FERAL CAT COLONY

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Hemmaholic - 26 May 2005 08:54 GMT

I've been caring for a small colony of ferals for about a year now and
recently was able to TNR the one hold out. She is doing very well,
however, one of her (previously neutered) brothers hasn't shown up for
feeding time for 4 or 5 days now.

The colony is at the back of the store where I work, and there is a
very large field with a marsh and pond on it and a fallow corn field
beyond that. There is an apartment complex South of the store with
joining property lines.

This particular black and white boy is very anti-social toward humans,
just barely trusting me enough when I bring their food for him to come
out from hiding to eat. I've been feeding him, two of his brothers and
his one sister since they were 4-5 weeks old, so you'd think he'd know
where the easy life was!

They all scatter at the sound of an approaching car or truck and being
at the very back of the back lot there isn't "traffic" to really be
concerned about, besides, they seldom get very far from all their
hiding places and their shelter.

This is the first truly feral group I've even cared for so don't really
know much about the dynamics of a feral group or how long (even after
being neutered) the group can be expected to stay together. Is it
normal for a neutered male to strike out on his own? I've been keeping
an eye on the highway that runs in front of the store, but that's
nearly 1/8 of a mile away and nothing on the other side of the road to
induce an animal (especially an intelligent cat) to even venture near
it.

Am I worrying over nothing?

Hemma

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Philip - 26 May 2005 16:28 GMT

> I've been caring for a small colony of ferals for about a year now and
> recently was able to TNR the one hold out. She is doing very well,
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
>
> Hemma

How did you go about trapping these cats in order to get them 'fixed?'

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Priscilla H. Ballou - 26 May 2005 20:51 GMT

> I've been caring for a small colony of ferals for about a year now and
> recently was able to TNR the one hold out. She is doing very well,
> however, one of her (previously neutered) brothers hasn't shown up for
> feeding time for 4 or 5 days now.

[snip]

> Am I worrying over nothing?

Maybe. I help support a small colony of ferals in an urban
neighborhood, and there are several who come and go for various periods
of time. One in particular will spend a few weeks at my place and then
disappear for weeks. In chatting with a neighbor a block or two away, I
know that when he's not at my place, he's at her place. ;-) He'll let
her pet him, but not me, since he associates me with the nasty Trap and
Vet and Neutering and the indignities he suffered when he was treated
for being mauled by an animal, including the amputation of his tail.
But that's a side issue.

So, some may come and go, but there is also always the possibility of
loss. We lost Birdie this past winter. My neighbor heard from someone
up on the larger street that a black cat with white spot was killed by a
car. That fit the description of Birdie and her mother, and her mother
was still here, while Birdie was not seen again, so we know that
Birdie's moved on in a more cosmic sense. It was sad. I gave her my
name for her based on seeing her eating birdseed when she was a
half-grown kitten. Her mother looked on in bemusement as little Birdie
chowed down on what I'd put out for the cardinals and other ground feeders.

Only time will tell you if he's coming back. Sorry I can't be more
reassuring, but that's what helping care for ferals is like.

Priscilla

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Hemmaholic - 27 May 2005 13:57 GMT

Phillip,

I used the Have-a-Heart traps, provided by INDY Feral to capture all
five of them. One of the traps malfunctioned on the first round and by
the time I had figured out what the problem was, this last juvenile had
dug in and wasn't coming out from hiding no matter what. When I set
out to re-trap this second time, she was the first one to be caught,
thus saving the others from the trauma of being trapped again. Neither
of the wandering toms where anywhere in sight so I called it a done
deal.

I was somewhat surprised and much relieved when I read the Vet's report
after the process to find she had not been pregnant. I assume her
brothers kept the two wandering toms at bay, or perhaps it was just
luck!

Priscilla,

Very amusing story about your Birdie, sorry you had to lose her in such
a manner.

My colony is indeed fortunate to be in a more rural setting, but,
still, there are other dangers. Yesterday one of the others failed to
come in for feeding, which was very odd for him as he is almost always
the first one there! He's also the only one who is even half-way
friendly; allowing me to pet him and often rubbing himself against my
leg as I finish preparing their food. He still hides when other people
are around so I guess I'm just his token human!

Hopefully everyone will be present and accounted for at feeding time
today and if not, well, I'll just have to try not to worry too much.

After four years with the same Store Manager, we now have a new one and
I have yet to discuss the colony with him. I seriously hope he does
not have a problem with them being there or with my taking care of
them. He doesn't seem to be the type, but one never knows.

I have an on-line album of photos of the kitties if anyone is
interested.

http://members.imagehost.biz/ims/album_folder.php?u_id=653OYvbZ&f_id=19973

Hemma

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Philip - 27 May 2005 15:51 GMT

> Phillip,
>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> Priscilla,

snip

> I have an on-line album of photos of the kitties if anyone is
> interested.
>
> http://members.imagehost.biz/ims/album_folder.php?u_id=653OYvbZ&f_id=19973
>
> Hemma

1) "Have a Heart" traps, eh? I'm working through a stockpile of canned food
left over from Rusty (passed away mid April) that I have been putting out
for the 5-6 yr old feral male tabby that has been in the neighborhood for as
long. In two weeks of regular feeding, he's gone from being a 25 foot cat to
a 10 foot cat. In the last three nights, he "appears" the second I rip open
a can of food at the back porch. The cat is healthy as an ox and more high
strung than a violin string. All it takes to make this cat bolt in the
opposite direction and clear a 5 foot fence in a single bound is for me to
breathe suddenly. I would like to inspect this cat for neutering.

2) Your photo album has no images loaded, followed by a system message that
something is not available.

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Hemmaholic - 28 May 2005 14:24 GMT

HUM. . . . I'm getting "Service Unavailable" myself. I will check this
out and see what's up. It may be that I will have to give the URL for
the entire album (I have several different folders) and y'all can just
look at wharever y'all want to.

Rebecca

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