Yowling semi-feral/farm cat in area

anymoose

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We have a male feral cat in our area that really likes to yowl at all hours of the day and night. We live out of town with a few neighbors ranging from a quarter mile to two miles away, all of whom have outdoor farm cats; we also have two regular farm cats, a black tom cat and "mama" cat, the later of which just got spayed a few weeks ago. Mama cat is very friendly, we feed and water her, she practically begs for attention, and she didn't even move her kittens when we found them. She is the most lovely outdoor cat I have ever encountered and we spoil her far more than any other farm cat.

This male cat is the father of our almost two year old cat. I have no idea which house this current feral comes from, but he is for sure not one of ours as he does not hang around the property and only comes around occasionally. The last time I saw him was actually shortly before he fathered our two year old cat, he hasn't been around since then. He did not yowl then, but I think that was because Mama cat paid more attention to him.

Mama cat cannot go into heat since she is spayed, but for whatever reason this male cat is back raising cain. As far as I know, Mama cat ignores him but I can't really spend all day watching the farm cats. We have no other female cats on our property.

So, what can I do to get this guy to go back to wherever he was before he stopped by again? I've shooed him away a couple of times, but he always sticks around. I don't want to stop leaving food out for mama cat and this guy has another food source elsewhere anyway since he at least looks well fed. Will he stop when he realizes that Mama cat is no longer interested? His yowling is just super annoying since he will literally prowl all over the property yowling.

Please do not suggest we trap to neuter him. He is not our cat and we have three cats of our own to take care of.
 

shadowsrescue

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Unfortunately there is no way to stop him from yowling and coming around if he is not neutered.  His hormones are raging and it is something he absolutely cannot control. 

If it were me and the cat kept coming around for food and causing problems, I would TNR him just for the sake that he will not longer have the ability to be part of the reproduction process.

It is such a hard life for all of these outdoor cats.  The males become a nuisance when they yowl, fight and mate over and over. 

Thank you for caring for the Mama and getting her spayed.  Her life will be much easier without having to worry about pregnancy after pregnancy.
 
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anymoose

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Mama cat is such a sweetie and looks about a million times better now that she has been spayed. That poor cat is already really skinny and when she was pregnant, it just looked painful. She was such a good mama too. 

I really do not want to be the one that neuters this cat because he is not ours. I haven't seen him for just under two years, he wasn't around last time mama cat was in heat, and we have our own cats and vet bills to handle. The two kittens we have right now are on their final round of distemper shots, and that's an 80 dollar vet visit each time, plus we had to get them dewormed (another sixty or so bucks), more medicine because the diarrhea didn't stop after they got dewormed (twenty bucks), and of course vaccinations. It's adding up quick and I really do not want to add another expense.

Do you think he will go away once he realizes the one female on our property is no longer available? She hasn't been paying any attention to him other than the occasional "what was that?" when she hears him start up.
 

ondine

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He may be on your place looking for the nearby female who IS in heat.  Males can travel up to a mile looking for a female, so he may be howling in frustration because the one he found wasn't the one he smelled!

Once your kitties are taken care of, if you can find the money, think about neutering him.  If not, is there a possibility you can locate his owners and talk to them about it?  Maybe citing the fact that he's wandering so far from his home?  (and yowling and making a nuisance of himself).

Many people would not have much patience with that.  You are to be commended for your sympathy with him.
 
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anymoose

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You're probably right actually, especially with the neighbors all having farm cats. 

Most of our neighbors are really nice people, the ones that are-- we will say interesting-- aren't the owners of this cat anyway as they moved in six or so months ago. I don't know if they would take the time to trap and have this male neutered or not. I think it would be worth a shot if he sticks around much longer or if he keeps carrying on in the night and early morning hours.

Our landlady might get fed up with him too (she's our closest neighbor, we live on the same lot), and she knows the neighbors better then we do, so she might bring it up.
 
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