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Is there a chance of bringing your feral in the backyard inside so that you could feed the cats in the back? The front yard unfortunately makes feeding them very conspicuous to outsiders.Unfortunately, there has been some conflict in the neighborhood about the feeding of feral cats. Especially about a larger colony that has been maintained by someone for years who does TNR and feeds them daily. I spoke to this person once and she told me people had threatened her and tried to poison the cats, etc. But she still continued to care for them. She has done a great job of doing TNR which has kept the number of cats from increasing and the cats are fairly healthy, too. My husband is expressing concern about the cats he sees in the yard (at feeding time) and is concerned about the neighbor's reaction about all this. So far no one has said anything but it is concerning.
I'm feeling overwhelmed about all this. The last time I TNR'ed was several years ago and it was for two cats and the cost was minimal. Now the person I'm working with wants to start with six traps and there is a fee of $25 for each. Plus, I don't know if any of the females are pregnant and I don't want to risk losing them. Isn't it risky to have a pregnant cat spayed? I just don't feel right about doing that. But I know that once you take them in, they just abort them and that's the way it is. And then they have to be let go after their surgery. I wish there was a better solution. I just worry about them out there.... :-(
Or, do you have a garage?
We recently cracked our garage door and now the cats can make themselves more scarce (we have an HOA to be mindful of).
Do you have any shrubbery in front of your house? Bushes also work well for cover. We’re currently saving up to plant some along the sides of our house to hide shelters and feeding stations.
Do you have to use the group’s traps? Most city/county animal control/care facilities will lend traps for free or for a refundable deposit.
Also, does that $25 include the neuter?
You mentioned pregnant females, earlier. No, it’s not dangerous to spay-abort. It can be safely done up to about a day or so before the due date. The kittens are not viable before then.
It’s a personal decision, and it’s never easy and always sucks.
Unlike any arguments over human abortion, with cats and dogs, it’s frankly not in any way an issue of the babies living vs the babies dying.
This is because every new kitten born will take a home that otherwise would have gone to a kitten in a shelter, a kitten that will now need to be euthanized. This is the reality. Good, available homes are a finite resource. There aren’t nearly enough of them, and far too many homeless cats and kittens.
So it’s not a matter of whether the kittens will live or die based on whether the pregnancy is allowed to continue - kittens will die either way. It’s more a question of how you can reduce the most suffering - underdeveloped, nonviable kittens prevented from ever being born vs sentient, 6+ week old kittens sitting in a shelter?
Again... the decision is personal. But it doesn’t change the reality and consequences of the fact that there are far too many kittens, not enough homes, and an unbearable amount of kittens who die each and every year because of this.
I do understand how conflicting it feels. But keep in mind, it is also beneficial to Momma. Kittens take immense resources from her and they make her very vulnerable. Pregnancy and birth are also not without risks, especially if allowed to happen out in the wild or in the streets.
For what it’s worth though, every clinic has allowed me the choice to spay-abort. It may not be the same everywhere, but all clinics I’ve been to have asked on the forms at drop off if I would like them to proceed in the event of pregnancy. You can always check with your clinic beforehand, but you’ll need a back up plan if you wish to allow the pregnancy to complete.
As far as finding places for the adoptable cats, we’re in kitten season right now. In a normal year, most rescues are already going to be at capacity and overwhelmed due to this.
....but this is not a normal year.
Rescues - including where I work - are in total chaos right now, and it’s only expected to be worse. Much, much worse.
Donors have withdrawn, and donations have come to a screeching halt. Even if we could actually find them in stock somewhere, we can no longer buy gloves, masks, etc as to not place a further burden on the PPE supply for our healthcare workers (even in my line of work, which involves wildlife, exotics, and high vector species). We’re running out of disinfectants that keep us and the animals in our care safe.There are no volunteers. No one is coming to shelters and rescues to adopt, and all adoption events are cancelled for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, people are tying up dogs to our gate and dropping off cats in closed off boxes with a couple air holes cut out almost every day now, because the pandemic has them freaked out, because they think this virus can be transmitted by their pets, because they’ve lost their jobs with no prospects in sight and tragically can no longer care for their four legged family members.
In my area at least, things are looking incredibly dire, and there’s no end in sight. With the pandemic, unemployment, and state of the economy, many nonprofits will quickly buckle under the strain.
In a normal year, outside of kitten season, I’d consider you pretty lucky if a rescue is able to help and intake an adult cat. Right now, it would feel like the equivalent to winning the lottery...
Your area might be different, of course. But maybe you might try rehoming them yourself? Especially since it seems like you’re pretty connected with the Nextdoor community, I have a lot of luck with finding adopters through there! A lot of people here can help advise you of how to go about it too!
Working with ferals is often overwhelming - because there are not enough good and selfless people like you to help. But the difference you can make in their lives is immeasurable, and caring for them is very rewarding. Hang in there