Relocating Colony

[kmbishop111]

I don't even know where to start without ending up in tears. This week I pulled up to feed at my very first colony. It is located beside a mini-storage building and behind an abandoned, but for sale, restaurant. This building has been empty for years now, so I guess it just didn't occur to me, or wasn't a pressing concern that it would sale.
It did. (They started tearing apart the old structure this week.)

I have a good friend that is friends with the property manager of the mini-storage next door. He watches out for the cats and feeds them when he can, so he knows them very well. I had my friend call him to find out what was going on and who had bought the property. She called me back with the news that a company from out of town had bought the property and the adjoining mini-storage property. They plan on leveling the building and building more storage units and hiring a new property manager from the sounds of things.

I went to speak to the property manager and will never forget the conversation the conversation. He (Mike) informed me that they were beginning construction, and wanted the cats out of there. He did not, for whatever reason tell me who had bought the land. He also told me that he had found 2 of my cats dead. They were my first 2 kitties that I began feeding, Henrietta and her daughter Corrine Corrine. I still don't have the words for how my heart felt at that moment or now. I just can't.

I've had to pull it together for the sake of the rest of the colony and figure out what to do. I have decided to relocate them to an adjoining back property for the time being. It is an open field surrounded by 3 treelines and a culdesac with apts on the North side. I have been using a lot of wet food, along with dry to bait them to the new area. So far, 3 of my cats are hanging around the intended area that I'm sure of. If anyone else has any tips or thoughts on how to get the rest of my colony to this area, please share. I'm holding onto the idea that food will trump all and they will come....

 

[Norachan]

I'm so sorry!



Are you sure the cats are dead? Is there any chance he was just saying that to upset you?

If the new location is only a short walk from their old spot they will move. Keep feeding them in the new location, try to stick to the same schedule you always used and call them however you called them before.

Another way to attract cats is to mix up some Asian fish sauce with water, put it in a spray bottle and squirt the bushes and grass near where your new feeding station will be. It stinks, but no cat can miss that smell.

Do you have shelters for them? Is it OK to move the shelters onto the new piece of land?

 

[kmbishop111]

He had no reason to claim those specific two were dead. Their are several others in the colony. I've went over it in my head a thousand times trying to figure out a reason he might lie to me but can come up with none. I keep hoping to see them, but in my heart I know they're gone.

The field is directly behind this property, very short distance. That's the extreme positive. The only downside is the fact that they've had several hiding spots that they've made their homes in/around/under the structure and an outbuilding they seek shelter in. We've put together some nice feeding stations/shelters for them to seek refuge during the demolition. I'm hoping to get them out tomorrow after work.

I must get some of this Asian fish sauce!!

 

[surya]

Sorry about the two you lost.

 

[Norachan]

I think they'll move to the new spot quite willingly if there is food and shelter there.

Sorry about Henrietta and Corrine, it's so sad when you lose them. There's only so much you can do to protect an outdoor feral cat. At least they had you to take care of them while they were here.

Good luck with everything, let us know how it goes.

 

[kmbishop111]

Update: The relocation is going very nicely. I'm seeing a lot of my cats hanging out at the back of the property and in the tree lines!! And the best news ever came tonight, I saw my Henrietta!!!! I don't know if one of the cats he found looked a lot like her or what the miscommunication was but she is ALIVE!!!!

My beautiful girl!!! I'm elated!!

Construction continues and I also made a rather gruesome discovery tonight of a few cats in the rubble. I couldn't tell how long they had been deceased but know they were some of my babies. This is a rather large colony and I've had several cats come and go over the years, never knowing the fate of the missing. In a sense it gives a bit of closure but still breaks my heart. Right now I'll choose to take the good in finding my Henrietta tho.....