Kitten project.

Hibachi · January 2010

Firstly, hey everyone who hadn't noticed I was here. I'll be on for a few days, just to relive stress. So, there have been stray kittens around our church, first it started out as one, then three, and now there is approx 8+ kittens/cats. I have been feeding them while saving up for a live animal trap, so I have turned this into a project, I've been putting aside a little bit of money at a time, and finally saved up to buy a decent trap. I would like to capture them all, get them spayed and neatured along with their vaccinations, I only plan to work with one at a time in hopes to tame them and find them homes, I refuse to take them to a shelter I don't want them sitting in a kennel for ages, and I don't want them put to sleep. Not to mention there is a 20-50$ drop off fee, and I'd rather use that money for the vet. I have hundreds of things that I am going to sell, part of the proceeds going to Haiti and the other part going towards the cats. If I am unable to tame a cat(s) then they will be released to a safer area. I've been doing research on taming and training cats and a lot of the information I have seen is wrong. I saw one website saying that adult cats stay feral and are harder to train than kittens and males are aggressive and shy. I have actually successfully tamed 3 adult male strays and found it harder to tame the kittens I came across (especially the females). Anyways, I hope this works out for the best. I only have about three months to successfully capture them all.

Jelehcar · January 2010

Chances are that the adults have encountered people before and aren't truly "feral" then ;-) The only reason the kittens are harder right now is they are full of kitten energy, and they truly are feral because all they know at the moment is cats. You're scarier to the kitten than the cat, basically. Anyway, I think what you're doing is great :-) I'm kind've doing the same thing, though it's with strays around my house. So far I've gotten deworming out of the way (3 stray cats, 2 male, one female), and I've got the males separate from the female for the sheer fact of it's mating season O.O No kennels though, nice comfy bedroom instead, with a cat tree and all that jazz. Anyway... I read somewhere that you should leave food for them, then slowly work up to being there with the food. Allow them to hear you at a distance, and each night or day be a little closer, but don't approach them quickly or anything. Using this, I managed to get them to come to me, and never even needed a live trap ;-)

Mia:] · January 2010

Cats scare me sometimes; but they're so darn cute. SO, I totally support you for this. (:

Hibachi · January 2010

ttaplehcar wrote:

Chances are that the adults have encountered people before and aren't truly "feral" then ;-) The only reason the kittens are harder right now is they are full of kitten energy, and they truly are feral because all they know at the moment is cats. You're scarier to the kitten than the cat, basically.

Very true, but where they are located there are several people around, as a gas station is right across the street, and they play over there and eat out of the dumpster(which I'm trying to get them to avoid)I leave food out every day/night when I go up to the church (we own it so I can go up whenever I want, thank goodness

) Not to mention the cats I found where found in the woods and Zoro was very skittish when we first found him, and he stayed that way with everyone but me.

Anyway, I think what you're doing is great :-) I'm kind've doing the same thing, though it's with strays around my house. So far I've gotten deworming out of the way (3 stray cats, 2 male, one female), and I've got the males separate from the female for the sheer fact of it's mating season O.O No kennels though, nice comfy bedroom instead, with a cat tree and all that jazz.

Thanks, and that's awesome. ^^ my cat, Simba brings home kittens/cats all the time. XD

Anyway... I read somewhere that you should leave food for them, then slowly work up to being there with the food. Allow them to hear you at a distance, and each night or day be a little closer, but don't approach them quickly or anything. Using this, I managed to get them to come to me, and never even needed a live trap ;-)

I actually find feral cats more trusting then feral dogs. Cats seem more food driven, I have successfully have been able to approach strays within two days and sometimes they ate from my hand I find myself better with cats than dogs...which is sad since I am majoring in Animal Behavior right now to become a dog trainer. XD The only reason I want to get a live trap is because there is so many of them and it's quicker.

Hibachi · January 2010

"Mia: wrote:

"]Cats scare me sometimes; but they're so darn cute. SO, I totally support you for this. (:

Why do cats scare you? D;

RoyalRaccoon · January 2010

The house I lived in as a kid had a problem with feral cats, and though I took in 3 for myself, adopted one out, and gave 5 to my grandmother, there was always a problem because cats, feral or not, attract other cats. Even one of the cats I own now is one of many that have shown up to steal food from my other cats. As someone who volunteers in a shelter, and as someone who has spent a lot of time and money rescuing cats, I would highly advise against taking this on by yourself. Unless you are prepared to claim all of the feral cats as your own, they need to go to a shelter or private rescue. You could even adopted them out yourself after you have tamed, vaccinated, and sterilization them, which guarantees they're not sitting in a cage for a long time. Please do not relocate and dump animals. Dumping animals is never the right solution; it is dangerous to the cats, wildlife, other people's pets, and humans. Above all it is illegal, and if you get caught dumping an animal you can face huge fines and potentially jail time for animal cruelty despite meaning well. Though they may behave wild, they are still domestic cats, which are not bred to survive in the wild. A dumped cat that is not being monitored, fed, and watered everyday is likely to get sick, attack other animals, eat dead animals off the road (which can result in car accidents and dead cats), and more. There is an expression that goes something like "Sometimes living is death." which I feel explains what strays go through when on the street. Even though they risk the chance of being euthanized, sitting in a cage while someone gives you new food, water, litter, blankets and attention everyday is better than sitting in the cold, ill and dirty, while slowing starving to death. As for taming tips, I can't say much about older tom cats since all the ones I got wouldn't let me within 10 yards of them, and they were aggressive enough to try to attack, but these toms were at least the second generation that were born and raised feral(these are the untameable ones that unfortunately can not live like "domestic" cats). For females and young males I used to sit as close as I could get to them, place a bowl next to myself, and throw them food piece by piece until they would come close enough to eat out of the bowl next to me. For kittens, if they were highly cautious, I would lure them our with canned food or lunch meat, and while they ate I would grab them(wear thick working gloves and arm protection) and put them in a crate. Once in a crate they were easier to work with and were perfectly fine with me after one week. My ending suggestion is that if your goal of 3 months is up and they aren't all vaccinated, sterilized, and being fed/watered everyday you should talk to an organization or animal control. There are plenty of no-kill shelters and low-kill private shelters that will make the cats' stay there as comfy as possible until they are adopted, or until they can't possibly keep them any longer. I don't mean to offend at all, so please don't take it that way, but if I'm upsetting please let me know.

Hibachi · January 2010

PrinceSushi wrote:

The house I lived in as a kid had a problem with feral cats, and though I took in 3 for myself, adopted one out, and gave 5 to my grandmother, there was always a problem because cats, feral or not, attract other cats. Even one of the cats I own now is one of many that have shown up to steal food from my other cats. As someone who volunteers in a shelter, and as someone who has spent a lot of time and money rescuing cats, I would highly advise against taking this on by yourself. Unless you are prepared to claim all of the feral cats as your own, they need to go to a shelter or private rescue. You could even adopted them out yourself after you have tamed, vaccinated, and sterilization them, which guarantees they're not sitting in a cage for a long time.

I am adopting them out myself, I am already gathering homes as I don't want them rotting in a shelter. I have successfully rescued several other strays in the past as well. We have no rescues in our area so that would be a negative.

Please do not relocate and dump animals. Dumping animals is never the right solution; it is dangerous to the cats, wildlife, other people's pets, and humans. Above all it is illegal, and if you get caught dumping an animal you can face huge fines and potentially jail time for animal cruelty despite meaning well. Though they may behave wild, they are still domestic cats, which are not bred to survive in the wild. A dumped cat that is not being monitored, fed, and watered everyday is likely to get sick, attack other animals, eat dead animals off the road (which can result in car accidents and dead cats), and more. There is an expression that goes something like "Sometimes living is death." which I feel explains what strays go through when on the street. Even though they risk the chance of being euthanized, sitting in a cage while someone gives you new food, water, litter, blankets and attention everyday is better than sitting in the cold, ill and dirty, while slowing starving to death.

Some cats can never be tamed and they work better in colonies out in the wild, cats have the instinct to hunt even when fed on a daily basis, my Simba brings home mice, birds, and moles home all the time. Not only that, the SPCA supports and also does Trap-Netuer-Return's, along with several other shelters and rescues. I plan to relocate them to a private area where it is secluded from humans and no other pets, therefore it's not illegal to relocate wild animals to a safer area. If I where to dump out on a busy highway it would be one thing, but this will be much better for them instead of being in a busy area.

As for taming tips, I can't say much about older tom cats since all the ones I got wouldn't let me within 10 yards of them, and they were aggressive enough to try to attack, but these toms were at least the second generation that were born and raised feral(these are the untameable ones that unfortunately can not live like "domestic" cats). For females and young males I used to sit as close as I could get to them, place a bowl next to myself, and throw them food piece by piece until they would come close enough to eat out of the bowl next to me. For kittens, if they were highly cautious, I would lure them our with canned food or lunch meat, and while they ate I would grab them(wear thick working gloves and arm protection) and put them in a crate. Once in a crate they were easier to work with and were perfectly fine with me after one week.

I'm fine on the taming, that's an area I am good at. ;D

My ending suggestion is that if your goal of 3 months is up and they aren't all vaccinated, sterilized, and being fed/watered everyday you should talk to an organization or animal control. There are plenty of no-kill shelters and low-kill private shelters that will make the cats' stay there as comfy as possible until they are adopted, or until they can't possibly keep them any longer.

There isn't that many of them, and there are no rescues located in my area(as stated above)and the shelters/animal control are horrible here.

I don't mean to offend at all, so please don't take it that way, but if I'm upsetting please let me know.

No offense taken, everyone has a right to their opinion. ^^

RoyalRaccoon · January 2010

I don't completely support it (It's often done wrong or with no respect for local law), but I'm very familiar with TNR because I volunteer at a shelter that helps people who do it, and I am in college to hopefully enter into law enforcement and conservation efforts with fish and game. I want to point out that cats, Felis catus, are listed as a non-native domestic species in the U.S. , which means that they can't be legally released "into the wild" or relocated. In order to release a non-native species your state has to recognize it as an established, non invasive species, and an approved organization has to over see the release(the public can not release or relocate animals), but if I remember correctly cats are federally listed as an invasive species. Yes, you can place them on your own private property and allow them to live as "wild animals" (basically turning your property into a sanctuary),but it is not legal to release them on public property, or on private property where you have not been given permission to place them, and in order to support a large colony you will need to follow your area's zoning laws regarding the amount of animals that can legally live on the designated property(Fortunately, a lot of places don't have laws regarding the number of cats you can have). I'm just glad they are responding positively to your efforts, and you are already rounding up homes. You probably have these, but here is the ASPCA web page for TNR and feral cats in general: <a href="http://www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.html"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.html</a> Here is a TNR information website suggested by the ASPCA: <a href="http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191</a> Apparently this website is good for connecting with local people that practice TNR. Maybe you can even list your kitties there, or they can direct you toward individuals who was to adopt one.

Hibachi · January 2010

PrinceSushi wrote:

I don't completely support it (It's often done wrong or with no respect for local law), but I'm very familiar with TNR because I volunteer at a shelter that helps people who do it, and I am in college to hopefully enter into law enforcement and conservation efforts with fish and game. I want to point out that cats, Felis catus, are listed as a non-native domestic species in the U.S. , which means that they can't be legally released "into the wild" or relocated. In order to release a non-native species your state has to recognize it as an established, non invasive species, and an approved organization has to over see the release(the public can not release or relocate animals), but if I remember correctly cats are federally listed as an invasive species. Yes, you can place them on your own private property and allow them to live as "wild animals" (basically turning your property into a sanctuary),but it is not legal to release them on public property, or on private property where you have not been given permission to place them, and in order to support a large colony you will need to follow your area's zoning laws regarding the amount of animals that can legally live on the designated property(Fortunately, a lot of places don't have laws regarding the number of cats you can have). I'm just glad they are responding positively to your efforts, and you are already rounding up homes. You probably have these, but here is the ASPCA web page for TNR and feral cats in general: <a href="http://www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.html"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.html</a> Here is a TNR information website suggested by the ASPCA: <a href="http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191</a> Apparently this website is good for connecting with local people that practice TNR. Maybe you can even list your kitties there, or they can direct you toward individuals who was to adopt one.

Thanks for the info. ^^ But, as said before our animals shelters and control are horrible here, I actually had to quit volunteering at our local shelter because it was just horrible...I have had no trouble with the law relocating or several other people who have done it as well. I would prefer them to be relocated to a safer area than over by that gas station where teens and children are cruel to them and where they can get ran over. But, I am majoring in Animal Behavior as of now and have done my own research on cat and dog behavior ever since I was at the age of seven and am quite confident I can tame them in some ways, not to mention our neighborhood is one of the few who does not mind cats we feed each others cats all the time and let them inside, but we are a small community and laws aren't enforced a lot around here (which I wish it was). I know someone who will let me release them into their woods (over 10 acres of it) if I am unable to tame any, and it's far from human contact.

The Wolf pack · January 2010

I think what your doing is a great idea, Most shelters will Put their animals down if they've been there for a curtain ammount of time. The way your doing it is that the cat or kitten is garenteed a Forever home

Pepper97 · January 2010

My aunt catches the feral cats, spays/neuters them, and releases them back to the wild. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. To keep one would be like catching a grown wild cyote and trying to domesticate it. It's impossible and cruel. I think there's a website where you can get free animal traps for this specific project. I'll have to find it. Check the local animal shelter. They usually have some you can borrow. We've done that many times. Florida does have a feral cat issue. Every time we go there to visit family, we end up spaying/neutering a cat. We always bring traps. xD You're doing a great thing and the cats will be happier. Good luck on socializing. (tuna helps get them into a trap. very potent and to them tasty I guess.)

Hibachi · January 2010

neyokoma wrote:

I think what your doing is a great idea, Most shelters will Put their animals down if they've been there for a curtain ammount of time. The way your doing it is that the cat or kitten is garenteed a Forever home

Thank you! ^^

Pepper97 wrote:

My aunt catches the feral cats, spays/neuters them, and releases them back to the wild. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. To keep one would be like catching a grown wild cyote and trying to domesticate it. It's impossible and cruel. I think there's a website where you can get free animal traps for this specific project. I'll have to find it. Check the local animal shelter. They usually have some you can borrow. We've done that many times. Florida does have a feral cat issue. Every time we go there to visit family, we end up spaying/neutering a cat. We always bring traps. xD You're doing a great thing and the cats will be happier. Good luck on socializing. (tuna helps get them into a trap. very potent and to them tasty I guess.)

Oooh, if you find that website let me know. I found a few online, but I'm trying to decide what would be best. xD Florida is one of the worse, I hate it...we had over 70+ cats in our shelter and only 10 dogs...that says a lot. I'm also buying a large pen/run so that I can introduce my other animals to them slowly and be able to tame them alone without it running through the house.

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Kitten project.

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