If you really feel that not taking them is the best solution, can you "work" with the relative who likes the cats to see to it that the unreliable one will at least put out food and water for them?
Thanks Shadowsrescue,I moved 3 years ago and brought 3 feral cats with me and made them inside cats. I had cared for them for many years on my deck and property. I knew when I moved they had to come too. They had all been trapped and neutered before so they were all trap leery. I decided to open my sliding door and lure them inside with food. I kept my door open and slowly they all came inside. I had cat carriers situated in the room with yummy food inside as well as catnip. I did this routine every day for 6 weeks. The cats started to look forward to it and all would enter the cat carriers. I decided to place them in a spare room in my current house before moving. I wanted them inside for a bit and I also wanted a mobile vet to come and check them out. I was able to secure 2 of the 3 cats quite easily. They went into the carrier I closed the door and took them to the spare room. Once I got the other one, I allowed them to come out. The room was completely empty except for litter boxes and 2 cat trees.
The cats did remarkedly well. One cat threw himself against the window a few times, but then settled quickly. They all hid for a few days, but would come out to eat. I put a wireless camera in the room to watch them at night and they all came out to explore.
When the mobile vet came, they all were deemed healthy and she gave me a sedative to give them on moving day. It worked well and the cats made the one hour trip to my new home. The new home had an indoor sun room that became their home. I placed bird feeders outside the windows. They all adjusted very well. I think it really helped being away from their old territory.
So 3 years later, they are still scared to death of visitors. They do allow my DH and I to pet them. Yet I cannot pick them up. They love the sun room and sometimes venture out to check out the rest of the house at night. They love to watch the birds. They play with each other and will play with my DH and I too.
I do not miss them being outside at all. It was such a worry each and every day. They are safe, warm and loved. I had been warned that it would be a difficult task. Many told me it should not be done. I could never leave them behind. I knew if inside did not work for them, I could have a catio built. That never happened. When I open the screen door, they sniff, but never try to get outside. They run when the doors are open. I really think they are much happier living inside.
I just wanted to share my story with you!
A few questions if you don't mind - I have been looking at cat carriers online and in pet shops and the problem is that a lot of them look similar to the cat traps - did you use proper cat crates or a material cat bag? Did you put cat blankets in the cat carriers as well as food or did you just leave the food lose in the carrier? Sorry for all the questions but I am thinking about this a lot of the time and need a bit of advice before more financial outlay. The two cat traps which are now proving unusuable were pretty expensive and as I live on disability I have to think before spending money.
I am trying to do what is best for the cats - that is all. The relative will feed them as long as she is alive - I am sure of that as she is reliable. That means that they won't have a change to their routine and will be in the environment where they have lived all their lives in the country and are comfortable as opposed to the trauma of a move to a strange place with a cramped garden which is not safe as where they lived before. This was a large house with a long driveway up to it so no danger at all of being hit by a passing car. I spoke to the vet who neutered the ginger guy and to the woman at the pet guardian programme and they both said it would be too traumatic for the cats and to only move them if absolutely necessary.If you really feel that not taking them is the best solution, can you "work" with the relative who likes the cats to see to it that the unreliable one will at least put out food and water for them?
Thanks - I will check out the dog crates on Amazon - indoor is not an option after transport to new location I'm afraidI used medium sized dog crates. Cat carriers are so darn small. I used something this size https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AGV63G/?tag=thecatsite
Maybe you could find someone who has one and borrow it. I also had this one on hand https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/go-pet-club-32-brown-soft-dog-crate
I put something soft inside and then sprinkled catnip on top of the blanket. I always had a bowl of something stinky (canned tuna or really stinky wet cat food) and also a small bowl of dry.
I would put out on Nextdoor or CraigsLIst for medium sized pet carrier. A small dog crate would work too as long as it would fit inside a car or whatever you would use to transport them.
Also be sure to think about the space they will be going to. They will need a small sized room of their own for awhile. This room would need to be completely cat proofed. You don't want a bed in the room as they will run under it. You want to minimize large furniture too as they hide under it. As I mentioned the room I first used had nothing but litter boxes and 2 cat trees. Also be sure that blinds are securely down or removed. Cats may try to scale them. Keep windows closed too.
My boys needed a few months in the room before I allowed them time to explore the house. The hardest part is not being able to pick them up and get them easily back into their room. It does take A LOT of planning and time and patience. Also flexibility as things can change along the way.
I would suggest crafting a plan and seeing if it is doable. Would you have anyone to help you?
Ask questions, we are all here to help.
Thanks - I will check out the dog crates on Amazon - indoor is not an option after transport to new location I'm afraid
Thanks cmb for this valuable info,Try to keep this short and relevant. Started feeding a colony of ferals at my house after my daughter gave me the sad eyes and asked if we could put out food. There were two males and one female which grew after several cycles of kittens. Needless to say, I had to become an expert on trapping quickly and recently was able to spay and nueter 7 cats.
These ferals are pretty smart and will not go for the regular trap. Doesn't matter what food I used or camouflauge, etc. Ended up buying the drop trap with remote and used it to trap all of them over time. Trick was leaving food under drop trap for 1 month before actually trying to trap them. They were so comfortable after a month it was like shooting fish in a barrell.
The learning curve kicked in when I put the first one in my back garage storage in a chicken coop cage to stage until I could take to the vet the next day. The cat got out. After chasing it around with my kevlar gloves https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SJCTSSC/?tag=thecatsite
I caught it, got it on a table and exerted pressure on its back to get submission. When carrying it to the table it bit me several times but the gloves protected me until it was able to get its fang through a small area without extra padding. It punctured the skin and went in all the way near my thumb but it did not hurt and after cleaning with soap and water for 5 minutes, everything ended up healing nicely.
Hope this info can help someone. I have a few kittens from the last cycle before I spayed the females that I need to trap and take care of.
Thanks for the web site. A lot of very good information here.