How long would you keep ferals inside?

Willowy

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Just trying to get a few more opinions on this. I have a family of cats living in my machine shed, the neighbors had the mama cat spayed but there are 5 kittens and the daddy cat. The kittens are 6 months old now, I should have trapped them earlier but the weather was bad and I didn't want to keep them trapped overnight in the cold. So now that it's warm I put the traps out. . .already caught 2, lol. Rotisserie chicken ftw. One girl and one boy (there are 3 girls and 2 boys, 3 if I count the daddy). So I reset the traps and hopefully I'll have 2 more tomorrow. The kittens aren't fully feral, just uncatchable. The daddy cat is wild.

Anyway, the question is, they seem comfortable in the spare bathroom where I'm keeping them. I'm sure my vet won't use dissolvable stitches so I'll have to keep the girls for at least 10-14 days, until their stitches are out. How long would you keep them in? What do you think is ideal, since circumstances seem to be conducive to keeping them in as long as necessary? Should I keep the boys in as long as the girls? I'm sure I'll have to release the daddy cat (if I catch him) quickly because he'll be stressed, but the kittens don't seem so stressed.
 

calicosrspecial

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Willowy,

You are sure your vet will not use dissolvable stitches?

I have trapped ferals and kept them and also trapped and released. I never discussed the type of stitches my vet used so I am not exactly sure about the types of stitches my cats have had but I never had to have the stitches taken out.

So not knowing exactly what stitches my vet used I will say this. I kept my girls for a week, made sure they were fine, healed, eating etc and then released them. The boys heal much quicker in my experience and I had one feral that was really angry and I think I had to release him 2 days after being neutered. He is still around and doing well. I usually try to hold the boys a little longer but they heal quicker.

I am not sure about the time you have but I would try to find the kittens a home if at all possible. At 6 months they can totally be socialized and could make great family members.  If you release them back outside they will probably be together for a while and then they will get a bit competitive and some will move on to explore etc. I have seen this a few times and I always feel a bit empty when someone I have nurtured back to health moves on to other areas. 

Given what you said that the kittens are doing well I would take as much time and see if you can find them a home. Talking to them, playing with them they can come around really quickly and nicely.

Good luck on catching the others. The chicken does work well!!  What you are doing is wonderful. You are doing the exact right thing on getting them spayed and neutered. Thank you for doing the right thing.

Hope this helps, please let me know if you have any questions and I will try to help.
 
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Willowy

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They're farm cats. . .I bought an acreage and they'll be policing the outbuildings and fields for rodents. I didn't want outdoor cats because I'm on the highway, but these kitties were born and raised here and their mother has apparently done a good job of teaching them to stay off the road, because of the 11 babies (!) from her last litter and this one, none have been killed. The neighbors found homes for the last litter, and had the mama cat spayed after this litter, but I guess she decided to raise them over here for some reason. It would not be easy to re-home them to non-farm homes in the area even if I managed to tame them completely. Plus they're such a cute happy family, I'd hate to break them up :D. At this point I'd just like them to be somewhat handleable so I can keep them de-fleaed and de-wormed properly.

I've TNRed ferals before, so I'm no stranger to how it usually works. But since they're semi-tame I think I can keep them in longer than usual, just wondering how others would handle it.

The mama cat was released the day after her surgery (because she was still nursing the kittens), but she's tame enough that they were able to easily catch her again to get her stitches out.

I caught 3 kittens and the daddy cat, and they're going in tomorrow (well, I'm dropping them off tonight because of work, but the surgeries are tomorrow). I know my vet doesn't use dissolveable stitches; we've been through this before. He's very old-school. But he'll deal with ferals and wild farm cats---not all vets in the area will. And I would need to take off work to get them to a different vet so this is how it is.
 
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calicosrspecial

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Willowy,

I don't have experience in farm cats as I have only done TNR in cities and suburbs so my experience is a bit different with regard to seeing the families break up at some point. Not sure how it works in a farm setting.

As long as the kittens are not stressed I would try to keep them in until they have the stitches removed. It seems like based on what you have mentioned this shouldn't be a problem. I am not sure what happens if the stitches aren't taken out. 

Congrats on trapping the others. Well done! 
 
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Willowy

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They're home now. The daddy cat isn't as wild as I thought. . .the tech was able to scruff him to take him out of the trap. I might try to tame him a bit before releasing. Only one kitten is female, and she was pregnant :(. But not too far along. One that I thought was female is actually male, so that at least saved a few dollars. There are still 2 kittens left, one female and one male (I'm pretty sure). So that female is probably also pregnant :/. I hope she's not farther along. If she is I might have to let her have the babies, we'll see how it goes. But I would still trap her and raise the babies inside so they can go to indoor homes. Anyway, they're doing well.
 

calicosrspecial

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Willowy,

Glad to hear they are doing well. Sorry about the pregnancy.

So glad to hear you are considering letting the other female have her babies inside and finding homes for them. That is really great of you.

Thank you for the update and all you are doing for them.
 
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Willowy

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Just caught the last male this morning/last night. Last female is still at large. I brought the mama cat in so she could be with her family and so I can take the food away entirely except in the trap. These last 2 kittens seem a lot warier than the other 3. Pretty sure I only got this guy because the food has been taken away since Wednesday.

Yesterday morning I went to check the traps and found a possum in one and a raccoon in the other! The possum was no trouble (I just opened the trap and let him leave on his own) but I was scared of the raccoon. I just took the trap to the back of the property, unlocked the door, and ran! :lol3: But he ran very fast the other way so it wasn't really a problem anyway. I don't know why they ended up trapped on the same night---were they hanging around together? It's funny that I haven't gotten a wild animal in the traps yet but suddenly got 2 on the same night.

I still have all the cats inside, in the spare bathroom. Even the daddy cat seems to be OK with it. He hides whenever I go in the room but he doesn't panic or anything. Hope I get the little girl soon!
 

calicosrspecial

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Thanks for the update. Well done getting the male.

If you don't have food out except for in the trap you will get her. Some are more trap savvy than others but hunger makes them take the risk. You can always have a little trail of food into the trap so they just follow the trail into the trap. Make sure you have something really stinky in that trap.

Too bad you caught the possum and the raccoon as they might have caused the girl to not have a trap to be caught. I am not sure what it is but I have had possum and raccoons trapped on the same night as well. They don't hang together but they might follow each other as they look for food.

Raccoons are nasty so stay behind the trap in the back and open up the trap (I hope you know what I am talking about).  Be careful with those raccoons.

Glad to hear the indoor cats are doing well.

Good luck on the female, I have been there and know the frustration but you will get her. You are doing it right.
 

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I saw this and had to share a "trap/raccoon" story - - 

We have a group of ferals/strays in several small colonies in our suburban neighborhood, so we've been TNRing for years. I made the mistake of telling my husband how nasty adult raccoons can be (I also used to foster for a local wildlife rehab place and often did baby raccoons) - - he'd never given them a second thought, but is now pretty unnerved by them. 

So one morning I looked out our back door and see his SUV, with the hatchboack open, and muddy towels all over the back seat and back. I asked him what happened, and he told me we'd accidentally caught a raccoon. When we trap, we cover the trap, so he didn't know it was a raccoon until he got right up to the trap. He was too panicked about releasing it - - in a move that still makes me laugh, he put the trap into the back of his SUV, drove it 4 blacks away to a little park, but was so scared to open the trap that he knelt in the backseat, opened the car hatch, pointed the trap out the back, and pulled the trap hatch. The raccoon panicked and luckily did go the right direction - - but as I pointed out, he was beyond lucky the raccoon went the right direction! Cracked me up that he was terrified to release it into our backyard - but thought putting it into a car, driving it for blacks, and then releasing it INSIDE the car!!! Cracked me up!  Luckily my husband - and hopefully the raccoon - made it out just fine. 

Good luck with the kitties! It sounds like it's going so well - - - hopefully it keeps going so welll. Good luck!
 
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Willowy

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Just checked the trap and the little girl was in it! So that's everybody, yay. I haven't seen the raccoon or possum again, lol. TBH, I was getting worried because I hadn't seen her since Tuesday, I thought maybe she ran off or got killed by the raccoon (cats and raccoons usually cohabitate peacefully but sometimes there's a mean coon). I guess she was just hiding but hunger finally won out. I'll talk to the vet tomorrow to see when I can get the last 2 in.

So now I'm trying to get the shed fixed up nice for kitties. Haha, they already live there so I guess they think it's nice enough. . .but it really was a mess. I already swept the loft and threw out a bunch of old junk that was up there. I have a large tote that I'm going to cut a door in and fill with straw. Any other tips? I've never had ferals who actually used the houses I provided but I think farm cats are a little different. I know they slept in the insulated tote during the winter but it's too small for all of them.
 

calicosrspecial

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Willowy,

Congratulations, great work.

I have ferals that sleep in houses so I got some houses. I guess it just depends on what they get comfortable with.

Not sure what your budget is but here are some ideas: http://www.alleycat.org/ShelterGallery

Here are some winter care tips as well.  http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=701

So glad you know that straw should be used and not hay.

The fact they have the shed is very helpful for them so they have something to block them from the snow and wind.

Really well done, thanks for taking care of all the cats.
 
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Willowy

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The last 2 are at the vet today. The female is very timid and passive, so I was able to hold her by the scruff and feel her belly. . .I don't think she's pregnant, or veryvery early on if so. She's so petite and slim and I just didn't feel anything in there. I hope so anyway. I know it's for the best but it still makes me sad to terminate. Plus it costs extra ;). The male is not so passive---it was a real adventure trying to get him in the carrier! Now I just have to decide whether to wait until this female's stitches are out to release everyone at once, or release them a few at a time.

Now the only one left to spay is Onyx! (indoor kitten) She's been in heat for a couple weeks and my vet prefers not to spay in heat if it's avoidable. And since she's indoor it's avoidable. I think I'll make an appointment for next week, hopefully she won't cycle back again that quickly.
 
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calicosrspecial

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Thanks for the update, I'll keep my fingers crossed on the girl. I know what you mean, very tough to think about. Let's hope she isn't.

I tend to release them all at once but that is me. I think it helps them to be together in recovery and then released. I have had good luck doing that but I know it is hard with so many.

Really great job. Thanks for caring and doing all that you are doing.
 
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