I went out tonight to meet V., who helps a local woman. The woman has five indoor spay/neutered cats, and five outdoor ferals, the result of one momcat who stayed when fed a hotdog out of pity last year.
Mom, the black on the right, and daughter, were both pregnant. The three other cats are either male or not yet showing pregnant.
Can you believe that we caught the two pregnant cats first? This never happens. You always get the clueless little boys first. But in a mere 1/2 hour of trapping, mom and daughter walked right in, and hopefully I can find someone to spay them before we have even more kittens in this place.
I was sure I was going to get the males first, and have to trap the whole family just in order to catch the females. Then I'd have five cats in cages, and only money enough to fix the two females right away. And of course, the females are the priority. The boys can stay free until I'm able to neuter them. They aren't going to have kittens. But if you catch the boys first, it's not wise to let them go with the hope of catching them again later. They may not go into a trap again for months, once spooked.
These two cats are on the first floor of my barn, away from the cat facility upstairs. With kittens in the house, it's important not to overload one area with two many cats from different sources. Things can go downhill fast, disease-wise, when overcrowding takes place.
These plastic boxes are especially made for housing feral cats. They cost about $50. There is a sliding door on the end (the left) that fits up against the sliding back door of my traps. So you never have to touch the cat, nor do you have a high risk of escapes. To clean the cage, you just flip the side door of the den shut. A broomstick can be used for this if necessary. They are cool things. Mine are getting old and shabby, but they still work. They now make these in a mottled granite color rather than white, and the new ones look much better over time.
Isn't she a pretty thing?
Okay, now you want to read about real trapping? I could only link one post, so after you read this one, be sure to click on her blog title to read the rest of her posts. 20 cats in one day!
2 comments:
I think your blog is excellent and will be tuning in regularly. I believe we need to spread the word about pro-neutering to keep the feral population under control, as well as those poor unwanted litters. Keep up the good work.
Those feral houses are really smart. Where did you get them?
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