating pads in them. I thought about getting them a little shed, but will have to see if I can even get them over to the new yard first. Thanks and I will be back for updates and advice!

 

[mxw1214]

I have had to move feral cats including my avatar who was born under a house on my street along with the rest of her litter. She has since become an indoor only pet. I completely agree that beginning now, and gradually moving the food, is the best approach and that is how I have relocated any cat who needed to be brought onto my property to be fed or housed. Since they spend time in the woods, it should not be too hard to get them to understand that they need to go to the other side where your new house will be and that is where the food will be. I do agree that if they can be provided with some kind of shelter at the new property that it would be a very good enhancement for them. I have had some of the most resistant ferals decide that they really did
want to sleep on that nice bed that I put out for them and that also seemed to attach them to my property.

thank you! What kind of bed did you use that they enjoy? When you did a gradual move, did you put food in both places for a while? I am not sure yet of the exact timing for my move, I might need to do some remodeling at the new house so I might not move myself until closer to spring.

 

[fionasmom]

The cats had to move across several properties in a very urban setting. Neighbors were on board with it. I moved the food gradually. The point was to literally get them to my back door/patio area and a couple were reluctant to move that close to a house at first. I fed those in the back of my property for a short time.

It is hard to tell what kind of bedding cats want. I did have heated microwave discs, and also an electric low powered heated bed, but I don't know that it was used. Currently, they all have very inexpensive fleece blankets that they use. I don't think that this is always a question of throwing big bucks at a purchase they won't use. You may be in a much colder place though, so the warmer beds or shelters might be appreciated.

Winter Weather Tips for Cats