About 5 weeks ago, a tortie cat started coming to our back deck, and my husband put food out for her one night. She looked small and young. Then, one day she had a kitten following her. We watched them play in our yard and put food and water out for them.
We have three indoor pets, an elder cat and two dogs. But, we decided to take the kitten in as he started showing up to our door several times a day, often without the mom. We took the kitten to the vet. Thankfully, he was in good health, although he did have some ear mites and parasites, so he is isolated from the other pets until all clears.
I would like to help the mom cat, but I cannot add another pet at this point. I know there are TNR groups that do catch and release. I would like to understand how that works. Strangely, the local humane society could not refer me to one. I will continue to ask around. Honestly, I feel bad not taking her in, as she is friendly and is now coming daily. I also wonder if she would have difficulty adapting as an indoor pet. She shies away if I get too close but she does come up to me. She left me a mouse the other night, lol. However, the reality of adding another pet and the vet cost would be too much.
If you have done TNR for outdoor cats, I would like to hear about the process.
That is odd. I would continue to look for a cat rescue and/or no-kill shelter. I have done TNR for a small rescue group and they had a deal with a local vet who would do the spay/neuter surgery plus test for FIV and FELV for $100, which I paid. I also volunteered at a no-kill shelter and they would usually take healthy kittens for adoption, but I would generally release the healthy adults (most weren’t friendly/socialized/adoptable). Some shelters also offer free spay/neuter surgeries, which could be another option in your area.
my H will ask his coworker how she does it. I know she does it all the time, though she truly is a crazy cat lady. Has a cat door where they are allowed to roam freely through her house. Raccoons too! She is 70 years and always has worked min wage jobs and will probably always work - but spends what little money she has feeding stray cats.
We OTOH just feed the ones that come to the door and put out a cat box in the winter, though they don’t really use it often. There some way they can get into the neighbor’s crawl space/basement that must be warmer. We did once take in one kitten when its final sibling died. He’s 12 years old now.
H’s coworker was willing to lend you her traps and hook you up with the two groups she uses. I’m guessing you’re too far away. I will PM you the groups she uses and maybe you can message them and they may have more contacts?
We did actually use a trap once for a stray. We got our porch redone and the stray got in our dirt basement. We didn’t know it and then the porch was put back. We got the trap from our animal control police group. But then we just released her.
We once trapped a feral mom who was living in our hayloft and took her to our vet to be spayed. (We also got all her kittens re-homed except for the one who took over our barn). Everything up to the vet part (i.e., the capture) sorely tested our marriage, and keeping her in the house post-spaying resulted in “her” room needing a total overhaul. But she stuck around outside for over 15 years as we fed her (and numerous other uninvited critters) and also put out a cat house (with a heated pad) for winter.
We have also had strays turn up, some of whom had clearly been on their own for a while. There is a pretty clear difference between them and the true ferals. The true ferals will tolerate people at best whereas a stray or a barn cat will generally be willing to let you earn its trust.
Are you on Facebook, Nextdoor or other social media? I would look for a neighborhood group and post there. The sisters who own a local liquor store are very involved with TNR which I found out via Facebook (and stuff they sell to fund their efforts). Also ask at a local vet’s office.
There’s a difference between a feral cat and a stray cat. Feral cats haven’t been, and mostly can’t be, socialized. They avoid humans. They are more wild than domestic. Strays have been socialized and homed in the past and have ended up homeless because of getting lost or abandoned. They approach people and seek human help for food and shelter. It sounds like you have a stray. Call a local rescue group. There’s a good chance she could be re-homed.
Just to add to this, even a feral kitten can be hard to tame and keeping it indoors may prove difficult if not impossible. My parents adopted a feral kitten years ago and while he adjusted he was always wary of humans and definitely was not an indoor cat.
My friend has a feral cat she’s had for years. They can’t just leave the food out because there are raccoons and squirrels. It took a long time but they finally could approach her and now can even pet her. She comes up to the window and begs for food. She has several cat condos for the cold weather (heated) but really prefers to be out in the wild all day. They’ve taken her to a vet a few times but she’s still an outside only cat. I bet she’s 10 years old or more.
An online blogger I follow worked for a vet and was involved with animal foster services. One thing she and her son did was a cat round up in their town (small town Iowa) and they’d get about 15-20 and take them to the vet to spay and neuter, give basic shots and try to place them. I think they had more luck with placing the kittens and not so much the adult cats.
My daughter and I adopted a kitten from a feral mother. The kitten, then cat seemed to carry a lot of anxiety about how close is too much–he’d cuddle up, then swipe and run away, then sneak back in, etc. He was that way for 10 years until he died from complications from diabetes.
csfmap, thank you for explaining the difference. I incorrectly assumed outdoor cats were feral and did not consider that they may be strays and previously socialized. As she came to us seeking food and is not afraid to come up to us daily, she may be a stray. Although she does not let us touch her, she still returns daily. I appreciate everyone’s replies, giving me some direction. I will add that the kitten is doing well indoors with us and is playful, social and enjoys being held. The vet check went well. She did a great job with him.
Thank you for taking in the kitten! Your local humane society or a local rescue should be able to help with the mom. Sadly, a lot of pregnant cats get abandoned, and even if they survive giving birth, living outside usually means a short, and difficult life for them. It would be great if a local organization could get her adopted. Rescue groups are often no-kill and they may find a foster family for her in the interim. I hope the kitten brings you much joy - no doubt she will.