I have been involved in dog rescue for about 13 maybe 14 years. I then bought the lot next door that had a falling down house on it, about 5 years ago.. Well, I started feeding the four or five cats that lived in the house. Long story short I am now going through 3 --16lb bags of cat food a week. I have counted as many as 25 cats waiting for me at feeding time. I think most of these cats are "true" ferals I can't get within 3/4 feet of them or they run. Some of them when caught in the trap act like miniature mountain lions-one of the last Toms that I took in to neuter, bit the hand of one of the volunteers at the clinic after he had been given his "sleepy" shot. So far since mid Dec. I have TNR'd 22 cats-I keep a record. But here are my questions.
1. How do I tell when to quit TNR'ing? Right now when I feed I see maybe 10 cats that haven't had an ear tip, but there has to be more.(I borrowed three traps from different rescue groups)
2. What happens to to "traveling" Toms after being neutered? The biting Tom was one I had never seen before. Can they return to their group of ferals? Or are they from MY group? This sounds stupid but I often think about them being chased out of "their" colony and having no where to go. Not that I am going to quit this project!! Just wondering.
I would appreciate any answers/help I can get. Thank you
Anna
1. How do I tell when to quit TNR'ing? Right now when I feed I see maybe 10 cats that haven't had an ear tip, but there has to be more.(I borrowed three traps from different rescue groups)
2. What happens to to "traveling" Toms after being neutered? The biting Tom was one I had never seen before. Can they return to their group of ferals? Or are they from MY group? This sounds stupid but I often think about them being chased out of "their" colony and having no where to go. Not that I am going to quit this project!! Just wondering.
I would appreciate any answers/help I can get. Thank you
Anna