# Watching Feral Cats in the neighborhood-Got Any?



## Aneeda72 (May 5, 2021)

Working outside in the garden yesterday, I glance up.  The black and white feral cat is on top of the roof.  What the heck?  I watch.  Under the overhang on the roof there is a birds nest, this silly cat has jumped up on the roof, via the RV parked close to it, and is attempting to hook its paw down and reach the eggs in the birds nest.

No way that’s going to happen.  He gave a good try.  Attempting with both paws, but it was a no go.  Finally, he gave up.  There are four feral cats that “patrol” our neighbors back yard.  The black and white, a grey and white, an all black, and another black and white which has recently been badly injured.  The fifth, an orange and white, has not been seen in a while.

They are all mousers and get mice from the neighbors yard.  There are very good at their job and look well fed.  They also score eggs from a nest in my next door neighbors yard.  Found the egg shells in my back yard.  Yesterday, a hawk dropped down and scored a mouse.  Such a variety of life to watch, all from my back yard.

Do you have feral cats in your area?


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## Sliverfox (May 5, 2021)

This winter there was a calico cat that kept appearing on the game camera,, haven't seen it  this Spring.
I think I've caught it  3 times in a live box trap.
Looked like someone's pet.

It does appear that  mouse/ rat population is  down.
Could be due the red tail hawk we've seen or perhaps a red fox.

Hubby has been seeing  chipmunks  running  to  bird feeder,,may see the  neighbor hood cats after them.
Most of  folks on this road try to keep their cats at home. ( inside?)

Road posted  for 35 mph,, seldom   see anyone  going that slow,,unless they are lost.


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## Gemma (May 5, 2021)

Yes, I have some feral cats.  Late last summer, a female brought out into the open, her 4 kittens after she weened them.  Mama was hunting all the time trying to catch things to feed them.  Sometimes she was lucky to catch a bird or red squirrel and take it back to her babies.  

I finally broke down and sat in the woods where they were, with food to feed them and to earn their trust which took a few months.  All 5 finally realized I was there to feed them and not hurt them and came to me.  They wintered outdoors well.  Kittens are now a year old.  I've bonded with them.  When they see me outdoors, they come running to me, talking like crazy.  If it wasn't for the fact I have 3 feral cats I brought into my home 10 years ago,  I probably would have brought these kittens in too.  

I believe people are dumping cats in the countryside, hoping someone would find them and give them a home.  That doesn't happen often.  

My feral cats are healthy and thriving.  They don't trust any other human being though.  They'll go into hiding if a stranger comes around.


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## Chet (May 5, 2021)

There has been a dark gray shaggy cat around here for quite a few years but I have not seen it lately. Last time I saw it, it was on the other side of the chain link fence that separates our yards. I was amazed by the way it climbed the fence and over in a couple of leaps. There are quite few rabbits around and should be having babies soon, so pickings should be good for cats.


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## Don M. (May 5, 2021)

Feral cats are fairly common around here, as townspeople dump their unwanted cats in these rural areas.  They do help keep the mouse populations under control....until they wind up squashed on the highways.


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## Glowworm (May 5, 2021)

No thank goodness. We have enough problems with neighbours' cats messing in our flowerbeds and the sand pit in the local playground.


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## win231 (May 5, 2021)

Yes.  I've been feeding them & treating them for fleas.  They're very affectionate; they fight over which one gets to sit in my lap & rub their face on my chin.  One will be in my lap & when another one gets ready to jump on me, he'll growl & spit at him - LOL.
They thank me by leaving me "Gifts."  _Half of a rat_.


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## SetWave (May 5, 2021)

My sweet little companion came to me as a kitten from out of the woods many many years ago. I've given food, care, love and affection to many stray and feral cats over time. Many people dislike them and claim they are irradiating the bird population. From what I've observed they may chase the birds but rarely catch any and are much better at decimating the rats.


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## Murrmurr (May 5, 2021)

There are 2 feral cat colonies here, one at each end of the complex. I'm at the east end. I put food out for an orange male that I call Danny. He's been coming around for about a year now. I started treating him for fleas last month. 

There was a pretty calico female I used to feed, too, but she stopped showing up a few months ago. I think they don't live more than a couple years out there and some die really young. You'll see a litter of 4 or 5 young ones and a couple weeks later there'll be 1 or 2, and you might see one of them reach adulthood.

Danny and I have come to be pretty good buddies.


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## Remy (May 6, 2021)

I feed 3 established cats at my workplace. They are all fixed. Where I work backs to an unbuildable gulch and when it doesn't have water in it, it has homeless tents. There is a new one that showed up, he's not fixed.

When I started working there a woman was feeding them. She suddenly died and another man took them over but abandoned them. I found this out and overtook feeding them. They got on the radar of some jerk who comes to the building and had their dishes thrown out. I'm outsmarting him easily, have moved their feeding area and they have 3 hidden water dishes which I know they have found and use.

According to one employee they have been there longer than her 7 years there. I can touch all of them now.


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## cdestroyer (May 6, 2021)

I have several outdoor strays, who come by now and then to feed. I have a big orange male that comes by often and has accepted me as a friend. The other cats are big male brown long hair, big tiger stripe male and several that pass thru the area from time to time. The occasionaly catch a bird but mostly get fed by other people in the neighborhood.


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## Ruth n Jersey (May 6, 2021)

I don't see any feral cats but some neighbors let their cats run all over the neighborhood. I have a fenced in garden and my beds have red stones around the bushes so they really don't cause a problem for me.
Some are very friendly so when they pass through they come and greet me. I spend a few minutes talking to them before they move on.
There is a neighborhood a few miles from us who does have many feral cats and also a veterinarian who has is practice in that town, he has spent much of his whole life catching and fixing the feral cats. He then releases them where he found them.
I'm not sure his method helps the situation. but because many people will not take the time to have their animals fixed I guess it is an option. He also puts many up for adoption and sponsors many programs to educate people about the importance of spaying their pets.


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## Aneeda72 (May 6, 2021)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I don't see any feral cats but some neighbors let their cats run all over the neighborhood. I have a fenced in garden and my beds have red stones around the bushes so they really don't cause a problem for me.
> Some are very friendly so when they pass through they come and greet me. I spend a few minutes talking to them before they move on.
> There is a neighborhood a few miles from us who does have many feral cats and also a veterinarian who has is practice in that town, he has spent much of his whole life catching and fixing the feral cats. He then releases them where he found them.
> I'm not sure his method helps the situation. but because many people will not take the time to have their animals fixed I guess it is an option. He also puts many up for adoption and sponsors many programs to educate people about the importance of spaying their pets.


This is the law in Utah and most other places.  Feral cats are caught, fixed, and released back to where they live.


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## JustBonee (May 6, 2021)

Had a  feral cat at our  house for years.  It definitely preferred my husband to me,  but it wasn't  one to hang around in the house all the time. 
She  did like our dogs though,  and they all seemed to bond.


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## Jules (May 6, 2021)

Aneeda72 said:


> This is the law in Utah and most other places.  Feral cats are caught, fixed, and released back to where they live.


Who pays for the ‘fix’?  Last I heard it was $200-$300, including shots/


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## MarciKS (May 6, 2021)

I used to see them all over my hometown but here the animal control pick them up. No crazy cat lady business for me.


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## Murrmurr (May 6, 2021)

Jules said:


> Who pays for the ‘fix’?  Last I heard it was $200-$300, including shots/


Here in Calif, if you do the trapping and releasing, and take them to a certain vet, the state will pay. You can request a spay/neuter voucher. But you can only get 2 vouchers per year, the traps are almost never available, and if the cat lets you pet it, the voucher is void.


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## hollydolly (May 6, 2021)

No, thank God...because I really dislike cats.

If you want to see huge amounts of feral cats go to any of the Greek Islands... great for those who love cats.. but not so good for the rest of us...


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## MarciKS (May 6, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> No, thank God...because I really dislike cats.
> 
> If you want to see huge amounts of feral cats go to any of the Greek Islands... great for those who love cats.. but not so good for the rest of us...


y u no like da kitty cats?


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## hollydolly (May 6, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> y u no like da kitty cats?


nope.I'm highly allergic


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## Aneeda72 (May 6, 2021)

Jules said:


> Who pays for the ‘fix’?  Last I heard it was $200-$300, including shots/


Humane society does it, I think, does not cost them that much due to donations


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## MarciKS (May 6, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> nope.I'm highly allergic


oh that's too bad. i'm allergic to tiger striped cats mostly.


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## Aneeda72 (May 6, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> oh that's too bad. i'm allergic to tiger striped cats mostly.


I am not allergic to cats, I just don’t care for them enough to own one.  But I do not mind them in other peoples yards, just not mine


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## Remy (May 6, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> No, thank God...because I really dislike cats.
> 
> If you want to see huge amounts of feral cats go to any of the Greek Islands... great for those who love cats.. but not so good for the rest of us...


Oh, oh hollydolly. I still like you.   I'm a cat person.


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## Remy (May 6, 2021)

We have a local thrift shop that funds the trap/fix/release. There is an organization that does the trapping and releasing. They said they do have trouble finding vets to fix the cats. They do not help with feeding.

The woman who runs the thrift store now (it's all volunteer) isn't nice. She is involved in cat rescue but was not nice to me at all when I called trying to get help for the cats at my workplace. The guy who took over and abandoned the small colony is her friend. I spoke with him and he said it looked like they were being fed so he stopped going. What I didn't know was that they had no water. Until I heard they were trying to get water out of a dripping faucet. I was so upset. I immediately found a bowl and put water out.

Though that consulting jerk had their bowls thrown out, I keep spares in my trunk and pick up bowls at thrift stores. I go over every day to feed them, if I work or not.


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## Remy (May 6, 2021)

Jules said:


> Who pays for the ‘fix’?  Last I heard it was $200-$300, including shots/


I'm not sure what the cost is for the fix and release organization. My understanding is the local organization here also gives them a rabies shot. As I mentioned above there is a local thrift store that funds the cost. While I don't like the woman who runs it, I still give them all my donations and shop there to support the cause. 

I can't remember what I paid for my two females to get fixed about 9 years ago. I think it was over 300 dollars.


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## Gary O' (May 6, 2021)

Aneeda72 said:


> Do you have feral cats in your area?


Got a couple that slink by
I think they're somebody's

Up at the mountain cabin there was one
Huge head
He'd stroll thru our place about once a week
No visiting
On the hunt


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## Glowworm (May 6, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> No, thank God...because I really dislike cats.


@hollydolly you're my kind of girl


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## Ruthanne (May 7, 2021)

I don't see many cats wandering around here lately but used to see some some years back.  The manager here likes cats a lot and took a whole lot of them in and off the street.  She has been caring for many over the years and she has been here at least 18 years. 

Back some time ago I took a few cats in and raised some of them and one very young one who I Ioved so much was killed in the fire that happened in my home when everything was destroyed.  My other cat back then survived and I took him to my mother who cared for him until he passed quite a few years later.  My mom, like me, was a big time animal lover and took in many cats who were either strays or from a vet she worked for when people would bring them in and no longer wanted them or couldn't care for them and wanted them put down.  My mom told them not to put them down and she would take care of them.  She did this until she got cancer and was no longer able to care for them.


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## cdestroyer (May 7, 2021)

pet thrift store here takes in junk and the money pays for pawhs shelter vet and food. lots of dogs cats for adoption and donations welcome.


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