Urgent - Animal Control Warned Me

KatMalone

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I've been warned by Animal Control not to feed my cat colony. They said there was a complaint and I'm trespassing and being a nuisance and I have to stop. He said he knows where I live. It's really crazy because the Animal Control officer came out in the official truck on Sunday when they are closed! The vacant lot where I feed them is owned by the church across the street from me. To make matters worse they also own 2 occupied houses right across from the lot. I have a feeling the church complained or the church officials who live in those houses may have. They have a lot of pull around here and that's probably how AC came out on a Sunday when they don't operate.

I have way too many cats at my house to make waves here. I'd jeopardize my cats who are all rescues and a few are from that colony. I can't get a rescue group in to trap them as they'd be trespassing. The AC guy said "oh they'll catch mice and bugs" they'll be okay. I have to drive past the cats chasing my car now. There's only one way in and out on my street. It's heartbreaking. I know they are starving. To make matters worse there are 4 kittens there.

Has anyone dealt with this before? I'd sneak at night but I know one of the houses has a camera facing the street. I'm seen on camera I'm toast. Sorry for rambling on but this has me very upset.
 
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KatMalone

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Can you talk to the church people? They may not realize the benefits of TNR (you are TNR-ing them, right?). If you talk to the right people they may give permission for you to come onto their property.
I can try talking to them but they have been unwilling in the past. My neighbor who sold the lot and the house belongs to the church. She became ill and her daughter pushed for her to move out and sell fast. Before the sale she practically begged the church to allow a TNR group to come in. She explained how it would help. They refused stating the cats would still be a nuisance. I can't imagine why anyone would be against it.
 

Babypaws

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I can try talking to them but they have been unwilling in the past. My neighbor who sold the lot and the house belongs to the church. She became ill and her daughter pushed for her to move out and sell fast. Before the sale she practically begged the church to allow a TNR group to come in. She explained how it would help. They refused stating the cats would still be a nuisance. I can't imagine why anyone would be against it.
And these are “Church” going people? Pathetic
 

fionasmom

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Talking to the church people is one avenue to investigate. Aside from that, try contacting any local rescues and even give Alley Cay Allies a try. www.alleycat.org They might be able to advise as one section of their website is called Get Help. I would send out as many alerts as you can to see if anyone responds. Alley Cat Allies also provides materials to support cat rescuers. You need to bring in reinforcements for this. Thinking ahead as well, if this proceeds either in a good or bad direction, try to keep AC away from your house if it is clear that you own too many cats.
 

jefferd18

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Can you lure them slightly off that property? I had to do that a few years back when the police were giving me a hard time for going on a store's property at night to feed some cats.

Please try to talk to the person who owns the property and tell them that you would be doing them a favor by cutting back on the number of kittens that are born on that property. I had to do that with the guy who was the manager of the store that I mentioned up above. Get a petition started and have your neighbors sign it.

Yes, you have become a reliable food source to these cats, one that is imprinted into their DNA- they need you.
 

dahlia

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Is there a way onto the property that won't get caught on the camera if you go at night? I recently had something similar happen and I had to slightly change the feeding area. It isn't ideal but at least they are getting fed. If you can work on getting them used to a new feeding area, that might work. Is there an alley?
 

moxiewild

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Can you lure them slightly off that property? I had to do that a few years back when the police were giving me a hard time for going on a store's property at night to feed some cats.
I was going to suggest this too.

Is there anywhere remotely near the lot where you can feed, even just discreetly? If you can lure them away from their typical area, that may be your best bet for right now.

Do you know your local ordinance for feeding strays/ferals?

I was also going to suggest what fionasmom did - reach out, and keep reaching out. There are several TNR and feral cat groups on Facebook that might help, and you may have a similar Facebook group that is more local to you if you search.

Call around to rescues, TNR groups, and spay/neuter clinics and ask if they can send an advocate to help you talk to the church. Having an official organization representative - rather than some random individual - talk to them about TNR can help bring legitimacy to what you’re doing.

Hang in there!
 

Jcatbird

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I don’t know where you live or the laws there but I know this dilemma all too well. I saw on your other thread about trapping. I assume that you are doing TNR? Maybe you can trap and get a rescue group to relocate them? Trapping on your own property might be acceptable. Luring the kitties to another place may be the only way to feed immediately. TNR was illegal here before some cat lovers got together and wrote ALL the county representatives. It was a process. The trick was to praise them as good leaders and let them know that you know they will want to save their county much money by backing up those who do TNR. It cuts country cost for housing animals, paying animal control so much, ( don’t insult anyone since they may be related! Maybe it would sound better to say that you want to reduce the heavy workload on officers.) and reduces euthanizing expenses greatly. Reduction in population will spare the county from many headaches and expenses. Best Freinds.org has a website that focuses on how to approach these subjects along with many others. They may even be willing to send a rep. to assist in talking to church or county officials. They did in two counties here. It’s a fight worth fighting! We won in my county! You can even tell the county about rescue groups and fund raising that will support the county. I do think that approaching the subject with the church could help. Be well prepared with facts before talking to them. Explain that TNR will result in less cats and give them all the benefits of educating them. To check local laws you can just google search your county ordinances and find the laws about strays and ferals. Every county is different. Maybe you need some allies in that church too. Would you be willing to attend a service there? Meet some people? Front row seats are sometimes the influential members and if even one loves cats, it could help you. Most churches welcome newcomers. Remember, it isn’t the church causing you trouble. It’s probably a few specific members. Try extending an olive branch first. You are doing this for the good of the community as well as God’s creations AND their church. You’ll have to try and make them understand , get outside help or do all this from underground. Those cats need you! You are not alone in facing things like this. Many of us have had to work for the rights of cats. Don’t give up! Just keep working any angle you can find. Where one door is closed, look for another. We salute you for caring! :salute: :goldstar:Keep working towards saving the kitties! A cat guardian is a kitty hero!
 
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KatMalone

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Thank you all for your support and ideas. You've given me the courage to go forward and fight this the best I can given my situation. I have too many cats so I have to proceed with caution of course. I think the best idea is for me to get the advice and help of a rescue group as someone suggested. They probably have more experience than I do with this. I'm also going to check the laws here on feeding strays. I may have an ally in another neighbor whose property is right next to the lot where the colony is. I may even attend the church to become friendly with them and have a better chance at communicating. Thanks again and big hugs to you all for your advice!
 

Jcatbird

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Trying local vets and the Humane Society is a good idea as T TooManyFelines suggested. Be sure to know what the Humane Society rules are in regard to your local ordinances. Your personal vet could be a great contact! Please do update us.
 

CatladyJan

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KatMalone KatMalone you've been give a lot of good advice that you need to follow through on. Thank you for helping these kitties.

To whomever: Please not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. Not every Christian likes cats or animals that does not make them hypocrites. I am a Christian who loves animals, but I don't hold it against those who don't. Thanks.
 

TooManyFelines

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KatMalone KatMalone you've been give a lot of good advice that you need to follow through on. Thank you for helping these kitties.

To whomever: Please not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. Not every Christian likes cats or animals that does not make them hypocrites. I am a Christian who loves animals, but I don't hold it against those who don't. Thanks.
I was referring to the church officials who oppose help for the cats. They are hypocrites if they refuse to help living creatures, but pretend to be christian. Christians help others, or facilitate help for others, or at least don't stand in the way. They don't condemn others to misery by denying them assistance, whether they are two-legged or four-legged. That is my opinion and I am entitled to it. Thanks.
 

moxiewild

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Thank you all for your support and ideas. You've given me the courage to go forward and fight this the best I can given my situation. I have too many cats so I have to proceed with caution of course. I think the best idea is for me to get the advice and help of a rescue group as someone suggested. They probably have more experience than I do with this. I'm also going to check the laws here on feeding strays. I may have an ally in another neighbor whose property is right next to the lot where the colony is. I may even attend the church to become friendly with them and have a better chance at communicating. Thanks again and big hugs to you all for your advice!
If you have too many cats, you might also check local ordinance to see whether they have an “excess animal” permit that you can apply for. Sometimes it’s called a kennel permit (yes, for cats too!) or similar.

You usually have to pay a yearly fee, but it’s not too bad.

I’m going through the process myself for the same reason. Our county limits cats to 4 and I am currently housing 19 (5-7 are permanent residents).

Having too many cats in my home, continually hinders my ability to fight for the cats outside of it as hard as I would otherwise, so I’m trying to fix that.
 
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