Free kitties anyone?

**PrairieRose** · 10-07-2008, 09:21 PM

Oh boy....we've been proclaiming to our friends and family....when the very priviledged poodle (Queen of Quite a Lot) crosses the bridge to the other side we will have no more pets. I'll say it again....no more pets.

Last night we were outside and heard a kitten crying and crying. It was about 4 weeks old. Ok, we bring it in......and we even find a home for it

Guess what we found today?
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The stray momma cat that has already had 3 litters under our storage building (we've been trying to catch her but can't, we don't feed her hoping she'll go away.....but there is a cat lady who feeds all the strays hence a huge population of ferral cats sigh) and 4 more babies

We have the trap set where our dog catcher takes them to a farmer who always accepts and cares for barn cats. So far, no catch. Oh man, I really hate this.....but we just had our 12 year old cat put down due to illness about 6 months ago. I don't want an indoor cat and don't want an outdoor cat b/c of how hard our winters are.............

**Missourimom** · 10-07-2008, 10:20 PM

I didn't know winters were that hard in TX?

**Laura2** · 10-07-2008, 10:48 PM

Can I ask why you don't want any more pets? Animals are such a joy, given that you can afford them.

**jamie79** · 10-07-2008, 11:18 PM

Not feeding her in hopes that she would go away? If you fed her then you might be able to catch her and take her to a shelter where at least she would have a chance.

**PrairieRose** · 10-08-2008, 08:47 AM

We don't want anymore pets for several reasons actually.

1. We travel quite a bit nowadays (our kids are all grown and gone) and it looks like due to our business we'll be away a lot more in the next few years. It's a real problem to have pets and have to arrange for pet care when you're gone so much.

2. We've had pets all of our 32 years together and yes they do add a lot of joy to your life but they also add sorrow. In the past few years we've had to take 2 very special pets to the vet to be put down due to old age and illness. I'm still weary and heartsick about having had to do so....don't want to think about having to do it many more times in my lifetime.

And yes, we were not feeding her. We put our old cat down about 6 months ago. At that time we had no feral cats coming around. We have a fenced back yard, there was never any food put out but all of the sudden we started having lots of them in and out of our yard. Then this female showed up and starting having kittens. I'm not a hard hearted person, have taken in more than my fair share of strays and fed others. But as I mentioned there is a lady down the street from us that feeds all the strays and they propagate, it's becoming a huge problem. I don't want to be a stop on the buffet. We are truly having a problem here.......seriously. It's not healthy for the animals and the residents are all up in arms about it. I would like nothing more than to catch the momma and the babies and find good homes for them...............................truly.

**Marie78** · 10-08-2008, 09:26 AM

I hope you are able to catch the mom and her babies. I am sure they will have a better life on the farm you will take them too. Maybe the babies can find a good home with a family, since they are still little enough to be tamed. Both of my cats were found as 4 to 6 week old kittens. They are so loved and I have no doubt that they were both born to stray cats in my mom's neighborhood. I am just glad we were able to give them a good home and they are so pampered and loved. They do make traveling difficult. When we go away for a few days we leave out enough food and water for a month and I think about them non-stop until we get home. We have only ever left them home alone for 3 days without us, but still I worry about all the things they could do. We even had to install a baby latch on the freezer because our older cat learned how to open it. Now that we baby proofed it we have a hard time opening it, but at least she won't be able to crawl in or defrost our frozen foods when we aren't home. Go Figure!

**PrairieRose** · 10-08-2008, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by Missourimom

I didn't know winters were that hard in TX?

Yep. We were without power for 2 weeks winter before last b/c of a huge ice storm that downed a lot of power lines in and around our town. We get up to 18 inches of snow at times, which usually comes sideways, have lots of ice and can be in the subzero temps for a few days at time. I live in the northern panhandle, up near the Oklahoma panhandle......it can be nasty here in the winter.

**Russ** · 10-08-2008, 11:47 AM

Threads like this are a prime example of why spaying or nuetering is so important.
Within a 1 mile radius of my house there are 3 "free kitten" signs.

**pip** · 10-08-2008, 02:17 PM

We don't seem to have any stray cats in our neighborhood. If we did, my hubby would go crazy because I'd want to take them in... I know I wouldn't really be able to as we already have three of our own... my personal thought is that cats should be indoor pets. Much safer for them and the birds in the yard, and less baby kitties born out of wedlock.

**madhen** · 10-08-2008, 06:25 PM

Check for local feral cat organizations in your area. Many of them offer free SNR (spay, neuter, release) for feral cats. This has been a tried and true method of decreasing the population in feral colonies while still being very humane. Because you are not permanently removing cats from the existing colony, it can stabilize, and then the cats themselves will keep other cats from joining. Because they are sterile, the colony will eventually decrease in number to a reasonable size. See if your neighbor, who feeds the cats, will buy into it. They probably trust her more and she might have better success trapping them. They are typically taken to a vet, given a quick health check, and then neutered. If the cat is sick, the organizations will often help with treatment. Might be a good way to sell the idea to her!

If you trap and take to the pound, most ferals will be put down immediately, because the workers just don't have the time to try to socialize the animals. However, you can check into whether any of the local animal rescues have "barn cat" programs. They can sometimes take in ferals and socialize them to the point where the cat can be someone's outside cat, such as a farm or barn cat, but will not be expected to become a true indoor pet.

**FrugalMomof3** · 10-08-2008, 07:17 PM

Cant you call the local SPCA and tell them about the strays and with winter coming soon enough you would hate to see them freeze to death?

My advice, dont put any food out what-so-ever, this will keep them there.

**Darlene** · 10-09-2008, 11:41 AM

Sorry this happened Lisa. I know how you get attached to your pets (I'll always remember the talks we had about your cat

) and I understand your not wanting to have more.

Sure wish people would spay & neuter their pets.

**PrairieRose** · 10-09-2008, 01:27 PM

We don't even have a local chapter of the SPCA. I'm not feeding them at all b/c I know I will only increase the numbers that way. Our dog catcher actually (he lives next door, have known him almost all my life) finds homes on the local farms. BUT, we can't catch em! They're too smart for the trap.

It makes me mad that people don't spay and neuter too......really mad.