Neighbors moved !

[Anthonypish]

So my neighbors have been taking care of 3 feral cats for 3 years at least . Feeding and outdoor shelters . She sold her house and moved away about a week ago and these cats are always waiting around for her. Now I feel terrible and would love to help out some way but don’t know where to start . Any advice !?

 

[James&Taki]

We've fed many feral cats over the years - I recommend starting putting water out in a dish/bowl, doensn't have to be fancy, and if you can, get some cat food at some time. You can start on the front or back porch, depending on where you see them most. Dry food is typically less expensive than wet & won't go bad in hot weather, so that's what I recommend (we only give ours wet food as an occassional treat or when luring them into traps for TNR, but if your cats are having trouble finding the food you set out for them, maybe try wet food one day since it's smellier & easier to find - after that, they will know to check there for food), but don't worry too much about what specific kind of dry food you get (we get ours at Costco). We put out 2-3 cups of food in 2-4 bowls, twice a day.

For fixing - if they have a clipped ear, they're fixed. If they don't, they probably aren't. Try to get in touch with others in your area to see about TNR (trap, neuter, release) help in your area (neighborhood FB groups, NextDoor, or search around on google). We have had neighbors help us tremendously with the TNR process, though our area has a lot of feral cats and if your area has less it might also have less people working on helping them.

You'll need a trap, some smelly wet food, and an appointment with someone who can fix them. Fixing is expensive but for ferals there are often programs to help with or completely cover the cost - if you can get in touch with other people working to help the feral cat population, they'll probably be able to hook you up with that.

(You might want to transition their feeding, at this point, to the backyard, if it isn't already being done there, because traps need to be put near their normal food area and cat traps are pretty expensive and might be stolen if in the front yard - it's happened to us.)

Don't worry too much about all this too much at first, though - fixing is extremely important but for starters, food & water will go a long way to help them, and if their former caretakers were thorough in caring for them, hopefully many of them will be fixed already.

TLDR: Put water out, get some dry cat food to put out when you can, and post on neighborhood groups to see what help is available to you as far as fixing goes.

Good luck!

 

[Furballsmom]

Yes, all of that

 

[fionasmom]

This is very kind of you to want to help those poor cats. I have also taken care of left behind cats; people honestly believe they can catch something and eat it. James&Taki has basically covered it, and if you need any of those steps broken down you can find specific help here on TCS. This does not have to be an expensive proposition for you at all.

I wonder if they are fixed. Do you have any sense of that....litters born? To be honest, you hate to take a chance on that if you are not sure though and trapping might be necessary. Male or female? Any info from neighbor at any time?

 

[dahlia]

How are things going with the cats?