You Can Help Abandoned or Feral Cats

After reading my blog about my homeless cat colony, a woman near Chicago contacted me about her concern for a young female feral cat which she had been feeding for a few months. The woman estimated the cat to be 4-5 months old. She wanted to do something to help the cat through the cold winter months to come. If you too are in contact with a feral cat, read below the cut for more information on how to care for it in a way that is safe for you and your domestic cats.

A few years ago, I crafted many inexpensive ‘kitty condos’ for my colony. I took plastic storage bins with removable tops and cut holes in the fronts. I lined the bins with old carpet remnants by sewing through holes punched on the sides since glue didn’t work very well. This seemed like a better option than Styrofoam since it allowed me to disinfect the carpet several times a year. I purchased small clamps at the hardware store for securing the lids to protect against fierce winds, Finally, a thrift shop provided old towels, rugs and blankets for lining the bottoms of the kitty condos. I keep the kitty condos on my cement foundation all year round.

Of course, trapping any stray cat for spaying or neutering purposes is a great idea. Preventing births is humane because it prevents suffering. Homeless female cats struggle and undergo incredible stress when giving birth outdoors. And, of course, unless you catch the kittens when they are very young, those wild offspring will live very short and difficult lives.

If you are reading this and do not know the process of how to spay or neuter a feral or abandoned cat, remember that some cities have private animal rescue agencies that support trap/neuter/return (TNR). If your city doesn’t have one of these programs you may have a branch of the Humane Society somewhere in your area. Sometimes the Humane Society has free or low cost clinics to get cats spayed/neutered. You should be able to borrow a trapping cage from them. I would not turn the feral over to the Humane Society beyond the clinic since some branches have a policy of killing feral cats.

Another good idea is to have feral or abandoned cats tested for feline leukemia and feline HIV if you anticipate that it will be mixing with your domestic cats. In fact, it’s wise to keep your indoor cats completely separate because there are other diseases/viruses which can be transmitted by cats touching noses. I learned this the hard way. One of my domestic indoor cats contracted the Caleci virus from an abandoned cat I allowed inside. Do not let a stray use another cat’s litter box, especially if it has not been tested for feline leukemia.

Alley Cat Allies has great online resources for managing feral cats.

The process of training feral cats to become comfortable around humans is called ‘socializing’. Animal rescue recommends that you should start handling a feral cat no later than six weeks old if you want it to become truly domesticated. However, I have been able to tame a few older ones that were willing.  In each case, the older feral approached me – I did not seek them out. Be aware that only one out of the four older ferals which I socialized allowed any humans besides me to touch them. Therefore, if you socialize a feral, you could end up being the only possible home for that animal.

It is ideal to dedicate a room where you can sequester the feral as you socialize it. If the feral is already in the habit of feeding at your place, you can prop open an outside door so it can come and go during feeding times. This allows the feral cat to get used to feeling safe in your home without feeling trapped. Sometimes you can socialize using a holding cage, but monitor their eating, as some of mine stopped while recovering for a few days in a holding cage after getting spayed or neutered. A holding cage is similar to what people use to contain a dog indoors. Once you add towels, water and a litter box, it can be rather comfy home for a cat.

Please let your friends know about my blog. I address many challenges and successes experienced while managing my homeless cat colony.

http://homelesscatcare.blogspot.com/

Visit the above link for more information on how to donate to the care and health of my feral/abandoned colony.

Wishing you and your pets well,
Debby Taylor

See more photos: http://pocketchange.become.com/2010/07/you-can-help-abandoned-or-feral-cats.html#ixzz0tHeVUnqY