- Joined
- Aug 20, 2012
- Messages
- 4
- Purraise
- 0
Since moving into our new home (which is just outside city limits) we discovered that cats were living in the woods behind our house. We've been here three years now and have seen at least 2-3 cats come and go now. I thought I was doing good by throwing out expired meats and breads in the wooded area, but now I wonder if I've done more harm than good to the cat "ecosystem". Most of the time the food would disappear and once or twice a month we would catch a glimpse of one of the cats. This summer, one female became friendly and started hanging around the back patio off and on. Before we knew it, she was joined by another smaller female. We started feeding them cat food instead of leftovers. This seemed to draw even MORE cats - this time a big male tomcat was lurking around late at night. So we stopped leaving food out and instead fed them twice a day - once before we left for work and once again when we came home at night. Before too long another smaller male showed up and took permanent residence on the back porch. I have now adopted the larger female out to a good home in the next city. I am left with the smaller (half grown, my guess) male and female, as well as the large tom which we only catch a glimpse of once in a while. Tonight the smaller female had kittens...five so far. I'm all freaked out about the tomcat killing her litter, so I moved her in to our garage tonight. I shut the overhead door all the way because I think the tom can still get to them. I don't know if she's ever used a litter box, but I made her one in a box and set her up with food and water. Am I doing the right thing? This cat that had these kittens can't be more than half grown herself! I have been planning to take the cats to the next big city on a weekend (it's about an hour away), as it is the only one around that is a "no-kill" shelter. Now I have kittens, so I guess I have to wait until she weans them so I can take them all in at once. This momma cat has always hung around the other male cat that's half grown like her. I separated them tonight because he's an un-neutered male and I don't want to take any chances on him killing the newborn kittens, either. We already have two very pampered, declawed, "fixed" cats inside the house that are 5 and 13 years old. We don't want anymore indoor cats. Should I just load all of the outside feral cats up and go ahead and take them in to the shelter? Or should I wait until the new momma weans her kittens? Do you think the smaller male would be safe to keep for now? We're thinking about somehow getting the big male tomcat and just taking him in to the shelter for right now. I have researched my options and our area of Texas doesn't have any feral cat programs. They offer some discount spay/neuter programs that are still far too expensive for us to consider for all these cats that are not mine. I call these cats "feral" but they are extremely playful, affectionate and friendly. The only one that acts half wild is the full grown male tomcat. I also assure you that NONE of these outdoor cats were mine - I have always kept indoor cats and that had to be declawed in order for my husband to let them stay inside. I want to help but I can't support this colony! Any advice would be most appreciated!